Network now...FEATURE
How Consoles Die
Headstone:
Sega Dreamcast
1999-2001
“Game Over Yeeeeeah.”
Cause of death: Peter Moore, apparently
The Dreamcast had much going for it when it launched: a reasonable price point, online out of the box and last but not least, the eye-popping Soul Calibur. But a determined Sony, bolstered by consumers’ unparalleled loyalty to the PlayStation brand and DVD-playing capability, outdid the Saturn successor handily, as Sega’s resources dwindled.
The Sony hype machine didn’t help Dreamcast’s prospects either, as execs promised PS2 graphics on par with the CG movie Toy Story, with gamers on the Sony side of the fence lapping up the marketing spiel happily. Despite a valiant effort that yielded some classic Dreamcast titles, “Sega” as a hardware brand couldn’t fend off PlayStation.
And that was that. Sega was out of the hardware business.
Headstone:
GameCube
2001-2007
“Just Passing Through”
Cause of death: torn in two
The GameCube, with its toy-like appearance, big-green-button controller and adorable purple color scheme, was a symbol of Nintendo trying to bridge a gap between hardcore gamers and the mass market.
But Nintendo would soon find it impossible to balance the supposed needs of hardcore gamers and its own desire to create a completely original console that threw out all conventions. In the end, consumers viewed the GameCube as a kids' toy that was trying to be a PS2, minus the sexiness. Sales paled in comparison to the market leader, and third parties began to question the console’s purpose.
The GameCube served as a noble stopgap before Nintendo decided to go all-in, and introduce a console that would immediately find an audience, as well as its own identity—the Nintendo Wii.
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Headstone:
Xbox
2001-2006
“Why, Brother, Why?”
Cause of death: homicide by younger, stronger sibling / hemmoraging
Microsoft was perhaps the only company on the planet with the resources (or audacity) to jump into the videogame console market when it did. The Xbox arrived in 2001 following a year headstart for the PS2, a console whose popularity would only explode. Elsewhere, veteran Nintendo was launching its GameCube.
The Xbox would spend its life battling for second place with Nintendo’s purple lunchbox. By the time successor Xbox 360 launched, Microsoft had virtually erased the original Xbox from its memory, as software support almost immediately ceased to exist. The money-bleeding Xbox had served its purpose as the foot-in-the-door, and Microsoft was ready to move on to bigger, better prospects.
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I agree that the Dreamcast was a very nice machine that did die a premature death. It had a lot going for it and appeared just about as powerful as the PS2.
I remember comparing Crazy Taxi on both the DC and the PS2 and noting that it played and looked better on the DC. The controllers were a bit different but with the LCD insert and screen had the potential for additional and interesting game features. The machine had great potential. Too bad there wasn't an backer in place to help it fight the Sony machine with its hype and money.
...no Turbo Graffix? Colecovision?
...no CDi, no game gear? Kris Graft who wrote the feature stated he didn't include systems that had little to no impact on the games industry and didn't share the same dramatic death some of the bigger more known consoles did. There are a ton of systems omitted. Those systems died pretty much on arrival, sold so few systems that their mention seemed not necessary. At least that's my interpretation from his post
Kris Graft's quote,
"Omitting the Master System wasn't an accident. It didn't have significant market impact or the spectacularly gruesome death as the consoles featured here. We wanted to be somewhat selective about what to include."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_consoles
There's your list of consoles and their sales numbers.
"The Sony hype machine didn’t help Dreamcast’s prospects either, as execs promised PS2 graphics on par with the CG movie Toy Story."
That never happened, but Microsoft's execs did actually promise that;
http://news.cnet.com/2100-1040-250632.html
"One of the basic premises of the Xbox is to put the power in the hands of the artist," Blackley said, which is why Xbox developers "are achieving a level of visual detail you really get in 'Toy Story.'"
- Seamus Blackley, head of Microsoft's Xbox division
That did happen.
edit: It seems that the absolute truth to that statement is debatable. Sony may or may have not said that the PS2 will provide toy story quality graphics, but I don't think anyone can "prove" they did or didn't. But as far as being overpromising and underdelivering? I think we all can agree on that one.
Sony DID say that the PS3 could pump out 1080p at 120 frames per second if they wanted to with the PS3, underdeliver/overhype? I think so.
Great memories. Makes me feel old though. Born, raised and still living in the Caribbean (29yrs old) but still owned the Atari 2600 (Pitfall, Missile Command, Space invaders, still have it) and 7800 (loved Pole Position, still have it), NES (punchout), SNES (Super Mario World Yeah), Genesis (preferred over SNES, Mortal Kombat, Sonic), Sega Saturn (a waste, there was this 1 XMen fighter i liked), PSX (scratched disks and weak disc motor), N64 (preferred over PSX Mario 64 was great, Ocarina of time brilliant, still have it), Dreamcast (I loved this console and the games, and the fact that games could be downloaded and burnt SSHH! LOL), XBOX (favorite system ever, my 8yr old son is still milking it for all its worth. Modchip. SSHHH!). Got a system as a gift once. One of these Japanese things. Amil Computer I think it was called. Came with a cartridge with about 32 games. Controller was like an NES.
I wouldn't call the Megadrive exactly dead. It's still popular in Brazil and EA are releasing some new games for it.
What?! You are kidding me, are they releasing Tiger Woods PGA Tour'09 in 16-bit format!!
Eh, yeah, you have Tec Toy's thing, but that doesn't even play carts. Really interesting piece of hardware though, but not enough to convince me that the Genesis/Megadrive isn't clinically dead.
The tragedy of the Dreamcast, imo, is that it never had a chance to fulfil its potential. I guess like all good heroes, it did the decent thing and died prematurely, so guaranteeing its legend in the halls of gaming fame. I still have my beloved DC, still have the official DC racing wheel I bought expressly for MSR, as well as - thankfully - a pretty varied game library for the machine. Every so often I fire the little beauty up, fawn over it, stroke it lovingly and remind it there are still a few of us left in the world who will always love it for what it is and for what it never got the chance to be...
There will always be reason to fire up a DC as long as Marvel vs. Capcom 1 and 2 exist.
And speaking of DC racing games--that Le Mans 24 Hours game was brilliant for its time (oooooo... hot glowing brake rotors--that blur!)
Test Drive Le Mans was indeed an awesome game. I think about playing that game every so often, even when I have GT5 Prologue. I remember it was the first game that I had ever played that used the triggers for gas and brake, making it easier to brake properly.
Man, good times:)
DC: "Cause of death: Peter Moore, apparently"
Just laughed, then cried a bit, then laughed again.
Omitting the Master System wasn't an accident. It didn't have significant market impact or the spectacularly gruesome death as the consoles featured here. We wanted to be somewhat selective about what to include.
But I did have good times with Great Baseball, Space Harrier and Phantasy Star, for sure.
I think they didn't mention the master system because of the little amount of impact it had. Alpunk, maybe it was a 50/50 split at your specific location, but I don't believe it was anything near that overrall.
Did some research (bored at work) looks like the Sega sold 13 million master systems worldwide, and there were 62 million NESs sold. I think the impact on the market the master system had was too minimal (or they just accidentally omitted the master system from the list). But there are a ton of systems they didn't mention.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_consoles
This makes me feel old and nostalgic. And yeah, where is the Master System?! The NES didn't have it all its own way. At my school it was almost a 50/50 split.
I'm so glad my dad wouldn't let me buy a Jaguar.
It's like looking back at old friends! Where is the Master System though!!!
Can you do a look into the future and predict the deaths of the current consoles and why and when you think it will happen?