Sega has announced the Dreamcast games which will be available on launch day and in the following weeks. On September 23, 10 titles will be available, comprising such Sega luminaries as Sonic the Hedgehog and Virtua Fighter.

They are joined by third-party offerings such as the 3D action adventure Blue Stinger, the futuristic skateboarding of Trick Style and the innovative beat-em-up Powerstone. Others include the ported PC blaster Incoming and Ubisoft's snappily titled Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2.

Not too many surprises then but Sonic, in particular, is noticeably improved from its Japanese incarnation with a steadier camera and less glitches.

A strong first day line-up is bolstered by subsequent releases like the gun toting House of the Dead 2 and the Micro-Machines in the loft surreality of Toy Commander.

A total of 25 games are due by the end of October and, while the initial titles are heavily arcade based, appealing to reflex rather than brain, the relative ease of porting PC games (Dreamcast uses Windows CE) looks likely to increase variety in the future.

The Dreamcast is the first console with a modem and by early next year will offer browsing and email, via a deal with BT, as well as online gaming.

With superlative graphics and a decent line-up Dreamcast deserves to succeed. But you feel that the real key to success is the online capability.

Fulfil the potential here and Sega could fight off the threat from another four-lettered company beginning with S.