Business Policy Week 8
The failed strategy of the Sega Dreamcast
The Dreamcast was a home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in 1998. A whole two years before its rival Sony came out with the Playstation 2 video game console (Hosch, L. William). Just a year after Sony came out with their Playstation 2 video game console, Sega stopped making video game consoles altogether. Sega now focuses on developing games for consoles made by their once rivals (Lambie, Ryan). On the other hand Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are still alive in the video gaming console manufacturing market.
The strategy for Sega’s Dreamcast was to be a pioneer in next generation gaming consoles. It was released well before its rivals Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony released their next generation consoles of their own. This led to the failure of the Dreamcast as a product and eventually changed Sega’s whole company. The Dreamcast was in fact the last gaming console produced by Sega. Today Sega licenses their popular characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog to its former console rivals.
One reason the Sega Dreamcast failed during my analysis was the ease for game developers to create games on consoles (Hamilton, P. David). What this means is that creators of popular games would hesitate to create games for the Dreamcast because it did not have a user friendly way for development. One thing that can make or break a video game system is its library of games. It does not matter if a gaming system is more technologically advanced if it has boring games in their library.
Another reason the Sega Dreamcast failed according to my analysis is because of the progress of technology in consoles. As consoles became more and more powerful, they became more like machines than toys. What this means is that companies such as Microsoft, Apple, IBM, and Sony had an advantage in high end computers. Gaming consoles were becoming more and more like high end computers so it was just a matter of time before Sega became
The Dreamcast was a home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in 1998. A whole two years before its rival Sony came out with the Playstation 2 video game console (Hosch, L. William). Just a year after Sony came out with their Playstation 2 video game console, Sega stopped making video game consoles altogether. Sega now focuses on developing games for consoles made by their once rivals (Lambie, Ryan). On the other hand Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are still alive in the video gaming console manufacturing market.
The strategy for Sega’s Dreamcast was to be a pioneer in next generation gaming consoles. It was released well before its rivals Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony released their next generation consoles of their own. This led to the failure of the Dreamcast as a product and eventually changed Sega’s whole company. The Dreamcast was in fact the last gaming console produced by Sega. Today Sega licenses their popular characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog to its former console rivals.
One reason the Sega Dreamcast failed during my analysis was the ease for game developers to create games on consoles (Hamilton, P. David). What this means is that creators of popular games would hesitate to create games for the Dreamcast because it did not have a user friendly way for development. One thing that can make or break a video game system is its library of games. It does not matter if a gaming system is more technologically advanced if it has boring games in their library.
Another reason the Sega Dreamcast failed according to my analysis is because of the progress of technology in consoles. As consoles became more and more powerful, they became more like machines than toys. What this means is that companies such as Microsoft, Apple, IBM, and Sony had an advantage in high end computers. Gaming consoles were becoming more and more like high end computers so it was just a matter of time before Sega became
References: & Bibliography Hosch, L. William. “Electronic Fighting Game.” (2013). Encyclopedia Britannica. Lambie, Ryan. (January 29, 2008). “The Death of Sega’s Consoles: History’s Warning.” http://www.denofgeek.us/games/11565/the-death-of-segas-consoles-historys-warning Hamilton, P. David. (March 16, 1998). “Sega to Take Write-Off and Post Loss, Illustrating Its Missteps in Video Games.” The Wall Street Journal. Wesley, David. Barczak, Gloria. (June 2010) Innovation and Marketing in the Video Game Industry. Ashgate Publishing Group. page 47 Oxford, Nadia. (September 21, 2011) “Ten Facts about the Great Video Game Crash of '83” http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/09/21/ten-facts-about-the-great-video-game-crash-of-83 (No Author) “Sega Corporation.” (October 24, 2013). Encyclopedia Britannica.