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VIDEO RENTAL ROUNDUP

Sega System Set For Under $200o immediately gain market share from Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation, Sega of America here will price its new Dreamcast video game system at $199 when it debuts Sept. 9. This is the first time a game console has been priced so low at its launch. Sega plans to support the launch with a $100 million marketing campaign."At $199, with our system's hardware and game library,

Sega System Set For Under $200

o immediately gain market share from Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation, Sega of America here will price its new Dreamcast video game system at $199 when it debuts Sept. 9. This is the first time a game console has been priced so low at its launch. Sega plans to support the launch with a $100 million marketing campaign.

"At $199, with our system's hardware and game library, we feel confident that we will take back market share from Sony and Nintendo," said Bernard Stolar, president and chief operating officer of Sega of America. He said 10 to 12 software titles will be available at the time of the new system's launch, with a total of 100 to be available during 2000. The new system will bring additional opportunities to the burgeoning game-rental area for supermarkets, industry observers said. The low pricing will help Dreamcast attain mass-market status more quickly than if it started out higher, they added.

According to Sega, the new game platform is 15 times more powerful than Sony PlayStation, 10 times more powerful than Nintendo 64 and has four times the graphics processing power of the fastest Pentium II computer processor. Dreamcast also has Internet capability, allowing people to play games on-line, use e-mail, chat or browse the Web.

Games Will Get Postage Stamp

WASHINGTON -- As a result of a consumer vote, the U.S. Postal Service will design a commemorative stamp featuring video games as part of its "Celebrate the Century." Games received the most votes of any category, outdistancing the fall of the Berlin wall and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The design will be revealed next year.

"The issuance of a video-game commemorative stamp is a fitting symbol for the extraordinary impact the interactive entertainment industry continues to have on American culture and entertainment, as well as the economy," said Douglas Lowenstein, president of the Interactive Digital Software Association here.

DVD Video Group Redoes Web Site

LOS ANGELES -- The DVD Video Group has redesigned its Web site (www.dvdvideogroup.com) to provide more information on DVD video. One new feature is to allow users to search for DVD video software retailers by entering their ZIP code. The database was prepared in cooperation with the Video Software Dealers Association, Encino, Calif.

"We're pleased to offer consumers what they want -- a Web site that gives them up-to-the-minute information on DVD video, including the most current list of titles, a guide to set up a home theater and a locator for their nearest video store carrying DVD," said Emiel Petrone, chairman of the DVD Video Group and executive vice president of Philips Entertainment Group, Los Angeles.