I did some research on Sega, and this is what I came up with. Please note that all quotes (except first 2) use usernames.
This means there is a possibility of a dreamcast 2. Yes, it appears as though Sega has been working for quite a while now...
This was written a few years ago, so how are they doing now? Well, here's your answer.
Nick Gibson said:Sega's decision to reconsider its role within the games console hardware business will come as no surprise to those within the games industry. The company has struggled to emulate, let alone build upon, the retail success it experienced in the early 90s with its MegaDrive console. The Company has made repeated mistakes with ill-advised attempts to upgrade the MegaDrive with the 32X and MegaCD and got not only the hardware strategy but also the marketing and publisher partnerships wrong with Saturn. This, I would argue, was more damaging to Sega than the more recent failure of Dreamcast at retail.
Hardware manufacturers have a symbiotic relationship with game publishers which leaves them with the catch-22 problem of needing to convince publishers to commit resources to developing high quality titles for a platform whose growth is entirely dependent on the release of high quality titles. Publishers, being more sales than strategy-driven beasts, will only commit resources to developing games for platforms with either a large addressable market (e.g. PlayStation at its apex in 1999) or platforms with the broad expectation of large addressable markets (e.g. PlayStation 2).
Thus Sega, weakened both financially but more importantly in the eyes of the games market by the failure of Saturn, 32X an MegaCD, launched Dreamcast with few expecting it to seriously challenge its principal rival Sony in the longer run. With little serious support from publishers as a result, the self-fulfilling prophecy of its demise as a retail product was more or less complete before it started. Sega has now finally realised that its image as a hardware manufacturer is too tarnished for it to play any further role in a retail market made even more crowded by Microsoft's imminent arrival and that its balance sheet cannot take any further weight (it is over $170m in debt and expected to lose the same amount this financial year). This, though, does not necessarily spell the end for Dreamcast.
This means there is a possibility of a dreamcast 2. Yes, it appears as though Sega has been working for quite a while now...
Nick Gibson said:As predicted by Durlacher over a year ago, whilst the retail channel has proven too difficult for Sega it has, wisely, turned to a new and potentially more effective distribution channel: the set-top box wholesale market. By tying up with Pace Micro, Sega has paved the way for a longevity and addressable market for Dreamcast that it could not have achieved at retail. Should one of Pace's many partners place an order for, say, 6m Dreamcast-compatible set-top boxes, not only would the Dreamcast market double overnight but such set top box installations would likely stay in homes for longer than the retail product would.
Most importantly, however, such a move will introduce broadband to the console and with it the dream of publishers and console manufacturers everywhere: seamless electronic distribution and high-speed multiplayer interactivity. Furthermore, Pace's plans to incorporate the Dreamcast platform into its hard-drive enabled set-top boxes will allow the electronically distributed interactive content to be stored locally thus broadening the scope of future Dreamcast games designs and pitching it head to head with Microsoft's similarly equipped Xbox.
Despite the precarious nature of its financial position, Sega's strategy should, though, prove in the longer term to be its panacea. The early pain it will experience exiting this market will be mitigated by its ability to concentrate on its true asset base: its software. For the first time it will be able to exploit the far broader addressable markets offered by the aggregate of its former competitors' markets and indeed by a Dreamcast market which could expand considerably should Pace secure a high volume of set-top box orders. Thus where Sega might have sold 2m units of Sonic for the retail version of Dreamcast, it could easily have sold 3 or 4 times that amount if it was released on PlayStation, PlayStation 2 etc…
Short of the Sega making some catastrophic management errors, it would be surprising if Sega did not therefore stage a dramatic return to profitability within the next 2 years, if not sooner. With over 100 titles in development and a huge number of highly successful games franchises established (e.g. Sonic, Virtua Fighter, Daytona, Shenmue etc…), Sega is now poised to become one of the largest independent games publishers in the world.
Nick Gibson
Senior Internet and Games Analyst
Durlacher Research Ltd.
This was written a few years ago, so how are they doing now? Well, here's your answer.
RJ1022 said:Has anyone heard if Sega will release any consoles in the near future? With the current situation of PS3, why should they not take advantage?
Were'nt Sony and playstation one of the main reasons sega got the lower end of the previous console wars, and this would be an opportunity to get back at them?
I for one think it would be cool if they came back to the console development table
GhostCell said:What you speak of is true. The Sega Revenge is gonna blow the charts.
RJ1022 said:So, if this is true, why does Sega still make games for other consoles, instead of making games for itself?
treigzak said:They are obliviously in need of money, since their last two consoles failed.
RJ10222 said:So, if Sega gets the money, they will make a new console. Correct?
What I learned from my conversation (above) is that even though Sega said they were leaving the console market, they may still have a chance. Sega consumers want a Dreamcast 2. So, as far as Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony are concerned, Sega is out of the picture. But, if Sega is making a Dreamcast 2, Sony, Nintendo, and MS will not be expecting it. Let's hope Sega has one more trick up it's sleave.GhostCell said:The only real way for Sega to get back into console making would be to exploit a stupid move from Nintendo or Sony. Like if Sony makes another $600 dollar console. Sega would also need a bunch of third party support for games to convince everyone that buying this Sega wont be a "waste" to consumers. And of course make it easy to develop for and price it right.