If the dreamcast did well who would have failed

[michiyoyoshiku]

I think if the Dreamcast never died the XBOX probably would have been another 3DO or web TV.

But I dunno the market can't support 4 consoles so somebody had to go so if not Sega who would it have been?

[kal]

Sony may have dropped out. Or Xbox would have never entered. I was going to say nintendo but I'd suspect that their handhelds would keep them sitting pretty *Insert "It prints Money meme gif here"*.

Sony beat out the DC if it hadn't the PS2 would've probably crumpled and then Sega would have unleashed the DC2 to counter Gamecube and Xbox in a dream scenario. Of course it's impossible to say since Sega and Nintendo were/are the only consoles that don't have backings in other interests.

[jameseightbitstar]

Wishful thinking here, but I'm thinking maybe Sony would've given up the bomb.

[Weasel]

If Sega hadn't let the Dreamcast die, I'm willing to bet that Microsoft wouldn't have done nearly as well (most, if not all, of the best XBox games I can think of were all made by Sega). The PS2 and Gamecube could subsist fairly well on their own (since Nintendo's first-party games perform so well, and Sony still has Square Enix and most of Konami's stuff).

[Scylla]

You have to consider that Sega's games are pretty poor sellers on XBox, and most of the people who are crazy about the system couldn't care less about Sega. Microsoft is making it because they're catering to America gamers with American tastes - the sorts that want to shoot shit, blow things up, and play football. Honestly, I think they would be doing okay regardless of the scenario because that's the direction the industry is moving in - towards Western-developed games. If Sega DID survive as a hardware producer, it would mean an entirely different scenario for the nature of the industry, one that still favors Japanese gaming.

[Shinigami]

I think the market could support 4 consoles. Dreamcast failed because Sega executives gave up on it (and ironically then gave their support to the X-box). In the short lifespan it had, quality game after quality game were released for the Dreamcast, many of which were later ported to the PS2 and Gamecube. So if history is any teacher, the Dreamcast could have held out well into 2004 despite having lower system specs. By then Sega would have released Shin DC (or whatever you wanna call it) and it would have put greater pressure on Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft to produce better next gen systems. Let's face it, PS3, Wii, and 360, they aren't impressing anyone.

[michiyoyoshiku]

I think Microsoft Knew Sega was pulling out since they provided the OS for the DC they were probably informed before anybody else knew it and went ahead with the XBOX.

Even though they weren't strong sellers the Sega games on XBOX did help win me over at least.

I wonder though of all the early Sega 3rd party titles, how many of them do you think started out on Dreamcast?

[joesteele]

shinigami said:

By then Sega would have released Shin DC (or whatever you wanna call it) and it would have put greater pressure on Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft to produce better next gen systems. Let's face it, PS3, Wii, and 360, they aren't impressing anyone.

I couldn't agree more with that statement.

The last system I ever saw that actually made me go "Holy shit, video games can do that?" was a Sega Dreamcast I saw in an EB games during the summer of 1999. It was playing Sonic Adventure and I was floored by what I saw. I later took a gander at Soul Calibur and I pretty much had the same reaction. This is coming from someone who supported Nintendo like a religion as a kid, barely giving Sega a second thought. The Dreamcast was the first system I bought after the Super Nintendo, and it was the machine that got me back into console gaming.

With Sega still in the game, they'd probably pull off some magic voodoo forcing all competitors to re-evaluate their strategy and giving us some really neat shit for this generation (not that the Wii isn't really awesome, but you know what I mean)

[michiyoyoshiku]

me too I skipped the 32 bit Era and went right for the Dreamcast BUT only because I really wanted Street Fighter III

[necromaniac]

Ahh the Dreamcast. Teacher, mother, secret lover!
I've never been happier with a console, so many great titles, so many great moments.
Poor Sega.....
If the DC would have been able to continue onward it would have stricken a larger chunk out of first, second and even third generation of PS2 games, the Xbox might not have been, and the Gamecube would have forced nintendo to seriously to reconsider their strategy.
And then Sega would have introduced their idea of wii.
But one can dream yes?

[michiyoyoshiku]

Dreamcast was a pretty stupid name almost as bad as Wii at first But having owned one, No Console ever lived up to it's name EVER and probably never will.

[necromaniac]

Well, Dreamcast was project named the Katana, which was much kewler, but as names go, I find it to be better than most (Revolution became Wii, Dolphin became GabeCube, and come on, PlayStation? :

[papersquadcontrol]

I do occasionally wonder as to what the industry would have been like had the Dreamcast stayed in the game, but it's honestly difficult to imagine. Things might have been different, though not necessarily better, I don't believe. I suppose that would depend on whether your bias leans toward Japanese or Western-developed games. For those whose taste is in favor of the former (where I assume the majority of this site's posters' position lies), then you might view the Dreamcast's demise as being the gaming industry's turning point for the worst. But then again, would the Dreamcast sticking around have much impact in this area? Would this really have prevented Bungie from making Halo and Rockstar from taking the GTA franchise in the new direction it took? I think it's safe to say that it was primarily the influence created by games like Halo and Grand Theft Auto 3 that tilted the gaming populace's taste toward western-style gaming, and I do not know how the Dreamcast remaining would have stopped this.

But since this topic is about which specific companies would have dropped from the industry, as opposed to the direction of the industry in general, I'm straying a bit away from the OP's intentions here. To answer to that, I do not think Sega had enough clout to really drive anyone out of the competition, especially not Sony, who was on top of the competition by this point. Nintendo would have had their fanbase and handheld sales to keep them afloat, much like how it is today. Microsoft is the only questionable one; being then new to the competition, and standing up against not only Sony and Nintendo, but Sega as well, would they have remained long enough to become the gaming giant they are today? Very possible, but it's definitely hard to say for sure.

[necromaniac]

papersquadcontrol said:

.....Would this really have prevented Bungie from making Halo and Rockstar from taking the GTA franchise in the new direction it took? I think it's safe to say that it was primarily the influence created by games like Halo and Grand Theft Auto 3 that tilted the gaming populace's taste toward western-style gaming, and I do not know how the Dreamcast remaining would have stopped this.

Well, I wonder. Halo was originally much more epic in scope and graphical power and I partially blame Microsoft for limiting it's potential.
Mind, I'm not saying it would have been better or even on the dreamcast, I'm suggesting that with the DC still on the market, the big M might have used a different strategy, making the mistake(?) of not buying out bungie, therefore not acquiring it's killer app.
Of course this is just wild speculation (and keep in mind that Halo was not on the launch lineup).
That said, before the demise Rockstar was in the middle of porting it's earlier GTA's on the DC, and had similar plans for nr 3, after the Sony exclusive period would have expired of course.
And Dreamcast was never short on Sport Titles, remember that. In fact, It it was it's strongest selling point in the states so mainstream alienation was not realy such a big factor in it's downfall.

[ed]

succubus said:

If Sega DID survive as a hardware producer, it would mean an entirely different scenario for the nature of the industry, one that still favors Japanese gaming.

But not really since what's fueling the trend is that gaming is smaller in Japan than it had used to be.