Dreamcast: Would it been a survivor?

[RCBH928]

I am still upset and confused about the Dreamcast failure. I have discussed this in another thread about the reasons why the Dremcast failed, but I just can't accept it that a great stable console, with online, a huge great library, a ton of 3rd party support, most unique and innovative games ever would end up a failure. A fault I see though is that the graphics are way behind xbox for example. Any how.

Here I want to discuss with you, what if Sega didn't pull the plug so quickly , would the Dreamcast survive? I think Sega pulled it way too quick just two years into the console's lifetime, given it sold enough console already to make profit out of its users(10 million I believe) .

Looking at how much consoles decrease their prices over a couple of years, the DC can easily been sold for something like $100 by the time the original xbox was out. The amazing library would back it up. They can make money off the games, they can sell games cheaper too. I am sure it would have not surpassed the ps2 in sales, but it can be like the gamecube last generation.

I think Sega decided that if they are not on top, they don't want to play. Do you think the Dreamcast could have survived? Why or why not?

[SpaceBooger]

I think the hardware could have held its own, but my main worry would be that SEGA would continue to just port arcade stuff to it.
I think if the system's library were mostly ported arcade games it would have died quickly anyway.

[dentman42]

No. It was more WHY Sega pulled the plug.

The Saturn with NetLink should've been the killer system. But it was tough to program for and Sega did a lousy job of promoting it (at least in the United States). Before that, they did much the same with 32X and Sega CD, so they had already pissed off their customers if not the developers. The early release of the Saturn caught developers off guard and strained relations. The early drop of the system broke the already strained relationships. So Dreamcast was faced with un-trusting consumers and developers that simply didn't want to touch it. I worked at Target at the time and was amazed we sold as many as we did. After all, $300-400 was a lot to drop on a new console, and Saturn owners, who were the most likely Dreamcast audience, had already been burned. (I got my first Saturn used for $29.99 at a video game store in 2008 - a little over 3 years after it was released.)

It's a shame, because in retrospect Sega was always ahead of their time (maybe not quite as far ahead as Amiga, but Sega hardware was considerably less expensive).

Anyway, 9/9/09 is almost here. We'll see for sure if those Dreamcast 2 rumors were true. (Wouldn't it be funny if they were?)

[OldSchool_Boy]

The Dreamcast would only have survived if it would have came out with a dvd drive.

[Dylan]

The problem with the Dreamcast was that it came out of the general loop of things. While it was more powerful than anything at the time, it was quickly discarded once the next generation rolled around (Everyone I knew traded there's once the PS2 came out). The Dreamcast would simply be looked down upon in face of consoles with superior hardware.

The other issue was that Sega was old news at this time. The Saturn was not treated well outside of Japan, most of you who have decent Saturn libraries have imported quite a bit I should think. People weren't really sticking with Sega at this point, not after coming off their infatuation with these new "3D" graphics. While these were good consoles to people like us who can appreciate classics and value gameplay most of all, these things came along at a time where the market wasn't willing to accept them.

And on the issue of innovation: consumers prove time after time that they will not reward it. The Wii worked because it managed to incorporate an untapped audience, and likely just came at the right time. This is why things like shovelware and redundant genres flood the market: that stuff is easy to make and people will buy it. Not everyone has good taste like us.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Do we need another one of these topics?

I highly doubt it would have. The only thing that might have saved it was a DVD drive, but it would have had to keep its low price point. It failed in Japan, thats why it wasn't around very long.

[d123456]

Arrogance

Sega should've and could've fucking released more of their own shit.
My god. No console has games that already exist made by the same company. SEGA did!
Were were all the arcade racing games demmit?
Sega Rally 2 sucked and then there's Daytona and F355 and 18 wheeler (crazy taxi's also)
Where were all the other arcade titles? A-FUCKING-MAZING
PORT
PORT
PORT
Those games were already made!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
a dvd drive would have not saved the Dreamcast.
Maybe if they rereleased some VCD's on GD rom like you had for the psp UMD's, something like that!!!!!!!!
Anyway, more games. Sega didn't need outside support.
Just release a few awesome games every month. Other developers will be like WOW!
We could write books. and they can say whatever they want. But Sega and non-arcade hardware are not a good match. Also inner struggles about using the Christmas knight engine for a Sonic game or whatever.
I am still waiting for Sega to port some more games to the DC dammnit. Why not?
So much game making talent waisted on idiots who call the shots there.
But I am still a Sega fan despite the management. They cannot spoil quality only quantity. Surprised they still exist given the bad management.
I want to buy Sega and continue with the DC. It's still a pretty powerful system even by todays standards. Just look at F355 for instance or Under Defeat. Beautiful!

[weasels]

i still believe it could of gone alot farther if it was still out on the market. the main reason why the system was great was that capcom supported it and had alot of great games made just for it. the sega and capcom team would be able to make it at least for another year i think....

and about the dreamcast 2 ( ....right).even if it does really come out, is it gonna be as great as the dreamcast we played back then and now? sega has been an up and down rollercoaster ever since the dreamcast was taken off the market. they seem to be droping the ball quite a bit these days (not saying that they haven't had some good games. yakuza comes to mind!). and also will the dreamcast's main supporter, capcom, come to help a second time around?

[gtmtnbiker]

(I got my first Saturn used for $29.99 at a video game store in 2008 - a little over 3 years after it was released.)

I think you meant to say 1998, right?

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Arrogance

Sega should've and could've fucking released more of their own shit.
My god. No console has games that already exist made by the same company. SEGA did!
Were were all the arcade racing games demmit?
Sega Rally 2 sucked and then there's Daytona and F355 and 18 wheeler (crazy taxi's also)
Where were all the other arcade titles? A-FUCKING-MAZING
PORT
PORT
PORT
Those games were already made!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
a dvd drive would have not saved the Dreamcast.
Maybe if they rereleased some VCD's on GD rom like you had for the psp UMD's, something like that!!!!!!!!
Anyway, more games. Sega didn't need outside support.
Just release a few awesome games every month. Other developers will be like WOW!
We could write books. and they can say whatever they want. But Sega and non-arcade hardware are not a good match. Also inner struggles about using the Christmas knight engine for a Sonic game or whatever.
I am still waiting for Sega to port some more games to the DC dammnit. Why not?
So much game making talent waisted on idiots who call the shots there.
But I am still a Sega fan despite the management. They cannot spoil quality only quantity. Surprised they still exist given the bad management.
I want to buy Sega and continue with the DC. It's still a pretty powerful system even by todays standards. Just look at F355 for instance or Under Defeat. Beautiful!

There are so many things wrong with this post but heres some big ones:

No, they were smart to not put VCD's or some bullshit like that.

" Also inner struggles about using the Christmas knight engine for a Sonic game or whatever."

just wow... that was back in the Saturn days, don't bring that into a Dreamcast discussion, thats for Saturn, its also NiGHTS by the way. Not KNIGHTS

Sega wouldn't make new games for the Dreamcast, companies want money, not to please complaining dip-shits on the internet.

The Dreamcast still being a powerful system? What are you smoking. It was powerful by 1998 standards, and was decent in 2001-2003 maybe. After that it was way behind.

Also a DVD drive probably would have saved it. In Japan at that time, DVD's weren't that popular, but at the sign that the PS2 would have a DVD drive built in, at an affordable price no less, people stopped buying the Dreamcast.

Not so much now, but back in the 90's, if it failed in Japan, it wasn't going to last long. Of course there are exceptions such as the Playstation, but that still sold decently there. Sega started out good, it sold good the first year, then it slowed down. They couldn't meet demand at first then at the end they had a surplus, and people stopped buying.

Look I love Dreamcast, I just can't stand stupid posts by people that sound like trolls and don't think before they post.