Dear Future Gamer

It looks like Dreamcast's honeymoon period is well and truly over. Sales are almost negligible in Japan, disappointing in Europe and it's only the US that's once again fighting for the main rival to Sony's videogame throne.

So what's gone wrong? Well, the simple answer is its games, or rather the lack of them. Sega seem to be paying the price for Dreamcast's late launch in Europe. This has resulted in all the games, which initially were to be scattered over the first three weeks of the DC's life, to be released in one fat bundle. Many people have bough just one or two of these with their new machine and are looking for something fresh.

Indeed, we are over a month on from Dreamcast's arrival and the future's already looking pretty bleak. Joe Public doesn't like to sit down with a game for months on end, exploring every one of its intricacies and secrets; he wants something fresh every few weeks. Although, even if he favoured the former option, how many of the short-lived games like Power Stone, Ready 2 Rumble et al are going to placate him? Not many, from what I've seen.

The immediate future is less than encouraging too. Resident Evil: Code Veronica looks promising, as do Metropolis Street Racer and Shenmue. However, none of these is going to be remotely ready for the Christmas boom, and it will be left to the already ageing launch titles to carry Sega's flag - something Joe isn't going to be too happy about.

Ian Massie

FG: I think you're wrong, Ian. Sega have come out powerfully with their launch titles and I think the machine's going to enjoy a great Christmas, in Europe at least. Some of the much anticipated games might not make the Christmas boom but that goes for all the major machines - including PC - and I think there are plenty of decent titles to be playing over the holiday period. Give 'em a chance, they've done a whole lot better than a lot of people thought they would.