How did Microsoft contribute to the death of the Dreamcast? I am really curious.
In my opinion MS used the Dreamcast as an experiment in entering the console market.
MS had absolutely no interest in the long term health of the Dreamcast, after all they were going to release the xbox so why would they want to see the Dreamcast live very long?
Honestly, what was the benefit to Sega for having the Dreamcast running CE? All of the games (at least that I remember) that ran on CE were horrible (even the South Park title was lame).
In my personal opinion Sega got used and abused by the deal with MS.
Where are they now? At one time they were taking risks releasing edgy and strange but fun games (see my original post). Look at them now... Have they experimented with any new genres of games recently? Have they started any new trends in visual effects (like cell shading)? What was the last game that they released that they were willing to take a risk on? All games that they are releasing now are pretty much "safe bets" and "standards".
All I know is that Sega was constantly coming out with games that made me mark my calendar and anticipate the release date (in the days of the Dreamcast). The last games that Sega released that I anticipated buying (and really enjoyed) were "Panzer Dragoon Orta" (Jan 2003 : xbox) and "Jet Set Radio Future" (Feb 2003 : xbox).
This article just reminded me of the brilliance and creativity that Sega used to be. It just struck an emotional chord.
** Yes, I do own an xbox. My spouse works for MS and having one in our house was inevitable. That being said, our Dreamcast gets used much more than the xbox. Try having a party and not breaking out Samba De Amigo and the maracas:-)
Reading articles like this really upset me. Sega is (or was) a brilliant company. For years I was amazed by the risks that Sega would take to release some really brilliant games. While everyone else (i.e. Sony and Nintendo) were releasing the same old first-person shooters and guaranteed sellers, Sega was taking real risks with trying new types of games. Some of my favorite Dreamcast examples are...
The Sega Dreamcast was an absolutely great console. The games for it were bizarre, but brilliant and amazingly fun. Their biggest mistake(s) was not basing it on DVD and of course their partnering with MS. The death of the Dreamcast marked a severe turning point in my thinking. It was when Sega announced the death of the Dreamcast that I truly became a hater of MS and it marked the end of me being an enthusiastic gamer. Forget the XBox and the PS2, when I want to play some fun games I still turn on my Dreamcast
As a side note I would have loved to be in the room during the meeting when the idea for Samba De Amigo was pitched... "A monkey with maracas and dancing?"
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How did Microsoft contribute to the death of the Dreamcast? I am really curious.
... Have they experimented with any new genres of games recently? Have they started any new trends in visual effects (like cell shading)? What was the last game that they released that they were willing to take a risk on? All games that they are releasing now are pretty much "safe bets" and "standards".
:-)
In my opinion MS used the Dreamcast as an experiment in entering the console market.
MS had absolutely no interest in the long term health of the Dreamcast, after all they were going to release the xbox so why would they want to see the Dreamcast live very long?
Honestly, what was the benefit to Sega for having the Dreamcast running CE? All of the games (at least that I remember) that ran on CE were horrible (even the South Park title was lame).
In my personal opinion Sega got used and abused by the deal with MS.
Where are they now? At one time they were taking risks releasing edgy and strange but fun games (see my original post). Look at them now
All I know is that Sega was constantly coming out with games that made me mark my calendar and anticipate the release date (in the days of the Dreamcast). The last games that Sega released that I anticipated buying (and really enjoyed) were "Panzer Dragoon Orta" (Jan 2003 : xbox) and "Jet Set Radio Future" (Feb 2003 : xbox).
This article just reminded me of the brilliance and creativity that Sega used to be. It just struck an emotional chord.
** Yes, I do own an xbox. My spouse works for MS and having one in our house was inevitable. That being said, our Dreamcast gets used much more than the xbox. Try having a party and not breaking out Samba De Amigo and the maracas
Reading articles like this really upset me. Sega is (or was) a brilliant company. For years I was amazed by the risks that Sega would take to release some really brilliant games. While everyone else (i.e. Sony and Nintendo) were releasing the same old first-person shooters and guaranteed sellers, Sega was taking real risks with trying new types of games. Some of my favorite Dreamcast examples are
- Samba De Amigo
- Jet Grind Radio
- Seaman
- Typing of the Dead
- Space Channel 5
- Chu Chu Rocket
- Ooga Booga
I'm sure there are some I'm forgeting.The Sega Dreamcast was an absolutely great console. The games for it were bizarre, but brilliant and amazingly fun. Their biggest mistake(s) was not basing it on DVD and of course their partnering with MS. The death of the Dreamcast marked a severe turning point in my thinking. It was when Sega announced the death of the Dreamcast that I truly became a hater of MS and it marked the end of me being an enthusiastic gamer. Forget the XBox and the PS2, when I want to play some fun games I still turn on my Dreamcast
As a side note I would have loved to be in the room during the meeting when the idea for Samba De Amigo was pitched
Anyway, in Europe, AFAIK, it's too late. It has been a long wait for such Tivo-like products
... my fascination with cult-like technologies would intrigue any psychiatrist :-)
I thought there were already Tivo-like products on the market in Europe. This is the first one that comes to my mind.
Granted it is not a Tivo, but some models still offer PVR functionality.
Amiga, Linux, Tivo
"They have sold for about $18.99 in retail stores."
Does this price sound familiar? It is roughly the price CDs were before they were caught price fixing.
It seems to me that the recording industry only has one business model
- Take one good item
- Bundle a lot of crap with it you don't want (now this includes video content)
- Sell it at a high price that it totally unreasonable.
DVD of movies are still cheeper than this.