The Sega Dreamcast and Sega's Final Attempt | VideoGameDocs

Following the Fall of Sega with the Saturn, today's episode is all about exploring Sega's Final Attempt at the Console Market with the Dreamcast.
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[@FiveToedSloth]

Dreamcast is a console I've been wanting to collect for for years! Never had it as a kid but every video I watch about it gets me so hyped!

[@filipmartinez1162]

It's a lot of peoples' favorite console for a reason. It definitely did everything right but in the end, more people wanted to watch the Matrix on DVD than they wanted to play amazing, creative games :/

[@Alextheskater91]

How old are you if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve already purchased 3 of them in the last 3 years and I sold them all :( I’m actually looking to buy another one but this time the sports black one but they are considerably more expensive.

[@Alextheskater91]

@@filipmartinez1162 I believe sega should have waited a year after the ps2 came out so that manufacturing would be cheaper and they could have implemented dvd capabilities. It was a perfect storm of events tho unfortunately with the 32x and the Saturn fiasco. They did it to themselves unfortunately

[@albertabramson3157]

What killed SEGA's consoles was SEGA of Japan repeatedly canceling one machine after another right after people had invested hundreds of dollars in them. I remember--five years after giving up on the company--walking into a store ready to cave in and buy a Dreamcast. What did the salesman say? SEGA has just discontinued it. Yup. Insane? Evil? Stupid? Who cares. I joined millions of other SEGA fans who moved over to PlayStation.

[@jimmybuffet4970]

I wish you had been there when it was a current system. A local store got a Japanese unit way before U.S. launch and it was CRAZY. You have to remember: The only other consoles on the market were 32-bit, and 64-bit. 128-bit was literally looking into the future. And the games! Oh the games! Crazy Taxi! Jet Grind Radio! Shenmue (costing a record $56 million to produce)! Sonic Adventure! Toy Commander! And Phantasy Star Online! Soul Calibur! And then there were the VMUs! Being able to see a play on NFL 2K secretly on your controller! 4 controller ports and SegaNet made it possible to play with your friends in your living room - even if they lived in San Francisco and you lived in Texas. Later you could even get a broadband adapter for DSL.

[@Crayolapup]

I lived in the Bronx NYC in 1999… My older brother was 12 years old that summer. I was 4 years old. He knew what a Dreamcast was and wanted it. I think he knew because he heard about it in the school yard playground. I think he also saw it in stores. We ended up getting a Dreamcast in Christmas 2000 with Sonic Adventure and Shenmue. I remember when he first unwrapped the gift, we were all amazed seeing it. After we were done unwrapping gifts, we wanted him to go into mine and my older sisters bedroom and plug it into the tv so we can all see it. It was amazing seeing Sonic Adventure Emerald Coast for the first time.

[@Captain-Cosmo]

I grew up during the Atari 2600 era and worked in an arcade in my high school years in the early 80 when they were at their peak. By the time the PS, N64 and DC arrived, I was a working adult and didn't give games much thought, essentially missing out on this entire period of history. Now in my late 50s, I recently discovered all of my old favorites with MAME. That discovery later turned into exploring more emulated gaming with Dolphin (Wii & Gamecube), Playstation 2 and ReDream (Dreamcast). My wife and I both love the motion controls of the Wii. And PS2 certainly has a huge breadth of titles. But I appreciate that the Dreamcast is more "arcade"-like, with more games that don't require hours just to get into, but rather let you get up and running quickly. Daytona racing, for instance, is wonderfully similar to its arcade parent, throwing me into the racing action in under half a minute compared to the seemingly endless options and storyline of the Need for Speed series. What a shame we never got to see a DreamCast 2 or 3.

[@sagastudios3728]

Dreamcast was amazing, its just a shame it didn't have a longer life.

[@VideoGameDocs]

This is 100% facts

[@leeartlee915]

Truly ahead of its time… but I always HATED that controller. It’s comfortable enough I suppose but that controller stick use to chew up my hand when playing Decathlete. I still have the scars on my thumb.

[@koolaid33]

@@leeartlee915 Decathlete never had a Dreamcast port, you're either thinking of the Sega Saturn or PS2.

[@leeartlee915]

@@koolaid33 You’re right. It was on the Saturn. I played the Dreamcast and Saturn a lot together so I get some of the titles mixed up.

[@maroon9273]

Had the saturn became successfully. We would've seen a longer lifespand, better controller designed, dvd based and more poweful dreamcast. All of the consoles during its generation, we would've seen the dreamcast with a lot of arcade compilations.

[@NYYanks2003040506]

I love the Dreamcast, for the 2 or so years it was on the market, it amassed an impressive library. And Capcom had a great presence on it which was a major selling point to me as a huge fan of that company's games.

[@VideoGameDocs]

Honestly super glad I got into retro gaming and found the Dreamcast and the Saturn. Especially the Dreamcast, the amount of good titles is impressive.

[@albertabramson3157]

"We have over 9 million Dreamcast systems out there and have $1 billion in DC inventory sitting in warehouses. Let's tell the world that we're no longer going to sell games for any of our systems, further pissing off what's left of our loyal customer base." --SEGA of Japan from 1994-2001. As a former SEGA enthusiast, we were left with egg on our faces after convincing all of our friends to buy their consoles right before SoJ pulled the rug out from under them. Never again.

[@w0nd3r6]

> it amassed an impressive library It did lol

[@IceKoldKilla]

I remember being poor growing up so it would've never happened. I would've never gotten one. But I do remember a friend having one. It seemed like the future, before PS2 came out. What's crazy is around 2001 a very nice and wealthy family that my mom cleaned for, decided to buy me and my brother a PS2, extra DualShock 2 and 4 games. It was amazing while it lasted. 2002 I moved to Colombia and it was stolen so there's that. Then got a new one sent by my mom who stayed behind to work and save up. That new one was broke within months before of my brother and cousin fighting next to it and hitting it. So stupid. But had an old N64 that was also gifted to us which I played for a bit. Until we gave it away with hopes of getting a third PS2. Never happened. Moved to France of all places and was given a PS1. All that BS to end up back on PS1. But I loved it still. Xbox 360 was my next console in 2006. Sold and got PS3 in 2007. I do remember my first console being a used Sega Genesis gifted to us. Everything I got was thanks to others giving it to us. Including my best friend giving me his Game Boy Colors when he got an Advance. Great times playing Pokemon Yellow.

[@CRTechRetro]

The great thing about gamers is there like skaters and are not afraid to spread the love in the gifting of there older used stuff. Not old just a bit used or broken in. Hand me down consoles are way better than hand me down clothes any day of the week!

[@corneliusmercer7022]

The dreamcast was a great system that was ahead of its time

[@MaxAbramson3]

Yeah, but the marketing was awful.

[@alanlee67]

True but maybe it came out too early. It competed with the 5th gen, not the 6th gen.

[@BestGirlsBiggestFan]

@@alanlee67 It didn't compete with 5th gen hardware, it was a 6th gen console with many ports from the 5th generation. The GameCube also had tons of 5th gen ports but isn't 5th generation either. As for timing, The Switch is an 8th gen console (with PS4 and Xbox One) yet came out 5 years after to replace the Wii U and just 2 1/2 years before the PS5/XSX. It doesn't make them any less of their own generation. Dreamcast is still a 6th gen console, the Saturn was the 5th gen system.

[@ronch550]

​@@BestGirlsBiggestFanhe didn't say that it's a 5th gen console, only that it competed with 5th gen consoles. When it carne out it was on store shelves along with 5th gen consoles. It nonetheless competed for people's dollars with PS1 and N64. With those older consoles having more games and brand recognition for being out in the market years earlier, I can see why the DC had trouble selling more than it did.

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

It was ahead of its time in someways with its online capabilities, but it was a step backwards in other ways, especially with that crappy controller that it had which has to be the worst Sega designed controller I’ve ever used. They should’ve stuck with the Saturn controller.

[@ashmo5561]

what a wonderful video. still have my original dreamcast, quite possibly, my favorite console. if only we were in that parallel universe where sega still made consoles.

[@VideoGameDocs]

I grew up as a Nintendo kid, and never really experienced other consoles until the 360/PS3. When I discovered the Dreamcast I was blown away. It's quickly become one of my favorite consoles of all time, granted I loved the Wii U when it released so maybe I have a thing for train-wrecks!

[@jarod3371]

Such a professional history of the dreamcast. Brilliant work!

[@leeartlee915]

Jesus, I don’t know why it still surprises me but when the marketing budget is the same as both hardware and software it blows my mind.

[@Sinn0100]

I remember the launch of the Sega Dreamcast like it was yesterday. There was so many people they sold out in most stores within hours. I wouldn't have gotten mine had I not preordered it. That was a day of many firsts... 1. The graphical leap forward was unlike anything we had ever seen before. For the first time I could see character emotions in a game. 2. There were more launch games for the Dreamcast than any other console launch in history. 3. It was the first time I saw someone sleeping outside all night waiting to get theirs first. 4. It was the biggest celebration of all things Sega I had ever seen before or ever again. It was even bigger than Sonic Tuesday or the failed Saturnday. 5. We all were like one big family celebrating the return of our much beloved Sega. No one was fighting or trying to hurt anyone. You may laugh at this but the PS2 launch was like experiencing what an active battlefield was like and you're surrounding by enemies. 6. We even helped a guy in my line pay off his preoder and game. He was like 50 bucks short so everyone in line all chipped in. 7. The stores had Sega mascots everywhere checking preorder tickets. It was very professional as the guys wearing the costumes were all video game vendors. 8. My friend's and i started a farewell prayer for the Sega Saturn in my line that was copied by almost everyone. We were all pouring out a little for the Saturn. 9. I won my copy of Soul Caliber while waiting in line for my friend's Dreamcast (I was carrying mine). PS- I knew every playable characters name in Soul Caliber.

[@ronch550]

Wow that's awesome, especially #6. Thanks for sharing. Good times!!

[@G.L.999]

The 3DFX fiasco was the main reason EA severed their ties with Sega at that time.

[@VideoGameDocs]

That's definitely something I should have touched on a bit more. EA not supporting was a pretty huge deal.

[@snapdragonzoroark]

They also wanted sports exclusivity on the system, which was denied as sega had just purchased visual concepts for their upcoming 2k series games The lack of EA sports titles never had significant negative consequences on the market performance of the system

[@G.L.999]

@@snapdragonzoroark That was more or less out of spite for Sega not using 3DFX. EA lost financial stocks of investments they poured into the 3DFX company when they were making PC games using 3DFX technology at the time. So EA wanting sports exclusivity was more or less an ultimatum/excuse used against Sega for costing EA financially with what they invested into 3DFX back in the mid and late 90's

[@Banarbra]

I never owned a Dreamcast or Saturn, so this was really interesting and good for expanding my knowledge on game history and the like. Good job! Subbed :)

[@VideoGameDocs]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Varg84]

@@VideoGameDocs You lucked out. Unless you enjoy being abandoned by your favorite video game company at the time not once, but twice.

[@MaxAbramson3]

3-4 times, for some fans. People had blown. $700 on the 32X, Genesis, and CD hardware when the $400 Saturn hit stores unexpectedly.

[@G.L.999]

Dreamcast was my first non-Nintendo system(was a big Mario, Zelda, Star Fox, Donkey Kong, and Pokemon fanboy back in those days) I owned. Got one for Christmas of 1999 when I was 9 years old. Didn't get the Genesis/Mega-Drive until later on in my collage years once I saw some AVGN episodes about it when he reviewed Ghostbusters for it!

[@creativerayn]

Always have a soft spot for the Dreamcast ♥️

[@G18999]

I played Dreamcast for a few hours today. I hop on KZbin and see this video. Haha yes! Instant click! Your Saturn video was great too! Have that system as well. Great videos!

[@VideoGameDocs]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed them both!

[@destineeharper2889]

I know virtually nothing about video game history and could follow this video. Really interesting!

[@snoleygames]

Great work on this documentary! You have a very talented team, I can see you going far with this style of content. I subbed.

[@VideoGameDocs]

Thanks for the sub! I appreciate the kind words :) hope you'll enjoy what's coming up!

[@TheMcrico84]

Oh my God, that music from the intro. It brings back so much memories. I remember turning on my dream. Cast put in sonic man so many great memories

[@MaxAbramson3]

Developers have warned that it wasn't the dual CPU and dual GPU that made Saturn hard to develop for, but the unbelievably complex memory systems and lack of 3D libraries.

[@twitchykun]

Man, hearing that Grandia II battle theme at the beginning was a superb choice

[@turismofoegaming8806]

The dream cast was one of the most fun and entertaining, genuinely authentic piece of video game Tech to have in the early 2000’s!!! It was such a good time to be alive in the dream cast made it feel so special.

[@postumus77]

The Voodoo Banshee was 3dfx's first 2d/3d card, 3dfx did not make a 2d only card, ever. And while the Saturn definitely failed, so did the late era Genesis, the 32x, the Sega CD, the Nomad, the global arcade market and so on.

[@ronch550]

Yes, the Banshee was a 2D/3D chip, not 2D-only. Thinking back, Sega really only had great success with the Genesis/MD, and yet even with that, it was still beaten by the SNES in the 16-bit era in terms of sales. Nonetheless, I think if Sega decides to make a comeback with the right people at the helm I think the world just might take notice

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

@@ronch550 it’s too late for Sega as they’re still not quite right as a company they’re still making stupid decisions and they would get crushed by both Sony and Nintendo.

[@ronch550]

@@Adamtendo_player_1 well, I did say with the right people. Look at AMD. You never know, I guess.

[@corin6677]

The Dreamcast and Megadrive are my favourite consoles off all time . Thank you Sega for an amazing part of my childhood & thank you for this excellent video 👍👍

[@korrokthefamished4325]

I’m playing through Grandia II again. Still my favorite turn based RPG of all time. Great story, beautiful artwork, fantastic script and beautifully cheesy voice acting.

[@pirake]

Just found out your channel today and this doc was amazing! I feel like it captured many feelings that hopefully all we agree with this console. Thanks for that ending, made me stop work for a lil bit there. DC just deserved a lot more, unfortunately it had a poor timing, we all want a Sega console again. Hopefully this channel grows a lot more, there’s for sure a lot to talk about in the retro videogame industry.

[@R0NThaDon]

Lol rumors of 2 new consoles have begun to “swirl around”. I got you man.

[@onemomentproductions]

I mean, you chose to feature shenmue in the thumbnail to your video, so that's already an instant like from me.....shenmue music during your opening narration earned you a subscribe! ❤

[@1-eye-willy]

I got my dreamcast out of a funcoland dumpster in 2001. I was extremely under whelmed and even more so when i got a ps2 that Christmas. How i wish i would have packed it up and left it at my grandparents, maybe i would have it to this day

[@VideoGameDocs]

As a long time Nintendo guy, jumping between the N64, PlayStation and Dreamcast, the Dreamcast feels like a huge leap! But once you jump to PlayStation 2 or GameCube it feels like a weird mid-generation console, kind of like the Wii U.

[@CharlesHepburn2]

Thanks!

[@VideoGameDocs]

My pleasure! Thank you!!

[@turismofoegaming8806]

The most screwed up thing of all is that just about every single game released on the Sega Dreamcast from the time the system came out to the very end of its lifespan, we’re all bangers!! Games like Shenmue absolutely changed gaming forever! I played a great deal of Dreamcast games and I had about 15 or 20 or so at the time and every single one was better than the launch games we got for PlayStation or Nintendo 64(excluding Mario 64) and it just felt like saying I had finally done it?? They had finally made a product that was going to dominate!!! Soul Calibur 4 x 4 evo Sega rally championship Metropolis Street racer Resident evil code Veronica Shenmue Sonic Adventure Crazy taxi And so many more games like the NFL 2K one and NBA 2K one sports franchise that I would argue were better than any sports game I have ever played?!? I didn’t even play sports games and I had both NFL 2K and 2K1?! It was just such a phenomenal game system that came out right there at the end of the 90s quite literally and I still have one to this day and it holds one of the most special places in my heart due to some of the absolutely unforgettable experiences I had on the Console.. Sometimes I feel like if the Damned controller would’ve had a right joystick, it would’ve survived😫😢

[@paulothx138]

Now this was one cool documentary. 🤙🏻

[@Epd3mik]

I still believe if they released it with a DVD-Player. That would have changed everything

[@klodek14]

Never sold my Dreamcast. I still own it (now modded with gdemu) and I still play on it. Its games library isn't huge, but it's full of unique and exceptional titles.

[@VideoGameDocs]

Gotta say I fell in love with it once I picked one up. Helped remind me that it's always been about the games.

[@grinbrothers]

I had long thought that the Dreamcast's Japan and US releases should have been switch (given the Saturn's popularity in Japan and the lack of a supported Sega console for a year in the US), but the knowledge of the many delayed Dreamcast games during the Japan launch window is new to me and certainly makes me think otherwise now. A fantastic coverage of the rise and fall of the Dreamcast within Japan and the US (as a UK person, I would have liked to learn more on the PAL territories, but ah well), with easy to digest bullet points on the tech and interesting bits of trivia such as the Pokémon phenomena tying into the perception of games and how that influenced the Dreamcast at the time. The Dreamcast was the first game console I owned myself so I have quite a lot of love for it and do wish I could glimpse into the timeline where this fantastic machine got the success it so deserved.

[@VideoGameDocs]

I'm both saddened and very happy I got into the Dreamcast more recently. A fantastic console I wish I had been able to support back in the day. As a Nintendo guy and family we went with the N64 and the GameCube though :/

[@grinbrothers]

@@VideoGameDocs I'm glad I was able to enjoy it around it's launch, though my young age (lack of funds as a result) and lack of online still meant I missed out on key aspects. That Dream Key always boggled my mind and for years I had no idea what it did. I luckily have 3 brothers, so I got to enjoy the majority of mainstream consoles that popped up over the years (my younger brother particularly enjoyed the GameCube). Again, great video; looking forward to more in the future!

[@erockbrox8484]

The PS2 with its DVD playability buried the Dreamcast so far into the hole that never recovered. There was so much competition that SEGA just died. Like Microsoft and Sony are giant tech companies that sell more than just video games.

[@I_dont_like_anime]

Great video series!

[@vic8230]

The Dreamcast was fantastic, I loved it so much. I played the hell out of that demo disc. I cant remember when I first got it exactly, I feel like I got it in 2000 when I was about 9/10. I do however remember the $200 price tag being expensive for my mom, and then remember it dropping to $100 not long after. She was not too happy about that part.😅

[@kraidley]

I wasn't prepared for this opening...

[@juanfelipeangaritalopez9631]

Key Features Visual Memory Unit (VMU): The Dreamcast's controller included a slot for the VMU, a memory card with a small LCD screen that could display in-game information or act as a secondary display. GD-ROM Format: To combat piracy, Sega used a proprietary GD-ROM format, which had a larger capacity than standard CDs but was cheaper to produce than DVDs. Arcade Roots: The Dreamcast was heavily influenced by Sega's arcade division, with many games ported from or inspired by Sega's arcade machines.

[@G.G.___162]

Great documentary, well done!

[@VideoGameDocs]

Many thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@VideoGameDocs]

Hey there! Just wanted to point out some inaccuracies that were brought to my attention. First off most CD-ROMs were spec’d for 650-700 MBs depending on how you store the data. In the video I incorrectly said Megabits (mb) instead of MegaBytes (MB,) but the graphic did correctly show MegaBytes. Second, GeForce 256 it can peak at 15mil, but was rated at a minimum of 10mil which I believe is why I used that in the comparison. Thirdly, I incorrectly used the DVD-1 format for how much data was stored. The PS2 I believe ran DVD-5 which would have about 4.7GB single later. Finally for the Voodoo2 and PowerVR comparison it should be noted that at the time of the Dreamcasts inception it would have been the Voodoo2 (not Voodoo3) and the PowerVR CLX2. CLX2 is kind of a custom chip for the Dreamcast that had more features than the Voodoo2 and could push around 7 million polygons per second compared to the Voodoo2s 3 million polygons per second. Thank you all for helping me keep my video up to date, and if you find anything else please let me know and I can add to this comment!

[@erichousetkc]

I think there is another mistake. In the video (10:50) the titlescreen shows 平成10年, which should be 1998. You mentioned 1999 4 seconds before that though.

[@VideoGameDocs]

You’d be correct, it was 1998, just misspoke with that one😅

[@MaxAbramson3]

I believe that the Katana was going to get a custom 3dfx chip, like a the voodoo 2.5. It handled more polygons than NEC but not as many effects.

[@maroon9273]

​@@MaxAbramson3I definetely would've prefer 3dfx over the powervr especially financial wise. Sega would've never been sued

[@MaxAbramson3]

@@maroon9273 And they could've give EA its sports exclusivity and put those resources into jRPGs, arcade ports, 3D shmups, etc.

[@DalazG]

It's also quite astonishing how quickly the dreamcast was developed. Nowadays it takes at least 5 years to plan and develop a home console. And that's with less custom parts. Sega made such a great machine in such a short amount of time. I wish sega could return to home consoles but i feel like they still need to build their first party devs

[@SouthernOregonReps]

I remember getting my reserve at midnight at babages on release! DC is and always be one of my favorite consoles!

[@TheEarthRealm]

8:09 Don't worry, it was that way for all of us. Practically dead right out of the box. 😅

[@nickcommie]

it's strange to think about now, but it actually sold pretty well for how short of a time it was on the market, and had a good attachment rate for games. they just didn't have the money to keep supporting it because it took too long to turn a profit, sadly. it probably would have started to turn a profit in another year but the competition from overhyped ps2 was too much

[@VideoGameDocs]

Yeah, you have to wonder what would've happened if Sega was able to continue supporting it, or if the PS2 wasn't so hyped.

[@albertabramson3157]

@@VideoGameDocs SEGA was able to continue releasing games that were in the pipeline. SoJ just decided, once again, to screw over everyone who'd made the mistake of buying one of their machines.

[@JesusChrist-is-not-MrNice]

The same advice my father gave me too for the console 32X when it just came out : wait, I think it will fail. My father was not a gamer, but a fan of technology, inquiring informations from different sources.

[@JesusChrist-is-not-MrNice]

When I rent the Dreamcast console, I was so blown away by the visual from the games, I wanted it so much.

[@NinesNX]

Y'all do this man's a favor and show support! share this video to your friends and communities!

[@VideoGameDocs]

Thanks for the support! Just glad my videos are enjoyed by so many already :)

[@JoseGarnelo]

dreamcast is definitely the system of my teens

[@robmadrigal714]

The Dreamcast was a piece of arcade back in the day 😊

[@jeremy7383]

Man I bought one years ago to go down memory lane and it’s such a blast. You should definitely check out Jet Set (Grind) Radio, Skies of Arcadia, Grandia 2, Dino Crisis.

[@VideoGameDocs]

Jet Set Radio is one of my all time favorites! I own Grandia 2, and have had Skies of Arcadia and Dino Crisis on my list for years, just haven't gotten around to em :/

[@gossman75]

When I bought Sega Dreamcast, it was so fun. I always had 4 friends playing on this thing all the time. I've bought tons of games like Quake, Rainbow Six, NFL 2k, Red Dog, Armada, Gauntlet, Test Drive, and one other awesome four player military game that someone borrowed and I didn't get it back. Don't trust anyone! But these are all multiplayer games. And what is fun is that your not teaming up with someone over seas with whom you don't know. Your actually playing with your own friends with four players. More consoles should make multiplayer games like Sega where you can actually play games with four of your own friends.

[@ardent9422]

Great docs man I subbed, hope to see one on the Xbox 360.

[@erockbrox8484]

9-9-99 Live the Dream Baby!!!!

[@TheAxeGrinder]

6:15 3dfx did have to reveal its contracts. However, they could keep the details secret, per confidentiality agreements. However, 3dfx, even though they legally could avoid revealing their details with partners, made their ENTIRE contract with Sega public, including all of the details regarding their work on the Dreamcast.

[@hanyang508]

Sometimes I think the fall is because of corporate espionage, many of the problems actually comes from 'miscommunication' and 'clash of interest' between Sega of America and Sega of Japan. Ain't it abit sus the year that dreamcast was discontinued is the same year that Xbox was launch, the controller have almost the same style, made by microsoft, which, (surprise) Dreamcast OS 'windowsCE' (modified). Playstation? Japan, Nintendo? Japan, cant let them monopolize the market now can we...

[@ECHOXMIKE]

Well done, great video

[@MetaFoxx278]

This was the only Sega console I ever owned, as I was always a Nintendo person. Not sure what prompted me to buy one, but it was, interestingly enough, in April 2K1, just months after its discontinuation. Don’t regret the decision to buy it, as it would have been literal years for me to discover half its software on other hardware. It’s too bad the baffling decisions made by Sega of Japan carried over into the Dreamcast from the Saturn. They could have easily had a technically superior 3DFX based system that could have had a better chance at making standout games. Not saying it would have saved Sega altogether, but it could have been remarkable.

[@Flagg1991]

"A Playboy playmate named Reina Mero.* That's a weird way to describe Sable.

[@--waffle-]

May baby jesus bless you with a million subs my dude. great vid! a few sound oddities, but very well made!

[@JonathanHarrisNews]

Dreamcast was amazing. I really enjoyed my Saturn as well. Sega vs Sega seemed to ruin them, not the actual products they produced.

[@MaxAbramson3]

Effeminate marketing that didn't even tell you that SEGA was making a console ruined them.

[@JonathanHarrisNews]

@MaxAbramson3 wrong. Their ads are iconic and legendary and there was nothing effeminate about them. That word doesn't mean what you think it means. 🤣 Dreamcast's release set Guinness records. The advertising worked PERFECTLY. Sega didn't have the money for a long-term battle, it wasn't the ads. Reality matters.

[@MaxAbramson3]

@@JonathanHarrisNews Using your claimed psychic powers, what do you sense that I believe that "effeminate" means? SONY knew how to make their machines look bad ass on TV, at events, and in the news. Without Kalinske, SEGA was just no longer cool.

[@costasvasilogiannakis7816]

great video love it

[@SylverstoneKhandr]

18:59 - I don't know if anyone else brought it up in the comments, but Rena Mero was much better known to folks as Sable from the WWF during its Attitude Era boom period.

[@avivmizrachi4382]

The problem in sales is always your product versus your competiton, and in Sony's case, their huge backing in all their other revenues/ products- gave them much more air to breath while Sega was choking. Its a Japanese mentality that Sega had to "beat" Sony to it (to launch first) with the dreamcast. I think for 2 main reasons not clearly said here: The PS2 would have "beat" the dreamcast anyway on merits of being a superior device, and there was still enough time for the PS2 to set itself apart for its launch. that means that a potential client would feel that its already worth it to buy a PS2 (especially for being a superior offering) even if they owned a dreamcast about a year before. There was enough time in between to justify upgrading to a better device. Secondly, the problem wasn't ONLY the dreamcast and its issues mentioned. The context problem was the Saturn didn't hold its ground fully and long enough - to allow Sega to make the dreamcast a superior console or at least compete with the PS2's at the PS2 launch. If the Saturn filled its role in America like it did in Japan, and held its title long enough- Sega would have enough air to make the dreamcast equally superior to compete / win the PS2 battle. The fate of the dreamcast greatly depended on the performance of its predecessor- the Saturn.

[@costumeninja1914]

Besides the DVD player, the Sega Dreamcast is an overall superior machine to the blurry PlayStation 2.

[@MaxAbramson3]

The PS2 just seemed much cooler than the other consoles. SONY's marketing was terrific, and their focus on top notch exclusives helped make them #1.

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

@@costumeninja1914 the PS2 shits on Dreamcast in every way possible Despite the PS2 being weaker than the GameCube and Xbox.

[@turismofoegaming8806]

I feel like Sega was the only game developer out there that was kind of like the reflection point for a Nintendo? Meaning if we had Xbox and PlayStation and Nintendo in addition to Sega today, Sega would be right at the very top somewhere in between the Nintendo switch and the PlayStation five?? And this is because Sega made unique mesmerizing experiences just like Nintendo still does today!! I bought a DreamCast when they came out in the US, did you? From the time I got it until the time it died, it was one of the best systems you could get for the games they had, on the market at the time! Sure the PlayStation 2 was an absolute beast, but as far as games go it did not even compare for the first year.. Tekken tag tournament two and ridge racer five I believe were two of the best games they had that first year? And dark cloud.. The Dreamcast had catchy, unique and immersive super fun experiences.. I wish Sega had of toughed it out long enough to at least continue into the race once game cube and Xbox joined because I guarantee you they would’ve at the very least came in second! I still have a Sega Dreamcast to this day and I am more nostalgic for it than I am the PS2 even though I have a lot of nostalgia for the PS2 and I absolutely loved that time and gaming with all the great experiences like metal gear solid and silent hill two and three and Gran Turismo three and four and God of war one and two and just so many other games that really put PlayStation on the map permanently! For a system to sell over 155 million units during its lifespan back then, that is way bigger than a system selling that same amount with all the features they have today, in addition to the fact that there are so many more people than there were back then to buy a consult today?! It kind of doesn’t compare, so if the switch and start out selling the PS two, it really isn’t fair because they’ve milked the switch fan base until they’re anorexic emaciated skeletons on the verge of death- I honestly don’t understand how Nintendo can provide such little advancement to their user interface as well as their graphics cards and hardware that go into their systems, and people still just go right along with it, it’s OK for Nintendo to do it but if anybody else does it…. Complete joke-

[@LocoGringo8898]

Good stuff! Please tell me your gonna do the Sega Genesis and the Playstation 2? My 2 favorite consoles of all time! Maybe even the NES and the Gameboy......lol

[@VideoGameDocs]

I'm planning on covering all major consoles so yep! Genesis, PS2, even the NES and Gameboy are in the pipeline!

[@Luke_Alves]

I still play ps2 and it's my favorite console, it has 4218 games

[@23GreyFox]

Back then i had no desire to get a Dreamcast and got new PS1 games instead. For me it felt that the DC had a too large focus on arcade ports. But it seems i was not alone in that, not a single of my friends had one.

[@GentielioGaming]

I remember the promises of the ps2 in magazines. The network play , the downloading of music and movies... It came to life in the later age of the ps3 and not on the ps2. Still a great marketing machine that doesn't deliver and does not put people off for buying the ps2. And when people got the ps3 that does it all at an early life you got the yellow ring of death.😢

[@wisconsinrebelhomes7587]

I blame Sega themselves for the Dreamcast failure. We deserved more from the Sega Dreamcast

[@maxtubb]

While SEGA has defiantly fallen from their console days they are still and amazing publisher because after the fall of the Dreamcast SEGA Created hit titles such as Super Monkey Ball, Yakuza series and Valkyria Chronicles series.

[@meikasroom851]

If that controller had followed a design language that allowed for two analog sticks this thing wouldn't be too bad lol

[@HouseOfFunQM]

PenPen Tri-Icelon Like... a tri-athlon. But on ice.

[@spartaninvirginia]

A few things would have to change to have Sega still making consoles today. 1) SoA and SoJ would have to get along. 2) 32x would have to be cancelled. 3) Saturn would be released on release day in America, not the surprise release. 4) A sonic game would need to be a launch title for the Saturn, at least in the west. 5) Bernie Stolar not make his "Saturn isn't the future" comment. The first item is the most important, as without it, the others wouldnt be on the table.

[@visiter127]

The realase dates kept getting put back and back in Europe killed it for me

[@DaoistYeashikAli]

6:51 GD-ROM could hold upto 1.5 GB of data and a single layer DVD5 disc could hold around 4.7 GB and the less common dual layer DVD9 disc could hold upto 8.5 GB (PS2 support both of them)

[@VideoGameDocs]

Thanks for the info! I actually wasn't sure on that.

[@DukeDudeston]

I thought it was common knowledge that the DVD format was 4.7GBytes. Also while on the subject CD-ROMs by the time the PS2 came out had the specification for 700MByte CDs (which even the PS1 can use) and most PS2.CD based games used.

[@G.L.999]

GD ROM=1.2 gigs. GameCube Optical Disc=1.5 gigs.

[@BestGirlsBiggestFan]

Not quite. It holds 1.2GB data, as opposed to 1.4GB of the GameCubes mini DVDs and the 4+ of regular DVDs. However it was hardly the major detriment people made it out to be, even DVD games sometimes had more than one disc, so GD-ROMs being called out by critics for doing this specifically was unfair.

[@DaoistYeashikAli]

@@BestGirlsBiggestFan You can't fit a game like GTA in GD Rom as you can't split the map data across discs. 360 had the same problem but it remedied it with the hdd

[@carrera2320]

THE DREAMCAST WAS MY FIRST SYSTEM THEN PS3, IT MADE ME A GAMER, AND ITS TRUE, IT WAS WAY AHEAD OF ITS TIME, PEOPLE DID NOT GIVE IT A CHANGE

[@danielt.8573]

Sega's hardware mistakes in my opinion were no backwards compatibility with all previous Sega disk systems, no region encoding, no DVD player, no LAN modem at launch, no movies and other video content on GD-Rom, no 6 face buttons on the controller.

[@MegaManNeo]

It'd be such a smart move if the Saturn actually allowed for backwards compatibility through its cartridge slot. That thing at least in the US would have sold like hot cakes. We in Europe were more excited for PS1 and N64 back then, mostly PS1 tho.

[@maroon9273]

Due to lack of money after the saturn failed and wasting money on the 32x, sega cd.

[@urbanmidnight1]

Voodoo Banshee was a 2d/3d card mate...not 2d only.

[@Apollo1989V]

DVDs could hold 4.7 GB of data, single layer. Much more than what you said.

[@JesusChrist-is-not-MrNice]

Back in the day, a parent said "he's playing with his Nintendo" while he was playing with his Sega Genesis 😂 Now the term "Playstation" is more often used where I live.

[@miu-kb2ue]

People want a console with Dvd drive at that time

[@TheRealDustinNunn]

We need a Sega Dreamcast 2 in the works.

[@VideoGameDocs]

Some would say that that's the Xbox!

[@roahnosh]

Nah. Just take a look at how they murdered the PSO2 and PSO2 NGS. Sega is still the same SEGA in the 90s who's arrogant, lazy and incompetent.

[@IceKoldKilla]

Wasn't the fact that no copyright protection existed at launch, also a factor as to why it started losing sales? You could just burn games onto DVDs, no? I vaguely remember it being a problem and they fixed it with later models but too late unfortunately.

[@deepblue8143]

Sable!

[@19grand]

Loved my DC.

[@christianweber9089]

We need a Dreamcast mini, now.

[@leeartlee915]

Love the video but I do have one gripe: were the possibilities truly “endless” with the VMU? I mean, it was kind of a glorified graphing calculator (it actually had less horsepower than a graphing calculator).

[@ronch550]

I remember wanting to get a DC in 1999 or 2000 but the hype surrounding the PS2 (partly due to the fact that PS1 gave so many hours of fun) was just too great. We won a PS2 at an event in 2000 and so we just simply forgot about the DC. Part of the reason why the DC failed is the Saturn. If Saturn was successful, Sega would've had a much better presence in people's homes and minds (which the PlayStation and Sony had), and that in turn would've made people more likely grab a DC when it came out. But yeah, most people didn't even care about Sega when the DC came along. The DC was a great console in many ways, it's just that competition killed it and forgoing circumstances didn't do it any favors either.

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

PlayStation still would’ve crushed SEGA even with the Dreamcast.

[@000shad]

Dreamcast was a amazing console. But, the gamepad wasn't very good,a bit too big and the cross while accurate was was a bit hard to press and very hurting for the fingers. Games also didn't exploit fully the capacity of the console (poor number of polygons in games like grandia 2) cause of the laziness of devs but also the lack of production. Not enough adventure or RPG games. They have also rushed a bit some games for example they should have delay VF3 and make it better looking like SC was and also try a real online feature in small local zone for this game or others. I'm sure some games could have reached quite the same level of graphism (maybe in a different way) as the last games from the PS2 with a longer live.

[@maroon9273]

Plus, dc controller did not have 7 button layout like the saturn controller. Plus, lacked dual analog as well. I wish they designed it like the Xbox 2nd and 360 controller. Or even strikerdc controller with 6 button layout.

[@Bronxguyanese]

The question is this. Why was the genesis successful and why did saturn and the dreamcast fail?

[@CharlesHepburn2]

Not sure where you are getting your storage capacities for optical media, but it’s wrong in this video. 650 mega BYTES for CD rom, and 4.7 GB for DVD (approximately).

[@VideoGameDocs]

You're correct, I made a pinned comment pointing this discrepancy out, but thank you for your comment, and thank you for holding information accountable!

[@CharlesHepburn2]

@@VideoGameDocs now that’s a refreshing response to a critical comment. We need more of that these days… a prevailing deference to the truth/evidence/facts. Sorry I missed the pinned comment. Subbed.

[@VideoGameDocs]

@@CharlesHepburn2 No worries on missing the pinned comment, it happens all the time haha. My channel is focused on the video game history and educating those who wish to learn, so getting information correct or correcting things that are missed is vital to what I hope to achieve. Thanks for the support!

[@xenvasqwibqwib4846]

i loved the dreamcast. I will miss you! How come most of those games never came to steam since it's like windows based no? Maybe licensing....

[@VideoGameDocs]

Unfortunately it could just be that they think sales would be low. But also, the Windows that the Dreamcast was based on is quite outdated compared to todays windows.

[@arcadealchemist]

dreamcast mini when? but it must allow for "original controller support" via a USB multi tap so we can fish and light gun

[@myew]

19:25 I saw Mega Man Legends and now I'm sad. 😿

[@vincentbyrd5350]

For me sonic mortal combat and megaman was the Capcom top of the top. Internet access to made it double duty generational. Ahhh great great times

[@TheGuidedGenius]

🎉owed both the Saturn and Dreamcast and loved them both. Had it modded to play imported Japanese games. Pretty awesome but their abandoning of the system and developing future games ruined any chance to be a major player in gaming.

[@Profeces]

I've really enjoyed a few of your videos, but in this one there's a few major issues with some of your editing. Not the content, but the actual visual effects. The most important one is around 13:20 where you have the console surrounded with 4 manufacturers in colored circles. You have to be extremely careful with colors and movement, especially with multi-directional movements happening at the same time. You have 4 different bright colors, that are circling, moving closer and further apart and rotating in opposite directions. Just that part on it's own is bad, since it can cause people who are prone to have seizures, to seize. It's even worse when you have text inside of them, also rotating in various directions. For people prone to seizures, seeing all those different directional movements, with the colors, causes their brains to be unable to find the correct focal point, and eventually seize. Secondly, the blur effect on some of the earlier gameplay footage needs to be either higher or lower. I know you're trying to get the viewer to focus on the text/images on the screen at these times, but when you have that level of blur, it is just out of focus enough that your eyes try to focus to make it more clear, but they can't. This causes eye strain. While I doni't think there would be actual medical issues with that as opposed to the previous issue, it makes it harder to watch. You're already using effects on your text/images to move them in ways to draw in the viewer's attention, so that blur effect really only detracts from your video. Other than those two things, I really do enjoy your history videos, but I'm hoping you can address these issues in the future. At the very least the first one, since that could cause actual physical harm to viewers.

[@VideoGameDocs]

Thank you for pointing these out! I’ll make sure to be more careful about the blur effect, and the other one was archive footage pulled from a Dreamcast presentation so I didn’t edit it, but I’ll be more careful with that next time, especially since it was one screen for quite awhile. Thank you again for the comment!

[@Profeces]

​@@VideoGameDocs That's actually not surprising. The late 90's marketing commonly had graphics like that until they realized how damaging it can be. Thankfully you don't see colors/graphics like that anymore for this very reason. Thanks for the response, and keep up the good work. You have a very underrated channel, and I sincerely hope it grows. These types of documentary videos keep childhood memories alive.

[@gjergjaurelius9798]

Fuckin dreamcast all I have for this system is fighting games and shmups! Oh and spawn and dynamite cops!🤣 love my dreamcast!

[@gjergjaurelius9798]

Wait a minute and.... PHANTASY STAR ONLINE! HOLY SHIT A WHOLE SUMMER WASTED ON THAT GAME!🤯🤷🏻‍♂️💯🤟🏻

[@cachodejosepa]

From where are those actors dressed as shenmue characters on the magazine? was that a presentation or something?

[@foxsux6000]

The PowerPC one would have been way faster CPU wise and way easier to develop on since the Mac also used it. (Allowing a ton of Mac developers to develop for Sega)

[@albertabramson3157]

I've written or worked on Assembly for both SuperH and PowerPC. Both are a little difficult, to be sure. But yeah, PowerPC is a bit easier.

[@Reeve-vf6zk]

banshee was a 3d AND 2d accelerator