Over the course of the next few days,
Sega has given the public appearance of
seriously mulling over its options,
although in reality, the company has
been weighing its options long before
the events of the past weeks.
Sega, it appears, is officially considering
shedding its money-draining console
making business and instead
concentrating on developing game titles
across multiple platforms and making a
concerted effort to expand into wireless
and online gaming.
What was once
speculation is appearing to turn into
reality, especially when shareholders
have their say. In the past, shares of
Sega rose sharply upon the “news” of
Sega’s change of plan. Indeed, fueled by
the latest developments, shares of Sega
rose 12.93 percent on Wednesday,
January 24 and then again 15.75 percent
the very next day in European markets.
Societe Generale’s recent upgrade of
Sega’s stock to strong buy from sell
certainly contributed to this upswing.
A move to software developer may do
wonders for a company whose name is
currently tarnished by disappointing
sales of its last two consoles.
The
Dreamcast sold 5.9 million units
worldwide to date. An impressive figure,
except that it barely dents global
Playstation sales of 76 million. Already,
the Playstation 2 has sold over 3 million
worldwide and is poised to overtake
Sega in the coming weeks. Sega has only
been able to capture less than 10
percent of the video game market, a
sliver of market share.
Sega’s game development houses,
however, are world class, creating state
of the art arcade games as well as
critically acclaimed titles across a wide
spectrum of genres. Dropping the
Dreamcast, could catapult them into the
rarified company of Square, Konami and
Electronic Arts.
Even if Sega stops Dreamcast
production, there is the possibility that it
may show up in other set top boxes from
other manufacturers. Moreover, the
Dreamcast’s online capabilities coupled
with a few enhancements such as DVD
and hard drives could revive the
platform, although realistically, that
possibility at this time seems unlikely.
While waiting for word of an official
announcement, Sega is quick to point out
that development for the Dreamcast has
not halted. Indeed, Sega has officially
announced no fewer than 23 titles for
2001 out of a tot
al of 100, including
some highly anticipated games such as a
new Toe Jam and Earl title, House of the
Dead 3 and NFL and NBA 2K2. The
Dreamcast appears to have the best
year yet ahead of it, even if it is its last.
So what does the future hold for the
Dreamcast? It looks like the Dreamcast’s
swan song. The hardware is being put to
pasture. There is one faint glimmer of
hope, Phantasy Star Online. Having sold
100,000 in Japan in 10 days, it may earn
a strong following here in the states.
Plus there’s always the broadband
adapter that recently debuted. Enough
to save the Dreamcast? Unlikely, but it
will sure go out with a bang.
