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What Will Happen to Sega?
A reader writes "Sega is getting out of hardware altogether. Salon has an interesting bit about the impending doom of Sega and speculation that among the other major players, namely Sony and Nintendo, Microsoft has the most to gain from purchasing the beleaguered Sega."
Jaguar was and is recognized as a premiere automobile manufacturer and they had patents on a damn fine engine. Sega isn't so lucky. Even with all that, it wasn't until Jaguar was bought by Ford that they started penetrating the mass market (US at least). Like the article states, Sega is (or should be) hoping for the same from MS.
"When it rains, it pours." --Morton's Salt
CD or not, it was a major problem that showed that they could have used a little bit better quality control.
I for one know that alot of the returns from circuit city were people trying to return the game fantavision that they got and trade it in for something like madden or tekken. Because of the way that the system is coded, and the fact that that game came with the system as a package, the few that actually got through (because of ignorant cashiers) it looks like a return of the entire package.
A few of them were from dummies that expected to play the clone CD games they have, and the rest were actually defected. All and all, the return rate is around 1-3% which is normal, espically when the product was rush air shipped, that is more dangerous than the traditional sea tranfer
i strongly agree what you're saying man its all about the the software this "console war" is meaning less as long as you have the games,the talent for making the games,and the mony for promoting it then people will by the console just to play the game i have just about all the console's out there not because of which system is better but because of the games and if you ask me I think the dreamcast has better looking games...but lets be fair ps2 are just starting to rev the engines up so wee shall se what they can do i give them one year to see what they got but if they take too long the x-box wil just come and take the glory from both consoles and sont say ol bill know nothing about gaming just look what sony did not to long ago to nintendo and sega just came out of no where and stol the spot light....such is life...
Hah, you old geezer, I'm not even out of college, and if last term's (yeah, terms) grades are any indication, I have a good five to six years before I do! Hahah, I'm still a sophomore, learning all this cool CS stuff. Wait, six years? Crap.
Seriously though, the problem isn't a new IDE, it's the hardware. Consoles generally speaking don't rely on APIs as much as accessing the hardware directly - most game companies actually write their own core code, which is of course highly proprietary, designed to get the most out of the hardware. The radical hardware design makes this more difficult than the PlayStation, and most other consoles.
In a way, though, this ensures that the PS2 games won't be taking full advantage of the console early on - may have been a good move. Bottom line is, there are extremely competent programmers out there who are still trying to figure out exactly how to best handle the PS2's hardware. It'll take them time to figure out, but you have to expect that.
It should also be noted that the original PlayStation IDE was based around Linux for whatever reason. Just because this is Slashdot, and most people like it when Linux is mentioned. Others rather hear about BSD or BeOS, but most like Linux.
I have no clue what the hell I just wrote. Damn sleep deprivation.
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
The idea behind Nintendo using DVD technology for the Gamecube, yet only using 3" discs is somewhat as follows:
- Considering how much a DVD can hold, a 3" DVD can hold pleny of information for a full game. Especially considering that Nintendo is finally moving from a cart format to discs.
- Many many people already own DVD players in one form or another. They have no need for another (but they may WANT another). Sony is forcibly bundling this technology into the PS2, which is part of what pushes the price up to 300 USD when it should be at a comparable level to the Dreamcast.
- If you really want to get a Gamecube/DVD player, you can get one. Matsuhita (Panasonic) is the company working on the drive for the Gamecube, and they will be putting out a DVD player that will play Gamecube games as well.
It's a win-win situation, really. If you don't want to get another DVD player, you won't be forced to shell out 100-150 USD extra for one that's coming bundled with your console. If you do, get the Panasonic DVD player and go nuts. It's nice to have a choice in the matter, and I for one am very pleased that Nintendo won't be forcing the extra functionality down anyone's throats.
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You're one of the guys who try to grab the controller on the left- & right-most handles and use the analog stick, right?
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Making the 5200 intentionally incompatible with the computers was the first of a long series of fuckups for Atari. (XEGS was the right idea, just 5 years too late.)
When I hear the word 'innovation', I reach for my pistol.
It's not a big list at all. I can't find a list, but I heard that Sega Rally 2 does.
I have a bunch of old Playstation games, but frankly the flickery, crappy low-rez vector rendering of those give me a headache when I play them on the aging Playstation. I hope BLEEM for DC will be out soon! That should add a bunch of vintage titles to the currently not very impressive catalog of Dreamcast compatible software.
How ironic that the PS2 itself didn't include better rendering and performance for the old games. :)
Look who's the idiot ... maybe the anonymous coward how doesn't have the fucking brains to say who they are. You're the idiot ... fuck you for being a gutless coward!
--Programmers Need::Technological Klass--
PCs have had analog controls for years, and I believe that you could consider those rotating paddle things for Breakout and whatnot on the Atari 2600 could be considered analog.
J
Last night I was playing Ridge Racer V. My roommate had some cars he unlocked on his memory card, and we wanted to use those in a 2 player race. He loaded the car from his memory card, but the game wouldn't let me load a car from his. So we had to manually swap the memory cards, load from his, and then swap back. On a DC game, you just pick which VMU you want to load from. The controllers are usually A, B, C, and D, and each has 2 slots. Thus, you pick Load from A1, or Load from B2, or D1, etc... Very convenient.
As for the Pocketstation, it not being available in the USA certainly doesn't help USA gamers, now does it.
The point of my comment was that, DC seems to be a much better platform right now. And I don't think there is any excuse for that, other than Sony is just complacent, and people are stupid enough to believe what they say.
In execution ... well, it'll look like and execution! No consumer in their right mind is going to accept Sonic the Hedgehog as a Microsoft property. Sonic is so closely identified with Sega that even if they painted him green and carved an X on his chest, people would still go, "SEGA!"
It's a pipe dream. Microsoft needs a first party mascot that the world can identify with, and the rather mannish chick they've got right now is certainly no Lara Croft. But you can't buy a mascot loved by the world, either. The market will reject it.
You can't really manufacture a mascot either. With Nintendo, it came by accident. Sega and Sony both lucked into a game with a character folks could identify with. (Although, Sony has now lost Crash ...)
Microsoft may buy Sega, but all they will gain is the elimination of a weak competitor.
If anyone can be compared to Atari at this time, it's Sony. Arrogant, out of ideas and pushing a shoddy product. When the developers start to desert them they'll be royally screwed.
(this _will_ happen : who wants to work an extra 6 months on a game to get the damn PS2 to do effects in software that an entry-level PC can do in hardware? It's lunacy.)
Preferences > Homepage > Customize stories on homepage > Authors > Zonk > Uncheck
If Microsoft absorbs Sega, does this mean that instead of being a speedy, powerful, spunky hedgehog, Sonic is going to get bloated, weak and start crashing [into things] randomly? :)
"O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" She chortled in her joy.
I don't buy it. Instead I think that Sega will develop software, and (hopefully) stay independent. This will allow the company to be more profitable, because:
a. They aren't spending money developing hardware. (Although I saw something on ign about them not really abandoning the hardware side)
b. Software Sells. It costs almost nothing to physically produce, so sales are by definition profit.
c. Hardware doesn't. Sega loses money on each dreamcast that is sold, with the hopes that licensing costs that developers must pay will recoup their losses. The dreamcast had the misfortune of going against the playstation, which while graphically inferior, had an established game library, and was not yet obsolete. Why buy a new game system, when plenty of great games are still being manufactured for the PS?
d. With the rise in home gaming system power, arcades are not as popular. Sega was a leader in this market, but now it just isn't paying off. Switching over to SW development, if done well, with emphasis on quality games, may hopefully pull the company out of the red.
I think that they aren't in such need to recruit Microsoft as a buyer. Granted, Salon did hit it head on when they predicted NVidia to provide X-Box hardware, but I think here they are just speculating.
Thoughts, responses, flames? Bring it on!
Captain_Frisk
two days ago.
While they do intend to broaden their scope in the software market they ALSO hope to broaden their scope in the hardware market.
Future generations of SEGA hardware are already in development.
I think they'll keep supporting it anyway, because Dreamcast runs and version of Windows (CE, I think...) - they will be able to release documentation about porting, etc.
James Matthews - http://www.generation5.org/
Ok, so what's to stop MS from keeping the Sega brand alive. they bought bungie too, and their brand is still going strong no?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
They are probably selling the DCs at a net loss hoping that game licensing will make up the difference, hence Sega is losing money. Also, the PS2 is not a year late. It is in fact probably being released too early since many of the tools to develop for PS2 are kinda crappy as I've heard. As for the hardware and graphics issues, PS2 is not being used to its full potential yet so an accurate comparison is not really possible. Wait a year and compare DC to PS2.
People are screaming that the PS2 games suck. Look at the original set of PSX games. Not very good either are they? Yet many of the second generation games rocked, compare Twisted Metal 1 to 2 for example. Big improvements were made. What killed the Saturn and may kill the DC? The later generation games sucked and sega stopped really supporting their console. What is happening now, well Sega is already starting to stop supporting their console... Get the picture?
So far I've gotten all my Karma from telling people they are wrong... :)
The 'visual memory' or whatever it's called isbizarre.
Aw, man. The first time I get to use the Overrated moderation, and I'm fresh outta points.
I'm disappointed. A mildly humorous tongue-in-cheek rant, and four people didn't think it was a joke? I know knee-jerk Microsoft bashing is the National Pasttime here, but you guys aren't even trying anymore.
We're not scare-mongering/This is really happening - Radiohead
This sig intentionally left blank.
His point was proven to me when we released our next game to great critical press, great reviews, and strong buyer feedback. Unfortunately, our publisher didn't advertise the game well, and our shelf space was limited. AS a result, we hardly sold any copies of the game.
My point is, you have to market the hell out of the games, not the console. This is where Sega is faltering. They aren't showing enough of their games where it matters.
This is EXACTLY what Sega is going to rectify with their new shift to software. Less focus on the console, and more on the games. The console sale will come afterwards ... you have to have SOMETHING to play the game on.
They aren't abandoning the hardware market, just aggressively pushing the software.
Every few months it seems some expert theorizes that sega is dead and that they will have to sell there soul (or work for MS -- same difference) to keep alive. The same thing with apple. How many times was apple supposed to die? Apple is alive (although not doing as well as others) because they can make a living by holding on to a small niche.
:)
Hopefully the video game market has grown enough to allow someone to stay alive by only holding onto a small band of die hard fans.
Anyway, apple isn't doing as well as other companies but they aren't dead -- and will probably live on way into the future. Likewise Sega isn't dead either. Yes they are loosing money but the DC really hasn't been out long enough to really start rolling in the dough and the market for consoles in Japan isn't what it used to be.
Anyway, don't panic and don't count the DC out yet. It is games that sell consoles and I think we will all agree (except maybe for the diehard sony fanboys) that RIGHT NOW Sega has got the games. If you have the great software sometimes you don't need the most powerful hardware.
Also notice how the article never once mentioned coin-ops. How can you even talk about Sega without mentioning that they dominate the arcades? I think the fall of the arcade has as much lead to Sega's recent trouble as anything else. Also is everyone else looking forward to Shen Mu as much as I am
I would have to say that comming out with bad games at first is not a usual thing. Look At nintendo's games that have come with its consoles. Maybe that's not enough to count but I think that most of the games that come out with the console are generally pretty good.
This Wiki Feeds You TV and Anime - vidwiki.org
If anyone needs an example of what happens to console makers when the lose market share. Look at Atari. I predict that Sega will for all intense purposes disapeer until the attempt a comeback in several years (a la Jaguar)
BTW I am actually own a Jaguar.
The Revolution. Now available as a convienent six tape series from PBS.
He loaded the car from his memory card, but the game wouldn't let me load a car from his. So we had to manually swap the memory cards, load from his, and then swap back
i believe this might be due to the type of VS race you chose, kinda like the VS mode in GT2 where i'm racing cars in my garage against cars in your garage.
this is more of a implementation in the game, than an overall requirement, but i agree, it currently can suck.
This IS indeed supposed to be humorous. The whole Robotnic-Bill Gates parallel struck me just as I was wrapping up and I tossed it in to be silly. I honestly didn't expect, and don't believe I deserve, a score 4 on this.
The bit about the penguins was a little far-fetched to be honest MS-bashing. It's just silly.
Angry IT woman in big clompy boots. And talking lint!.
If MS buys Sega, will they still support the Dreamcast, or quietly let it die and promote the Xbox?
That having been said, enough of these damn Sega rumor and Playstation 2 hype articles on /.
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Other things I'd like to see on the DC:
o MAME
o WinCE (desktop)
o Ethernet
- Nintendo: Virtual Boy & N64
- Sega: Saturn & 32x
- Atari: Jaguar
Sony has been successful thus far, since only have had (until recently) one console offering. Who's not to say the PS3 will bomb? The real factor is always the software support and trends(ie. mascots, social trends, etc.)...what has saved Nintendo's sorry ass N64? One word Pokemon!(and to a smaller extent the Zelda hype)....geez even the new version of the console might as well be called the Poke64!Jaguar...no real software library..and if I remember right, the price was a little steep at the time.
Sega Saturn was a bear to develop for and saw limited sucess overseas, but not in U.S. 32x was hyped way too much and didn't deliver.
Sony had an exceptional freshman outing....and doesn't seem to be about to fall into a "sophmore slump"....but time will tell. Sony is still the new kid on the block, until Xbox comes along. All of the above mentioned companies have had excellent first systems(and even some seconds). You could have the most poly-per-second, trilinear flip-mip-whip mapping,pre rastering engine on the planet, but if you dont have the right mascot or licenses, and have developer friendly (or at least workable)tools....you're gonna have a bomb. And never forget luck!
Sehr geehrter Toilettenbenutzer!
SOA is doing fine, it's Sega of Japan that's struggling. Even PS2 isn't doing that well there, especially software-wise. The only thing that sells PS2's is the DVD capability. SOA sales are quite brisk and some monster titles are hitting this month, Sega net seems to be a hit, and the future actually looks pretty good in North America and Europe. The PS2 shortage may be helping things out as well, especially given dismal launch titles (which seems to be a console tradition...can't wait to see PS2 games coming out next fall!!). It seems that these steady Sega is dying articles are some kind of circular internet thing- all the news sites are reading each other's Sega articles, without fully investigating, and the faulty information is propagating, mutating as it goes. Just go out one weekend and rent a PS2 and a bunch of games, then go out another weekend and rent a Dreamcast and a bunch of games. Buy whichever system has the games you want to play out now, and don't worry about all this doom and gloom. Dreamcast's current installed base is large enough to let the system coast for a year and a half or so if no other unit sold. PS2 is obviously a juggernaut and once developers figure things out, it's going to rock your world. X-Box is still vaporware, but sounds promising. And Gamecube is really vaporware, but Nintendo always manages to sell things. Then there's Indrema, the gameless wonder (moo ha ha)
The last strong Sonic game was Sonic and Knuckles. That was the last one carrying the original Sonic the Hedgehog storyline. But since then, we haven't had any good Sonic games. Sure, the newer games _look_ better, but is FF8 better than FF3? No.
If you ask me, Sega's killing of Sonic in this manner might have caused this. And Microsoft purchasing Sega won't fix the problem. That would cure the disease by killing the patient! What little is left of Sega's soul would be swallowed by the demon of Redmond.
Unless Sega can revive Sonic by bringing back the old storyline, and stops worrying about hardware, they're toast, no matter what.
Farewell, Sega. We'll never forget you.
Chris 'coldacid' Charabaruk Meldstar Entertainment
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I am thinking just the opposite. Last week I was
looking for a new video card for my 'puter and
the cheapest one that was reasonable is about $150, which is the cost of the dreamcast. A 'good' card is about $250. So, I could upgrade my video card to one that will be outdated in 6 months, or I can keep the one I have and buy a dreamcast, or I could buy a PS2 for the same price
as a good card and get DVD on my TV for free.
Subsidized game consoles make it hard for the PC
to take over.
A vampire (M$) should never suck the blood of a dead thing (Sega) because the thing will drag you down to the depths with it.
,where one faceless corporation(Commodore,Escom etc)sucks the blood of a dead thing (Amiga) then mysteriously dies...
I thinks thats commonly called the 'Curse of Amiga'
the first 35th Post?? LMAO...knucklehead!
Sehr geehrter Toilettenbenutzer!
I have no idea what you're talking about, as SSX for the PS2 kicks fucking ass.
It's like, amazing. I was in awe. Addictive gameplay, beautiful graphics. I was in love.
And I own a Dreamcast, not a PS2.
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Gaming consoles have always been pretty cool. But now the PC is sortof taking over IMHO. When you can do everything a game console can, plus have internet connectivity for taking on your friends and write reports for school, you pretty much have everything you need. Why speed a couple hundred to have a game console (that is not upgradable and will eventually be put out by the next and better version) sitting around. Long live the PC!
Microsoft has a lot to gain by buying out Sega. The cost of the hardware and the engineering expertise is only part of it, of which Sega can provide a limited amount, especially to a software giant like Microsoft. The real value for any company interested in purchasing Sega is its ability to take ownership of all the games that it produces as a software house and its licensing. The thing that will make X-Box live or die is its developer support. Instead of trying to get games written for its platform by approaching individual software houses, they can simply acquire Sega and have the developing and creative talents of many games. The name-brand of Sega's characters, games, and the console itself will only carry it so far. Gamers would flock to X-box if every one of Sega's in-house developed flagship titles were developed for the X-Box.
Also, the playing field and state-of-the-art will have changed so much by the time Sony is ready to release PSX3 or whatever their next machine will be called that the Dreamcast technology really won't help them all that much.
.. when the one thing you need is a warm PC?
I remember the first Playstation games not being that impressive either. How many people are going to end up owning all the systems anyway?
The PS2 has enough inertia to install a strong user base and developers are not going to ignore that.
They give the President 100 days to see how he is doing, do consoles only get 8?
Actually, they're all very similar in design and layout. All of Square's Final Fantasy games really do look and "feel" like a Final Fantasy game, while most of their other RPGs have a noticable trend away. The story line is almost always different, but in a way, that's a good thing. It would get strained to have the same characters over and over again - it would even begin to get boring if it was the same world over and over again. By having different backdrops, Square allows themselves to play with the gameplay in ways they couldn't otherwise. (V's job system, XI's Espers, XII's Materia, XIII's draw system...)
The other thing that ties all the games together are the basic weapon/item/spells/summons, which almost always carry over. (Masamune is in every game, Tonic, Potion, Tincture, etc., Fire, Fira, Firaga (or Fire, Fire 2, Fire 3 in the US up until VIII), Ifrit, Shiva, Cait Sith (a character in VII, "Stray" in US's VI (or III)), etc.). The basic game play is really quite similar among all the Final Fantasy games, and that's what gets people coming back to it.
(It also should be noted that Crash Bandicoot officially ended with Crash Bandicoot 3: WARPED, although they've decided that it's too lucrative and are instead coming out with Crash Bandicoot character games, like a Mario Cart and Mario Party clone.)
However, I do agree completely that Sony is the king of marketting, and that they've successfully used that to quell other platforms. Bascially, they try and win the developers over to the PS, and with PS2s weird hardware, games are that much harder to port from the PlayStation2. Unfortunately for Sony, that works two ways: It's also harder to port to the PS2.
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
I think Salon's got a lot of guts talking about the demise of Sega. Don't they [Salon] have enough problems of their own?
Your forgetting the real reason they went with the mini-dvds.
Eventually dvd burners will be cheap.
Eventually someone will make a Game Cube mod chip.
But good luck on finding a writable mini-dvd.
It's released in Japan already. Works with all your favorite LAN technologies. It'll be released in the US Jan 02, 2001 for $60.
I'll be first in line.
Blar.
Why do these articles keep getting posted to the front page?
You mean Slashdot has a back page to post articles to? Nobody ever tells me anything! What else have I been missing out on? Is there a sports section? Funny pages?
Remember "Bring 'em on"? *sigh
Cretin?
I don't have a fancy sig like you all do, so if you have a problem with that, you can go fsck yourself! ^_^
Is it me, or does the introduction of a really hi-tech or 'concept' control pad which is shipped with the machine by default always indicate the impending doom of a console company? The only control pad I remember being as bizarre and uncomfortable as the Dreamcast's was the Atari Jaguar pad in the early 90's (remember them?) And look what happened - it was meant to be the resurrection of Atari but was really its death knell. We'll all know the fate of Microsoft when we see final pictures of the X-Box control pad.
Sam
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is anti-MS zealotry at its very best. You haven't put forth a single argument against a possible MS-Sega merger other than that MS sucks and Sega is cool. AND you managed to throw in a "Sega should be open-sourced" line in there. Impressive.
Now, really, given a choice between a Playstation and a N64, I'd take the N64. Call me crazy, but I enjoy at least a smidgen of quality over a gross amount of quantity. Excluding MGS and Goldeneye as the "obvious" choices, name me as many games as you can for both systems that didn't stink. I'll bet the Nintendo list would be much longer.
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These articles are FUD, no different than the pro-Microsoft tactic used by people who feared seeing their platform of choice having to compete with alternatives. The truth is some people (and I'm guessing from the coverage that Slashdot's editors are among them) would love to see a console monopoly, just like my boss at work would love to see a Microsoft monopoly. Why? No worries about compatibility. For developers, no worries about developing for multiple platforms. Of course, there is a flaw in this thinking. Microsoft isn't a monopoly, but their domination of the desktop was probably not a good thing. Besides that, I really wish that non-x86 hardware had more of a chance in the marketplace. Variety is more fun than bland, ugly sameness.
What I really wish is that the Sony would be content with its hoard of casual users, caught up in fad gaming, and leave the consoles that cater to real gamers alone. (I mean, $1500 for a game console that's overpriced at $300 and won't really be that useful until there is a decent line up of games for it, if ever? We're in Beanie Baby/Cabbage Patch land here, a tulip bubble like this can't be good for gaming in general.) Unfortunately, that's not the way huge companies like Sony operate. They'll try to push Sega out of business even if it was only profitable as an enthusiasts system while they devoured the mainstream market. Stories like this are part of a concerted effort by Sony to do just that. Why do I think of these anti-Sega articles as propaganda, because no one treats the serious problems Sony had in the same light. In Japan, the PSX2 is a popular DVD-player, gaming is in a slump... that's bad for a company that is selling its consoles as a loss leader.)
The thing that amazes me is that as game companies go, they are extraordinarily lame. The content they produce in house is really sort of "bleah." I can't think of one Sony original title I consider a must own, and the only one that has name recognition with me is Crash Bandicoot. The big Sony titles were all produced by third parties, like Capcom, Konami, and Square (Square is not Sony, remember when Nintendo fans found out a similar truth about their own favorite console.)
Besides which, as has so often been said, Sony is responsible for a lot of the really bad IP laws we all have to deal with. They practically are the DVD CCA, all by themselves. They are one of the biggest multinationals in the world, and they are hostile toward their consumers.
They've also done their best to frustrate people who dare to play games outside of their region (yes, I know, no different than other game companies, but certainly negating any kind of fan loyalty people should feel toward them.)
Sega is far from perfect, as game companies go. However, when Slashdot constantly reprints the same story, after it was already refuted, it should cause them to lose credibility.
All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
personally i don't beleive that sega is forsale! i mean they may of had a bad run with there previous consoles. even lower than expected profit from the dreamcast, however the dreamcast is still a very successful console. and is said to be good as a playstation 2. so sega has said there going to drop out of hardware and concentrate on software. sounds like a good idea if u ask me. they have the hardware in the market (dreamcast) so why not concentrate on the games for it to make the dreamcast better! sega make good games! i mean go to an arcade and see for urself. my opinion. - urantia
Gods, not THIS rumor again. I heard this one when Sega CD came out, and failed. I heard it again when the 32X came out, and failed. I heard it yet AGAIN when the Saturn came out, and failed as well. Save it for a press release kiddies, 'cause I'm tired of hearing this one.
I've been called a "Fucking Dick" by better people than you.
Compared to Nintendo's previous flagship systems (NES and SNES), N64 was a failure. Both NES and SNES were the number one selling consoles for their generation. Nothing else came even close to breaking the NES's dominance during the 8-bit era. Genesis' arrival put a dent in NES sales, but NES sales were still strong. And as soon as the SNES was released it quickly became the number one 16 bit system. (I don't see how you can say SNES was a failure seeing as it was number one). Gameboy, despite it's primitive hardware, has ruled portable gaming for 11 years.
Considering this success in the past, N64 is a failure. Even though the Playstation's hardware is nowhere near as good as the N64's, PSX sales are vastly higher and the PSX has hundreds of more games. N64 has failed to get a market share majority, or even come close. Nintendo has failed to rule this generation's video game market. I'd call that a failure.
Look at 3DO, they made hell of an expensive gaming console which didn't sell very well so they left the hardware market and moved to a pure software role. Last I check up on them they were doing very well financially and had a good track record for game titles.
The PS/2 may be an adrenaline kick for Sega's ailing DreamCast. The DC's screenshots look better, and desperate parent's who find they're SOL when they shop for an elusive PS/2 in the Christmas rush will probably settle for the DreamCast. I'm sure retailers will push it. If Sega should stay in a holding pattern and continue adding to their roster of games, they should still make a profit.
SEO Copywriter. Just Say ON
*ahem*
WHICH games ACTUALLY use WinCE ?
Yeah. And just think of how cool it would be to see posts on "Sonic the Hedgehog Security Vuneralbility (sp?) Update 3.2". That would be cute.
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"The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad." - Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
Umm, yeah...
Look at the 'Sections' on the left side there. See 'apache', 'askslashdot', 'books', etc? There are posts placed there that aren't on the front page.
They need a 'rumours' section. Badly.
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Apart from Pokemon?
Wat about:
Mario 64 (the game I bought the console for)
Goldeneye (a classic by any definition)
Perfect Dark
Zelda (at least a lot more credit than you give it)
Transparent colored consoles (even if you hated it you have to admit no-one had done it before).
Analog controls (I think Nintendo was first with this one).
There have of course been a number of other great games. I'm not a Nintendo fanatic - I already have a PS2 and love it. But I think calling the N64 anything but a quiet success is really a mistake.
I agree with all of your other choices, even though I own both a Virtual Boy (picked it up dirt cheap from EB clearance) and the Jaguar/CD Player (which had an OK library, but was difficult to program for and there wasn't enough incentive to learn).
On top of that, I still like the Nintendo controller better than the Dual Shock 2 - My hands are a bit large for the Sony controller.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Actually Sega is getting out of the hardware business, so it will use Mir to deorbit the Iridium satellites. A revolutionary user interface will then introduce their new game family: "Find Water On Mars", followed by "Dry Mars", followed by "Mars Swimming Hole"...all of which will run only on Beowulf clusters of Dragonball Z graphically enhanced processors.
Replace the silly N64 controller icon with an Atari 2600 joystick.
2 things have really kept SEGA down over the years. Really bad marketing, and of course, sony.
Sony has excellent marketing/hype. No doubts about that. Ive never seen so many slobbering idots wait in line to spend 300+ bucks on something with no AAA games and only a few worth even playing for more then a little while. But, you all know this.
Segas launch got neutered by sony prematurly announcing/releasing the PS2. Thats all there is too it. The PS2 could have stood a 1/2 year more engeneering, better middleware and dev kits, and publishers another year to make real games and not shovelware.
Sega also failed in the long run with what i think also smashed the saturn: not using their huge licenses.
Sonic, Phantasy Star, Panzer Dragoon... the list goes on and on. Sony and its third parties recognize on thing - the name sells. For example, Final Fantasy. wow, thay are on 9 in a few days and NONE of them have anything to do with one another, except maybe chocobos. Now ask yourself this, if each title was released under a different name, would they sell as well? No. In truth you could call final fantasy 9 "Po goes the the market to get a fish" and it would be the same game, but, square, as does sony, knows the value in a name.
This also illustrates the phenomena that the PSX brought to the gaming world: mass market gaming. No longer do you have 90% of the game buying public knowledgeable of the industry, you now have 30% at best. Thats a lot of people who dont even know that sega exists most likely. Tis a shame, as so few PSX titles have had any quality over the last few years.
For all the sony fanboys, for as much as you want sega to die, no competetion in the gaming market would mean the worst drought of AAA original titles for a long time. The average joe comsumer wont notice, as they couldnt find a good game if it was suck to their ass, but for the hardcore, it will mean final fantasy 39, crash bandicoot 234, spyro 34, and so forth.
Sega chooses to come up with original content, rather then play off old names. Jet Grind Radio. Samba de Amigo. ChuChu rocket(yes chuchu). Sega has balls, and some of the best game designers this side of nintendo. Anyone truly in to games shold be praying for segas development houses to stay in good health.
If you havent, go play samba, and tell me its not the most fun youve had with a game in a VERY long time. You may find yourself springing 120 bucks for maracas and the game before you kow what hit you. its that good.
"Stuff... In my home!? NEVER!" - Zim on Invader Zim
"I want the toilet seat!" - Little Dog on Two Stupid Dogs
Interesting Article. Being a big fan of Sony products in the gaming arena - I own a Playstation and have my sites on ver. 2 - I would beg to differ with the article as Microsoft being the main one to "gain" from devouring Sega.
I would see Sony having somewhat more to gain than Microsoft. If sony concentrated on the Hardware taking the excellence which was offered by the Dreamcast and combining it with their somewhat disappointing PlayStation 2 they could grab a better share in the market.
Even though Sony does have it's own game franchises and maybe won't give Sega a hard look I'd suggest to them to LOOK AGAIN! Sega could be what Sony needs to take the market by storm!
--Programmers Need::Technological Klass--
I really hope Nintendo buys Sega, or they form a really close relationship such as Nintendo and Rare. I have been a Sony man since the Playstation, but "Who let the PS2 out? woof woof"? I'm fairly disgusted with Sony and the PS2, and i hope Nintendo grows up and uses the Gamecube right. The n64 was fairly disapointing.
If Microsoft devoured Sonic, I don't know if I could stomach it.
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In related news, Microsoft announced today it was purchasing Sega, Atari, and the rights to Intellivision cartridges. This move was seen as an effort to bolster Microsoft's "Sky.net" project -- sending a single Terminator back in time to execute the makers of any video games other than Bungie's.
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Already out in Japan. Believe It.
Blar.
The entire crux of the Salon article assumes that: A.) SEGA is getting out of the hardware business; and B.) CSK is looking to sell SEGA. Neither of these appears to be true. So what's the deal?
www.animejump.com Webzine, isn't it?
It would also give Microsoft an automatic entry into the arcade market, though I don't know how valuable that is these days.
I think we are reaching a point in the console market, though, where it's feasible to address a high-end segment and a low-end segment with two separate products.
You are an idiot. I didn't say it the first time though, asshole.
Okay, perhaps this is a very obscure reference, but it IS related and not entirely offtopic.
First of all, what real evidence do we have that MS will indeed buy Sega? Gahhh...I should certainly hope not.
If anything, I think Sega should be open-sourced. Here's my take on it; it's rather limited to the comic book scene.
Archie Comics has a Sonic the Hedgehog lineup, almost to their 100th issue, with surprisingly in-depth storylines and a good deal of artistic talent. Sure, it's just Sonic and a bunch of furries fighting evil, but they look GOOD doing it! Archie's got some good writers working on the Sonic scene, but see, Sega has its OWN characters and agendas. Archie has had a hard time dealing with this as they attempt to make their storylines more involved--Sega demands that Sonic retain a cool and spunky attitude, and he's too "cool" to be involved in any emotional issues that are at the core of developing a fictional character. So it's very hard for Archie to develop personalities and "nail down" the characters...because of this issue.
If Micros~1 bought Sega, this would likely get even worse. We all know how Microsoft is about licensing. They'd probably demand death scenes of all characters other than those exclusively designed by Sega and put in the games, and a very decent comic title would die out due to lack of readership. Then Sonic and the remaining four or five characters would begin resembling paperclips. They'd lose what little personality they had entirely. And they'd all zoom around quickly correcting spelling mistakes you don't want corrected. At least once a day you'd get a blue (blur) screen. Robotnik would probably be the only remaining character. They'd change his name to Ro-bill-nik, or Redmondnik, or something like that. And Sega and Microsoft would jointly create a new character, Panic the Penguin, with his leagues of evil penguins, whom Ro-Gates-Nik would have to go around converting to his purposes....
No? Okay. Well, I'm done now.
Angry IT woman in big clompy boots. And talking lint!.
Really, all this Salon article says is that making consoles is a money-losing business in the short term (which we all knew already) and a whole bunch of speculation about Sega and Microsoft and whatnot. I'm waiting for facts, not what ifs.
Ita erat quando hic adveni.
Huh. I'll be!
Thanks.
Remember "Bring 'em on"? *sigh
I think games are the most important part of the console system. Why is everybody fussing over such a trifle topic? Sony is cool. Nintendo is cool. Sega is cool. Heck, even Jenga is cool. O_o
I don't have a fancy sig like you all do, so if you have a problem with that, you can go fsck yourself! ^_^
They've been saying this for almost as long as people have been saying Apple is fixing to go bankrupt...
They will be sold to a guy and his son. These two will try to reshape Sega into a home computer company. They will send the company spiraling downward, and eventually sell out to a hard disk manufacturer. The HD manufacturer will sit on the Sega name for about a year, and then sell the "home system" name to Hasbro.
Microsoft, being the new guy in the console market would stand to gain a lot of console experience both domestic and foreign, as everyone else has released atleast 2 generations of consoles.
I don't know what MS's plans are for the Xbox in Japan but aside from shoveling WinCE and win98 in their faces, they have no clout there, and sega is for the most part a Japanese company. I'm sure MS's marketing monkies can figure the rest out.
I just hope the US sees the Xbox before our eastern partners-in-wasted-time-playin'-dumb-games-crime. (unlike everything else ever released thats powered by electricity, call it jealously)
cheers,
ecc
maybe we can have Sonic replace that damn talking paperclip!
This
Aside from rights to a few popular game characters, M$ doesn't really have much to gain from buying Sega. Making a new console system doesn't exactly involve top secret technology, and M$ has already been working on their own for a while. Sega has some industry experience, but obviously it doesn't have the answer to succeding in the console system market. All they will inherit from sega besides a few characters is a company already in the red with an obsolete console system on the market. It's not really a lucrative gain. Perhaps they feel that a popular character can carry a platform. That's not really the case. Mario games or Sonic games that seem to debut with Sega/Nintendo systems are actually fun games. The fact that they feature a specific character helps, but in the end, game quality tends to carry a system further than a well-known face. (and please don't bring pokemon into this. They are crappy games that carry the gameboy now, but that is a different category. That is a kiddy craze. Sonic & co. are not.)
Perhaps there is something I just don't get about the possible deal. Feel free to inform me of anything I have overlooked/interpreted incorrectly.
Trying is the first step toward failure. - Homer Simpson
If M$ buys Sega, will we have to learn to reboot "Sonic" after we play it for an hour or so?
"That's the sort of blinkered, philistine pig ignorance I've come to expect from you non-creative garbage."-Monty Python
Unwilling (or too stupid) to capitalize on its already-made successes might be its downfall. Original games like Virtual On and Sega Super GT are practically Sega coin-op legends in terms of current (post '95) games. No matter what the graphics look like, Virtua On's gameplay is far beyond any combat games I've played recently. Especially in Robotic Combat where most games are simply side-scrolling 3d fighter wanna-be's or Mech Simulators. Yet, was the new version of Virtua On (I've seen it only in Japanese arcades... updated gfx, new characters) even released on console? Well, even if it was, it wasn't hyped at all because I haven't even heard of it. I mean, Sega makes great games - no doubt about that - so why doesn't it port those games onto console and hype it like there's no tomorrow? During the hype for the console port, the arcades will swell up with people playing the game they just found out about through the ads (yeah... people are stupid like that), and when the game's released people will buy it - it's that simple. Think about how N64 has been revived (somewhat) simply because Zelda has finally been released? And now with Majora's mask? Geez. The only reason why N64 tops out is because of the guy (the japanese game designer legend... um... dunno his name... too difficult to remember). Nintendo makes great games, knows it for a fact, and is willing to capitalize on it. When was the last time you didn't hear about a Mario or Zelda game before it came out? Or after? Dreamcast? Hell, I don't even know what games are ON dreamcast! Except for the swiggly logo and vmu, I know nothing about it. Marketing, Sega, gotta do your marketing. With its association with Heat.net, you'd think that Sega would develope a 10 Six port for Dreamcast with hyped graphics... but... alas... they didn't even think about it. Geez... imagine counter-strike on DC (With a mouse... and maybe one handed gamepad) which connected to servers in no time? :)
Thanks,
i-Chaos
...I am proof that intelligent beings are not always intelligent...
Virtua On: Oratorio Tangram is indeed out for the Dreamcast. A friend of mine has it. Of course, it's nigh unplayable without a twinstick...
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Do I look like I speak for my employer?
why does some ppl feel the need to support the weak market party ...they want to get the best and longest pleasure out of there coin ...
..where ppl make less then 300$ a year
...it wont be missed ...
...
...cause i dont have a real moral that i want to say ...i am mostly part pissed of ...or wish life was better...and that every kid had his sega ..or linux box to play with
sega is a big big company that hires many ppl and make millions , they will not vanish in the dark but they could have done way better
same for nintendo and sony
none of them will retire soon, they will be there for long time
plus gaming a luxury for the rich kids ! yes us poor kids we play sports and arcade
the best gamers are always at arcade
if your rich buy 100 dreamcast or whatever and send em to am orphenage in a least developing country
i dont care if sega hits the ground
i dont care if nintendo or sony hit the ground...they wont be missed
i dont know if what i said made any sense to any of you
sheep for the sheep human for the human i just wonna keep my soul alive
No one is making a big deal about the Sony loss because they told everyone back in June when they announced the launch date that they will definitely lose money last quarter, and possibly until next summer financing the PS2 launch around the world. As a matter of fact, the loss that they predicted was accurate to what they actually loss.
Plus Sega has lost BILLIONS over the last four years. the sony loss of around 30 million is peanuts compared to that.
And the no PS2s till spring is a rumor as well. Most people are jumping to conclusions because places like software etc and EB are telling people who want to sign up for a PS2 now, they wont get it till spring because they are still filling out orders from LAST spring. They are encouraging people who are on the list to drop incase they cant meet demand and to cover their butt, they cant drop you for nothing, but you can voluntarily remove yourself from the list!
If you've followed the news, you would have noticed that each software division from AM2 to Sonic Team are now officially seperate companies. They are under no obligation to create games exclusively for Sega; in theory Sonic could be appearing on the X-Box. But he won't.
The real question is if the hardware company, the Sega behind the Smile Bit and the Hit Maker and the Sonic Team will stay or if CSK will decide to destroy it. Either way, the Sega software divisions will live on and so will the arcade machines. The only thing that will go is the home console. Sega will become like Capcom and Konami.
I am a bad speler. Please ignore speling meestakes in me poast.
What are they doing at Sega? Burning money? I bought a Dreamcast the first day they came out. I now own about 30 Dreamcast titles - I've easily sunk over $1500 in the system. And I LOVE IT. It is by far and away the best gaming system I've ever used. I used to play Quake competitively on a PC - now I play it on Dreamcast, with a keyboard and mouse, and it's SOOO much nicer. I run BSD on my Dreamcast.
The game availability is as vast as it is amazing. The PS2 is a year late, has like 10 titles, and no hardware anti-aliasing... and from what I've seen of the graphics, they're far from a generation ahead of dreamcast.
Am I missing something here? Millions of units sold, piles of great titles, terriffic hardware, no CSS or Rambus inside (gag)... HOW IS SEGA LOSING MONEY?
Is their CEO gambling? Are the engineers smoking crack wrapped in $100 bills? What's the deal here?
If Microsoft buys Sega I'm going to cry.
--
What happens when you outlaw guns
Zero Click Ordering
Why do these articles keep getting posted to the front page? We've probably had about 4 or 5 in the last few days, each retracting parts of the earlier ones. Some people might be interested in the latest misinformation concerning the sega saga, but post it directly into the game section. Then maybe you wouldn't get 900 "this article sucks" posts.
Try it from this angle: why on Earth would any one of the major console players allow the many years of experience SEGA has go into the trash? Surely one of them would be willing to absorb SEGA. If not, up up up goes all the SEGA emulation sites!
Sega are continuing to support the Dreamcast while there is money to be made (and at the moment, there isn't, but there are still a number of quality titles on the cards and a large user base). They are putting more money into R&D (meaning new coinop stuff as well as porting to other platforms). They are still the third largest console manufacturer, after Sony and Nintendo.
Oh, and for the myopic ppl claiming the PS2 is going to conquer all : one, it's already dated hardware, two, it's overpriced, three, there are _NO_ decent games for it yet, four, the xbox and gamecube are going to eat it for breakfast. Oh yeah, and it doesn't even have a modem !
It's the future of gaming you know. (Snuck)
Here's to Christmas 2001, and playing fantastic Sega games on the platform of my choice.
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If Sega is indeed concentrating on software as opposed to hardware then I guess they had better contract somebody to work on their box as the Dreamcast is going to get old fast with new technologies! I still say it's within the Interest of maybe someone like Sony to make a franchise out of this and create a partnership with Sega ... get rid of the crappines behind the PlayStation 2 and concentrate on the quality that us gamers need! ... Do it before M$ gets the idea and puts their X-Box as Sega's new platform ... !!!!!!!!!!
--Programmers Need::Technological Klass--