Sega Dreamcast: $0

According to this CNN article, Sega will announce today a $200 rebate on its $200 Dreamcast console. They'll even throw in a free keyboard. Game consoles have always played "lose money on the razor, make it on the blades," but now, the blades have changed: the catch is a mandatory two years of their online service at $22/mo. So, exactly how much ass do the Dreamcast's online games kick?

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Dreamcast tidbits

[drwiii]

For anyone who's interested, here's a quick screenshot tour of Sega's included Web Browser. (Note: They have released a much faster and less buggy upgrade to the browser, look on DC Mag disc, March 2000. If you want a free 1.1 browser GD shipped to you, go here.)

I really hope Sega can pull this off. Regardless of what's coming around the bend, Dreamcast is a great system.

It's fun to take apart too. Here's some pictures of my DC with a blue power LED that I soldered in to commemerate its compatibility with a Microsoft product (WinCE).

DC netplay impressions from a Sega fan

[Green Monkey]

I've spent a fair amount of time with the Dreamcast's Internet play features. In general, things are looking pretty good -- lag is an issue, but that's something that will probably get ironed out over time. A DC cable modem is also going to be released later this year, so you lucky Low Ping Bastards can join in on the fun ;). (And, once again, you don't need a separate ISP for the Dreamcast... you can just use your existing phone line / broadband access.)

One of the best features of Dreamcast online gaming is the way you communicate. ChuChu Rocket, and other future games, give you a standardized set of phrases and messages you can activate from the controller. The cool part is that these messages appear to other users in whatever language they're playing in. In other words, if I'm playing against someone in Japan, I can select English phrases on my screen and they'll appear in Japanese to the person on the other end. CCR just offers a few taunts and gripes, but the multiplayer online RPG Phantasy Star Online (coming out worldwide this summer) lets you construct entire translatable sentences out of stock words.

The biggest problem right now, of course, is game selection ;). Right now, there's only one game supported, ChuChu Rocket, which is basically Hungry Hungry Hippos on speed and is entertaining beyond belief. (If you haven't seen the infamous CCR commercial, you must download it now :P). Unfortunately, it gets old pretty quickly, and even in the month since it came out it's losing its appeal. There's a slew of online games coming up, though, including big names like Quake III and Half-Life.

As a diehard console gamer, I'm psyched that we're finally getting all the online features that our PC counterparts have been enjoying for years ;). If you've been playing Quake for years, DC netplay is nothing special, but IMO it's a big step in the right direction for console gaming.