Press release: 1999-11-04: Fun, Nostalgia and Multiplayer Warfare Collide in Toy Commander for Sega Dreamcast

From Sega Retro

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This is an unaltered copy of a press release, for use as a primary source on Sega Retro. Please do not edit the contents below.
Language: English
Original source: The Free Library


Fun, Nostalgia and Multiplayer Warfare Collide in Toy Commander for Sega Dreamcast; Gamers `Go Small' to Control a 3D Wonderland of Toys at War.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 1999--

This is war! Suit up, grab your favorite toy and report for duty! Sega(R) of America announced today that "Toy Commander(TM)" is currently available for the 128-bit, Internet-ready Sega Dreamcast(TM) videogame system.

This innovative air and land toy warfare game takes place in a vibrant storybook-style house with fully explorable 3D rooms. Packed with more than 50 hours of gameplay, four-player multiplayer action and intense missions, gamers "go small" as they are challenged to battle rebellious toys that are wreaking havoc about the house. Players will be filled with nostalgia as they race through the game and uncover toys from their past and many other surprises. "Toy Commander" is available at retailers nationwide for $49.95.

Developed by the European-based No Cliche, "Toy Commander" begins with an eight year-old boy named Andrew Gunthy, who plays with his toy airplanes, tanks and helicopters. Suddenly, his old toys have rebel and it is up to Andy and gamers to prove they are the true "toy commander" by completing numerous exciting missions to defeat the rogue toys. Gamers will have full reign of the totally explorable rooms to complete their missions fly in and out of mom and dad's room, explore under the bed via a tank or zoom around the room looking for the enemy who is taking cover behind the toy box.

"'Toy Commander' is a breakthrough title for Sega Dreamcast," said Greg Thomas, vice president of product development, Sega of America. "The 'miniaturized' gameplay elements and environments provide a unique and nostalgic experience, while delivering real action to gamers of all ages."

One of the most entertaining aspects of "Toy Commander" is the variety of toys that players must utilize for defense or means of transportation. Players must use a variety of vehicles including planes, trucks, tanks, jeeps and helicopters, each with its own special abilities. Watch out! Planes can be armed with weapons including pencil missiles or eraser bombs. Although players control toys, the intense gameplay is very real, as plastic military vehicles come to life with devastating firepower and explosive combat abilities. These vehicles become critical for completing missions.

The 40 humorous and clever missions in "Toy Commander" require gamers to think strategically and use the tools (and toys!) they are given. Players are challenged to do anything from kill an evil cockroach lurking in the toilet pipes to drop eggs into a pot on the stove to make hard boiled eggs. Don't be fooled, these missions require lots of creative problem solving! For example, in order to boil the eggs, the stove must be turned on, and players need to use the tank to shoot at the stove controls to get it blazing. The eggs need to be rolled off a platform into the pot, so gamers must strategize on which would be the best vehicle for the job.

Up to four players can battle it out via split screen in these different multiplayer modes with a wide range of 30 different vehicles to choose from. The deathmatch lets players fight it out until the finish; "cat and mouse" challenges one player to avoid all other players; and in "capture the flag," gamers need to go to an opponent's headquarters they set up in the house, grab their flag and bring it to your base to win.

"Toy Commander" is available at retailers nationwide and at sega.com.

About Sega Dreamcast

Sega Dreamcast is available in the US at a suggested retail price of $199, with a built in 56K modem, allowing for full Internet functionality. The system had 18 titles available at launch that will grow to more than 40 titles by the end of the year. Third-party titles currently in the works will bring the total Sega Dreamcast game library count to more than 150 in the year 2000.

Along with its low price point, Sega Dreamcast has achieved other industry firsts. Its advanced 128-bit architecture makes it the first console with evolutionary capabilities, allowing it to grow and change to match advances in technology and the needs and desires of the consumer. Sega Dreamcast is also the most powerful video game console ever created. It is 15 times more powerful than a Sony PlayStation(TM), ten times more powerful than a Nintendo(R) 64 and has four times the graphics processing power of the fastest Pentium II processor.

In the first 24 hours of availability, Sega Dreamcast netted over $97 million at retail, more than tripling the past entertainment industry record set by Star Wars: The Phantom Menace at $28 million on its first day. In its initial four days, Sega sold a total of 372,000 Sega Dreamcast systems, easily surpassing the previous industry record holder, Nintendo 64, which took six days to hit 350,000 when it launched in 1996. In the first 13 days at retail, Sega Dreamcast sold more than 514,000 units.

About Sega

Sega of America is the arm of Tokyo, Japan-based Sega Enterprises, Ltd. responsible for the development, marketing and distribution of Sega videogame systems and videogames in the Americas. Sega Enterprises, Ltd. Is a nearly $2.5 billion company recognized as the industry leader in interactive digital entertainment media, and is the only company that offers interactive entertainment experiences both inside and outside the home. Sega of America's World Wide Web site is located at www.sega.com.

Editors' note: Screen shots of "Toy Commander" are available at FTP://ftp.accesspr.com/public/sega
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