Sega Plans Katana Marketing Push

According to industry trade magazine BrandWeek, Sega of America plans to launch its next system with the backing of a US$100 million marketing campaign. The report says that the system, which remains unnamed despite reports to the contrary, will be launched in September 1999 in the US.

"Sony has never gone through the downward curve and I assure you they will," Bernie Stolar, Sega COO, told BrandWeek. "We will recapture the 50 percent market share because we will have the third-party community back, along with competitive pricing, full retail distribution, and a $100-million-plus marketing budget."

Stolar said that the platform will launch with 10-15 titles, with 30-40 planned for release by the 1999 holiday season.

One question remains, is Sega waiting too long to launch the next system? With the Sega Saturn quickly becoming a faint memory for many major retailers with the exception of a select few, and Project X hardware offering a decent challenge to the next wave of systems, is Sega timing the launch right?

Certainly, the company is taking the time to make sure that the next system is done right - something that was not done when the Saturn was launched hurriedly into the market in May 1995.