Sega to Charge for SegaNet Access
Sega Corp. will begin charging $9.95 a month beginning Nov. 1 for access to SegaNet, its online gaming service for players of Dreamcast, Sega’s discontinued video game console. Launched last year as a $100-million bet on online games, SegaNet initially charged players $21.95 a month for dial-up Internet service as well as access to its online game site.
The company discontinued that two months ago and let players access SegaNet games for free as long as they have their own Internet connection. The site, which supports 24 games and has about 250,000 nonpaying subscribers, lets players chat, find foes and compete in tournaments. The fee will not apply to players of “Phantasy Star Online,” Sega’s most popular online game.
