Dreamcast's Demise...and what the industry could be like if SEGA was still in the hardware business

            Today we’re going to talk about the demise of one of video game history’s greatest hardware icons, SEGA.  In the 16 bit era SEGA was nearly neck and neck with Nintendo with its classic Sega Geneisis system.  Unfortunately, after a slew of unsuccessful Genesis add-ons and the failure of its successor, the Saturn, SEGA was unable to make any mark on the 32/64 bit market.  Yet in 1999, SEGA was about to be the first on the market with a 128-bit console.

            Titled, SEGA Dreamcast, with this new system the company introduced many new innovations to the video game industry. Its controller had a miniature screen that interacted with on-screen gameplay, almost like a precursor to the modern-day Wii U.  In addition, the system boasted something that was truly ahead of its time – a built in modem for online play.  When it launched in 1999, it was a huge success selling over 400,000 units. Gamers were drawn to it due to its stellar lineup of games and online connectivity. However, there was one thing that worried SEGA – the Sony PlayStation 2. Although the PS2 had a slow start, its technological power and the added capability to play DVD movies really helped sell the system. In addition, the Dreamcast was falling to piracy as the system lacked any copy protection thereby enabling the games to be copied on any computer with a CD Drive. These factors and more eventually caused the Dreamcast to suffer in sales, and by the time Microsoft and Nintendo entered the market the Dreamcast was already discontinued.

            Now, one question remains – what would the market be like today if the Dreamcast had not failed? Well, here comes my theory. If the Dreamcast remained strong even when the Microsoft Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube came in, it would have been an interesting sight to see the market split four ways.  Dreamcast’s main competitor would have had to be the GameCube, due to both systems selling to roughly the same demographic with software titles that were franchises with long histories. The sixth generation would’ve ended with the Dreamcast as a distant fourth unless something major happened to upset the market. Now coming to the seventh generation, it really depends on what kind of console Sega would’ve came up with.  Had Sega tried to compete with Microsoft and Sony, I truly think they would’ve fallen rapidly as the company did not have as much technological prowess as the other two companies. However, throughout its history SEGA had always been innovative, bringing new concepts to the industry that were ahead of their time. Had SEGA released a console before Nintendo’s Wii with the new trend of motion control, the company could’ve easily gained enough market share to be sustainable.  Although Nintendo would have still survived due to its handheld sales, it’s fair to say it could’ve lost to SEGA due to how big of a factor motion control was during that generation.  In today’s eighth generation SEGA’s next system might have been in the same place as the Wii U is today, and Nintendo may have been relegated to its handheld business.

            All in all, SEGA’s run in the hardware business will be remembered by all, and I hope you enjoyed my theory on what it could be like if SEGA was still making consoles.