Press release: 1999-09-23: Sega Dreamcast Tops Half Million Mark in Units Sold, Bests Records Set by Sony, Nintendo, Apple and DVD

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

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 1999--

Sales of Sega(R) of America, Inc.'s 128-bit, Internet-ready Sega Dreamcast(TM) videogame system continue at a blistering pace. The company announced today at the Intelliquest Brand Tech Forum in San Francisco that in just two weeks, Sega Dreamcast has topped the half million units sold mark. The advanced videogame console has sold through a total of 514,000 units since it launched on 9.9.99. In contrast, Sony PlayStation(TM) reached the half million mark in four months in 1995 and Nintendo(R) 64 reached the same number after two months at retail when it launched in 1996, according to the NPD Group of Port Washington, NY.

Sega Dreamcast's record-breaking launch also beat sales milestones set by other high-profile consumer products. The much-touted Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iMac personal computer took six weeks to sell 278,000 units. And, DVD in its first year only sold 430,000 units.(1)

Today's announced sales figures for Sega Dreamcast well surpass the company's previous projections of hitting 400,000 in the system's first month of availability at retail. Since its introduction, Sega Dreamcast has been a sales leader, capturing more than 60% of all new console sales, according to NPD. In addition to hardware, software for Sega Dreamcast is also selling at a brisk pace. NPD research shows that four of the top five games for the week ending September 11 were Sega Dreamcast titles, including Sega's "Sonic Adventure(TM)," Sega Sports' "NFL 2K(TM)," Namco's "Soul Calibur(TM)" and Midway's "Ready 2 Rumble Boxing(TM).

"Consumer demand for Sega Dreamcast is continuing at a record pace," said Chris Gilbert, senior vice president of sales, Sega of America, Inc. "All of our retailers are reporting huge sales for the system and we are working very closely with them to meet the massive demand we are anticipating for the holiday season."

About Dreamcast

Sega Dreamcast's 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 and the first to offer Internet connectivity including e-mail, browsing and chat using the Sega Dreamcast Network. It is 15 times more powerful than a Sony PlayStation, ten times more powerful than a Nintendo 64 and has four times the graphics processing power of the fastest Pentium II processor. In addition, Sega Dreamcast is the first console to utilize hand-held gaming through its Visual Memory Unit (VMU), which allows players to swap games with friends in the home, arcade or head-to-head using two VMUs.

About Sega of America

Sega of America, Inc. is the arm of Tokyo, Japan-based Sega Enterprises, Ltd. responsible for the development, marketing and distribution of Sega video game systems and video games 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 http://www.sega.com.

Editor's Note: Sega Dreamcast visuals, including hardware and software shots, are available at ftp://ftp.accesspr.com/public/sega.

Note (1) Sources: Associated Press, Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association, NPD Group.
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