launch games for the system) and taking advantage of the ten months following the Dreamcast's release in Japan, Sega of America worked to ensure a more successful US launch with a minimum of 15 launch games. With lingering bitterness over the Saturn's early release, Stolar repaired relations with major US retailers, with whom Sega presold 300,000 Dreamcast units. In addition, a pre-launch promotion enabled consumers to rent Dreamcasts from Hollywood Video in the months preceding its September launch. Sega of America's senior vice president of marketing Peter Moore, a fan of the attitude previously associated with Sega's brand, worked with Foote, Cone & Belding and Access Communications to develop the "It's Thinking" campaign of 15-second television commercials, which emphasized the Dreamcast's hardware power. According to Moore, "We needed to create something that would really intrigue consumers, somewhat apologize for the past, but invoke all the things we loved about Sega, primarily from the Genesis days." On August 11, Sega of America confirmed that Stolar had been fired, leaving Moore to direct the launch. The Dreamcast launched in North America on September 9, 1999, at a price of , which Sega's marketing dubbed "9/9/99 for ". Eighteen launch games were available in the US Sega set a new sales record by selling more than 225,132 Dreamcast units in 24 hours, earning in what Moore called "the biggest 24 hours in entertainment retail history". Within two weeks, US Dreamcast sales exceeded 500,000. By Christmas, Sega held 31 percent of the North American video game market share. Significant launch games included Sonic Adventure, the arcade fighting game Soulcalibur, and Visual Concepts' football simulation NFL 2K. On November 4, Sega announced it had sold over one million Dreamcast units. The launch was marred by a glitch at one of Sega's manufacturing plants, which produced defective GD-ROMs. Europe Sega released the Dreamcast in Europe on October 14, 1999, at a price of £200. By November 24, 400,000 consoles had been sold in Europe. By Christmas of 1999, Sega of Europe had sold 500,000 units, six months ahead of schedule. The price was dropped to £149.99 from September 8, 2000, with sales at around 800,000 in Europe at this point. Announcing the drop, Jean-François Cecillon, CEO of Sega Europe, commented that "There are 'X' amount of core gamers in Europe; the early adopters. We have reached 80 or 90 per cent of them now and the