If you could go back in time and stop Xbox from entering the market, and keep Dreamcast/Sega alive, would you?

Nah, I don’t think that I would stop that from happening myself. While I thought that the Dreamcast was a pretty cool system I’m pretty satisfied with having Microsoft in here making consoles right now. There’s some stuff of Sega’s that I enjoy but I’ve never been a really big fan of theirs.

Not really sure what one has to do with the other. Are you implying some kind of causation, because Sega was dead as a console maker long before the Xbox arrived.

Like I said in the Off Topic thread, if I could go back in time, the only thing I would do with it would be to go back 375 million years and shoot the fish f***er that first decided it was a good idea to crawl out of the ocean. Sorry, misanthropy gland acting up.

Anyway, on topic. No. Sega was already failing horribly before the Dreamcast. Keeping it alive would only prolong the misery.

No, because Xbox being in the market has made PlayStation improve much more than Sega would have. Just off the top of my head, things like dashboard access while in games, that was a feature started by Xbox and PlayStation later copied. A competent online infrastructure in Xbox Live forced Sony to step up their game. Currently, PS5 is working on implementing a Quick Resume feature because of Xbox. Sony is also feeling the pressure to include expandable SSD storage in a timely manner because Xbox has already done it. Sony is also in the works of including 1440p support because Xbox has it. Sony wouldn't even have backwards compatibility if it weren't such a great feature on the Xbox ecosystem. Sony is currently trying to think of a way to compete with Game Pass, and they will come up with something, but they wouldn't even bother if Microsoft didn't have success with it. There's lots of other little examples here and there, but it's safe to say that PlayStation would lack a lot of features if they weren't competing with Xbox, and I don't think Sega would provide that same pressure.

I think Sega is better off as a developer and a publisher. Seems the kind of games I best remember them for in 90s was their arcade games, which didn't quite translate well into the home console experience.

Not to say they didn't have some great console titles that would become something bigger. Love the Panzer Dragoon series, and the IG Xbox Orta still holds up well with its wide-screen update it got on Xbox 360 BC and then the 4K update it got one XB1X. Shenmue game really wasn't worth remembering IMO, but Yakuza came from that, and that's a much better series IMO.

They have been rather lazy with the Sega collections IMO just repeating same line-up on all systems and not broadening it to include classic arcade games or Sega CD or working to bring back third party and licensed games. They could do so much more.

I think I saw they had some good re-relwases back on older PS systems, with things like recreating original Galaxy Forxe II arcade game on consoles. Stuff like that would be cool, bring back old Star Wars Arcade or Alien 3: The Gun, shit like that.

Being a former Sega fanboy, hell yeah.

I mean I WANT to say Sega, because the arcade games were fantastic on Dreamcast, and I really wish AAA studios would do more whacky arcade style games, but SEGA doesn't do them anymore now so Arcade style would die anyway.

But Xbox live, built in HDD, dash menus........MS made all that happen.

BUT with that said you could make the argument that once MS entered the game consoles started becoming more like PC's.

After that the unique architecture consoles had was gone...now they are like PCs.

So idk. I felt like consoles were more unique before Xbox.........and I kinda miss that

Sega is way better at what they do now:

No

I don't see why it had to be either/or. Xbox wanted in regardless. It was SoJ that pulled the plug on making consoles, SoA were the people that had the ideas. Think Sega could have hung in there for one more gen if they gave SoA the reins in full. They were the reason the Genesis was successful at least.

Heck no.

Sega made way too many mistakes. There is no reason for them to be in hardware as they had zero idea what they were doing when they were.

Nah. I remember being anti-Xbox "gonna ruin muh industry" for all of about 5 mins, but they've done a lot of good. Especially with their initial splash. In some respects they pressed fast forward on areas where consoles where clearly lacking.

Impossible to ever know the better outcome, but I wouldn't chance it. Sega still makes games and I love that they're a multiplat dev. Xbox has done good shit for console gaming. I'll leave it as is.

What i would do is not allow MS to get RARE from Nintendo. Microsoft ruined this dev.

Knew Rare would get a mention. 😂

I share in that nostalgia, but they were always meh.

Battletoads, DKC trilogy? Average games, outclassed by their contemporaries.

Goldeneye, Perfect Dark? Yay, somewhat functional mp FPS on consoles. Wildly outclassed by the genres PC offerings of the era.

Banjo, DK64? Collectathon snorefest games.

Shit, even Killer Instinct didn't stand toe to toe with proper fighting games until the latest entry.

Rare had some killer art and music, about it. I'll never not be nostalgic for DKC, KI echoing through arcades, Goldeneye split screen with the bros.

But realistically, wasn't much for MS to ruin lol.

Sega kind of sucked to be honest. Aside from their arcade games, they were nothing special back in the day. They didn't make many good games with campaigns.

Agreed. Plus, quite some time had passed between their success on the N64 and when they started making exclusives for Xbox. Microsoft acquired them in 2002, but they were still developing for Nintendo until the Xbox 360. By that time, a lot of the employees were different. They were just less talented at that time, and like you said, they were never that great to begin with. Their N64 games have really aged poorly.

I'd much rather go back in time and stop Sony from entering the market as they are destroying the market, always paying to keep games off of other platforms since the PS1, woeful company.

Sega/MS/Nintendo sounds better than MS/Nintendo/Sony.

Oh, certainly, if I had the choice of stopping 9/11, the Columbine shooting, or this, no question keeping Microsoft out of the console market would be paramount.

I'd do it. I much preferred Sega's IPs because they took chances and came out on top with many great classics. We might have gotten a Game Gear successor (not counting Nomad as it's just a Genesis, nothing new).

To be fair, I would have stopped Sega from releasing the 32X and told them to simply focus on Saturn.

I remember being all skeptical about Microsoft entering the console space. I didn’t really pay much attention to them at first. Didn’t pick up an Xbox until Halo 2 was being marketed. Heard all the hype about Halo and with the H2 hype reaching a feverish pitch I figured what the hell and got an Xbox along with Halo, Otogi 2, and Guilty Gear X Reload. Had a terrific time with those along with Forza Motorsport and I’ve been enjoying a lot of the Microsoft stuff ever since.

... and none were very good. Mostly weeb trash.

How would you save Sega from themselves?

@i_p_daily: weren't you the guy praising MS's Bethesda acquisition and saying you want Bethesda games to be exclusive?

I've always said I would enjoy seeing Sega return to the console market, and I would. But I wouldn't want to change history and eliminate Xbox because while the Dreamcast really started the whole online gaming thing, Xbox hit that right out of the park. OG Xbox made online gaming a regular thing and it forced Sony to improve their online gameplay as well (which took them a couple generations to actually do).

So while I still wouldn't mind seeing Sega try to get into the market at the $299 price point and compete with Nintendo, I think Xbox managed to give gaming new life, and without it, I think gaming today would be worse off.

For all intents and purposes, the OG Xbox was the successor to the Dreamcast under better leadership than what Sega had to offer at the time.

no.

Um... there was a time Microsoft was guilty of that. I can't remember the last time Sony did SINCE PS2 because PS3's failure caused them to stop with that (why Final Fantasy and Tekken couldn't stay PS3 exclusive)...

Usual suspect showing his butthurt over a platform lol some people live in pain.

As for the question, no, I would not. Sega has yakuza and persona series now so I'd rather they as a developer and xbox being there helps keeping Sony in check so no one monopolizes the market which is a good thing.

Nah, I love watching the Xbox franchise come in 3rd place every console generation.

Now remember, it's always Nintendo fans that keeps Sony and Microsoft fans in a secret beef. You guys aren't allowed to trash talk Nintendo, only each other. See how you legit don't give a **** about Nintendo here? Nintendo fans brainwashed you into doing this.

I voted no. Honestly, if Sega was meant to still be a platform maker, they would still be one. If Xbox wasn't meant to be one, then they would never would have been one. I can see how it's sad as a Sega fan, but it's been literal decades now. No use in crying over spilt milk at this point.

We saw what Sega could have done and the market rejected it. What is funny is the OP disdain for Xbox is so intense, that he has to fantasize on hypotheticals of Xbox not existing. 😂

He is not the only one. I have been fantasizing about the same thing, and as of late, i've been fantasizing about The Medium not existing because its 9/10 bothers me. This is not a😂matter. Deep inside, we're hurting.

Did Xbox's arrival somehow cause Dreamcast and other Sega consoles to not exist?

More likely I think capitalism took its natural course and the least successful products got phased out.

Also don't let nostalgia give you those rose-tinted glasses; Dreamcast might have been great at the time, but there is no guarantee it would lead to better things.

Besides, Sega is still publishing games, and some pretty good ones at that; I think that is far more important than making a console.

Kind of, but a bit backwards. Xbox exists because Sega disappeared. The two companies were actually very close, and even collaborating on projects and features. The OG "Duke" controller, if you look at it, is essentially a Dreamcast controller with an extra thumbstick and two more face buttons, six face buttons being a traditional Sega feature up until the DC. The OG Xbox controller even had the big controller expansion ports, the console had four controller ports like the DC, and Xbox Live stood on the back of the online gaming services the Dreamcast had.

The fate of one and the rise of the other are indeed tied though.

But even though Sega did start the online gaming thing, initially with DLC on the Sega Genesis via the Sega Channel, and actual online gaming with the Dreamcast, I am not sure it would have been anywhere as impactful as Xbox Live was. Xbox was able to develop and market XBL in ways I don't think Sega could have. Also many of the great games that came out on OG Xbox like Fable, Morrowind, and KOTOR I just don't see happening on a Japanese console. and those games really helped propel the OG Xbox to the success it had, not even mentioning Halo.

MS used Sega's partnership to develop their own entry. The whole situation always seemed skeevy to me and made me cringe when xbox fanatics called the Xbox "basically the Dreamcast 2".

But they didn't kill Sega or the DC. Sega did, starting with the Genesis addons and going through the Saturn. Ultimately, Sony, not MS, was the nail in the coffin. The timeline alone doesn't work for the anti-MS narrative, and the partnership surely benefitted Sega rather than hurt - in principle it helped games prioritizing PC development get ported and increased software support. Say what you will about MS's "partnership" in the era, but I see no evidence they contribued to its demise, and taking the R&D and running with it for the XBox was logical, their plan all along, and posthumous in its impact on the market

Since this thread is all about SEGA, here's some good shit.

@hardwenzen:

In a perfect world, yes I would go back in time and tell Sega to get their sh*t together. A classic war between Sega vs Nintendo that would last to this day would have been interesting to see. I'm a guy who's grown up from Generation 3-4.

But MS had NOTHING to do with Sega's demise, for all the obvious reasons. MS clearly saw Sony's PlayStation threat into the Windows PC market and MS wanted a piece of the pie. What MS did with the Xbox Original was all for the good reasons -- a powerful console --- developer friendly -- PC like --and delivering Online Console gaming for the masses, to those who wouldn't bother buying an expensive PC (at the time), just to play Western PC focused games. The rest is history.

Xbox put Sony's Playstation in check and vice versa and competition soon flourished.

Xbox did a better job, it's that simple. SEGA will always hold a place in my heart and I truly hope that one of these days the rumor they been considering getting back in the hardware business comes to pass. However, I can't help but feel as though they were their own biggest enemies.

So controversial, yet so right lol

Come on guys, GoldenEye007 is a 96 on metacritic. Perfect Dark is a 97. Banjo is 92. Contrarian, much? Thanks.

But the metascore!!

@nintendoboy16: Sony has been doing it all last gen, just look at all the exclusives/content they paid for to keep off of other platforms.

Where have you been the last 7yrs???

@SolidGame_basic: Buying a developer one is expecting that content to stay with the one who purchased it, buying game modes to keep them off of other platforms for a timed period or for good from a 3rd party dev is BS.

Saying you're paying for "marketing" of a game when you're moneyhatting it to stay off of certain platforms from a third party dev is BS.