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 By: Ben Davies, with Miguel Lopez Designed By: Collin Oguro Only high-profile companies like Nintendo, and more recently Sony Computer Entertainment America, have matched Sega's role in the history of video games. Inspiring games and characters, including Sonic the Hedgehog and friends, have emerged from the company, as well as renowned and respected series of RPGs and racers - Shining Force, Panzer Dragoon, and Sega Rally to name a few. Sega has always been well known for its array of arcade titles, too, beginning with early classics like After Burner and arriving present-day with Ferrari F355 and its ilk, as well as innovative games such as Jambo Safari, Samba de Amigo, and more. However, in addition to making numerous games we now call classics, Sega has created handfuls of consoles that helped establish the company as one of the top manufacturers in the industry.
In early 1991, Sega's popularity peaked when the Genesis, Sega's second console, hit store shelves. It came after the Sega Master System (1986), and it was eased along with the appeal of Sega's mascot: Sonic the Hedgehog. In 1995, Sega made waves with its 16-bit Sega Saturn, which, in Sega's own words, had a lack of good software and strong competition from the 32-bit PlayStation. However, the Saturn had many superb arcade converted games, as well as plenty of great original titles. The competition from Sony's PlayStation was too strong, though; thus, a console battle of few possibilities began. Sega came out from this war somewhat bruised and battered, but it continued on and released the Dreamcast in 1999. The Dreamcast has had relatively little competition thus far in terms of technical ability, and in terms of sales, it has fared quite well: It achieved more than 5 million sales worldwide by the end of 2000. Where the Dreamcast will land in the history of video games - now that the PlayStation 2 has arrived - remains to be seen. And Nintendo's new GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox are likewise just around the corner, just waiting to put the Dreamcast out to pasture - or so their creators say. But with a strong complement of games already under its belt, the future is wide open for Sega. And a little foresight and innovation can go a long way. But first, Sega has come a long way to sit where it is today.
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