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Games Entertainment

Sega to Shifts Focus To Software 94

Posted by CmdrTaco from the can-I-embed-a-dreamcast-in-my-skull? dept.
Manjit writes "Saw this Reuters story on yahoo. After reporting financial losses, Sega is announcing that they will be licensing the Dreamcast hardware design and shift their focus to software development. The interesting thing is the line about "including plans to provide game software for rival makers' consoles." Now that Sega will move away from the hardware business, we will be back to 3 major console makers this time next year, and the PS2 will have had a one year headstart. It does not bode well for Indrema trying to break into the console business."
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Sega to Shifts Focus To Software More

Sega to Shifts Focus To Software

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  • DC is GREEEEAT (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    DC is a great system with good enough games , and perhaps the greatest innovator as it comes to Internet games. For 300 dollars, F Playstation, buy a DC support Sega. It makes sense

  • Sheeple? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Off-topic, I know, but...

    Having enough IQ to join MENSA doesn't means you aren't sheeple.

    Propaganda is just as affective on the intelligentsia. Some people say moreso!

    Not to mention that the scientologists always prided themselves in how their "philosophy" attracted so many professionals.

  • Re:Bookmark this comment (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I hate to say this.

    But obviously the Indremia thing comes out as a result of some stupid VCs investing on stupid CEOs with great rhetoric skills.

  • Shame... (Score:2)

    by Anonymous Coward
    This actually is a shame, everyone that i know that actually owns a DC stands by it tremendously. It's a sweet system that is hindered by a now bad name (amazing how screwing up the genesis and saturn would do that to em :) I believed after the PS2 hype died down and people realized that DC is actually a comparable system at 1/2 the price, DC would pick up as games like Shenmue come out fer it... If Sega bails on their hardware, I'm afraid to see what'll happen to my DC now...just another paperweight I guess...
  • You might also note that as of today, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. is now just known as Sega, Ltd.
  • The quote you refer to was taken way out of context. Sega is hard at work on their next console (likely to be based on some of Sega's new Naomi II arcade technology) as we speak.
  • What worries me about Indrema is the sheer cost of their system that they have to overcome. They have the equivalent of a Playstation 2, plus a hard drive, plus more memory, and fewer economies of scale -- they can't rely on their first 500,000 selling out in a flurry. In comparison to a low-end PC like an eMachine, they can have fewer -- or no -- PCI/AGP slots, no floppy, no Windows license, and a smaller case and power supply, but they have a fancier video chip and an MPEG encoder/decoder.
  • Actually, I'm seeing less and less devices under (or on top as the case may be) of my TV.

    For instance, I returned my TiVo (because it wasn't recording stuff I told it to - and because that damn To Do list was too hard to get to, bad UI design, could probably be very easily fixed tho - also because it didn't work very well with my DISH sat box). I got DISH network's DISH Player system, (now my old DISH box is a second receiver in another room). The DISH player has games (Solitaire, You Don't Know Jack, and Doom?! which is kind of painful to play with an IR remote), records like TiVo (only it doesn't take the unnecessary step of decoding to analog, and recoding to digital to record, like my old setup did). So, I'm seeing a consolidation in settop boxes. The functions are aggregating. The DISH player even has WebTV (I don't subscribe to the service) - one of the evil things about it; because even if you don't subscribe, there's WebTV logos all over the place. Obnoxious. But this thing is so great, I see it as a trend.

    Plus, DISH player has the much coveted "jump-30-seconds-forward" button that TiVo lacks - and you have no idea how great this is.

    I don't know how hackable this is, but it's got 12 hours (no quality selection), and I've never stored more than 6.5 at a time.

    If these guys got together and incorporated a decent game console/DVD player, and a less proprietary approach to web access, they'd have a winner - no wait, they're still dead in the water without local TV station access. I guess the sat players don't need better technology, they need better lobbyists.
  • Acorn went back to hardware, changed their name to ARM and are doing just fine.

    Wrong.

    ARM was a 1/3-each joint venture between Apple, Acorn and VLSI, started sometime in the early nineties. As far as I am aware, ARM still lives, but I don't know who owns it.

    Acorn is dead.

    --
    "Where, where is the town? Now, it's nothing but flowers!"

  • Say goodbye to Sega (Score:4)

    by Sneakums ( 2534 ) on Wednesday November 01, 2000 @11:14AM (#657044)

    Every company that ever did a shift from hardware to software either got eaten, died or is on life support:

    • NeXT (some argue that NeXT ate Apple from the inside out, though)
    • Be (on a respirator)
    • Acorn (if you don't know who they are, shame on you!)
    • Apple (Okay, an exception; they backtracked).
    • Microsoft (no, wait... this isn't right)


    --
    "Where, where is the town? Now, it's nothing but flowers!"
  • Am I the only one who can't stand Goldeneye?

    Yes! :)

    Just kidding -- I really liked GoldenEye (and I'm definitely NOT a FPS kinda guy) and now Perfect Dark. They were/are smoother and more playable (and more fun, to me) than Doom/Quake/et.al.

    Of course, the most powerful PC I own is the P-133 laptop. But since it runs FBSD, it works just fine for me (but no good for FPSs)

    Give me a mouse over those damn controllers any day for a FPS.

    I liken this to the mouse/trackball debate -- I like trackballs, some people hate them. The analog stick on an N64 controller works great for me, while it just doesn't click with some people.

  • Indrema's Savior (Score:4)

    by rho ( 6063 ) on Wednesday November 01, 2000 @10:59AM (#657046) Journal

    ... will be Pong.

    Okay, that's a little smart-alecky, but really, all it takes is One Good Game, and people will buy the Indrema to play it. Think of all the people who went out and dropped $2K on a computer back in the early 90s to play Doom (they claimed it was for "working at home and stuff, mostly for the kids to learn about computers", but it was Dad blasting demons to bits at 2am).

    One good game. The N64 has been riding the wave of GoldenEye and (now) Perfect Dark for a long time now. Without those two games (and of course Mario and Zelda), the N64 would be a paperweight.

    One good game. Not a port or a repeat or a clone, but a True-Blue Killer App. With the Indrema being open, it has a good chance to do it, two.

  • none of this is new (Score:4)

    by juuri ( 7678 ) on Wednesday November 01, 2000 @10:11AM (#657047) Homepage
    All the conclusions drawn aren't really correct.

    This info has been floating around for quite a while... more importantly sega has already admitted to working on another console internally.
    So don't think the dreamcast is sega's last box. It may be the last box they build exclusively by themselves but they are way too far ahead in the arcade realm to stop building hardware.
  • Here's the problem: if consoles are the loss leader then, by definition they can't be outsourced or spun off as a product line. The hardware has to be produced by the people who license the (profitable) software, or it won't be produced at all. After all, if it could be produced and marketed at a profit, Sega would be doing so.

    Or, does this mean that Sega is going to be producing content for Sony and Nintendo platforms?

  • I'd love to see Indrema succeed. But there's a chicken-and-egg problem here. In order to sell consoles, you need a critical mass of games. In order to get the games, you need a critical mass of developers on board. And in order to get developers to open their checkbooks and have their programmers spend time working on Indrema versions of games instead of new games for Sega/Sony/Nintendo, you have to be able to show them enough market penetration to make it worth their while.

    That last piece of the puzzle is the most troubling one. Game productions are not like regular software - they are ungodly expensive matters that are more like film making than they are like developing a word processor. (Correction, they are like film making PLUS developing a word processor.) The Open Source Magic Wand, which is getting mixed results in the software realm, really won't do the trick here. You don't get musicians, artists, directors, animators and actors to work for free in an environment that pays already-well-paid people in geek-status for their off-time contributions. (N.B.: I am quite aware that Indrema has a content-for-sale strategy for their platform; however, they and their boosters cite the Open Source advantage when pressed for details on where the games will come from, so it's fair for me to mention ths.)

  • Sega: "Getting Out of Hardware Since 1995" (Score:3)

    by tuffy ( 10202 ) on Wednesday November 01, 2000 @10:58AM (#657050) Homepage Journal
    Every time a piece of hardware tanks (32X) and even when a console sells well (Dreamcast), this "Sega getting out of the hardware business" rumors floats around. And, every time the rumor floats around, everyone hops on the bandwagon about how great an idea it is ("Sega's hardware suxors!", "They can make more money in software!"). Then, a few years down the line, they make another console and the cycle continues.

    I'll believe it when I see it, because I've heard all these lines about a million times before.

  • ...but I was predicting this very thing, more than a year ago, in the pub.

    Mind you, when I'm in the pub, I predict quite a lot of things, and I wouldn't be proud to admit to many of them on Slashdot ;-)

    --Remove SPAM from my address to mail me
  • Could this mean Phantasy Star on the PlayStation platform? That would really rock. I bought the PSX for the Final Fantasy games... (other RPGs came as a side effect). Also, I will wait on my purchase of a PSX2 until Final Fantasy X is near.

    Final Fantasy is my favourite console RPG series... but Phantasy Star is a close second and Nei has always had a little place in my heart.

    Hurrah for Sega...

  • Re:Say goodbye to Sega (Score:3)

    by WasterDave ( 20047 ) <davep@noSPAm.zedkep.com> on Wednesday November 01, 2000 @04:29PM (#657053)
    Hang on, didn't Be go from software (mac) to software (x86) to software (embedded) and get eaten? And NeXT were screwed fundamentally from the overpriced outset.. and Acorn went back to hardware, changed their name to ARM and are doing just fine.

    What?

    dave :)

  • I hope this marks the end of the "console" as a proprietary game system and embarks on a future of games for the common system.

    This could mean a console sized PC instead of more and more devices under your TV.

    I think Microsft, Nvidia, and Sega could make a gaming empire. Hell, if RedHat had some ipo money left over Redhat, Nvidia and Sega could produce and OS, Video/Graphics and Gaming solution as open as anything.

    But, to me. PR is PR, as you see the stock rose 8% and i certainly havn't seen any games announced for any console or pc. So take it with a grain of salt. This has been one hell of a rumor week for both consoles.

  • Re:Sega Consoles (Score:3)

    by cybrthng ( 22291 ) on Wednesday November 01, 2000 @10:37AM (#657055) Homepage Journal
    Wrong. Sega never announced the DreamCast would be the last console, nor did they never announce they would be out of the console business.

    It is only safe to say they're interested in the software business. After all that will make Sony the loss leader since it is depending on the hardware sales to drive the software sales. Sega on the otherhand makes the games and the hardware, so they're now saying they won't screw with loosing on the hardware when they can make a killing on the software.

    Smart move if you ask me. I could care less how many consoles are out there. I just love the games they produce and master.

  • It was announced a while ago that sega would be getting out of the console business and that segas last console would be the dreamcast
  • and the PS2 will have had a one year headstart

    Pardon my ignorance, but PS2 will have had a one year head start on what? The dreamcast? No. Is Taco referring to the upcoming Nintendo system?

    The same situation happene d with the original PS and the N64. And as far as I know, the N64 seemed to do just fine?
    There aren't as many games for it as the PS, sadly. But I definatly preferred it over the PS, partly because it was a cartridge game, which partly explains why there aren't as many games for it. Unfortunatly cartridges are going out of style. I realize CD/DVD's are far superior than cartridges in capacity, but I always hated waiting for the PS to load the games and the levels and such. Not to mention the durability of the cartridge vs. the CD...
    Anyway, I'm probably just biased, because Zelda is my all time favorite game period, and I never really liked the FF series.
    I just bought the N64 for Zelda, so I guess if there's a game on the PS2 I want, I'll buy it too...

    Buy your own piece of slashdot.org! [ebay.com]
  • Sega will now be a software company, and could write S/W for all consoles including indremeda...
  • Sega's main strength is its software lineup - no other company (with the possible exception of Nintendo) has such a potent catalogue of games, and in-house talent.

    So, Sega get out of the console hardware market for a generation. It's probable they will continue to develop arcade hardware since they're pretty much unbeaten in that arena. Assuming that the hardware is what is costing Sega financially, they could turn themselves around making software for another platform for a generation.

    But to count Sega out completely would be foolish - the Dreamcast is a fantastic piece of hardware. It may not be as powerful as the Playstation2, but it's not as far behind as many originally thought. In many ways, from a technical point of view, Sega and Sony have done a reversal - the Saturn was more powerful than the Playstation when programmed to the max (there were some things that PSX could do better, but the Saturn had more processing muscle, more memory, better 2D support and a fantastic audio system) yet the difficulty in programming the machine meant that many developers moved to the easily lucrative Playstation market. Now the Dreamcast is the easier of the two consoles to develop on, but it looks as if the hype will make the Playstation2 succeed again.

    So, Sega will open the Dreamcast platform - that's a potentially good thing, but I wouldn't expect it to make much of a difference in the market. Sega will probably push ahead and develop a "Dreamcast2" (for want of a better name), and then relaunch themselves when they are financially more secure.

    I don't own a Dreamcast (yet) despite sounding like a Sega fan. I admit it - I like Sega - the Saturn is a very nice piece of kit with some underrated games (Burning Rangers anyone?). It would be a shame to see Sega disappear forever.
  • "including plans to provide game software for rival makers' consoles"

    So it looks like the original story about Sega and Nintendo 'teaming up' could have been right first time - sorta.
  • TG-16 had Splatterhouse. Cutesy?

  • Comment removed (Score:4)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday November 01, 2000 @10:38AM (#657062)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • May 2000: . [gamersrepublic.com]
    • Taking responsibility for the poor sales of the Dreamcast in Japan, Shoichiro Irimajiri resigned as President of Sega Japan to become Vice Chairman...

    • Sega plans to dissolve their hardware division and completely go into Software Development for all platforms...

      Through reliable contacts that we cannot disclose, it has been revealed that Sega Japan has indeed considered licensing out the rights to Dreamcast's top titles to third party companies. Yes, this does mean that those titles will be available on PlayStation 2.


    --
  • Isn't that what the Amiga CD32 system was?
  • Could it be that Sega could develop some of it's trademark games - Sonic comes to mind - for other consoles? I still want to see Sonic Vs. Mario fighting games...
  • With a street price of < $150, there is no way that Sega can make money selling the hardware alone. Selling hardware as a loss leader in order to make a profit on the software is a great idea if (and only if) you have a monoply on the software market. Unfortunately, this hasn't been the case for quite a few years now.

    -p.

  • Except that Sega already has a very lucrative, cross-platform, games business. This is where game companies make their money, not the hardware. Sega's game income may dip a little bit, but it is in no danger of dying.

    The advantage of owning the console as well is that you make licensing fees off of every game sold for that platform. in either 98 or 99 Tekken 3 for playstation was sony's best seller over all of its products (including tv's vcr's etc), and they didn't even write it.
  • Sega IS already producing for Microsoft. There ware Windows versions out.

    The programmers at Sega have experience with Windows Operating System thanks to the dreamcast.

    Yes, Sega could very well drop they home console systems and move with the XBox alone (plus the PC Games).

    That doesn't mean though that they don't produce HW for the Arcades anymore.
  • I'm waiting to see if they can deliver on some of the promises. The ability to use it as a mp3 player is very intriguing (especially if you can put a larger hard drive in it). Also I've heard some talk about adding tivo type features, and of course the ability to play regular dvd's.

    Now if they would just build in a stereo receiver and direct tv circuitry, we'd have an all in one box! At that point who cares if it plays games, it does everything else.
  • Also, if you ever noticed, they excell as a software company much more than a hardware company. This is a good move for them.
  • They have spun off their AM# (better known as Game R&D houses) into separate companies. I forget which numbers are which respective companies but they are now know by these names

    Sonic Team
    Smilebit
    Hitmaker
    there was one more too, but I forgot the name
  • Who's to say this isn't a GOOD thing for Indrema?

    Now, without having read any of the press releases, so I may be talking out of my ass here, but if Sega is shifting it's focus to software, who's to say it couldn't begin to port current games, and even develop new games for the Indrema system?

    Any thoughts?
    Krez

  • No you are wrong. Unfortunately, I can't provide you with a link to the source, but I distinctly remember Sega announcing that the Dreamcast would be the last console that they will make.
    No, Sega never made such an announcement, and indeed have begun work on their next console. The article you dimly remember was probably a media misinterpretation/mistranslation of a speech in which a Sega executive emphasized that Sega's focus would be on software and networking. The interpretation that Sega would not be continuing their hardware business was rebutted by Sega within a week of the original report. The Reuters report, by the way, also seems to be a misunderstanding, and was rebutted immediately by Sega.
  • I think it might be a tad important to re-read that Reuters story.

    They make no mention of the fact that Sega will cease to manufacture DCs, which is how most people seem to be interpreting it.

    Instead, they say that they will be licensing the software to PC manufacturers and the like, in order for DC games to run on those platforms too. They will be making games for other platforms, but they said that Sega will do games first for the DC, second for other platforms.

    That's just how I interpreted it.

    // Jay Laney

  • The release on Friday and resulting speculations have been across the internet and back several times already. I still have yet to see anything from Sega saying that they're developing for rival consoles. Yes, they are going to license the Dreamcast technology to PCs and cellular devices, and they're going to continue to develop software for these devices.

    Until there's a press release from Sega saying that they're going to develop for _____ console, I've got to believe that Sega's going to stick with their homebrews.

  • Whoops no they are talking about Sega of Japan, my bad. Stupid DNS server was down so I couldn't follow the link (I have /. shortcut by IP cause it happens so much).

    - JoeShmoe

    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -
  • IIRC, Sega of America is a privately held company and I think that's who the article is talking about. I remember looking that up back when Kalisto announced they were getting paid Sega stock to stop pirating DC releases (caught you, ha ha!)

    Sega of Japan is a limited partnership, and I don't really know what that means for there stock. Apparently something of Sega's is traded "over the counter" so maybe out there somewhere is Sega stock you can sell.

    I dunno. But in my opinion, Sega should concentrate on hardware (DC or otherwise). You can't pirate hardware. Licensing the design to other manufacturers so they can add new features is also a good idea (a la Palm).

    - JoeShmoe

    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -
  • Of course, that was a year ago.

    A year ago, MS didn't think Linux was a threat. Look at them now ;pp
  • Just because Sega have admitted to working on "another console" chipset, doesn't actually mean that it will be released as a purchasable console.

    Just look at the Naomi chipset. For those who don't know, the Naomi chipset is essentially the dreamcast chipset, just with some extra memory used in Arcade machines.

    Now, just because it has been announced that sega are working on the Naomi 2 chipset doesn't mean that they are also working on a console. They could very easially just be making Naomi 2 for VF4 and any other next-gen arcade machines - which fits in with their content focus.

    It's still sad though to see the end of Sega consoles for consumers. Hopefully, the AM's will start working on GameCube stuff ;p (hey, I can hope ;p)
  • PEOPLE!!

    Before we all go wild at the thought of Sonic on the PS2 or the XBox get more info first!

    Gameweek.com had a report on Sega's plans last Friday. Sega SPECIFICALY said they would not make games for competing platforms but for the PC and for "Internet and mobile play".

    Someone go find the link and post it.
  • Sega will now be a software company, and could write S/W for all consoles including indremeda...

    The fact is selling consoles is an expensive, money losing proposition. No one (not Sony, Nintendo, or Sega) has ever made money on the actual consoles and has instead has had to use restrictive licensing practices (e.g. game developers pay a tax for each copy sold) to maintain revenues.

    Considering that Indrema has plans to be friendly with the Linux community [indrema.com], it is unlikely that they will use restrictive licenses to gain revenues and thus may end up D.O.A. with no potential profit generator.

    Second Law of Blissful Ignorance
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • They could learn a valuable lesson...

    Don't produce systems that have shit for content, and get good 3rd party developers.

    Sega botched, that's all there is to it. Indrema could learn from this and there's one less competitior in the market...how does this bode ill?

    Personally, I'd be much more in fear of jumping into a market with 3 really, really good consoles and a new upcoming contender, than the competition Indrema has now...1 dead system, 1 new system for the real gamers, and the N64 for the lamers.

    Btw Slashdot needs to change the "games" widget to something that is representative of the gaming community, and not the Pokemon community.
  • Yeah but they will have to play by the rules of the people who they develop for. so if they developed for Nintendo games would have to be approved by nintendo. Sega's console has been more open to change and to things that are more edgy. SO what we are losing is not sega's games so much as a more liberal platform.
  • yeah i forgot about that one game. splaterhouse was pretty cool. It scared the hell out of me too. I liked Bonk too. I dont have anything against cutesey games per se i just think that consoles can be pretty limiting in what they will allow to be developed and sega is one of the better ones at allowing riskier games.
  • This kinda sucks cause sega is ussually the only on of the console companies that pushes the envelope. They were the only ones who allowed Mortal Kombat 1 to have blood in it meanwhile Nintendo and the TurboGraphix16 were too busy making nice cuddly games. The dreamcast has some of the most ambitious games ever. Like seaman, and shenmue. Most Playstation stuff is pretty safe "true and tried" stuff. all in all sega has been the one company for innovation and change while all the other ones were playing it safe. This is a pretty sad moment.
  • If I remember correctly, Super Subrock and Zaxxon and a few others were games I used to play on my Coleco Adam way back when...
  • Be actually went from hardware (hobbit) to hardware (ppc) to software (ppc) to software (x86) to embedded. Just because they're still developing the embedded system does not mean that they have been "eaten" in any way.
  • There's been no money in console system hardware for years. Companies are always selling them for a loss. In exchange, they get a licensing fee for every piece of software (made by them or by another company) to be made for that platform.

    This is why I have serious doubts about Indrema. I cannot see how they can get their hardware out, at a loss which someone has to absorb, and retain open-sourcedness.

    Anyway, now that Sega is moving out of the console hardware market, there goes all their opportunity for profits from licensing fees. And this is a huge chunk of profit. There is far less to be made in the PC game field.

    Saying that they will simply forget about their money-losing hardware business and instead concentrate on their money-making software business is misleading because a lot of the money in software comes to them from their hardware.

  • There will be no Dreamcast hardware next year?!?

    They said they will be licensing their technology. If they do that well, it will be incorporated into other devices, live DVD players, Tivo Hardware, Home PC's, Internet Appliances, etc..

    I read this as meaning they are concerned about Sony's attempt to be the home Network/Media portal, and are trying to compete by partnering. Kinda reminiscent of Apple hardware vs. Miscrosoft licensing.

  • This is for the people who don't know how Indrema will make their money....
    If you want to sell a game for indrema you will have to pay a per unit licensing fee. This is how they will make their money. The open part is the the SDK and the API. (The only parts that aren't open are the content signature stuff.)

    Sorry, I know this is a bit off topic but I'm sick of people saying Indrema because they think they will make money off the console. (They'll make it by licensing, same as everybody else)
  • If this is true, I'm sure once Sega develops their next arcade hardware platform they'll develop a home version of it as well (since most of the R&D is already taken care of). Whether or not they'll market it under their name or take on partners is another thing.


    Refrag
  • I haven't seen anything to make me believe that Sega will stop supporting the Dreamcast. The DC is already out there - Sega has been developing "only" software for it for over a year now - precisely what they intend to keep on doing. Just because there will be no new Sega consoles in the near future doesn't mean that the DC will kick the bucket as well.

    --

  • I seriously doubt Sega will develop for the Indrema... there's very little chance it will ever seen the kind of market penetration to make game development for it profitable. Especially with such a big name-brand as Sega, who could easily sell hundreds of thousands of copies for the more estabilished consoles... why waste energy and effort on a bit player?

    --

  • Sega will still be developing software (read the article...) All the issues you mentioned are software based, not hardware based. Just because they will not make any new consoles doesn't preclude them from doing business as usual from the software end.

    --

  • I dunno - I can think of plenty of consoles which had "killer apps" which still ultimately failed - The NEC box (Turbo Graphix?) with Metal Slug, Jaguar with Tempest 2000, Saturn with NiGHTS, Daytona, VF Remix, and a slew of great RPGs, etc. "One Good Game" just doesn't hack it any more. And with the Indrema, who is going to make that game? I don't see *anyone* developing original commercial quality titles for Linux, and certainly don't anticipate it for the indrema either, especially when there's a MUCH better chance of making a profit with the estabilished consoles.

    --

  • Sega will only still develop NEW titles for its Dreamcast Platform. The 'Other' in other consoles refers to handheld and older consoles.

    quote:

    While Sega representatives refused to comment on what consoles they plan to develop for, Vice President Shouichi Yamazaki revealed that Sega's exploring development opportunities on the GameBoy Color and the original PlayStation. It's believed Sega will try and shift some of their older properties, possibly from the Sega Saturn era, to other consoles in an effort to boost revenue. Sega executives remained staunch on new software however, with reportedly two dozen exclusive titles slated to hit the Dreamcast in 2001.

    From here: http://www.coremagazine.com/news/3215.php3
  • If Sega is planning on licensing the hardware to third parties, is there any chance that we're going to be seeing some kind of PCI card that 'does' DreamCast? Although I play on the DC quite a bit, I don't know too much about the hardware - would there be a problem from a slightly proprietary CD drive or some other lame attempt at copy prevention?

    Clearly, it's not quite as neat as something like Bleem, but hey, it's a start, and I'd love to play SoulCalibur on my desktop box :)
  • Now, without having read any of the press releases, so I may be talking out of my ass here, but if Sega is shifting it's focus to software, who's to say it couldn't begin to port current games, and even develop new games for the Indrema system? Any thoughts?

    Sega will not bother to develop for Indrema, neither will any other top level developer... at least not until Indrema's install base moves past the 1,000,000 mark (which, let's face it, is unlikely). Many of the top developers consider Sega's market share too small to develop for and they have upwards of 5 million Dreamcasts sold.

    If Indrema is going to be successful, the impetus and content will come from the PC games sector and mostly from smaller, hungrier companies.

    Josh Sisk
  • Go look at the numbers for DC games. It pathetic compared to the ancient PS1 market.

    You're comparing a new product with an established brand that has an install base of 70 million units. It's rather like saying "Wow, Quake III on the PC only sold 200,000 copies. Compare that to the PSX market, it's a failure." The PC gaming market is smaller than the PSX gaming market. This doesn't mean that their sales cannot generate tidy profits. This must be the case since more and more DC games are coming out from various developers. The DCs sales have been fine in America, more than enough to generate profits for SoA. The softness in Japanese sales are what caused Sega's losses. They have sold more DCs in the first year than Sony did PSXs. The game market has changed drastically since the PSX release. Before the 70 million sales of PSX, a console was considered successful if it sold 1 or 2 million units. Sega will not duplicate the success of the original PSX. It's unlikely that Sony will, either. Sega's position in the next-gen market is much like that of the N64 vs the Playstation- a distant second place, but still in the game.

    'The DC has been a success in the US'
    Funny definition of 'success.'

    My definition of success is not 'the #1 in the market place'. My definition of success is a) profitable and b) better than previous efforts. On both counts, the DC is a success- in America. As I said in my previous post, however, in Japan it is a horrible failure.

    Josh Sisk
  • Sega would be doing fine with their Dreamcast sales... if Japanese sales were anywhere near as good as their American sales. Their press release states the reason for their fiscal problems as being poor Japanese sales. The DC has been a success in the US, but in Japan it has been a horrible, horrible failure... Something which, I'm sure, must annoy the people who work for SoA.

    Josh Sisk
  • if you did you would know that the Indrema NEVER had a chance, and NEVER will.
  • Everyone I know who owns a Dreamcast (myself included) is quite impressed with the console... and from what I hear about the PS2, it appears that the dreamcast is favored over the PS2. Its a shame that Sega is switching to software only, but I guess this was their plan a while ago. Maybe after the PS2's 'predicted failure', Sega may try one more console... its the future, anything is possible.


    -- Don't you hate it when people comment on other people's .sigs??
  • This decision should have been made by Sega years ago. Sega has always been great in the arcade but terrible with home consoles. Despite obvious success, Genesis was still hanging on by threads, and even Segaheads realized the Super Nintendo as a better product.

    32X, Saturn, Dreamcast, etc. later...

    All of those have been flops. Some worse than others, but all with the same result. Sega is going to be a much smarter and leaner company making great games for others. In fact, with its established brand name, it can instantly be the lead game maker.

    And all the better for Sony. Yes, Sega is licensing out Dreamcast, but the threat of disenfranzhizing consumers with the Dreamcast's current brand name is serious and will affect the success of Dreamcast.

    Additionally, there will be a stall period of a few months as new developers who wish to make Dreamcasts while they learn how it works and how to market it.

    In the meantime, Sony will be making huge market share gains with PS2 (which people seem to really love), and by then it will be too late.

    The only threat for Sega? If they faulter at all with their games, they're going to get serious flack for it by the media (wait, do game companies GET big press...?)

    People *like* Sony. They're one of the few companies that's mkaing products that make you feel like you're part of something beyond the digital age. People are not sure what to think of Sega. They love Virtua Fighter, Sonic, and so on, but they've seen them misstep in the console market.

    We'll have to wait and see..
    Hopefully Sega will be able to tighten, focus, and kick ass in the game market.

  • It's thinking... (Score:3)

    by plastickiwi ( 170800 ) on Wednesday November 01, 2000 @10:05AM (#657105)
    ...about going to work for the competition.
  • They arent abandoning the hardware, Opening up the licensing to third parties could do nothing but increase its popularity. With things like the broadband adapter falling behind on release dates it would be good to have other people increasing add ons. There should be lots of opportunity with its built in USB port. With Sega.net reaching 100,000 subscribers and online multiplayer console games like phantasy star online in production it seems like a good idea.
  • This is the 3rd or 4th time sega has said that they were going to concentrate on software. Each time people say stuff like "Oh my god Sonic on ps2!" or "How could they kill the DC?" Let's not panic here. Yes, there may be sega games on other consoles. In fact there already are a couple of sega games for the gameboy (no sonic games and I believe sega didn't publish them.) But they aren't killing the dreamcast -- I am sure they will still support it until ps3 is coming out. They are betting their entire future on the internet and the strength of their software. This is not a bad thing because their cutting edge games are the strongest part of Sega. The DC isn't going to die, and the next generation war is only just begining.
  • Only submitted this article [dailyradar.com] about 5 days ago.

    Anyway, this looks like a bold and promising move for Sega. I always felt their software was the best product they created (Sega 32X and Sega CD were total bombs). In a lot of ways, the Dreamcast hardware is their best since Genesis, but their games are still where the money is.

  • I have Virtua Fighter PC. It works pretty well and if I scale my graphics down a bit it runs nice on my system (P133, 32MB RAM, 4MB video card, generic gamepad.)

    Also, I think that Sega has done a good job on some of it's games. Sonic was the fastest game I had ever seen when it came out for the original Genesis. I was impressed and that caused me to want to buy it, even though the SNES had better graphics capabilities, the Genesis seemed to run better. I think Virtua Fighter was one of the first games of it's type, which helped the graphics genre of polygon based 3D games get more popular and mainstream. It's fluid movements impressed me and my friends a lot even though we played it on the Sega 32X. Then, even further back, on my Commodore 64 I had a couple games from Sega. I can't remember the names right now, I think one was Outrun. You drove a Ferrari with a blonde in the passenger side and went past buildings and through the desert and stuff. The other one was Afterburner, which even though the landscape was lame, it was a good game for an 8bit computer system. I'd say these games were ahead of Nintendo quality and I believe they were out a lot earlier than the NES. In any case, Sega has made some really good software, and I hope they continue to do so.

  • What about 3DO?
  • Let's face it : supporting home console systems is difficult, not only do they have to come up with decent hardware at a decent price (!=PS2), but then they're expected to develop, at least license games for it. The problem is that console gamers have much broader interests than arcade gamers. You need a little bit of action, a little bit of sports, a little bit of RPG. Arcade games are quick and dirty, they don't require months of storyboarding and artwork creation. You won't see huge sleep-depriving games like Final Fantasy or their legendary Phantasy Star in a standing arcade box. They can therefore make more games that are still top quality, but focusing on the "quick thrills" genre like shoot'em-ups and fighters. They really make an art form of their arcade machines, from the huge molded base of Virtua Fighter 3, to the detailed sniper rifle in that Virtual Sniper (?) game. Console games are all alike, they sit on the shelf all in similar boxes where the only difference is a 4"x4" image and title, easily overlooked.. but you just can't walk into a crowded arcade and not notice that big white pillar where a lineup is gathering in front of Virtua Fighter. Same crowd perhaps, but a totally different mindset.
  • I was secretly hoping to get user #250000. Oh well, I guess I'll just try to get a prime number or something.

  • Damn! (Score:1)

    by Dest ( 207166 )
    I wanted to see more commercials of the inside of the dreamcast! Those were so cool! The "It's thinking" slogan has died out too! Oh what has the world come to when one cannot even see 3D rendered video game characters inside of a video game console acting out situation comedies! *Sigh*
  • I don't know why this would be anything other than a positive for Indrema. I don't give a shit about Linux, yet the IES appeals to me on its on merits (and it's release date as opposed to Xbox). If anything, this means less competition. With PS2's lack of built in broadband networking, and the Gamecube's relatively unimpressive specs, the Indrema looks tasty indeed. Of course what doesn't bode well for the IES is that the best system is typically beaten down by the homogenous 2nd best. I don't like MS any better than anybody else, but at least the 2nd best Xbox is pretty impressive itself. Xbox it is.
  • I've always been a huge nintendo fan, and yet I've always enjoyed sonic the hedgehog. Does this mean that I will be able to get Sonic for the nintendo? woo hoo!
  • Sega is far from doing great.

    They're losing money like crazy, they haven't been profitable in a while. They dumped a ton of money on Dreamcast and didn't make any money off of it. Every Dreamcast they sell they lose money, as they're subsidizing it's low cost.
  • Depressing as it is to many who loved Sega, it is probably inevitable that they get absorbed by another company. While reading Salon, I came upon an article by Jim Lynch [salon.com] suggesting it might be Microsoft.

    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? :)
  • ...which I'm sure it could be, it would make a rockin system for $299. I'd buy it, not because it's a Game Console, but because it's a linux box - and I can run what I want. Anyone feel the same?
  • Just a thought for the rumored convergence happening in the gaming industry. It seems to me that if "Sega is announcing that they will be licensing the Dreamcast hardware design and shift their focus to software development" then the rumors of a potential Nintendo/Sega merger seem a little more likely to me. Plus, any mention of Sega planning "to provide game software for rival makers' consoles" is as much as I need to hear to realize that they've reached a fiscal low point of such potential danger that it may just be time for the merger. Anyone hear anything new on this front? Or should I just wait for Roblimo to send a query to Sega HQ and see if a press secretary's secretary will respond with a form letter regarding a completely different subject which he will post for us, kind man that he is.

    1. O P E N___S O U R C E___H U M O R [mikegallay.com]
  • I don't get it... Sega was doing great and they games they have coming around the coner too. Oh well I guess I could look forward to somemore Sega PC games... Just don't make them Windows base again... I hate that.
  • SHITTY ADVERTISEMENTS. Virtua Tennis Space Channel 5 Jet Grind Radio Absolutely amazing games, awful ads that make no one want to play them.
  • "It does not bode well for Indrema trying to break into the console business"

    Actually, this might be good news for indrema. With Sega producing software to run on competitor's machines, this could mean a slew of great titles that will not only run on Indrema's hardware but will also run on x86 Linux (with some possible hacking to make your Linux installation compatible with Indrema's Libraries.

    If Sega can sell games to Indrema users, it will certainly be worth them doing so.

  • that there will be more 'high quality' games like Sonic Spinball? Dear God I hope noe

  • This stroy is fallacious (Score:3)

    by WangTang ( 248239 ) on Wednesday November 01, 2000 @02:32PM (#657124)
    The amount of misinformation floating around about Sega these days is amazing. First people report that Nintendo and Sega are teaming up and now this. Let me set the story straight: A few months ago at a press conference Sega if Japan's president Isao Okawa made a statement vaguely claiming that Sega would be moving out of the hardware business. When asked about this, Sega of America's Peter Moore stated that it was a misunderstanding and that Sega indeed plans to continue making hardware. The rumors of Dreamcast being Sega's final machine died down. Now, in lieu of Sega's financial situation, they have issued a statement saying that they will "diversify" and close up their unprofitable business (i.e. arcades). I've read the press release that is cited in the Yahoo story and at no point does it say that Sega will make games for Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft's system. This is simply a case of poor journalism and spin-doctoring. Go read the Sega's statement at SegaDojo [segadojo.com].
  • I'm waiting to see if they can deliver on some of the promises. The ability to use it as a mp3 player is very intriguing (especially if you can put a larger hard drive in it). Also I've heard some talk about adding tivo type features, and of course the ability to play regular dvd's.

    Now if they would just build in a stereo receiver and direct tv circuitry, we'd have an all in one box! At that point who cares if it plays games, it does everything

    Granted this would be super sweet. However, consoles are cheap for the sole reason that companies sell them at a loss. Nintendo, Sega, Sony all lose money on each console they sell, (hopefully) making the money back on liscensing fees, where other companies pay them to develop titles for it.

    Unless Indrema starts attracting some developers(and they better soon if they want to have any decent launch titles), I think they are doomed.

    Captain_Frisk
  • I will eat my words if I'm wrong:

    The Indremia system stands no chance.

    Time will tell.
  • Just not for direct competitors. They've been making PC games for a while now. Not that they were terribly good (remember the Sonic PC ports? ick...) but they were there.

    Maybe they'll be able to do some serious development on their Sonic universe. As well as some of their other games. I'd like to see it...

    BTW: When's the Linux-based Console concept gonna take off? (ala: the CObalt Cube)
  • Just getting tired of people constantly saying Dreamcast sux or that Sega is dead. Dreamcast sales are doing quite well even with PS2, and there are several games on best seller lists, and, the big titles are just out/coming out soon. -> Shenmue -> Metropolis Street Racer -> Quake 3 Arena (released) -> Unreal Tournament (apparently has more features than the rushed PS2 version) -> NFK2K1(released), NBA2K1(any day now) Dreamcast is not going to die, despite the fact that all the big media stories keep leaving it out, and only talking about PS2, X-Box, and Gamecube.

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