Sega's plans for what would be its final console were discovered by early 1997. Within Sega there was an internal competition between two different prototype console machines. One was the SoJ-designed 'Katana' which used a Videologic/NEC PowerVR second generation chip for graphics. The other was the SoA-designed 'Black Belt' which used a 3Dfx Voodoo2-based or 3Dfx Banshee variant for graphics.

Katana won that competition during summer 1997. The 'Black Belt' machine was rejected and the team that put it together was let go from their jobs. The Katana would be fully developed and produced as Sega's next-generation console. Final specs emerged in late 1997 or early 1998. In May 1998, Sega revealed Katana's all-important consumer name, and it was Dreamcast.

So this month amazingly, it has been 10 years.


http://www.gamespot.com/news/2463782.html

Katana to Become Dream Cast?
Rumors that claim to know the official name for Sega's next console
are burning up the Net.
By Yutaka Ohbuchi, GameSpot
Posted May 19, 1998 12:07 pm PT

TOKYO - Just two days away from the official announcement of Sega's
next machine, and the rumors have started flying about its official
name. Brace yourself....

Some people are saying that the name will be related to the word
"dream." Others are saying that the official name for the machine is
actually Dream Cast. Some are saying none of the above - and that
Dream Cast refers to the lineup of developers Sega has assembled to
develop for the new system and nothing more. The words "Dream Cast"
were apparently spotted on printed material Sega plans to distribute
at the Thursday press conference.

Whether any of this is true or not, all will be cleared up at Sega's
press conference on May 21, where it will announce the name of the
machine and hopefully more details as to the release date in Japan and
the first round of games.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2463791.html

Sega of Japan officially announces its next system. It's good-bye
Saturn, hello Dreamcast.
By Yutaka Ohbuchi, GameSpot
Posted May 20, 1998 11:24 pm PT

TOKYO - Finally. The moment we've all...well, some of us have been
waiting for.

At a press conference on Thursday, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. officials
told an audience of reporters and editors that its next console system
will be called Dreamcast. And yes, it's official.


http://www.gamespot.com/news/2463807.html

Dreamcast Is Here... Almost
Sega announces its next system in Japan with a dream cast of
partnerships.
By Yutaka Ohbuchi, GameSpot
Posted May 21, 1998 8:24 am PT

At a press conference on Thursday in Japan, Sega announced that it
will launch its next console, called "Dreamcast," on November 20 in
Japan.

The price of the console is still to be decided. But Sega's president
Syouichirou Irimajiri mentioned that it will be between 20,000 to
30,000 yen (roughly US$150-$225) in his Dreamcast presentation, and
there will be five titles available at launch. Exactly which five
titles is still to be determined, but one can surmise that Virtua
Fighter 3, Super GT, D2, and Sega Rally 2 are likely candidates.

The new console has a built-in 33.6Kbps modem to allow access to the
Internet or network games. According to a press release issued by
Sega, it can produce three million polygons per second (courtesy of
the latest PowerVR2 graphics accelerator) with a rich 1,677 million
colors. Additionally, the new console has 64-channel ADPCM capability
(Yamaha Super Intelligent Sound Chip). The games will be stored on CD-
ROM, and the system uses a MAX 12x CD-ROM drive.

The Dreamcast's controller looks similar to Saturn's 3D controller. It
has both analog and digital pads on the left-hand side and four (blue,
red, green, and yellow) buttons on the right, with a start button in
the middle.

Most interestingly, the controller has a slot on the top and a square-
shaped "window" in the middle of it. The slot can be connected to a
PDA that will be available separately from the console.

The PDA is based on an idea similar to Sony's. It can be played alone,
or it can be connected to the system's controller for use as a 128KB
memory card. Its LCD (48x32 dot monochrome) can be seen from the
controller's square-shaped "window," so it can be utilized for
Dreamcast games like card or sports sims in which the player doesn't
want to reveal his strategy to his opponent.

It also has a calendar feature. This PDA, called Visual Memory, will
be available on July 11 in movie theaters at a price of under 2,500
yen (roughly $19). This particular PDA will have a game called
Atsumete Godzilla: Kaijuu Daizukan. The game is a tie-in to the new
Godzilla movie that just opened in the States but will open in July in
Japan. In it, you raise monsters and battle with your friends, much
like Bandai's DigiMon or Nintendo's Pokemon.

Two PDAs can also be connected to transfer data or battle monsters or
to play other games.

We'll have more on Dreamcast later today, after Sega of America's
press conference, and a detailed account of the conference in Japan.

We still get two more 10 year anniversaries to celebrate: the Japanese launch of Dreamcast on November 27, 1998 and the U.S. launch on 9/9/99.