Sega Dreamcast goes Hollywood

Sega of America is ready to kick off a two-month rental preview of its Dreamcast system, hoping to prime the pump for strong sales of the new gaming consoles in the U.S. market.

Sega has announced a deal with the Hollywood Video rental chain, arranging for 1,000 Hollywood Video stores to begin renting Dreamcast systems on July 15, almost two months before the official U.S. launch date.

Sega will eventually make more than 10,000 systems available, according to the video chain's parent company, Hollywood Entertainment.

The roll-out, however, will be gradual. At first, only a single game - Sonic Adventure - will ship. Every two weeks, another game will hit the shelves; first will be Capcom's PowerSton, followed by Midway's Ready 2 Rumble and Sega's football title.

At its Sept. 9 launch, Sega of America hopes to have 16 titles available and 200,000 pre-ordered devices.

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