Sega Dreamcast DreamCast2 or as it will be known as... The Sega Revenge!

Joined Jun 2007
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Planet Earth
I did some research on Sega, and this is what I came up with. Please note that all quotes (except first 2) use usernames.

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?
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.
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.
 
Who left the rumor mill running? :lol

RJ, this would be welcome news. But Sega would fold if they attempted to develop and release another console.
 
Dart said:
Who left the rumor mill running? :lol

RJ, this would be welcome news. But Sega would fold if they attempted to develop and release another console.
Im thinking, If they put it at a reasonable price (unlike PS3) and give it extra features, like say, CD and DVD, (unlike Wii) They would stand a fair chance. I mean, there would still be 360 consumers, but I think A DC2 would hit #2 almost instantly. #2 is a good place to start you know :D
 
Well I honestly think it would be an epic fail. Not enough people would buy it. I mean, I would buy one on launch no questions asked, but I love Sega. People have lost their faith in Sega unfortunately and it will be hard for them to get it back.
 
NickThePunk said:
Well I honestly think it would be an epic fail. Not enough people would buy it. I mean, I would buy one on launch no questions asked, but I love Sega. People have lost their faith in Sega unfortunately and it will be hard for them to get it back.
I hear ya on this. Even though I was on the Nintendo side of the fence during the Sega VS Nintendo Years... I still saw Sega's games as quality (a lot of them, not all of them).

I don't see that anymore. When I see Sega is releasing a new game, I instantly think... "Ok, but I'm not going to get it. I haven't seen a Sega game get over a 6-7 for a long time."

The market is over saturated now... They would be shooting themselves in the foot.

I (however), Think Nintendo should buy Sega and Nintendo and Sega team up against the other 2 companies. I tell you, that would be awesome... as long as Nintendo's quality had final say on the games released... and Nintendo TOTALLY ran the financial aspects.

Many do not like to hear that, but I think it would be a great idea.

Take back all future Sega titles from all the other consoles as well... and you would have a decent powerhouse...

†B†V† :hat
 
Bluevoodu said:
I (however), Think Nintendo should buy Sega and Nintendo and Sega team up against the other 2 companies. I tell you, that would be awesome... as long as Nintendo's quality had final say on the games released... and Nintendo TOTALLY ran the financial aspects.

Many do not like to hear that, but I think it would be a great idea.

Take back all future Sega titles from all the other consoles as well... and you would have a decent powerhouse...

†B†V† :hat

Yeah, that would be so amazing.
 
I think a new Sega console would sell amazingly well actually. Sega has a huge fan base, even if the games aren't up to par lately.
 
Strubes said:
I think a new Sega console would sell amazingly well actually. Sega has a huge fan base, even if the games aren't up to par lately.
Tis my thoughts exactly
 
They have a huge fanbase on their old consoles, sure, but how many people would buy the Dreamcast 2 for the amazing Sega games? Not many, I bet.
 
fhqwhgads said:
They have a huge fanbase on their old consoles, sure, but how many people would buy the Dreamcast 2 for the amazing Sega games? Not many, I bet.

Yeah I agree, not only that but I'm gonna reiterate the trust factor Sega lost with all the bombed consoles. I believe unless it was really cheep like $200 or under only hardcore Sega fans would dive into it.
 
Hinesmdc said:
And it's not like Sega has the best games these days anyway...

I am sure you're not assuming that Sega would be the only one releasing games for the console. That is if they did release a console... ::)
 
Dart said:
I am sure you're not assuming that Sega would be the only one releasing games for the console. That is if they did release a console... ::)

Well... that's basically the case with the Wii, so yeah.
 
Hinesmdc said:
Well... that's basically the case with the Wii, so yeah.
Really, because for the last year, I thought you've been saying third party developers are putting too many bad games on the Wii.
 
fhqwhgads said:
Really, because for the last year, I thought you've been saying third party developers are putting too many bad games on the Wii.
You know him so well. XD
 
fhqwhgads said:
Really, because for the last year, I thought you've been saying third party developers are putting too many bad games on the Wii.

That's what I meant. No good third party games come out on the Wii. Hell, barely any good first party games come out on the Wii. And since Sega has even weaker first party offerings, it would be in trouble.
 
Hinesmdc said:
That's what I meant. No good third party games come out on the Wii. Hell, barely any good first party games come out on the Wii. And since Sega has even weaker first party offerings, it would be in trouble.

Didn't Sega have some respectable games when they were making hardware? And I don't agree with saying that all Wii games are crap. Nintendo is doing something called "diversification." Meaning they want to appeal to a mass audience rather than hardcore gamers only. And so far it looks like it's paying off because I still don't see any Wiis in stock around here.
 
Weve gone from 0 in stock i8n the last 9 months to... 1 in stock for the past 3 weeks.