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IOMEGA AND
SEGA COLLABORATE ON BREAKTHROUGH GAMING DEVICE
ROY, Utah, April 20, 1999— Iomega Corporation (NYSE:IOM) today announced that
Iomega and Sega have signed a non-binding letter of intent to include Iomega's popular
Zip® 100MB drive in a new collaborative product that will be designed to attach to Sega's
Dreamcast system. The new product will also be designed to dramatically increase the
capabilities of not only game playing, but Web-based activities such as content saving of
e-mail and Web searches. In addition, Sega intends to sell private label Dreamcast Zip
100MB disks, offering both the device and disks in game-oriented channels.
The collaborative product is expected to be offered as an option to Sega Dreamcast
customers in the third quarter of 1999. Dreamcast began shipping November 27, 1998 in
Japan and is expected to begin shipping in the U.S. and in Europe during the third quarter
of 1999.
Dreamcast is one of the most powerful game systems on the market today. Through a 128-bit
architecture, offering high-speed processing capability, 26MB of RAM, 64 channels of
sound, breakthrough graphics, superb 3D rendering, a 1 Gigabyte GD-ROM, and a modem for
Internet gaming, Web access, and e-mail, Dreamcast has distinguished itself as a benchmark
gaming system.
Via Zip™ Built-In®, this new product will be designed to make Dreamcast the first
gaming system versatile enough to bring world-class game playing, Web browsing and e-mail
together in an integrated system. It will also be designed to allow users to download game
updates from the Web to Zip® disks. The system will be designed to work independently or
in conjunction with Dreamcast games.
"We are seeing a major revolution in consumer electronics from analog to
digital," said Sean Kaldor, vice president, Emerging Market & Technology
Research, International Data Corporation. "As consumers demand lower cost and
easier-to-use solutions, digital technologies will open the door to a much wider range of
new functions. One of the fastest developing areas is gaming consoles, in which
interchangeable storage has a pivotal role."
"Iomega is changing the home game system market with this new device," said Mike
Lynch, director of Beyond PC, Iomega Corporation. "The broad familiarity of Zip
drives with consumers, and our large installed base make Zip drives the perfect removable
solution for beyond-PC products, such as Sega's Dreamcast game console."
"Dreamcast represents a whole new way of thinking at Sega," said Corporate
Senior Vice President of Sega Enterprises, Ltd., Hideki Sato. "We will be able to
enhance the potential of Dreamcast further due to the architectural partnership between
Iomega and Sega."
Beyond PC
As part of Iomega's Beyond-PC initiative, Zip® drive integration or compatibility is now
being offered by OEMs in printers, scanners, set-top boxes, medical equipment and music
and audio devices. These OEMs include 360 Systems, Lexmark, Microtek, Roland Corporation,
Stryker and WebSurfer.
About Sega Enterprises Ltd.
Tokyo, Japan-based Sega Enterprises, Ltd. is nearly a $3.0 billion company recognized as
the industry leader in interactive digital entertainment media, and is the only company
that offers interactive entertainment experiences both inside and outside the home. Sega
of America's World Wide Web site is located at (http://www.sega.com).
About Iomega
Iomega Corporation (NYSE:IOM) manufactures and markets the award-winning Zip®, Jaz® and
Clik!™ drives and disks that help people to organize, manage, create, exchange and
share their important information. Used in homes, businesses, government, education and by
creative professionals everywhere, Iomega storage solutions are the enabling technologies
preferred by millions. The Company can be reached at 1-800-MY-STUFF (800-697-8833), or on
the Web at http://www.iomega.com.
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