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To: Moonray who wrote (12591)	5/23/1998 3:02:00 AM
From: shane forbes	Respond to of 25814

Sega has a new toy with Billy Boy's help: ----- Thursday May 21, 11:00 pm Eastern Time Microsoft, Sega in digital home game machine (Adds details, background, pvs TOKYO) PALO ALTO, Calif., May 21 (Reuters) - Sega Enterprises Ltd. (7964.T), seeking to rebuild its share of the video game market, on Thursday unveiled a new home system based on Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT - news) Windows software that it says delivers 10 times the performance of most other video games. The new Dreamcast system features 64 sound channels and 3D graphics that are more realistic than those on most arcade games. A spokesman compared the difference between the Dreamcast system and Sega's older games to that between a photograph and a cartoon rendition of a human face. ''We believe the Dreamcast system represents a significant advancement in console-based entertainment,'' Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said in a statement. In a brief announcement to reporters, Sega America President Bernard Stolar predicted the new system would help Sega build its U.S. market share to more than 50 percent in the near future. Sega, which once controlled as much as 80 percent of the U.S. market, lost big with its Sega Saturn game in 1996 and now has just 2 percent market share. With the new game machine, it homes to reclaim business from Sony Corp.'s (6758.T) PlayStation and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (7974.OS) 64-bit game machine, Nintendo 64. Sega's Dreamcast offers 128-bit performance, compared with 32 bits for Sega Saturn and 64 bits for most other video game systems. Its graphics capabilities are based on a polygon count -- a measure of the units that make up the graphics -- of 3 million. That compares with a 300,000 count for most existing games and is on par with the newest arcade games. The 64 sound channels means that 64 different voices or other noises can be delivered at the same time. Sega will launch the the console in Japan on Nov. 20. The U.S. launch is set for the fall of 1999. While reactions to the new machine's performance capabilites were strong, some experts remained somewhat skeptical about Sega's bold projections it would regain 50 percent of the market. ''Sega has been out evangellizing this machine for a while, trying to build up a little steam so they can get back in the market,'' said John Taylor, an analyst with Arcadia Investment Corp. in Portland, Ore. ''The performance is excellent, and game developers are pleased,'' Taylor said. But he said the level of software support it would receive from other video game makers remained unclear, and that would be the single most imortant factor in its popularity. Another big question is how it will compare with new offerings from competitors, who are all working to improve the performance of their products. ----