Posted: 04/09/98    Previous | Headlines | Next

GameSpot News

While Sega's super system hasn't even shown itself to the public eye, GameSpot News has caught wind of a few tidbits of new information from top Katana developers who are already working on games for the machine.

Sega is constructing at least three titles that are complete or nearing completion, which will launch with the system when it debuts on retail shelves in Japan later this year - Sega Rally 2, Scud Race, and Virtua Fighter 3. Titles that have begun development include a new Sonic title and a brand new Panzer Dragoon game. Our sources claim to have played at least one of the above games and informed us that these are three of the seven games to be released at launch.

Early Katana development kits are alleged to provide the same power as the Sega Model 3 arcade board. Indications seem to be that the Microsoft libraries provided with development kits allow PC-proficient programmers to port code very easily, but if these are bypassed, it has been hinted that the machine is capable of a potential 30 percent performance hike.

If reports from CeBit are to be believed, the PowerVR-based 3D-acceleration hardware that drives the system should be more than a match for any of the big arcade systems at present. With such a high-powered home system and the potential of a cheap arcade solution (in the shape of the Katana-driven Naomi system), Sega looks set to assert itself as a force to be reckoned with.