Sega Dreamcast
Developer: Sega
Year Released: 1998
Generation: 6th
The Sega Dreamcast was Sega’s fifth and final console. Designers hoped to recapture the video game market and supersede both the PlayStation and the Nintendo 64. Released ahead of the PlayStation 2, Nintendo’s Game Cube and the Microsoft Xbox, it was considered ahead of its time and was initially successful at restoring Sega’s reputation in the gaming industry.
One of the main features of the Dreamcast aside from innovative graphics was the built in 56K modem. This gave users access to the internet for web browsing, chat, email and online gaming. It was the first console to offer online features straight out of the box, and the first to offer these features worldwide, rather than in select markets.
Sega’s reputation had been hurt due to commercial failure of the Saturn, 32X and Sega CD. While initial Dreamcast sales were string, many prospective buyers and game developers were still skeptical of Sega and they held off committing, possibly to see which console would prevail. In April 1999, Sony announced its PlayStation 2, a year ahead of the official launch. The press release diverted a lot of attention from Sega. With the looming PS2 launch in Japan, the Dreamcast was ignored in that territory. It had great initial success in North America, but had trouble maintain this momentum after the PS2 release. In 200, the announcements of the Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube were the last straw for Dreamcast, which fueled speculation that Sega did not have the resources for a prolonged marketing campaign.
Sega failed to gain enough momentum before the release of the Sony’s PlayStation 2 in 2000, and discontinued the Dreamcast the next year, withdrawing entirely from the console hardware business and restructuring itself as a third party developer. Despite its short lifespan, Dreamcast is still a popular and highly regarded console among many fans due to it’s impressive library of both mainstream and more offbeat titles. It is even starting to gain a cult following, as the system is becoming harder to find. In fact, although Dreamcast was officially discontinued, Sega continued to produce the console for a short time afterwards due to rising demand among collectors and hardcore fans.