The Sega Dreamcast was a video game console released by Sega in 1998 in Japan, and 1999 in North America and Europe. The Dreamcast was Sega's first foray into the next level of gaming. Sega wanted to get ahead of the competition by releasing the first nextgen console, which they did. Unfortunately, they might have released it too early, giving it time to burn out before the launch of the PlayStation 2, the final nail in the coffin. The Dreamcast was, however, a much bigger success than the previous Saturn, and with the Dreamcast, Sega was able to try out several new ideas. The Dreamcast had enhanced netplay abilities, a higher quality of picture, and an interesting feature, Windows CE integration. The Dreamcast also included a new feature, the GD-ROM, a new format that gives the CD-ROM a 1GB capacity limit. This format was originally going to become the new CD standard, but Sega contacted Yamaha about it at the last second and got it for the Dreamcast. On the technical side, the Dreamcast has an SH4 processor with 128-bit graphic support at 206MHz, a Power VL2 CLX graphics engine, 16MB of main memory and 2 MB of VRAM, a Super Intelligent Yamaha Sound Processor at 47MHz, and a 56K modem. The Dreamcast also grew to have ethernet support later in its life.
