Why Did the Dreamcast Fail?

[AppleQueso]

I mean, is this gonna happen to the PC Engine, Neo-Geo, Saturn, and Gamecube as well?

The Gamecube one is really weird, because I don't recall a lot of people liking the Gamecube very much when it was current. Most people at the time I knew (including myself) felt its library was extremely lacking. This "Gamecube was a really great console" thing seems like a very recent phenomenon.

[ZeroAX]

I think the gamecube got a second life as a retro console cause of the Wii. Everyone owns a wii and thus has access to the gamecube's obscure library, so it's a pretty easy retro console to get into in comparison with say the dreamcast.

[pierrot]

I was just joshin'. I love the DC and it has a fantastic library full of games that I enjoy.

Why's everyone takin' you so serious lately? I thought your Saturn joke was hysterical.



I don't really understand the idea that the Dreamcast lacked support. The only major third-party, that I can think of, that dropped support of Sega consoles at the Dreamcast's launch was EA, and in retrospect, good riddance. Rockstar ported GTA 2 to the Dreamcast, Ubisoft and Activision were both very supportive of the console in the US, and released a lot of definitive ports to the DC. Hudson and Atlus were on board at times. Capcom and SNK smiled very favorably on Sega consoles since the Saturn, with some of the best arcade to home conversions every to grace dedicated gaming consoles. What company's support were they missing that they didn't already lack? Konami has never really been a great supporter of Sega consoles, and Squaresoft was a foregone conclusion. Maybe I'm only really thinking about it in terms of companies/games I actually care at all about, but aside from the lack of EA sports titles (which was a big deal at the time, though I prefer the 2k series of games) I don't think there was really much of a lack of support for the console.

I do think it comes down to the PS2; wrong place at the wrong time. I remember in sixth grade, well before either console had been released, I would have heated arguments with people about whether the DC or PS2 would be better. The argument generally came down to hardware specifications, on the PS2 side, but you couldn't convince me that the PS2 would be a better experience for games. To this day, I prefer playing games, that would eventually be ported to other consoles, on the Dreamcast, because it often handles the games better, and Sega's foresight with audio/video quality has always been astounding. All of that is fairly meaningless to the average consumer, though. Let's not forget how popular the original Playstation was in its day; the ability to play that entire PS1 catalog of games people were sitting on, on the PS2, with a bonus DVD player? That was huge. No one owned a dedicated DVD player at the time aside from the early adapters, who were far fewer in the day, I feel. The PS2 was a looming specter for the Dreamcast, even before either console was released. Credit where credit is due: Sony's PR department stifled the Dreamcast's success even before day one. Sega has always had an uphill battle to fight in carving out a place in the market, to begin with. The Dreamcast needed to be 1000 times better than anything past present or future, instead of just twice as good, and obviously that mark was unachievable.

I find Sega's place in gaming history very sad in general, though: Always the whipping boy despite so very much to offer.

[MulishaSoldier929]

"Let's not forget how popular the original Playstation was in its day; the ability to play that entire PS1 catalog of games people were sitting on, on the PS2, with a bonus DVD player? That was huge. No one owned a dedicated DVD player at the time aside from the early adapters, who were far fewer in the day, I feel. The PS2 was a looming specter for the Dreamcast, even before either console was released. Credit where credit is due: Sony's PR department stifled the Dreamcast's success even before day one."

^^^^This

When the DC first made it onto the scene it was beyond awesome but the closer we got to the PS2 release, the more steam Sega lost. It was almost over before it even began.

IMO the only way they could of ever made it is if they had that "one" game that's so awesome it alone can move systems(halo, ff7, MGS, etc.)

[bacardipr05]

3 reasons. Mega CD, 32X, Saturn.

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.

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.

No way to prove this but im willing to bet a good part of the initial success was contributed to Sega's Fanboys and the group that buys any system regardless just to show off. Once this initial boost dried up consoles didnt move as much. Originally SOJ wanted a slightly higher retail to offset some of the costs. However SOA insisted on its 9-9-99 for 199 MO. Most where reluctant to go to the Dreamcast. Although the Dreamcast had its hit game they need that 2 or 3 mainstream big hits. Then their was the pirating and the whole DVD player hooplah.

[isiolia]

What company's support were they missing that they didn't already lack? Konami has never really been a great supporter of Sega consoles, and Squaresoft was a foregone conclusion. Maybe I'm only really thinking about it in terms of companies/games I actually care at all about, but aside from the lack of EA sports titles (which was a big deal at the time, though I prefer the 2k series of games) I don't think there was really much of a lack of support for the console.

They lacked a lot of support for JRPGs in general, at a time when the genre was really big. Yes, there were some, before someone starts name-dropping 'em, but relative to the PS1? Next to nothing.

Other companies mentioned were big too - no Konami, no Metal Gear. Obviously no Sony, so no Gran Turismo, no Twisted Metal. No Medal of Honor. No Tekken.

With the PS2 on the horizon, people had a new system coming that would have all that and more.

I'm not saying those are the only games that matter, but, I worked at Software Etc around that time. People were buying the PS2 on the promise of new entries to those and other series that they already knew. Selling them on a DC tended to mean a lot of "well this game is kinda like that other one".
'course, it was great for arcade ports, but that wasn't all people were looking for.

[noiseredux]

when are you guys going to read Service Games: The Rise and Fall of Sega?

[dsheinem]

when are you guys going to read Service Games: The Rise and Fall of Sega?

I have a copy of it that I will be going through soon - I plan to reference it at times for some of the "History of Video Games" lectures in my fall course.

[Jagosaurus]

1. DVD drive
2. Gave Microsoft a sneak peek into industry & they became a competitor

There's also some marketing theory that most industries can only support three top dogs. Played out true here.With MS entering the race, their marketshare was reduced.

I love the DC, bought one in September 1999. It truly was amazing at the time. Many bad decisions & market factors lead to an early demise.

[Hatta]

I notice that this high level Sega marketing exec did not mention piracy as a contributing factor.