> Sega announced that the official video compression technology for Dreamcast will be provided by the experts at the Duck Corporation. The Uberconsole will use the TrueMotion™ standard, which has been used by Sega CD-based consoles as well. Since the Dreamcast has such enormous pixel power and a high speed CD ROM, the video quality is expected to be second to none.

     > The retail price for the Sega Dreamcast is being hinted by Japanese publications. The number being used is ¥30,000, which is the equivalent of $221.51. This means that for now, expect the import Dreamcast to cost between $249-$299, and the North American Dreamcast to be at about $225-$249.

     > In a related matter, do not expect the Japanese, American and European Dreamcast software to be compatible with each other, without the use of a conversion device/method. That means the method of playing import games will not change at all with the advent of Sega's forthcoming Uberconsole.

     > As you probably know, Sega Enterprises announced that both Virtua Fighter 3tb and Sega Rally 2 are being converted to the Dreamcast. Sega also says that the games will be enhanced over the originals. These excellent arcade-to-home titles will be released before the year's end in Japan.

     > Sega Rally 2 will feature a split screen mode for simultaneous two player racing. Also, it will allow network play using its built-in modem. Are you still wondering whether or not the Uberconsole will ship with a modem?

     > As we previously reported, the Naomi motherboard (Sega's newest arcade powerhouse -- compatible with Dreamcast) already has 20 companies signed on to produce games for it. Sega has announced House Of The Dead 2, Blood Bullet: The House Of Dead Side Story and Dynamite Baseball ' 98. More titles are emerging from the fog of silence. Tecmo is believed to be working on Dead or Alive 2. SNK will probably do King Of Fighters, which has already been announced for Dreamcast. Capcom's first Naomi game will be Power Stone.

     > Keep in mind, any Naomi game can easily be converted to Dreamcast and vice versa. The main difference between the two pieces of hardware is the fact that the Naomi motherboard will have more RAM. Sega is busy working on the routines necessary for quick conversions with little to no loss of quality.

     > According to Saturn Fan Magazine, there are four new Dreamcast titles in development. Not many details were given, so I can't really comment on the level of potential for these games. They are:

• Cho Hamaru Golf
• Make your own pro baseball team!
• Climax Landers (action/RPG)
• Evolution

     > According to re:tokyo, Sega has announced the cancellation of Virtua Fighter 3 for the Saturn. That comes as a surprise, as pictures of the game recently surfaced on Sega of Japan's website. The game had been under development for Saturn for quite some time -- probably since Virtua Fighter 2 came out a few years ago. At least Sega Fans will get an enhanced version of the game, Virtua Fighter 3tb, for the Dreamcast before the year is over (in Japan).

     > On a side note, the Saturn version of Sonic the Fighters is believed to be on schedule for a fourth quarter release this year in Japan. If you didn't know, Sonic the Fighters is a ST-V (Saturn arcade board) arcade game which features all your favorite Sonic characters with a Virtua Fighter like fighting engine under the hood. It reminds me of Virtua Fighter Kids with Sonic's attitude.