DREAMCAST 2 LAUNCH ROUNDUP
So 9/9/09 has rolled around- the 10th anniversary of the Sega Dreamcast launch in the US. Today, as many Sega fans have been insisting would happen on this date, Sega quietly has released the Sega Dreamcast 2.
The big launch title of course is a Sonic game. Sega have listened to what the fans wanted and so in this game, Sonic runs very slowly in a 3D environment. In this new HD game Sonic has a dark secret- when he drinks a special elixir, he turns into Mr Hyde and goes on a rampage killing Cream in the prologue. The rest of the game features Sonic hunting for Mr Hyde in order to bring him to justice. Other levels feature Sonic wielding weapons such as swords and guns, just like the fans have been clamoring for all these years.
Sega’s Hype Machine kicked into full swing with hundreds of dollars of advertising spending for the big launch. Here you can see the crowds lining up underneath Sega’s subtle advertising billboards in the heart of Tokyo’s entertainment district.
Elsewhere in Tokyo, crowds outside electronics stores not clutching PS3 Slims under their arms were hard to come by. We spoke to a Sega Spokesperson who reassured us: “We have much experience of launching consoles. After recent blockbuster titles such as Dragon Quest IX and Monster Hunter on the Wii, Japan’s gamers are sated and have good games for many hours. When they tire of those good experiences, Sega is ready with titles to fill the gaps in the marketplace with Altered Beast and Virtua Mahjong.”
Sega fans rolling across the street to purchase a Dreamcast 2 with back in title “Chris Thorndyke’s Mansion.”
Sega plans a brilliant marketing strategy for its US and European launches of the Dreamcast 2. Sega will launch the system in one country per month, starting with Trinidad and Tobago, New Zealand, Finland, North Korea, Tonga, The Falkland Islands, Zaire, etc, until they get around to the United States launch and EU coming around January 2014. Price will be $699 with Sega explaining “our GD Rom2 is just that much better than BluRay.” The Dreamcast 2 will not however play Blu Ray movies, DVD movies or music CD’s but it will come with a built-in infra red internet requiring line-of-sight reception from Sega’s headquarters in Japan.
Dreamcast 2 has already been cancelled.
