tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19634944.post3219946050329807027..comments2024-03-24T20:07:02.400+00:00Comments on The Dreamcast Junkyard: Would Upgrades Have Prolonged The Dreamcast?Tom Charnockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05593308178739317252noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19634944.post-72682971794035512072016-04-20T19:24:38.106+00:002016-04-20T19:24:38.106+00:00a naomi 2 upgrade might have been a bit soon or fa...a naomi 2 upgrade might have been a bit soon or far fletched but simply adding a dvd drive would have done so much for them so much Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03994675783130581644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19634944.post-77329428916021044812016-04-20T15:04:48.243+00:002016-04-20T15:04:48.243+00:00fanat - I completely disagree. The name 'Dream...fanat - I completely disagree. The name 'Dreamcast' is entirely catchy, smooth and memorable. I still hate the name 'Xbox' (and I do know why it was/is called that).<br /><br />If we're playing "what ifs," instead of an add-on, and like the PS4K, SEGA could've released a new Dreamcast model. Same on the outside (or slightly changed), but with a DVD drive instead of the GD drive (yes, switch games to DVDs maybe rig it to read GD-ROMs so older games can be played on new systems) and include more RAM (maybe a quiet fan too lol). Just about everything else internally was up-to-snuff with the PS2.<br /><br />I realize this would alienate early adopters, but the trade-off could've been more people buying the system going forward. My theory would be that third party companies would've been more likely to have multiplatform games on the DC as well. So we're in a place where people buy the Dreamcast for first party games, but unlike Nintendo, may get the best third party experience with games (like the Xbox). <br /><br />Plus, let's face it, early adopters probably would buy the updated system anyway (How many times has Nintendo sold their case the same system over and over). SEGA could've done a trade-in deal as well, like trade-in a DC-GD for $100 towards a DC-DVD.<br /><br />SEGA likely didn't have the money to make any changes, even in reality during the DC's run, but they could've leveraged some assets or restructured in bankruptcy (assuming SEGA Japan got their heads out of their asses and hadn't merged with Sammy). If their projections for units sold based on the new model were high enough, they likely could've taken on debt to fund the push.<br /><br />And even if they went bankrupt and weren't able to restructure, their properties would've been sold off and arguably wouldn't have been worse for wear given what SEGA has produced since the DC era.DCGXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18419956116822643633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19634944.post-36169336924593856942016-04-20T12:13:50.234+00:002016-04-20T12:13:50.234+00:00As for addons, I'll agree with pcwzrd13, they ...As for addons, I'll agree with pcwzrd13, they would've failed. IMO it should've gone with a dvd drive from the start. Later they could've released a dongle like the Xbox, which would've covered the DVD licensing fees.fanathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484658397818238373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19634944.post-77541098398813170152016-04-20T12:11:35.522+00:002016-04-20T12:11:35.522+00:00IMHO the lack of DVD video, the lack of a unified ...IMHO the lack of DVD video, the lack of a unified sega network/online strategy, and the name itself "Dreamcast" are all reasons for why it failed. Dreamcast isn't catchy / smooth enough for a household name. Playstation kind of smooths off the tongue, PS2 is even better. Xbox is pracitcally perefect in that sense.fanathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484658397818238373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19634944.post-11909942383004932532016-04-20T11:57:22.150+00:002016-04-20T11:57:22.150+00:00It's an interesting idea for sure but I person...It's an interesting idea for sure but I personally think it would have had the opposite effect and shortened its lifespan. I've always considered Sega's tattered reputation, because of the 32x and Saturn, to be the number one cause of the Dreamcast's "death". As others have already said, an upgraded Dreamcast would have just resurrected bad memories for consumers and created a feeling that Sega was screwing them over yet again. Not only that, but it would have caused Sega to lose more money and ultimately make the decision of discontinuing the console even earlier. That's my take on it anyway. Great article Tom!pcwzrd13https://www.blogger.com/profile/08517477264260272095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19634944.post-989420413232199142016-04-20T09:33:44.116+00:002016-04-20T09:33:44.116+00:00I think sega had a reason for not going to DVDs. T...I think sega had a reason for not going to DVDs. They say that the reason was for both the games and hardware being to expensive on a dvd. But me i think it was sega's way of trying to save them selfs. Look back on sega's add on's Sega cd(Mega cd) sega 32x(Mega 32x) and the saturn vcd card if that counts. Sure the sega cd (Mega cd) is the add on with the most sales but still not that many bought and same with 32x and the vcd. Sega at the time didn't want to dare them selfs using a potential failure dvds were still new technology at the time. Were still talking about a company at the time had only 100s of millions of dollars not even a billion to a company its bad.To be honest GD roms were a good amount of storage to put on. Everyone else used cd roms plus with capabilities like mpegsofec and adx sound and that when used it could been close to what DVD capabilities.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03468284049996344273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19634944.post-27057704913658497592016-04-20T09:27:22.337+00:002016-04-20T09:27:22.337+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03468284049996344273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19634944.post-88036946351099577172016-04-20T08:33:35.679+00:002016-04-20T08:33:35.679+00:00Yeah, they did a deal where you got a Dreamcast an...Yeah, they did a deal where you got a Dreamcast and a DVD player together in a bundle. I remember seeing the offer advertised in a shop at the time and the one thing that sticks in my mind is how big the DVD player box looked next to the Dreamcast box!Tom Charnockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05593308178739317252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19634944.post-73302683294085994592016-04-20T08:20:58.781+00:002016-04-20T08:20:58.781+00:00It wouldn't have worked during the Dreamcast&#...It wouldn't have worked during the Dreamcast's era, especially with the mega cd and 32x too close in the rear view mirror, but if they tried it, and through the lens of modern retrospection, it would have again demonstrated how far ahead of their time Sega was thinking with the Dreamcast.<br /><br />Didn't Sega of Europe bundle the Dreamcast with a free DVD player in the lead up to the PS2's launch? I don't think it made much difference, so an integrated DVD add-on probably wouldn't have fared much better.doceggfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11060105388073777759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19634944.post-27795949025771086032016-04-20T07:46:16.843+00:002016-04-20T07:46:16.843+00:00It's an interesting prospect, but I personally...It's an interesting prospect, but I personally think that the gains from the updated PS4 are literally going to be performance and that is it. It'll help with the VR aspect too, but ultimately if the game is running the beefier hardware, the optimisations required to run the game on the base hardware (dynamic resolution scaling, reduced visual effects ect...) will just be disabled or reduced. <br /><br />I think the DVD addon might have helped, but it wouldn't have been profitable for Sega in the slightest and it would have just drained resources even more quickly. Sega had the fight, just not the money to continue, that for me (and piracy) is the sole reason Sega ultimately had to stop hardware. It's a story all to similar in this industry but it's a crying shame it happened to such a popular (and huge) company.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com