BoringSupreez wrote:
Think about it: the DC started strong, then faltered as time went on. If Sega's past was the killer, the DC wouldn't have started strong. It might have picked up steam later as people realized the DC was different than Sega's previous mistakes, but what happened was exactly the opposite. Dreamcast bolted out the gate on launch day, then sales began to dry up as the PS2 approached.
The Dreamcast itself sold well, but like all Sega consoles they were sold at a loss so they didn't make any money from the most succesful launch of all time. They relied on software sales to keep moving foward and those sales didn't happen, which is not surprising given the Dreamcast could play pirated games without any effort.
Looking for a cool game? Find it in my blog! Latest post: Often, games must be difficult http://eriktwice.com/
Successful attacks on the twin towers made Sega deem Propeller Arena too insensitive just before it's release and for all we know it could have saved the Dreamcast...
"Farewell, good hunter.
May you find your worth
in the waking world."
Many people point at the SCD, 32X, and Saturn as the reason why Dreamcast failed. I really doubt that though. Look at how well Nintendo pulled themselves out of the ditch they fell into with the Gamecube when the Wii came out! I think the DC's failure should be much more heavily attributed to the PS2. That thing was a monster in its day. It severely stunted the performaces of the oXbox and GCN, I see no reason why it couldn't have been the killer of the DC.
But those 3 were the reason many 3rd party developers decided not to support them. And as for Nintendo well....they also suffered the same fate, even with the highly successful wii :/
I still think the Dreamcast would have outsold the oXbox and GC, but unfortunately Sega just didn't have the cash to afford to stay in the game.
And yeah piracy pretty much killed them.
BoneSnapDeez wrote:The success of a console is determined by how much I enjoy it.
Honestly, if the Dreamcast did have better games, I do believe it would have lasted longer.
By no means do I believe their games were crappy. But a console like PS2 had games like Vice City (that game was HUGGGEE). I really do not recall the Dreamcast having a game like that. Hardcore Retro Gamers and Sega Fanboys will find awesome games for Dreamcast, but the general video game market would rather play Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto franchise. Having a game like GTA 3 and Vice City for the Dreamcast would have added some lifespan to the system, imo.
If they continued to make their 2K games for the Dreamcast, I might have delayed my PS2 purchase (I bought a PS2 in early 2004). The Dreamcast 2k series was cut short at 2002. Even for the PS2, I was playing NFL 2k5 on there and it was awesome. The gameplay and graphics were not all that better than Dreamcast's NFL 2k2, it was just that the rosters and stuff were updated on 2k5.
Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain was a big game for me on PS2. The main reason I bought a PS2 at first. If that was on Dreamcast, I would have stuck with the Dreamcast.
The built-in internet was a nice add, but I honestly do not remember any of my friends or family using this feature. Not everyone had internet back then like they do now.
I feel like an ass now not purchasing these games. My cousin backed up all my Dreamcast games. So I know piracy killed the Dreamcast. I can't believe it was so simple.
I agree with ZeroAX about the Sega CD, 32x, and Saturn. They were good, but I feel it is something Sega Fanboys and hardcore gamers appreciated. Not really something the general gamer market appreciated. I don't believe those 3 were the sole reason for Dreamcast's failure, but definitely a big reason. If Sega skipped out on the Sega CD and 32x, and put that effort and money into the Saturn console (maybe release a little later), things could have been different for the Dreamcast.
And a lot of it has to do with luck and timing. Within the same gaming generation, lot of the non-Sega systems were better in different aspects because they were released after Sega's. Sometimes I felt Sega was the guinea pig for other console brands.
That's my whole opinion. I'm Sega Fanboy, but i'm not a smart video game historian.
Old Username: sp957
Systems: Genesis, Super Nintendo, Saturn, Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Xbox 360, and Windows PC
Handhelds: Gameboy Advance SP, Nintendo DSi, and New Nintendo 3DS
BoringSupreez wrote:Think about it: the DC started strong, then faltered as time went on. If Sega's past was the killer, the DC wouldn't have started strong. It might have picked up steam later as people realized the DC was different than Sega's previous mistakes, but what happened was exactly the opposite. Dreamcast bolted out the gate on launch day, then sales began to dry up as the PS2 approached.
That's the problem that most don't realize though, it wasn't Sega's past that was messing them up. Sega was actively supporting and pushing their products as far back as even the Master System along other recent hardware (varied with regions), aside the DC. When people bring up old hardware bogging their run down, they are talking about how they tried to support all of it at once in different parts of the globe. That was a huge contributing factor to their pulling out of the hardware market, way more than anything having to do with software quality.
Last edited by brunoafh on Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Dreamcast had some killer exclusives that you couldn't get anywhere else (at least at first, some of these were ported eventually):
Shenmue
Phantasy Star Online (+ ver. 2)
Skies of Arcadia (maybe the best 6th gen JRPG)
the 2K sports titles
Grandia II
Record of Lodoss War
Evolution 1 & 2
Sonic Adventure 1 & 2
Seems like those weren't enough to keep the system going.
The PS2 had a huge library and could play DVDs.
The GameCube had Nintendo first-party exclusives.
The Xbox had Halo, a hard drive, and (finally) console-ized WRPGs.
It's a shame too, as I think the DC itself had some great features: four controller ports, the best memory cards (VMUs) of all time, and a great controller. A shame we'll never see any more Sega hardware. I think Tommo should release a Dreamcast X.
I for one was very happy for all the weight Capcom added to the DC. Fighting games like Power Stone, Tech Romancer, Project Justice, and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, shmups like Giga Wing, Gunbird 2, and Mars Matrix, and other stuff like Cannon Spike and Spawn.
Xeogred wrote:The obvious answer is that it's time for the Dreamcast 2.
