Back in The Game

By FRANK GIBNEY JR.

Video games are for kids. Teenagers maybe. Right? But harried parents don't want to waste time sitting slack-jawed in front of Donkey Kong, Super Mario or even Gran Turismo. Wrong. After 20 minutes with NFL 2K, the premier game for Sega's new Dreamcast machine, I'm a convert. The football experience is totally realistic. It's almost like being there, right down to the touchdown two-steps and the frosty breath streaming from players' mouths (that is, if you've picked the Vikings and Rams to battle it out in a Minnesota blizzard). Uniforms get dirtier, players get tired, and as the game unfolds, the machine seems to be...conniving against you. Try more than two play-action passes, and your quarterback gets sacked. It's a dream of a machine, even for a baby boomer like me.

That, of course, is Sega's game plan. Launched in a $100 million marketing blitz last week in the U.S., Dreamcast is the first in a succession of machines that promise to bring real computing power for all the family to use. The graphics are far more realistic than those of even the best PC software on the market today and just about as textured as television. And while certainly designed for games, Sega's new consoles are capable of electronic wizardry that should turn even game-playing agnostics into believers. Dreamcast, for instance, comes equipped with a 56K modem and ports for all kinds of peripherals, including a keyboard. That means there's no need to flick on that cumbersome PC to surf the Web or send quick e-mails. And at $199, it's a deal.

Which is one reason the rapidly growing, $15 billion global video-game business is suddenly hotter than ever. Sony and Nintendo have lowered prices on their current machines to just $99. And as retailers race to supply customers with Sega's Dreamcast, industry leader Sony will be unveiling more details on its PlayStation II in Tokyo. Within two months, Nintendo, whose portable Game Boy has tripled in sales this year, will reveal blueprints for its next game console, code-named Dolphin. Even mighty Microsoft is said to be toying with the idea of designing its own console--more like a gaming PC for the living room that would run Windows. Says Christian Svensson, editor of the gaming-industry magazine MCV: "The influence they could have over all of electronic entertainment is almost scary."

Dreamcast represents Sega's bid to reinvent itself. And analysts think it has a good shot. The machine is at least 10 times as powerful as its rivals and already has 18 new games available. Equally important, Sega introduced it with savvy marketing. That is a turnaround for a company that in 1989 was No. 1 in the gaming business but has since been steadily slipping, barely hanging on to third place with only 1% market share. Sega botched its 1995 Saturn rollout by alienating software developers and retailers with poor support and imperious directives. Sony has dominated the industry since introducing its successful PlayStation in 1995. Worldwide ownership should top 70 million units by year's end, mostly because Sony's coddled software artists have created an exclusive cornucopia of more than 600 PlayStation titles globally.

Sega's revival could be cut short if Sony's proposed new machine lives up to advance word. Sony says it will be powered by a revolutionary new chip called the "emotion engine" that will enable it to render lifelike images while simultaneously handling interactive audio and network play. Scheduled to debut in Japan in March 2000 and in North America late next year, it will be Internet-ready (like Dreamcast), capable of running current-generation PlayStation software (key to maintaining a loyal fan base) and equipped with enough ports to make it the electronic centerpiece of the future networked home. That, of course, would also be Microsoft's goal--the game box that does it all.

Fortunately for Sega, Dreamcast is the best act in town--for now. Michael Goodman, a Yankee Group analyst, says that as long as the great games keep coming, the company could up its market share to 15% or 20%. Early returns look good. A remarkable 250,000 Dreamcasts sold on launch day. If the pace keeps up and Microsoft gets into the action, then even I'll be e-mailing Santa for a console.

--With reporting by Maryanne Murray Buechner/New York

With reporting by Maryanne Murray Buechner/New York