After fooling the audience by first stating that the zombie game they've been working on was "Dream Makaimura" (Dream Ghouls 'N' Ghosts - they even played a cool rendition of the Ghouls 'N' Ghosts theme music to go along with the bogus announcement), Okamoto introduced Shinji Mikami, the producer of Bio Hazard 2, who came to the stage wearing a S.T.A.R.S. jacket. He explained that there was in fact no Makaimura game in development, but rather an all-new Bio Hazard game, entitled Bio Hazard CODE: Veronica.
 
Biohazard CODE: Veronica is set three months after the end of Bio Hazard 2, with the player once again controlling Claire Redfield. After flying to Europe to investigate the disappearance of her brother Chris, Claire is abducted and taken to an isolated tropical island where some familiar rotting friends once again start popping up.

Veronica features a significant break with previous titles in the series - all the backgrounds are now done in full polygons, allowing the camera to move, following the action and a first person view. There are also possible environmental changes, such as collapsing ceilings or toppling pillars. Veronica also makes use of the special effects of the Dreamcast hardware, like dramatic lighting and shadow and characters with skin so you don't see the jagged polygon edges. Imagine the detail on that.

Bio Hazard CODE: Veronica should be released sometime after April 1999. Capcom did not specify an exact release date.
 

TOKYO - Tuesday morning, Japan time, industry big-wigs (and little-wigs) from all over the world gathered at the Shin Takanawa Prince Hotel in Shinagawa, Japan, to witness Sega Enterprises, Ltd.'s third and final major Dreamcast pre-launch event, the Sega New Challenge Conference II. (The first two events were the New Challenge Conference I back in May and the Sonic Adventure unveiling in August.)

Sega finally announced all major details concerning the upcoming launch of the Dreamcast. After confirming the Dreamcast would release one week later than originally intended (the new date is November 27), Sega announced the system would cost 29,800 yen (about US$221). While it may not be "less than a pair of Nike golf shoes" as Sega jokingly inferred earlier in the conference, it's still a pretty darn competitive price, considering how powerful the hardware is. The package includes the system, one controller, one Modular Cable, one Stereo A/V cable, Dream Passport software, and a power cord.

Also available at launch will be five titles: Sega Rally 2 (the first game to support network play), Godzilla Generations, Pen Pen Tri-Icelon, Virtua Fighter 3tb, and July. Each title will retail for 5,800 yen (about $43).

After that, at least one new title will be available in each of the following four weeks: Blue Stinger (12/3), Geist Force (12/10), Sonic Adventure (12/17), and four more games on December 23: Incoming, Evolution, Seventh Cross, and Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2.

A slew of peripherals will be available on Day One too: the Arcade Stick, the Racing Controller, the Dreamcast Keyboard, and of course, the Visual Memory units.

Sega went on to discuss its Incentive Plan for developers (it has spoken to 321 developers), as well as some other promotional/marketing information concerning ad campaigns, DC Point System (users will earn points whenever they buy DC items - which are accumulated and used later), and the company's connections with WebTV.  

Sega Rally 2 (Sega/Racing)

Virtua Fighter 3tb (Sega/Fighting)

Pen Pen TriIcelon (General Entertainment/Action Racing)

July (Sega/Cinematic Suspense)

Dec. 3, 1998:
Blue Stinger (Sega/Non-Stop Adventure)

  

Dec. 17, 1998:
Sonic Adventure (Sega/High-Speed 3D Action)
 
 
 

Dec. 23, 1998:
Incoming: Jinrui Saishyu Sensou (Humanity's Final Battle) (Imagineer/Mission-Based Shooting)

Shinki Sekai Evolution (Sega/RPG)

Seventh Cross (NEC Home Electronics/Simulation-RPG)

Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2 (Ubi Soft/Racing)

Jan. 14, 1999:
Sengoku Turb (NEC Home Electronics/Action-RPG)

Jan. 1999:
Climax Landers (Sega/RPG)

Feb. 1999:
Aero Dancing (CSK Sogo Kenkyujo)

Digital Horse Racing Newspaper Special Tie-In (Shouei Systems/Info Service Simulation)*

Get Bass (Sega/Fishing Simulation)

Kitahe: White Illumination (Hudson/Travel Communication)

March 1999:
Cool Boarders (Uep System/Sports (Snowboarding))

Mahjong (Kaga Tech, Naxat Soft/Mahjong)

Puyo Puyoon (Compile/Action Puzzle)

Great Buggy (CSK Sogo Kenkyujo/Buggy Race)

Cho Hamaru Golf (Sega/Sports)

April 1999 and Beyond:
The King of Fighters '98: Dream Match Never Ends (SNK/Fighting)*

Mercurius Pretty (NEC Interchannel/Fantasy Simulation)

Monster Breed (NEC Interchannel/Monster Simulation)

Bio Hazard - Code: Veronica (Capcom/Survival Horror)

Power Stone (Capcom/Fighting)

Hiryu No Ken Retsuden (Culture Brain/Fighting)*

Crack 2 (Sieg/Simulation)

Nijiro Tenshi (Japan Corp./Simulation)

Akihabara Denno-Gumi Pata Pies! (Sega/Simulation)

Giant Glam: Japan National Pro Wrestling 2 at the Nippon Budokan (Sega/Wrestling)

Denno Senki Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram (Sega/Battle Simulation)

Project Berkeley (Sega/RPG)*

J.League Let's Make A Pro Soccer Club! (Sega/Sports Simulation)*

Let's Make A Pro Baseball Team! (Sega/Sports Simulation)*

Mobile Suit Gundam (Bandai/TBD)*

Harukaze Sentai V Force 2 (Bing Kids/Simulation-RPG)*

Elemental Gimmick Gear (E.G.G.) (Hudson/Action-RPG)

Entertainment Golf (Bottom Up/Sports (Golf))

Oozumo (Bottom Up/Sports (Sumo))*

D No Shokutaku 2 (Warp/Action-RPG)

Shienryu 2 (Warashi/Shooting)*

Dynamite Robo (Warashi/Action)*

And More
 

First off was the announcement of Sega's main online software, called Dream Passport. Passport gives Dreamcast users instant access to Sega's Dricas (that's Dreamcast, shortened) home page. Basically, Sega is offering almost every possible online component in one package, including access to WebTV beginning in spring 1999 through a partnership with WebTV Networks (a subscription offer to WebTV will be included with the Dreamcast hardware). Sega also announced a partnership with online gaming network DWANGO, which will provide online gaming services to Japanese gamers (no additional details were given at this time).

Sega Rally 2 will be the first game to utilize the DC's multiplayer capabilities, with a day and date release with the system. There is a flat rate charge using Sega's service to play opponents anywhere in Japan and each player must have their own copy of the game to play.

Sega will be offering DC users an as-yet-undetermined amount of free access to Sega's own online service, and users will also be able to purchase pre-paid access cards to gain access on an hourly basis. Sega will offer different contests through its service, including Collect Godzilla and an e-mail contest tentatively called Handkerchief Mail-Dropping Campaign. In this one (named after a kid's game similar to Duck Duck Goose in the U.S.) Sega will send special e-mail messages to selected members for the chance to win prizes.

The official Dricas site will have everything a player could want, including a member profile search so you can find other DC players in your area to play head-to-head against (although it's not mandatory to upload your information for everyone to see). In addition, Sega will be posting the latest Dreamcast news and gossip along with daily comics drawn by renowned manga artists.

Sega outlined four other network services it is planning to add to the Dreamcast home page:

Dream Map (by ZENRIN Co. Ltd.) - With this, you can locate DC users in your area for multiplayer games. You can upload your information or just see how many users there are in your area.

MailChum! (by RPA Corporation) - This provides you with an instant e-mail pen pal, from a variety of characters ranging from beautiful girls to mythical animals.

Daily DC News - Sega will e-mail a virtual newspaper to Dreamcast users including news as it happens.

Dream Flyer - Dreamcast's e-mail software. This is an original e-mail client that allows users to create a graphical or visual message to send to friends or family. Choose from different designs, postcards, or envelopes, corresponding to the tone of your message.

But if you have a Dreamcast, you do not have to be a member of Sega's service to get the advantages its offering. If you so choose, you can alternatively connect using your own outside Internet service provider (ISP).
 

Tecmo has finally lifted the curtain on the sequel to its gravity-defying fighter. Dead or Alive 2 is being developed on the Naomi board and will appear at arcades sometime next year (although some suggest it could make it before year's end).

This is great news for fans of the original title as well as potential Dreamcast owners who will be treated to what is guaranteed to be a perfect arcade translation.

The pictures released so far show three familiar faces from the first game, and they are Kasumi (the female ninja), Bass (the Hulk Hogan look-a-like), and Ayane (the PlayStation version's hidden character). The graphics look phenomenal with great detail in both the characters and backgrounds.

The earth (among other things) will shake when DOA 2 is released.