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The Dreamcast is Still Dead

00_NOP writes "Dreamcast lovers' hopes were raised earlier this month when it came to light that Sega had extended trade mark protection on the console's name. But hopes have now been dashed that we'll ever see another Dreamcast console, as even GameDaily's optimistic take on Sega's motivation makes clear. 'SEGA has no plans to get back into the hardware business, but we also want to protect our past and current brands. The trademark application was filed to protect our current and potential future use of the word DREAMCAST and to prevent other parties from using it in a way that could be confused or linked with SEGA.'"

24 of 131 comments (clear)

  1. That's just what they *want* you to think... by squiggleslash · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not quite. That might be what they're claiming but the truth is more amazing.

    I have a spy in Sega, and they are planning to release the all new "Dreamcast 360x3". It features:

    1. "EHDVD+", Sega's new high definition DVD format. Not compatible with Blu-ray or HD-DVD because it's better.
    2. A 64 bit PowerPC that's multicore. IBM is specially designing this for Sega.
    3. Some kind of ATI graphics, including a 1080i mode.
    4. The ability to connect to the Internet. A new service, "Dreamcast Connected", will allow you to subscribe to multiplayer games and stuff.
    5. Wireless controllers, with tilt detection for that "Not quite a Wii-mote" functionality
    6. Large size and with big glowing lights on the front ensuring you'll never miss it when it's sitting in front of your TV

    Sega hasn't come up with a final price yet, but they're expected to release different models of it for somewhere between $400 and $900. The $400 version will have the smaller hard drive and only an S-Video hookup, whereas the $900 will include a bundled copy of "Sonic XII: The SecondLife edition" plus an exclusive Hi-def copy of Employee of the Month on EHDVD+.

    This is amazing stuff, a truly innovative console that will turn the market on its head.

    --
    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    1. Re:That's just what they *want* you to think... by ByOhTek · · Score: 3, Funny

      More likely they are just saving the IP for a download-and-play on the Nintendo Yoo (successor to the Wii) out in 2012...

      --
      Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
    2. Re:That's just what they *want* you to think... by InfinityWpi · · Score: 3, Funny

      No, I think you had it right the first time.

    3. Re:That's just what they *want* you to think... by nschubach · · Score: 2, Informative

      Oh, give him a break. He's a seven digit. Still learning. **hides extremely close to seven digit ID**

      --
      Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
  2. In related news by Le+Jimmeh · · Score: 2, Funny

    Dead people are still dead. While a shock, scientists revealed today that previously dead people are still dead. More at 6.

  3. Please don't forget this by 00_NOP · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The mods chopped it from the posted article, but you are a Dreamcast owner I'd really like your help

  4. Make this a daily update by Sciros · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just so we're "in the know" on the livelihood of Dreamcast. Also please have daily updates on how dead the Sega Saturn is, how dead Asheron's Call servers are, how dead Betamax is, how dead the musket is, and finally how dead Van Damme's career is.

    --
    I like basketball!!1!
    1. Re:Make this a daily update by wcbarksdale · · Score: 2, Funny

      But what about Generalissimo Francisco Franco?

    2. Re:Make this a daily update by Chris+Burke · · Score: 2, Funny

      how dead the musket is, and finally how dead Van Damme's career is.

      I hear both are doing quite well thanks to historical reenactments. Though the version of The Battle of Bunker Hill featuring Van Damme features more kicking than I think the historical record shows, but most people can accept the embellishment for the sake of improved drama.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    3. Re:Make this a daily update by geminidomino · · Score: 2, Funny
      Translation:

      Asheron's Call is still alive and well. Some fanboys haven't abandoned our piñata-simulator for the newer, more popular ones.

      We may be a more intimate community than before, Plenty of cyber-sex0ring in the ghost-town that is the online world.

      but there's still plenty of fun to be had in the game. "I'm a mac, and I'm a PC"...

      It's not like we've removed content, just added new content. Meet the new quests, same as the old quests.

      Go resub and try some of the old quests for nostalgia's sake, or run some of the newer content for a change of pace. For the love of gods, we're starving. We need your money! PLEASE! We're even cheaper than WoW!
  5. What do you mean, still dead? by BenoitRen · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Dreamcast never really died. It kept getting new games, mostly in Japan. Then there's the whole homebrew game scene, of which some games get a commercial release once in a while.

    1. Re:What do you mean, still dead? by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The Dreamcast never really died.


      Really? Can I get a new one from Sega? Can I get a new one from *anybody*?

      Sorry, but when they stop making them, that's dead.

      Chris Mattern
  6. Apple project dashed by techpawn · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, they already do PodCasts... Why not beam them to you directly while you sleep? But, now they can't call them DREAMcasts...

    --
    Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country did to you
  7. Re:Maybe they should make a console by flitty · · Score: 2, Informative

    No.

    --
    Whether or not there is some sort of god, I'm not supposed to say/god is a word and the argument ends there-Smog
  8. Re:Maybe they should make a console by solar_blitz · · Score: 2, Insightful

    We need a fourth console in this race as much as we need a hole in the head. Seriously, the best idea is to not release a new console. They would do themselves a favor by a formal press release, too: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to not produce a new console this year." I'll bet that statement alone would improve investors' confidence in the company and they'll have a few yen increase or something.

  9. Re:Maybe they should make a console by realmolo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Nah, it's a terrible idea. Sega just isn't good at hardware. They got lucky with the Genesis.

    Their real strength is software. Sega makes really cool, really weird games. Or at least they used to. Now all they do is churn out crappy 3D versions of Sonic (and really GOOD 2D versions of Sonic if you have a GBA or DS).

  10. Re:Maybe they should make a console by Nitroadict · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Sega is sitting this round, and most likely, the next round out for console making. This is obvious via Sega & Nintendo's recent chummy friendship, which has developed since Sega primarily makes games nowadays (although they still do arcade hardware in Japan & USA methinks).

    However, the aqquisition of Sammy made me think that they do indeed have some type of long term plans, possibly with a new console at some point, but they are probably really worried about experiencing another Saturn or Dreamcast, which wouldn't bode well financially, albeit Dreamcast was just an incomplete victory in a battle that was ahead of it's time.

    You can speculate all you want, but realistically, no, Sega is not going to revive the DC, make a new one, new console, or whatever for quite some time. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they never made another console as long as the company still exists in it's current form.

  11. Re:How philosophical... by Mike+Buddha · · Score: 2, Funny

    Really, can something be dead which never lived? How do you kill that which has no life?

    --
    by Mike Buddha -- Someday the mountain might get him, but the law never will.
  12. IMHO - The Xbox is the Dreamcast II by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I noticed when I got an Xbox... that the Dreamcast I had ran on Windows CE, that the controllers for the Dreamcast and the Xbox had notable similarities in terms of button layout and gameplay, and have been of the opinion that Microsoft borrowed (or bought) heavily from Dreamcast in much the same way Windows NT borrowed from the OS/2 project. I just hope that Sega fared better in the deal than IBM had in theirs.

    1. Re:IMHO - The Xbox is the Dreamcast II by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "I noticed when I got an Xbox... that the Dreamcast I had ran on Windows CE..."

      Well, some of the games used WinCE as an OS for them. It's not like the DC booted up and gave you a Window manager and all that other stuff.

      "that the controllers for the Dreamcast and the Xbox had notable similarities in terms of button layout and gameplay..."

      There are notable similarities between the XBOX and PS/PS2 controllers, too.

      "...and have been of the opinion that Microsoft borrowed (or bought) heavily from Dreamcast in much the same way Windows NT borrowed from the OS/2 project."

      Borrowed/bought/stole what? Okay, the controllers have some superficial similarities. What evidence do you have of this that can be explained by some other reason than "Microsoft went to a store and bought a Dreamcast"?

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  13. python by tute666 · · Score: 3, Funny

    It is an ex-console

  14. Re:How philosophical... by vux984 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Van Damme used to be one of the "big 3 superstars" in the early nineties. It was Schwarzenegegger, Stallone, and Van Damme.

    I don't think he was ever on quite the same action hero level as Schwarzenegger's [Terminator/Predator/...] or Stallone's Rambo/Rocky. He was always one step down, same level as Steven Seagal, Chuck Norris, Kurt Russel, and maybe Dolph Lundgren... a star, but not a superstar.

  15. Doubtful. by Cyno01 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Due to size restraints, it wouldnt be feasable for virtual console to support CD based games. The largest N64 cartridges were 512Mb (small b), compared to a potential 700MB for CDs, although i dont know how much space the average CD game used. The Wii only has 512MB of useable storage (the SD slot is for backups), so its unlikely we'll ever see games that were originally on CD on the Wii.

    --
    "Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
  16. Re:Good by twistedsymphony · · Score: 2, Informative

    And all three brands have lockout mechanisms to keep the little guy off the platform. Imagine an independent game developer who has a PC-based prototype of a game that allows four players holding gamepads to play at once. It works great with TV output, but I am not convinced that most potential customers know how to connect a PC's video card to a TV. So on which platform should this game be published?
    Download XNA Express for free, tweak the game to run on Xbox 360 hardware, and either hock it to a publisher to front the necessary QA and clean up for XBLA distribution or run it in the next game design competition where MS will take care of that for you. You could also purchase a basic Wii dev kit for $2000 (or if your cheap, pirate some GC dev tools and run your code on a hacked console) and hock your game to Nintendo's upcoming WiiWare service.

    There are opportunities for "the little guys" to get published on home consoles. I'd say the barrier for entry today is probably the lowest it's been since the Atari days. You might not be competing with the Halos and Orange Boxes of the world but there's certainly a good home for the "little guys" on XBLA, WiiWare, and PSN...