Dreamcast US Availability at “Critical Levels”

This is originally from FGN Online, an IGN affiliate, but I first spotted this on the DCTP Message Board. Here is the article:

As the holiday season nears, Sega of America has released an official advisory to consumers interested in buying a Dreamcast. The company predicts by this weekend, ending Dec. 19, supplies for the console will have reached “critical levels” – making the machine very hard to get a hold of.

Dreamcast sales have been tracking at a rate 50 percent higher than expectations for the holiday season. Based on retail orders, Sega recently revised its predicted sell-through numbers for the console. Originally set at one million units, the company now expects to sell more than 1.5 million by the end of the year.

“We have all our factories in Asia working at full capacity,” said Chris Gilbert, senior vice president, Sega of America. “The simple fact is we can’t make enough Sega Dreamcasts to meet the surge in demand from consumers and retailers. This is why we are sending out this warning to consumers today so they are aware they need to purchase the system by the weekend to make sure it is under the tree come Christmas.”

On the good side, this means the DC might have a good chance of selling 2 million systems by the end of the year. However, that can only be achieved if manufacturing areas are at full production, and can meet the consumer demand. If this doesn’t happen, I don’t want to be at my local Babbages/EB next week. Your best bet as of right now is to order online, Sega has a neat holiday package available @ Sega.com for $399. We’ll tell you about this tomorrow.