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> The first is piracy probably didn’t lead to the failure of the Dreamcast. Sega led to the failure of the Dreamcast. They had failed fans with the SegaCD. Rel

> The first is piracy probably didn’t lead to the failure of the Dreamcast. Sega led to the failure of the Dreamcast. They had failed fans with the SegaCD. Released the 32X as a "bridge" between the 16bit and 32bit consoles (then promptly abandoned it). They released the Saturn with almost no fanfare in the US, and with last minute architectural hacks to make it pass as a 3D console (just barely). By the time the Dreamcast came out, people were just tired of Sega's shit.

bitwize 8y ago
A lot of people were stoked for the Dreamcast upon its release. What ultimately did it in was the PS2 -- a superior console in virtually every respect, released just two years later (in the USA).
- Izkata 8y ago
  One year later in the US. The thing I remember as a kid was the hype for the PS2 building right as the Dreamcast was released. This was still in the era where most families would only have one console, so they ended up saving their money aiming for a PS2 instead of a Dreamcast. I think if the Dreamcast was released sooner or later it would have done better than it did. Either before the PS2 hype, or closer to the PS2 so the hype died down a bit.
- laumars 8y ago
  > What ultimately did it in was the PS2 -- a superior console in virtually every respect I beg to differ. Graphically it was, but it should be given it was two years younger. Sound quality it was too but honestly very few people would have noticed on the typical set up of that era. However the Dreamcast has 4 controller ports built into the console itself, rumble packs from day one, a portable gaming unit (ok, that was a bit of a novelty), support for using your save games on actual arcades, easy way of sharing save games, online gaming (a good 4 years before the competition too!), downloadable content (which was typically free back then). The Dreamcast was easily the more interesting console out of the two of them. If the reputation of the two companies had been equal then the DC would likely have won out. But the PS1 was already a proven success and Sega had messed their fans about with all the failed Megadrive /Genesis addons. So a great many gamers didn’t even give the Dreamcast a chance. In a sense, their expectations became a self fulfilling prophecy. I was gutted when the DC failed. No console before nor since has really captured my imagination quite as much as the Dreamcast did. But ultimately I wasn’t surprised either because Sony had already won even before releasing the PS2. Few people cared about Sega (or Nintendo) at that point.
  - larrik 8y ago
    AS I remember it, the mindshare of the PS2 even so long before launch was immense. Sony's marketing killed the Dreamcast with ridiculous promises that really didn't pan out. You can't just look back and compare the systems, the idea of the PS2 killed the DC.
    - laumars 8y ago
      I don’t recall Sony marketing the PS2 that heavily compared to the DC (nor even the Xbox). But memory can be fallible. The argument I was proposing was that the mindshare was in anticipation of the PS2 because of how the PS1 vs Saturn war panned out. Gamers can be loyal pack animals and Sega had already lost their fan base before the DC was even released thanks to the success of the PS1. > Dreamcast with ridiculous promises that really didn't pan out. I don’t get your point there. Everything the DC promised to do it delivered on. Technically speaking it was a success - very much ahead of its time in a great many ways. It just didn’t sell.
      - monocasa 8y ago
        Sony did all sorts of marketing stunts to keep the idea of the PS2 in the limelight. They spread stories about how Iraq was trying to buy them for their weapons program because they were so powerful, etc. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/12/19/iraq_buys_4000_playstation_2s/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/12/19/iraq_buys_4000_play...
        laumars 8y ago
        I’d completely forgotten about those stories!
      - nesyt 8y ago
        Parent meant that Sony marketed the PS2 with undelivered promises.
        laumars 8y ago
- tenebrisalietum 8y ago
  > a superior console in virtually every respect Except antialiasing
laumars 8y ago
The success of the PS1 didn’t help either. Sony had already stolen Sega’s market (and some of Nintendo’s too where people were annoyed with the cartridge decision). Ironically the N64 was a more interesting console than the PS1 and the Dreamcast was more interesting than the PS2; but most people didn’t care. Sony really understood what the lion share of gamers wanted - or perhaps it was just good fortune to step into the market when the other giants misstepped? Ironically Sony tried to work with both Sega and Nintendo and got rejected by both after investing substantial time on a collaboration. It’s funny how quickly the market turned.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
philistine 8y ago
Do not underestimate the value proposition of a DVD player in 2001. It had a huge impact on sales.
- IshKebab 8y ago
  Ah yes as I recall the cheapest way to get a dvd player was to buy a PS2.
  - Wingman4l7 8y ago
    Funny -- I believe this price situation repeated itself with the PS3 and Blu-ray.
    - krageon 8y ago
      The price of a PS3 and Blu-ray player was approximately identical (here, for basically the whole lifetime of a PS3), except a PS3 could do much, much more. There are of course good reasons for why this was the case but from a consumer standpoint it's always seemed hilariously weird to buy a Blu-ray player.

bitwize 8y ago

A lot of people were stoked for the Dreamcast upon its release. What ultimately did it in was the PS2 -- a superior console in virtually every respect, released just two years later (in the USA).

Izkata 8y ago
One year later in the US. The thing I remember as a kid was the hype for the PS2 building right as the Dreamcast was released. This was still in the era where most families would only have one console, so they ended up saving their money aiming for a PS2 instead of a Dreamcast. I think if the Dreamcast was released sooner or later it would have done better than it did. Either before the PS2 hype, or closer to the PS2 so the hype died down a bit.
laumars 8y ago
> What ultimately did it in was the PS2 -- a superior console in virtually every respect I beg to differ. Graphically it was, but it should be given it was two years younger. Sound quality it was too but honestly very few people would have noticed on the typical set up of that era. However the Dreamcast has 4 controller ports built into the console itself, rumble packs from day one, a portable gaming unit (ok, that was a bit of a novelty), support for using your save games on actual arcades, easy way of sharing save games, online gaming (a good 4 years before the competition too!), downloadable content (which was typically free back then). The Dreamcast was easily the more interesting console out of the two of them. If the reputation of the two companies had been equal then the DC would likely have won out. But the PS1 was already a proven success and Sega had messed their fans about with all the failed Megadrive /Genesis addons. So a great many gamers didn’t even give the Dreamcast a chance. In a sense, their expectations became a self fulfilling prophecy. I was gutted when the DC failed. No console before nor since has really captured my imagination quite as much as the Dreamcast did. But ultimately I wasn’t surprised either because Sony had already won even before releasing the PS2. Few people cared about Sega (or Nintendo) at that point.
- larrik 8y ago
  AS I remember it, the mindshare of the PS2 even so long before launch was immense. Sony's marketing killed the Dreamcast with ridiculous promises that really didn't pan out. You can't just look back and compare the systems, the idea of the PS2 killed the DC.
  - laumars 8y ago
    I don’t recall Sony marketing the PS2 that heavily compared to the DC (nor even the Xbox). But memory can be fallible. The argument I was proposing was that the mindshare was in anticipation of the PS2 because of how the PS1 vs Saturn war panned out. Gamers can be loyal pack animals and Sega had already lost their fan base before the DC was even released thanks to the success of the PS1. > Dreamcast with ridiculous promises that really didn't pan out. I don’t get your point there. Everything the DC promised to do it delivered on. Technically speaking it was a success - very much ahead of its time in a great many ways. It just didn’t sell.
    - monocasa 8y ago
      Sony did all sorts of marketing stunts to keep the idea of the PS2 in the limelight. They spread stories about how Iraq was trying to buy them for their weapons program because they were so powerful, etc. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/12/19/iraq_buys_4000_playstation_2s/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/12/19/iraq_buys_4000_play...
      - laumars 8y ago
        I’d completely forgotten about those stories!
    - nesyt 8y ago
      Parent meant that Sony marketed the PS2 with undelivered promises.
      - laumars 8y ago
tenebrisalietum 8y ago
> a superior console in virtually every respect Except antialiasing

laumars 8y ago

The success of the PS1 didn’t help either. Sony had already stolen Sega’s market (and some of Nintendo’s too where people were annoyed with the cartridge decision). Ironically the N64 was a more interesting console than the PS1 and the Dreamcast was more interesting than the PS2; but most people didn’t care. Sony really understood what the lion share of gamers wanted - or perhaps it was just good fortune to step into the market when the other giants misstepped? Ironically Sony tried to work with both Sega and Nintendo and got rejected by both after investing substantial time on a collaboration. It’s funny how quickly the market turned.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

philistine 8y ago

Do not underestimate the value proposition of a DVD player in 2001. It had a huge impact on sales.

IshKebab 8y ago
Ah yes as I recall the cheapest way to get a dvd player was to buy a PS2.
- Wingman4l7 8y ago
  Funny -- I believe this price situation repeated itself with the PS3 and Blu-ray.
  - krageon 8y ago
    The price of a PS3 and Blu-ray player was approximately identical (here, for basically the whole lifetime of a PS3), except a PS3 could do much, much more. There are of course good reasons for why this was the case but from a consumer standpoint it's always seemed hilariously weird to buy a Blu-ray player.