HomeForumsWhat's newResources 
 
 
Dreamcast 2 ?
bluelazergun - Jan 1, 2008
  bluelazergun Jan 1, 2008
Is the Dreamcast 2 just a rumor. I've read that it is. But maybe someone can tell me theres a chance. Or at least some type of new Sega console.

 mal Jan 2, 2008
I'm pretty sure the rumour has been officially denied.

edit: It has...

 mtxblau Jan 3, 2008
I think I can definitively that there won't be a new system from Sega, ever. They were running in the red ever since the Genesis, and their name is tarnished so badly (still) that entering the market is a non starter.


Firstly, they're actually turning a profit by releasing games on multiple consoles. If they decide to do their own console, they console would need a lot of market penetration to justify the costs of development on that sole console.


Then they'd need an offering that's different from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Family friendly games with a gimmick controller? Nintendo. Graphics? Sony and MS.


And what about a mascot? MS has Halo (wildly successful), Nintendo has Mario (ditto). Sony has MGS, had GTA and Final Fantasy...


Speaking of which, just look at the struggles of Sony. They're only *one* console removed from the awesome might of the PS2 (which is still selling quite well). And the PSP is barely putting up a showing against Nintendo's DS (which will probably be the best selling console of all time).


Sega, for its health and well being, should stay as a developer and publisher. Financially, they're lucky they managed to be bought out by Sammy.


And seriously, what would a Sega console offer to the market that isn't already available to the three consoles? I agree it's a pain in the ass to own multiple consoles to enjoy Sega's library, but would the games be any better if they were on only one console?


Personally, if Sega makes a hardware comeback, it'll be on those joystick+flash drive things that are getting increasingly popular. You know, 'relive the classics!' with a classic control pad and what not. Radio Shack has that type of thing for the Atari - 20 games for $14.


Believe me, if I could own a handheld that had nothing but sega genesis classics on a flash drive, I'd be all over it and buy many for friends and relatives. But even that is ambitious thinking.

 ExCyber Jan 3, 2008

MTXBlau said:
I think I can definitively that there won't be a new system from Sega, ever.

"Ever" is a long time. While the current players will all undoubtedly be around 10 or 15 years from now, I don't think we can really predict what the market will look like. Did anyone in 1991 expect Microsoft to release a console?


MTXBlau said:
Speaking of which, just look at the struggles of Sony.

The PS3 pains mostly look normal to me for a console's first year. 360's first year was pretty mediocre, as was PS2's for that matter.

 Kuta Jan 4, 2008

ExCyber said:
"Ever" is a long time. While the current players will all undoubtedly be around 10 or 15 years from now, I don't think we can really predict what the market will look like.


I think "ever" is a fair word to use in this case. Especially considering all current console manufacturers (except Sony) will end up quiting the hardware bussiness when they decide to start integrating them with other devices.

 mtxblau Jan 4, 2008

ExCyber said:
"Ever" is a long time. While the current players will all undoubtedly be around 10 or 15 years from now, I don't think we can really predict what the market will look like. Did anyone in 1991 expect Microsoft to release a console?



Maybe not in 1991 since computers were obscenely expensive, but after Sony went after the console market with the playstation, it was a given. If you've read any of Bill Gate's books, he's always believed in the notion of having a set top box in every living room and extending the computer into 'everyday and everything' use.



ExCyber said:
The PS3 pains mostly look normal to me for a console's first year. 360's first year was pretty mediocre, as was PS2's for that matter.



The difference now is how embedded the consoles are. The 360 was the first 'next gen' console - no real competition. What was the PS2's competition? The PS3 came late to the market, after the 360 established itself and Nintendo got on a roll.


I see it like MS Vista. XP was pretty terrible when first released, but! we dealt with it because there was no valid competition. Now you have Apple, with a highly regarded and tightly integrated package, and flavors of Linux being sold (albeit in small quantities) by major vendors, it makes the battle much harder.


And then there's the small detail that Sega isn't its own entity anymore anyway. Sammy is in the red the last I checked (even though Sega is turning a profit), and they're likely not going to bankroll a venture that could lead to more losses.


Will Sega get spun off? Maybe. Will they buy their freedom? Possibly. But the vibe I get from Sega is now they're the next EA, building up their franchises and establishing themselves as developers.

 1magus Feb 7, 2008

MTXBlau said:
I think I can definitively that there won't be a new system from Sega, ever. They were running in the red ever since the Genesis, and their name is tarnished so badly (still) that entering the market is a non starter.

Firstly, they're actually turning a profit by releasing games on multiple consoles. If they decide to do their own console, they console would need a lot of market penetration to justify the costs of development on that sole console.

Then they'd need an offering that's different from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Family friendly games with a gimmick controller? Nintendo. Graphics? Sony and MS.

And what about a mascot? MS has Halo (wildly successful), Nintendo has Mario (ditto). Sony has MGS, had GTA and Final Fantasy...

Speaking of which, just look at the struggles of Sony. They're only *one* console removed from the awesome might of the PS2 (which is still selling quite well). And the PSP is barely putting up a showing against Nintendo's DS (which will probably be the best selling console of all time).

Sega, for its health and well being, should stay as a developer and publisher. Financially, they're lucky they managed to be bought out by Sammy.

And seriously, what would a Sega console offer to the market that isn't already available to the three consoles? I agree it's a pain in the ass to own multiple consoles to enjoy Sega's library, but would the games be any better if they were on only one console?

Personally, if Sega makes a hardware comeback, it'll be on those joystick+flash drive things that are getting increasingly popular. You know, 'relive the classics!' with a classic control pad and what not. Radio Shack has that type of thing for the Atari - 20 games for $14.

Believe me, if I could own a handheld that had nothing but sega genesis classics on a flash drive, I'd be all over it and buy many for friends and relatives. But even that is ambitious thinking.


"PSP is Actually doing pretty well, true DS is selling like Stupid Crazy but still, its been 2 years and the PSP is still here!"

 Startropic1 Oct 14, 2010

mtxblau said:
And what about a mascot? MS has Halo (wildly successful), Nintendo has Mario (ditto). Sony has MGS, had GTA and Final Fantasy...


Um, did you completely forget about a certain Hedgehog named Sonic? Sony doesn't even have a mascot. They tried that with Crash Bandicoot, and now Crash is multiconsole too, and not even controlled by his creator (Naughty Dog) any more.

Anyway Dreamcast 2 was a joke made up by the folks over at screwattack.com, Talking Classics in particular.

 Amon Oct 20, 2010

  
	
	

		
		

			Personally, if Sega makes a hardware comeback, it'll be on those joystick+flash drive things that are getting increasingly popular. You know, 'relive the classics!' with a classic control pad and what not. Radio Shack has that type of thing for the Atari - 20 games for $14..


Sega has licenced out their shit and other companies have done this for them. There are genesis controller console systems with games on them fully licenced by Sega out there.

I thought Dreamcast 2 rumours started because Sega renewed and created some hardware patents and stuff. Ie
  
	
	

		
		

			On February 10, 2009, Sega approved a patent for two controller designs, one that looks similar to the Sega Saturn 3D pad with an added touch screen device and one that looks similar to the Mega Drive/Genesis 6-button pad. Sega also approved a patent for USB Flash Memory cards and Hard drive on July 7, 2009.


A few key Devs at Sega have expressed interest in returning to the console industry etc etc etc. but it all depends on the higher ups which say no. Though asking anyone at Sega about their return to the console and they will give you the answer not at this time. So it has not been ruled out completely. A 0.0001% chance of a return is still infinitely better than 0% I am sure if someone handed Sega a large sum of money for them to return they would.

 Kuta Oct 21, 2010
You would think they would stay away from the home console market and just release a portable device. They could go after a huge market in portable gaming with no where near as much capital needed to develop it. Of course these days to have any kind of success in gaming a manufacturing needs an innovation unique to their hardware which would give them an edge over their competition. I wonder what kind of unique features Sega could come up with?

 ExCyber Oct 21, 2010

Kuta said:
You would think they would stay away from the home console market and just release a portable device. They could go after a huge market in portable gaming with no where near as much capital needed to develop it. Of course these days to have any kind of success in gaming a manufacturing needs an innovation unique to their hardware which would give them an edge over their competition. I wonder what kind of unique features Sega could come up with?

If they could come up with a portable that runs (minimally ported) Dreamcast games from an SD card, at a low price point, that might be interesting. I've seen the Dingoo A320 for under $100, so I wonder if a Dreamcast-like architecture could retail for a slightly higher price given that it should have a VGA screen and would have a proper GPU. I might be underestimating the cost of ASIC development, though. There was already a so-called "Dreamcast on a chip" design (codenamed "Aurora", series number SH3707) that apparently made it to production for arcade systems, but I don't know whether it's suitable for a handheld.