by Ben Silverman

When we launched the GR Rants and Raves section a few months back, I mentioned that this was a place for us to let off some steam and vent our frustrations. However, it's also a place to confess our addictions, to commend the praiseworthy, to, dare I say, RAVE about stuff. Of course, each of the 4 pieces published thus far falls heavily on the rant side. Scratch that - totally on the rant side. We've got more issues than National Geographic.

So in the name of good sportsmanship and fair play, I decided to write a rave. Actually, it's a rant as well. It's sort of a combo platter, a surf and turf, if you will. While you chew on the meat, I'll be preparing the lobster. I don't know what that means, but the analogy needed some help. Don't say you weren't warned.

What A Tangled Net Sega Weaves...

The Macho Man and the Declaration of Independence.

It's not often we bear witness to a moment truly worthy of the title "historic." From the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the time I accidentally held a door open for Randy "The Macho Man" Savage, historic moments often sneak up on us, occurring with discreetness and subtlety. It is only after the fact, when we realize that the Declaration of Independence was a BIG deal, that our chance meeting with the Macho Man will NOT repeat itself, that we slowly begin to comprehend the magnitude of the event.

I recently witnessed a historic moment. I played NFL 2K1 against Colin. I was at work, he was at home. Atari, eat your heart out.

Indeed, the online revolution took a turn for the couch last month as SegaNet thundered into homes on the shoulders of Visual Concepts' gridiron masterpiece. A new era was born, an era of console networkability that had previously only existed in the collective mind of a nation of goobers. And despite a few setbacks, all systems are go as hordes of football fans do battle around the globe.

Hordes of football fans who have signed up with SegaNet, that is. Because as it turns out, you just can't drive down the world's first console superhighway with a different ISP.

"What?! Really?? But Sega has said all along that almost any ISP would work!" Right. Almost any ISP does work. It just doesn't work well. At all. Even remotely. So they didn't break their promise, they just bent it a little.

As many are now discovering, though, a bent idea ain't a broken one, and playing NFL 2K1 online is a total blast. If you've got a DC keyboard, the trash talking is worth it alone. The game almost becomes secondary to the verbal one-upmanship.

Honestly, I'm shocked and thoroughly impressed by the speed of the network. Lag is barely noticeable - you'd swear it was on a DSL and not some crummy 56k modem. The technology behind SegaNet is just astounding and bodes well for future endeavors.

Just as astounding, however, is the wacky business model Sega has adopted regarding their uber-network. Taking a cue from past Sega disasters, the company seems poised to once again stab itself in the back, right after beating itself over the head and throwing itself into oncoming traffic.

Here's the deal. To have good experience playing your Dreamcast online, you need SegaNet. The service is a full-functioning ISP; in addition to using it with your Dreamcast, you can use the same account to surf the web on your PC. The catch is that SegaNet costs 21 bucks a month - roughly the same as any other major ISP (Earthlink, Netcom, etc.)

For those unhappy with their current dial-up ISP, SegaNet could be the answer to your prayers. You get a new ISP and access to the Dreamcast network in one fell swoop.

21 bucks a month?! That's too much! Sega!

But for most of us, it's a rip-off. Just look at the two guys in that picture. Do they look happy to you?

I, for one, enjoy my current home ISP. I don't want to switch my PC dial-up and only wish to use SegaNet for its Dreamcast gaming network. I don't think I'm alone in this. But doing so still requires the full 21 bucks a month…on top of the 20 I pay for my current ISP. This is starting to reek of Microsoft/Netscape, eh?

As DSL and cable modems become more prevalent, more and more people are opting for broadband connections. In other words, no more dial-up needed. And for this quickly growing minority, paying 21 bucks a month for SegaNet seems extremely unreasonable.

And currently, there is a total of ONE game playable via the network. Sure, others are planned, but is that enough to warrant spending what amounts to 250 bucks a year? That's in addition to the cost of the games themselves, mind you. Two Dreamcast games and a full year of SegaNet will run nearly 350 bucks. In the meantime, I can play Unreal Tournament on the PC for no extra charge against thousands of fraggers.

Speaking of UT, Sega could learn a thing or two about online connectivity from the PC fragfests that dominate online gaming. I know that a percentage of Dreamcast owners aren't familiar with terms like "ping" and "hosts", but that doesn't mean it has to be dumbed down for those of us who are. The little colored info bar that SegaNet provides just doesn't cut it. I would love more info regarding potential opponents than a green bar indicating "great, good, fair, or poor" connections. What makes that dude more "good" than that other guy?

They're called "numbers," Sega. They're these things that give concrete values to stuff. They're better than green bars. Look into it.

The lobby of NFL 2K1 is a cinch to navigate, but also fails to dole out some pretty important info…such as who's got a keyboard and who doesn't. Trash talking against someone without a keyboard is great for the narcissist, but not a lot of fun in the long run. I mean really, these are things that someone at Sega should have thought about years ago.

Now I've heard arguments that they have to price it that high to stay in business, that offering a full-fledged ISP requires a certain price tag. To which I reply, "Hooey! Flimshaw!" (after which I mumble incoherently about the "good old days.")

Why make SegaNet a full ISP? Why force a fixed 20 dollar/month cost on a service that most consumers only want for the gaming?

I can imagine it now…Timmy convinces mom to buy him NFL 2K1 for 40 bucks. How much fun he has! Whee! Whatta game! Oooh, now I can't wait to play online! I…huh? Whazzat? I need to pay how much? But I like AOL! I know how to use it! Oh well….Mom, I need your credit card number, preferably Visa or Mastercard, mmkay?

Some of you might think that I'm a Sega basher, that I'm on Team Sony when it comes to the fictitious yet strangely real system wars. Well, you're wrong. I'm a fan of Sega. Have been since the Genesis. Some of the best gaming moments I can remember are due largely to the company. Hell, I even defend the Saturn from time to time.

But the fact of the matter is that Sega decided to release their next-gen system before everyone else, and in a sense has become a guinea pig. You can bet that Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are taking a good hard look at all the mistakes and successes Sega is having with the Dreamcast to ensure a smoother sail for their systems.

That's not to say that the upcoming systems will all be qualified successes or disasters. I'm not getting into that coversation without a crystal ball, a bottle of wine and a baseball bat. A really BIG baseball bat.

Sega, please don't do it again. Please point the gun away from your head. Put the weapon down and back away. We can't watch it. The Playstation 2 looks poised to wipe that smile off your face (even if the games suck, folks, they'll sell millions of 'em) and you're not helping matters by concocting a business model that looks more like a beached whale than Cindy Crawford.

Come to your senses and drop the monthly price of SegaNet to 5 bucks, or 7 bucks, or anything under 10. Consumers are much more willing to drop a few dollars a month to play some games than a whole Andrew Jackson on an ISP none of them want. Do us a favor and take a good hard look at the plan. You've got a rocket in your pocket - don't make people pay to see it fly.

Does the future hold dreams or nightmares?

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