A new age of quality console videogaming is coming our way. Sega's new 
system will restore the company's fortunes and usher in new standards 
in gaming. We know this because our spies have seen it. Sega has just 
sent out the first wave of finalised development kits to selected 
developers across the globe, including several key UK 
companies. Our spy, who has recently parted company with one of these 
developers has nothing but praise for the power of the new system. 
"Remember the first time you saw Daytona USA or Scud Race in the 
arcades? You couldn't quite believe the quality of what you were 
seeing - it's the same with Katana [the codename for the new system], 
only this new quantum leap in power is going to be sitting in your 
living room as opposed to an arcade". 

Strong words indeed, but our informant has seen the machine's power at 
close quarters. Sega have commissioned a series of demos to show off 
the power of the Katana, including a short rendition of Scud Race 
running on the new hardware. The demo shows the Ferrari F50 from the 
game speeding around the small oval track introduced in the coin-op 
pseudo-sequel Scud Race Plus. Multiple camera angles are employed to 
show the car's progress around the track and the flexibility of the 3D 
engine. Minus a few effects (this demo was originally written for the 
incomplete development kit), the demo runs at the same frame rate and 
resolution as the arcade game. It's conclusive proof that Katana 
"does" Model 3. And that's pre-first generation software knocked up in 
a couple of weeks! Says our spy, "Katana's the first system that will 
match or even out-perform contemporary arcade hardware. Think out it: 
Megadrive conversions were some way off their arcade counterparts 
(Super Monaco GP) and we all remember the graphical compromises of 
Daytona USA on Saturn. This new system actually leap-frogs ahead of 
Model 3 in many important areas of the specification and as far I 
know, that's a first" 

UNDER THE BONNET

The heart of the new system is a PowerVR graphics chip designed by 
Videologic in the UK backed up by a new Hitachi SH-4 CPU. With the 
development name of Highlander it has recently been showcased at 
computer exhibitions to resounding acclaim. Capable of shifting 
1,000,000 polygons a second, this statistic alone cannot convey the 
power of the hardware. Special effects such as anti- aliasing, 
mip-mapping, and "fogging" are all taken care of by the chip with no 
speed loss whatsoever. Every graphical chore is taken care of by the 
PowerVR hardware, which comprehensively out-specs the new 3Dfx Voodoo2 
board for PC. Another cause for celebration is the resolution of the 
system. Even Katana's lowest resolution will put Saturn's highest (as 
seen in Virtua Fighter 2) to shame. The system creates its images in 
super- high resolution before scaling it down to fit the restrictions 
of your TV or monitor. This should ensure compatability with 
high-definition TV. Developers are also keen to point out that 
Katana's no-nonsense design should give better performance from the 
PowerVR chip than the PC. "There are still a lot of bottlenecks on a 
PC that slow down communication between the chip and the main CPU 
[Central Processing Unit]. Specifically designed high-speed 
communications buses in the Sega machine increase performance a great 
deal" 

EASY TO PROGRAM

The difficulty of programming the Saturn was one of the reasons for 
its poor reputation amongst the third parties. Sega have completely 
eradicated this problem by using a Microsoft Windows CE based 
operating system which (once again) developers are raving about. "We 
can have our 3D accelerated PC games up and running on Katana in a 
basic form in a matter of days - a month tops for a complete port". 
This is down to compatability with Microsoft's DirectX programming 
language as well as OpenGL - the hardcore 3D programming language 
championed by the likes of id software. This is actually causing a few 
headaches for Sega who have watched Sony's platform deluged with poor 
quality software simply because the PlayStation is so easy to program. 
&quitWe're not just going to allow any one to port their PC games 
across", a high-ranking Sega wallah assured us. Sega are chasing 
prolific PC coders though, with the aforementioned id software first 
on the list. The operating system also features networking 
capabilities completely compatible with PC - ports of PC titles that 
use the Internet for multiplayer gaming should allow console users to 
join computer players on net servers. And that's just the tip of the 
iceberg... 

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE'S RICH LEADBETTER SAYS...

The future's looking bright for Sega. Saturn was an incredible 
machine, but general lethargy on the part of the third parties didn't 
do it any favours in the long term. We have a great deal of contacts 
in the development community and the overall impression of the new 
machine is highly flattering - companies want to do business with Sega 
again. It's going to a dream come true for the gamer though: the basic 
message is that Katana does it all - 3D power to match the best that 
£1,500 PCs and even Model 3 has to offer. As long as 2D performance is 
up to an equal standard (and Capcom's recent signing up to Katana 
would seem to confirm that), the machine's future is guaranteed to be 
a bright one. Every passing day brings us closer to our first viewing 
of the hardware (a showing is due in late May according to our 
sources) and we're already most excited indeed! Of course, we'll be 
updating you on a monthly basis with all the developments. 

NEW GAMES

Being at the hub of all things Sega it has to be said that certain... 
information... has found its way to Saturn Mag with regard to the new 
machine. This information is unofficial and until closer to the 
machine's launch, Sega won't confirm anything. When they release firm 
info, we'll tell you all. In the meantime, enjoy our little 
revelations... As hinted at in the last issue, it now seems certain 
that Capcom are licensing Sega's new arcade technology which is based 
on the hardware of the new home system. This is a great coup for Sega 
who will now benefit from arcade-perfect renditions of Capcom's 2D and 
3D output.  Tecmo have taken delivery of an arcade Model 3 development 
kit and have signed on as the first third party to use the new 
technology. At the moment they're experimenting with a new style of 3D 
fighting game. As was the case with coin-op Dead or Alive (which was 
based on Model 2), it's likely that conversions of whatever games 
they're planning will end up on the new machine. AM Annex's Tetsuya 
Mizaguchi recently confirmed the development of Sega Rally 2 on the 
new machine in the pages of Famitsu Tsushin - Japan's foremost 
videogames magazine. He and his team are working closely with the CS 
Team responsible for Saturn Virtual On and Sega Touring Car 
Championship to ensure a high fidelity conversion.  A raft of original 
software is being developed for the new machine to supplement the 
wealth of arcade offerings. Sega are keen to give the line-up of games 
a lot more range than they did with Saturn. One of the more impressive 
looking titles currently being prepped has the working title of 
"Crimson". It's said to have a Tomb Raider style perspective but with 
the player in control of two characters, based on the female leads in 
Luc Besson films La Femme Nikita and Leon. The creators of the 
excellent Abe's Oddysee have revealed that the sequel to their PC and 
PlayStation classic is definitely on the cards for development on 
Sega's new system. Not much else is known about the game save its 
title, Munch's Oddysee. Sega are currently in negotiations with id 
software to bring their next generation title, Trinity, to the new 
system. Recently, id master programmer John Carmack revealed that the 
new graphics technology will be included in the forthcoming Quake 3, 
which will precede Trinity's launch. Expect Sega to be chasing Q3 as 
well as Trinity... 

Stephen Fulljames
http://www.game-online.com