Did you guys know that Xbox was supposed to be DC compatible

[Hatta]

I personally think an Xbox add on for the PS2 makes a lot more sense, just based on the case designs alone

All you need in that case is some duct tape.

[GSZX1337]

Sega also came to Atari to distribute the Genesis in the US.

Sega initially attempted to partner with Atari Corporation for distribution of the console in the US, but the two could not agree to terms and Sega decided to do it themselves.[12] Sega was not able to meet the initial release date and United States sales began on August 14, 1989 in New York City and Los Angeles. The Genesis was released in the rest of North America later that year.

http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sega_Mega_Drive

I first read this on VintageComputing, but I can't seem to find the entry again.

I found the article I was referring to. It was on Ars Technica.
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2008 ... s-20.ars/3

At one point, Sega approached Atari Corporation with an offer to license the Mega Drive for sale in the US. After some tough negotiating between Sega and the Tramiel family (owners of Atari at the time), Atari passed on the offer. History could have been very different indeed

[noiseredux]

http://the-dreamcast-junkyard.blogspot. ... mcast.html

As reported by Kotaku, it seems that Sega Chairman Isao Okawa had met with Bill Gates (no need to mention what he does) a number of times in an attempt to forge a deal that would allow the XBOX to play Dreamcast games. Former Microsoft exec Sam Furukawa said via Twitter:


"Before Mr. Okawa passed away, he visited Gates several times, to see if it would be possible to add Dreamcast compatibility into the Xbox."


The article goes on to reveal that Sega had hoped that through this compatibility, Dreamcast fans could migrate to the much more powerful XBOX. Negotiations fell apart when Microsoft decided that they didn't want an internet connection for the Dreamcast titles. Check out the full article for more informative tidbits.

My take: I wish Sega had made the move. Sure a handful of games would lack online features, but a bulk of the library would have been unaffected. Besides, maybe Sega and Microsoft could have worked out a deal to create ports of online capable Sega games that would bring in some profit for Microsoft. Another possibility could have been that Microsoft received a cut from the monthy subscription fee that games like Phantasy Star Online charged.

Of course, one would also have to question if the Dreamcast on the XBOX could have lead to Microsoft having exclusivity on Sega titles and possibly buying out Sega at one point in the future. Who knows!

[RyaNtheSlayA]

http://the-dreamcast-junkyard.blogspot. ... mcast.html

As reported by Kotaku, it seems that Sega Chairman Isao Okawa had met with Bill Gates (no need to mention what he does) a number of times in an attempt to forge a deal that would allow the XBOX to play Dreamcast games. Former Microsoft exec Sam Furukawa said via Twitter:


"Before Mr. Okawa passed away, he visited Gates several times, to see if it would be possible to add Dreamcast compatibility into the Xbox."


The article goes on to reveal that Sega had hoped that through this compatibility, Dreamcast fans could migrate to the much more powerful XBOX. Negotiations fell apart when Microsoft decided that they didn't want an internet connection for the Dreamcast titles. Check out the full article for more informative tidbits.

My take: I wish Sega had made the move. Sure a handful of games would lack online features, but a bulk of the library would have been unaffected. Besides, maybe Sega and Microsoft could have worked out a deal to create ports of online capable Sega games that would bring in some profit for Microsoft. Another possibility could have been that Microsoft received a cut from the monthy subscription fee that games like Phantasy Star Online charged.

Of course, one would also have to question if the Dreamcast on the XBOX could have lead to Microsoft having exclusivity on Sega titles and possibly buying out Sega at one point in the future. Who knows!

It certainly would've been preferred to Sammy buying Sega. It would've also given Microsoft a foot in the Japanese market that seems to pretty much ignore the Xbox (relative to other consoles)

[Hatta]

So that essentially supports the idea that it was only considered in executive meetings. Even the justification for canning it seems to be managerial. Both the Xbox and Dreamcast have network hardware, supporting DC network games would be the least of the technical challenges. The question is whether DC multiplayer would be on XBL, or if Sega would run its own servers. I'm guessing microsoft didn't like either idea.

I'm sure a lot of it was just humoring Okawa too, so they wouldn't lose a big 3rd party content producer.

[dogman91]

Of course, one would also have to question if the Dreamcast on the XBOX could have lead to Microsoft having exclusivity on Sega titles and possibly buying out Sega at one point in the future. Who knows!

Seeing what Microsoft has done with Rare as of late, I'm sure glad they didn't!

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Of course, one would also have to question if the Dreamcast on the XBOX could have lead to Microsoft having exclusivity on Sega titles and possibly buying out Sega at one point in the future. Who knows!

Seeing what Microsoft has done with Rare as of late, I'm sure glad they didn't!

Yet the stuff they did with Bungie and other studios was great.

[sheath]

I always thought Sega distributing the Xbox in Japan would have worked out better for both parties. Obviously Microsoft directly marketing the Xbox in the US was the best case scenario as well, given that nearly every media outlet still goes out of their way to blast Sega products.

Even if the original Xbox had Dreamcast compatibility its controller's analog sticks lower sensitivity would have forced me to continue using the Dreamcast. It would have been nice to use the Xbox's Component output for Dreamcast games though.