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Why Did the Sega Dreamcast Fail?

chris112

ゼルダファンの伝説!
Joined
Sep 1, 2011
Location
Maybe Hyrule...
Basically, why did the Sega Dreamcast fail? I mean, it was like the PS3 back then. You could have gone on the internet on the Dreamcast and even play games online. The Dreamcast was way ahead of its time.The controller was also cool, with the VMU card thing you put in it.

SO WHY DID IT FAIL?

And now, for some random (but cool) pictures of the Sega Dreamcast.
sega_dreamcast.jpgdreamcast-controller-1vcm-460.jpg160px-Sega-Dreamcast-VMU.jpgsega_dreamcast.jpg
 
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Just because the game system has a lot of cool stuff doesn't mean its going to sell well. One of the reasons is that Shenmue was probably the most expensive project Sega has ever done. Shenmue did not sell well maybe because of its weird title. Also Sega had too much competition with the GC,PS2, and XBOX, so Sega wanted to be a 3rd party developer. Though the popular theory is that people were more excited for the PS2 and they didn't care about the DC, however I'm not sure. I do plan on getting a DC sooner or later since it has a lot of cool games.
 
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This thread again?

There were several reasons the Dreamcast failed to take off and ultimately caused Sega to drop out of the console race.

1. Lack of a DVD player. Though Nintendo also managed without this, Sega's franchises were never as popular.
2. Lack of support from EA. EA refused to support the Dreamcast unless it had exclusive claim to nearly all Sports games on the system.
3. Tremendous financial resources spent on Shenmue. I somewhat disagree with Starbound as to why Shenmue did not sell well :P but it certainly never went mainstream though the game did receive rather high praise from critics.
 
Joined
Dec 23, 2011
Location
Virginia
Well, everyone else pretty much said it best.
But, in short,

PS2-with-controller-article_image.jpg

tumblr_lekieoexme1qatr5a.png
 

PK Love Omega

PK Flash's Good Twin
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Jul 28, 2011
Location
In a forest
PS1. -rolleyes-

ChuChu Rocket, Phantasy Star Online, Sonic Adventure games, Crazy Taxi, Get Grind Radio...
So much potential, but Sony knocked them out of the the console business.
Ironically, PS2 and the DreamCast are two of my favourite systems.
 

Onilink89

Nyanko Sensei
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Oct 18, 2007
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The Netherlands
First of all, SEGA focussed too much on its hardware rather then its software. This is one reason why its launch kinda failed in Japan.

SEGA thought stratigicly they would sell alot if they released a console in the middle of the 5th game generation. Altough its failed launch in Japan, this worked in the US region. Thay surpassed the sales of the N64 in a instant. But what they didn't predict is that the 6th game generation was right around the corner.

Then Sony kicks in with the succesfull launch of PS2, as a result the sales for SEGA dropped dramaticly. But this was just the beggining.
Then a unknown console launched, yes sudden appearance of the XBOX. A few days later Gamecube also launches a new console in the US region.

EDIT: Did u guys know that the alot of accessories were based from the Dreamcast: Eyetoy, Microphone, Handhelds Linking to Console, Motion Control, Musical Instuments
 
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guapo2003

The incomparable legend
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Dec 19, 2011
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Temple of Light
Basically this is why in a nutshell:

Sega's Past Game Failures
Playstation 2's Looming Launch
Lack of Third-Party Support
Competition from Gamecube and Xbox
 

Teron

van der Nguyen
Joined
Nov 21, 2011
It's design, it's boring. The all 3 other consoles have a great look, especially XBox. But this? In those days, people would just laugh at me and say that I have a PS rip-off in my living room, and that I call that a console.
 
Joined
Feb 23, 2011
First of all, SEGA focussed too much on its hardware rather then its software. This is one reason why its launch kinda failed in Japan.

SEGA thought stratigicly they would sell alot if they released a console in the middle of the 5th game generation. Altough its failed launch in Japan, this worked in the US region. Thay surpassed the sales of the N64 in a instant. But what they didn't predict is that the 6th game generation was right around the corner.

Then Sony kicks in with the succesfull launch of PS2, as a result the sales for SEGA dropped dramaticly. But this was just the beggining.
Then a unknown console launched, yes sudden appearance of the XBOX. A few days later Gamecube also launches a new console in the US region.

EDIT: Did u guys know that the alot of accessories were based from the Dreamcast: Eyetoy, Microphone, Handhelds Linking to Console, Motion Control, Musical Instuments

Basically this is why in a nutshell:

Sega's Past Game Failures
Playstation 2's Looming Launch
Lack of Third-Party Support
Competition from Gamecube and Xbox

The failure of the Sega Dreamcast can be attributed to numerous things, and the above quotes appear to sum things up. Sega Dreamcast failed due to lack of healthy competition at the time. It was also released at an inopportune time period, when the release of sixth generation consoles was a looming threat, especially the then impending launch of the PS2. Consumers not only found the Sony system's built-in DVD player more appealing, but they also wanted more from Sony due to the success of the PlayStation. I'd also factor in the somewhat disappointment of the Sega Saturn. The whole debacle with said console embittered many of Sega's fanbase - many became skeptical, which in turn slowed Dreamcast sales considerably.

Another problem was its gaming library. It was an amazing line-up - one of the best in terms of the amount of good games released in such a short period of time. However, from a business perspective, this was not a good move, apparently; pacing is everything when it comes to releasing new titles. If only Sega had been aware that releasing such a large assortment of games all at once would lead to a drought in the long term. The Playstation 2's library was much stronger and its pacing was well-executed, which further boosted its sales over the Dreamcast. Sega is also believed to have failed to employ an effective marketing strategy to draw in consumers; the PlayStation 2's advertising at the time is believed to be far superior.

Consumers anticipated the new consoles, and all attention was directed to the impending release of the Gamecube and Xbox. The announcement of said consoles contributed to the Dreamcast's short life - a mere two years. Considering the life expectancy of the previous console gen - six years or so - this was devastating. The competition was growing ever fiercer and Sega had lost its momentum rather quickly. The company's revenue suffered a substantial blow due to this; most arguably the largest contribution to the failure of the console. Sega was apparently distraught over this realization and announced that it would end the console's life early and leave the console market for good.

Despite all this, the Sega Dreamcast has gained cult status among fans, and is still given credit for having introduced to gaming internet browsing, online play, and in-game voice chat, etc. It also released a great assortment of games, many of which are a rarity to this very day (though some are now available for download on PSN and such). Many of said games also appear to be popular with homebrew developers. It was a console far ahead of its time, and it serves as a testament to the fact that this can be both a boon and a curse.
 
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Purple_Rupee

They call me Ammi
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Oct 16, 2011
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Equestria
I'd say it was just because as games progressed, dream cast just couldn't keep it up in the more detailed field of gaming. Back then people just enjoyed a good game, now everyone has to have that same good game but in "HD" and blu-ray --__-- So as the gaming industries picked up on this they dumped the dream cast and now you have high definition garbage =D (im looking at you "kill zone")
 
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After the failures that were the Sega CD, 32X, and Saturn, not many people trusted Sega anymore. Sega, in response to this, decided to make one more game console to try to get back into business like they were in with the Genesis. After building up hype for the new console, it had a very successful launch in both Japan and the US.

Then came the PS2. The PS2 had a DVD player, and it was the cheapest DVD player available in most countries. That really helped its sales, and that's when the Dreamcast started going downhill. Eventually, Sega knew that it couldn't recover from that loss, so they became a software company.

That is the sad story of the Dreamcast.
 

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