25 years ago, on October 14, 1999, SEGA launched its brand new video game console in Europe: the Dreamcast. After a complicated launch a year earlier in Japan (the fault of various supply and game delays), faced with competition mainly embodied by Sony’s PlayStation (32-bit) and the Nintendo 64, SEGA’s 128-bit console had everything for it: balanced and innovative architecture (with cutting-edge computer hardware dedicated to the console), first console designed in series designed for online gaming, four controller ports, a revolutionary memory card, stunning games… However, from the March 31, 2001, SEGA draws the curtain, and abandons the hardware market.
Because we haven’t always had a 4K screen in front of our eyes, an OLED HDR smartphone in our hand and wireless controllers on our knees, PasTech offers you a refreshing little return to the past, to (re) discovery of certain emblematic products which have made (or not) the history of tech. So we say 5, 4, 3, 0, and then bam, PasTech!
The Dreamcast, SEGA’s swan song
It must be said that at the end of the 90s, while the MegaDrive had enjoyed enormous success a few years earlier, SEGA was in a very bad position. Not only has the Japanese giant multiplied its failures on the hardware side by trying to capitalize on its 16-bit console (with the Mega CD, the 32X, etc.), but the firm is also experiencing a failure with its Saturn, launched in 1995 to compete with the PlayStation Sony. By developing the Dreamcast project, SEGA aims “the most powerful console on the market”, which will make it possible to offer games similar (or almost) to the arcade versions.
And upon its release, the SEGA Dreamcast was undoubtedly the most powerful console in the world. The launch games were already phenomenal, and quickly, the console welcomed (between 1999 and 2000) new titles such as Soul Calibur, Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, without forgetting Shenmue, Virtua Tennis, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Street Fighter III : 3rd Strike, The House of the Dead 2…
In addition to its game library which will quickly host many hits, the SEGA Dreamcast also has that something “next gen”, by its graphics of course, but also by its design, its very unique style controller (we love it (sometimes) or we hate it (often)), its then revolutionary Internet connection, without forgetting the Visual Memory Unit (or VMU ), this interactive memory card to be housed directly in the controller.
Depending on the game, the VMU displays different information on its small LCD screen, records game data… and can even play mini-games thanks to its directional pad and four buttons. Powered by two small button batteries, it could even be connected to certain arcade terminals. Even today, the tool is crazy original… so think back to 1998! It is therefore impossible to envisage any failure for the new SEGA console.
Is it the PS2’s fault?
However, at the time, it was obviously Sony’s PlayStation which was on everyone’s minds and in all living rooms. At the dawn of the year 2000, the 32-bit version of the Japanese giant is however at the end of its life, and all eyes are turned… towards the PlayStation 2. At the time, many of us were “matrixed” by the he PlayStation universe, and apart from the few fans of specialized magazines, for gamers, the one and only revolutionary console to acquire in 2000 was the PS2, coming at the end of the year.
To this PlayStation supremacy were also added other factors which were not going to work in favor of SEGA and its Dreamcast. Already internally, the Japanese and Japanese divisions do not agree on the marketing direction.
Even though the parent company was located in Japan, SEGA America had achieved an incredible performance with the Genesis (Mega Drive) against the Super Nintendo in the United States. With internal tensions, the marketing of the Dreamcast was particularly complicated… contrary to flawless communication from… PlayStation.
Proof of SEGA’s disastrous situation at the time, even before the launch of the machine in Europe and the United States, the manufacturer reduced the price of its Dreamcast to 19,900 yen in Japan… a price below the break-even point of the console. When it was launched in the United States, the console (then priced at $199) performed very well, with more than 225,000 sales in 24 hours, helped by the presence of 18 games available at launch.
Two weeks will be enough to reach the milestone of half a million sales across the Atlantic. In Europe, the machine will be launched at 1,690 Francs, and there again, SEGA sells 500,000 machines from Christmas 1999. Enough to start the year 2000 with serenity at SEGA, but quickly, sales collapse, and we will have to wait October 2000 to finally see the machine pass the threshold of one million copies sold…
Added to this is also another element, namely the absence of Electronic Arts on Dreamcast. Just as is the case today, EA was then a (super)powerful publisher, and for many players, the presence (or not) of EA-branded games was a key factor in their adoption. ‘a video game console. There is a simple reason for this: the presence at SEGA of a sports division (SEGA Sports), which will notably offer very arcade football games, but also (and above all) an absolutely extraordinary NBA saga, namely NBA 2K (which continues today). ‘still today).
More generally, on the side of third-party publishers, we have also decided to play the PS2 card, rather than that of the Dreamcast. It must be said that the PS2 was undoubtedly destined to be a huge success, while betting on the SEGA machine was a very (very) risky bet.
Also, in addition to its “PlayStation” aura (and its precious DVD player at the time, let’s not forget), the PS2 will be able to count on ultra popular titles, like Ridge Racer or Tekken, not to mention titles signed EA (FIFA, NFL, SSX…) or even Square (Final Fantasy), but also some new products like Kessen, TimeSplitters, Eternal Ring, Smuggler’s Run… Finally, it’s difficult not to mention the backward compatibility of the PS2, which allowed many players PlayStation to migrate to the new machine, without having to sacrifice their first PlayStation game library of the name.
An end of production recorded at the beginning of 2001
It’s simple, if the Dreamcast experienced a few upheavals in homes and playgrounds at the end of 99 and in the first months of 2000, the SEGA machine disappeared from the radar as soon as the PS2 arrived , in March 2000 in Japan and at the end of the year for the United States and Europe. In total, the Dreamcast painfully sold around 8 million copies before SEGA decided to cut short production of the machine in March 2001. For comparison, the PS2 sold more than 155 million copies during his (long) career.
Over the course of its (short) career, the SEGA Dreamcast will benefit from numerous discounts and other special operations to revive its interest. But nothing happens, the public shuns the SEGA machine, whose discounts and promotions cause the Japanese giant to record nearly 18 billion yen in losses. between March and September 2000. At the end of the year, SEGA announced a colossal net loss of 51.7 billion yen… Also, from January 31, 2001, SEGA announced the cessation of production of its Dreamcast, which would take effect two months later.
To clear stocks, the console will be reduced to 99 dollars, then to 79 dollars… and even to 49 dollars for the last copies. In terms of distribution, the Dreamcast has sold just under 4 million units in the United States, a little over 2 million in Japan, and around 1.9 million copies in Europe. Note that certain games will appear well after the death of the Dreamcast, this is notably the case of the excellent shooter Under Defeat, launched in GD-ROM format… in March 2006!
Why didn’t it work?
To the question: “MBut why, with its immense qualities, did the Dreamcast fail?”, several elements of response add up. In addition to supply problems and the delay of certain games during the Japanese launch, the Dreamcast undoubtedly suffered from the media (over)power of the PS2, launched in March 2000 in Japan. It’s also difficult not to highlight the mass (and childishly simple) piracy that was rampant on the SEGA console, capable of chilling more than one publisher, but also completely failed TV ads, on the contrary… PlayStation.
Added to this is the absence of certain essential third-party publishers, such as Electronic Arts or even Square, father of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Some believe that SEGA also missed the mark on the marketing side, while others see the Dreamcast as a machine too far ahead of its time, particularly with regard to online gaming or even a machine which was not sufficiently geared towards the “general public”, with many games that are too “arcade”.
Still, in 2024, the SEGA console still remains a centerpiece of video game history, and we can only strongly advise you to acquire one if you have the opportunity. You will discover a VMU that is still incredible, but also (and above all) a selection of games of sometimes impressive quality 25 years later, notably games from the arcades of the time (Marvel vs Capcom 2, Crazy Taxi , Soul Calibur, The House of the Dead, Power Stone, Samba de Amigo…).
There are also incredible sports games (Virtua Tennis!), not to mention Jet Set Radio, the two Shenmue of course, but also Rez, Space Channel 5, a load of shoot’em ups (Ikaruga, Under Defeat, GigaWing… ), the best console versions of Rayman 2, Resident Evil 2 and 3, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver… In short, (re)play the Dreamcast, it’s for your own good.
And you, have you heard of the SEGA Dreamcast?
