10 years ago this month, SEGA named its then-new upcoming ..

off-topic for some groups, and cross-posted, but this deserves being
mentioned:


Sega's plans for what would be its final console was discovered by
early 1997. There was an internal competition between two different
machines, the Sega of Japan designed Katana which used PowerVR for
graphics and the Sega of America designed Black Belt which used 3Dfx
for graphics. The Katana won that competition during summer 1997.
The Katana would be fully developed and produced as Sega's next-
generation console. The final specs emerged in late 1997 or early
1998. In May 1998 Sega revealed Katana's consumer name, Dreamcast.


http://www.gamespot.com/news/2463782.html

Katana to Become Dream Cast?
Rumors that claim to know the official name for Sega's next console
are burning up the Net.
By Yutaka Ohbuchi, GameSpot
Posted May 19, 1998 12:07 pm PT

TOKYO - Just two days away from the official announcement of Sega's
next machine, and the rumors have started flying about its official
name. Brace yourself....

Some people are saying that the name will be related to the word
"dream." Others are saying that the official name for the machine is
actually Dream Cast. Some are saying none of the above - and that
Dream Cast refers to the lineup of developers Sega has assembled to
develop for the new system and nothing more. The words "Dream Cast"
were apparently spotted on printed material Sega plans to distribute
at the Thursday press conference.

Whether any of this is true or not, all will be cleared up at Sega's
press conference on May 21, where it will announce the name of the
machine and hopefully more details as to the release date in Japan and
the first round of games.


http://www.gamespot.com/news/2463791.html

Sega of Japan officially announces its next system. It's good-bye
Saturn, hello Dreamcast.
By Yutaka Ohbuchi, GameSpot
Posted May 20, 1998 11:24 pm PT

TOKYO - Finally. The moment we've all...well, some of us have been
waiting for.

At a press conference on Thursday, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. officials
told an audience of reporters and editors that its next console system
will be called Dreamcast. And yes, it's official.



http://www.gamespot.com/news/2463807.html

Dreamcast Is Here... Almost
Sega announces its next system in Japan with a dream cast of
partnerships.
By Yutaka Ohbuchi, GameSpot
Posted May 21, 1998 8:24 am PT

At a press conference on Thursday in Japan, Sega announced that it
will launch its next console, called "Dreamcast," on November 20 in
Japan.

The price of the console is still to be decided. But Sega's president
Syouichirou Irimajiri mentioned that it will be between 20,000 to
30,000 yen (roughly US$150-$225) in his Dreamcast presentation, and
there will be five titles available at launch. Exactly which five
titles is still to be determined, but one can surmise that Virtua
Fighter 3, Super GT, D2, and Sega Rally 2 are likely candidates.

The new console has a built-in 33.6Kbps modem to allow access to the
Internet or network games. According to a press release issued by
Sega, it can produce three million polygons per second (courtesy of
the latest PowerVR2 graphics accelerator) with a rich 1,677 million
colors. Additionally, the new console has 64-channel ADPCM capability
(Yamaha Super Intelligent Sound Chip). The games will be stored on CD-
ROM, and the system uses a MAX 12x CD-ROM drive.

The Dreamcast's controller looks similar to Saturn's 3D controller. It
has both analog and digital pads on the left-hand side and four (blue,
red, green, and yellow) buttons on the right, with a start button in
the middle.

Most interestingly, the controller has a slot on the top and a square-
shaped "window" in the middle of it. The slot can be connected to a
PDA that will be available separately from the console.

The PDA is based on an idea similar to Sony's. It can be played alone,
or it can be connected to the system's controller for use as a 128KB
memory card. Its LCD (48x32 dot monochrome) can be seen from the
controller's square-shaped "window," so it can be utilized for
Dreamcast games like card or sports sims in which the player doesn't
want to reveal his strategy to his opponent.

It also has a calendar feature. This PDA, called Visual Memory, will
be available on July 11 in movie theaters at a price of under 2,500
yen (roughly $19). This particular PDA will have a game called
Atsumete Godzilla: Kaijuu Daizukan. The game is a tie-in to the new
Godzilla movie that just opened in the States but will open in July in
Japan. In it, you raise monsters and battle with your friends, much
like Bandai's DigiMon or Nintendo's Pokemon.

Two PDAs can also be connected to transfer data or battle monsters or
to play other games.

We'll have more on Dreamcast later today, after Sega of America's
press conference, and a detailed account of the conference in Japan.

On May 1, 11:36 pm, Air Raid <AirRaid1... DeleteThis @gmail.com> wrote:
> off-topic for some groups, and cross-posted, but this deserves being
> mentioned:
>
> Sega's plans for what would be its final console was discovered by
> early 1997. There was an internal competition between two different
> machines, the Sega of Japan designed Katana which used PowerVR for
> graphics and the Sega of America designed Black Belt which used 3Dfx
> for graphics.   The Katana won that competition during summer 1997.
> The Katana would be fully developed and produced as Sega's next-
> generation console.   The final specs emerged in late 1997 or early
> 1998.  In May 1998 Sega revealed Katana's consumer name, Dreamcast.
>
> http://www.gamespot.com/news/2463782.html
>
> Katana to Become Dream Cast?
> Rumors that claim to know the official name for Sega's next console
> are burning up the Net.
> By Yutaka Ohbuchi, GameSpot
> Posted May 19, 1998 12:07 pm PT
>
> TOKYO - Just two days away from the official announcement of Sega's
> next machine, and the rumors have started flying about its official
> name. Brace yourself....
>
> Some people are saying that the name will be related to the word
> "dream." Others are saying that the official name for the machine is
> actually Dream Cast. Some are saying none of the above - and that
> Dream Cast refers to the lineup of developers Sega has assembled to
> develop for the new system and nothing more. The words "Dream Cast"
> were apparently spotted on printed material Sega plans to distribute
> at the Thursday press conference.
>
> Whether any of this is true or not, all will be cleared up at Sega's
> press conference on May 21, where it will announce the name of the
> machine and hopefully more details as to the release date in Japan and
> the first round of games.
>
> http://www.gamespot.com/news/2463791.html
>
> Sega of Japan officially announces its next system. It's good-bye
> Saturn, hello Dreamcast.
> By Yutaka Ohbuchi, GameSpot
> Posted May 20, 1998 11:24 pm PT
>
> TOKYO - Finally. The moment we've all...well, some of us have been
> waiting for.
>
> At a press conference on Thursday, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. officials
> told an audience of reporters and editors that its next console system
> will be called Dreamcast. And yes, it's official.
>
> http://www.gamespot.com/news/2463807.html
>
> Dreamcast Is Here... Almost
> Sega announces its next system in Japan with a dream cast of
> partnerships.
> By Yutaka Ohbuchi, GameSpot
> Posted May 21, 1998 8:24 am PT
>
> At a press conference on Thursday in Japan, Sega announced that it
> will launch its next console, called "Dreamcast," on November 20 in
> Japan.
>
> The price of the console is still to be decided. But Sega's president
> Syouichirou Irimajiri mentioned that it will be between 20,000 to
> 30,000 yen (roughly US$150-$225) in his Dreamcast presentation, and
> there will be five titles available at launch. Exactly which five
> titles is still to be determined, but one can surmise that Virtua
> Fighter 3, Super GT, D2, and Sega Rally 2 are likely candidates.
>
> The new console has a built-in 33.6Kbps modem to allow access to the
> Internet or network games. According to a press release issued by
> Sega, it can produce three million polygons per second (courtesy of
> the latest PowerVR2 graphics accelerator) with a rich 1,677 million
> colors. Additionally, the new console has 64-channel ADPCM capability
> (Yamaha Super Intelligent Sound Chip). The games will be stored on CD-
> ROM, and the system uses a MAX 12x CD-ROM drive.
>
> The Dreamcast's controller looks similar to Saturn's 3D controller. It
> has both analog and digital pads on the left-hand side and four (blue,
> red, green, and yellow) buttons on the right, with a start button in
> the middle.
>
> Most interestingly, the controller has a slot on the top and a square-
> shaped "window" in the middle of it. The slot can be connected to a
> PDA that will be available separately from the console.
>
> The PDA is based on an idea similar to Sony's. It can be played alone,
> or it can be connected to the system's controller for use as a 128KB
> memory card. Its LCD (48x32 dot monochrome) can be seen from the
> controller's square-shaped "window," so it can be utilized for
> Dreamcast games like card or sports sims in which the player doesn't
> want to reveal his strategy to his opponent.
>
> It also has a calendar feature. This PDA, called Visual Memory, will
> be available on July 11 in movie theaters at a price of under 2,500
> yen (roughly $19). This particular PDA will have a game called
> Atsumete Godzilla: Kaijuu Daizukan. The game is a tie-in to the new
> Godzilla movie that just opened in the States but will open in July in
> Japan. In it, you raise monsters and battle with your friends, much
> like Bandai's DigiMon or Nintendo's Pokemon.
>
> Two PDAs can also be connected to transfer data or battle monsters or
> to play other games.
>
> We'll have more on Dreamcast later today, after Sega of America's
> press conference, and a detailed account of the conference in Japan.

I think thats the only console i never owned.