For me the reason Shenmue didn't do as well as everyone would have liked is because games like that will sadly never appeal to Europe or the US. We always go for the easy option like GTA, COD, or FIFA. Sadly we don't seem to want to try anything different.
Don't really think that's a good argument, as RPGs such as Elder Scrolls have been top-sellers, while other Japanese titles such as Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid are the same.
Like others have said, Shenmue was tremendously badly marketed. It had the potential of a killer-app but Sega never realised it; compare that to Sony who marketed GTA III to the *bleep*ing moon and back.
I was thinking that the other day, Sega didn't just market Shenmue badly but the console itself. The DC had so much going for it but Sega didn't put in as much work to market the system as Sony with the Playstation. That in my opinion was the biggest shame.
I was thinking that the other day, Sega didn't just market Shenmue badly but the console itself. The DC had so much going for it but Sega didn't put in as much work to market the system as Sony with the Playstation. That in my opinion was the biggest shame.
They tried to, but they simply didn't have the cash to match Sony's marketing blitz.
I owned both consoles, but neither of them were in use for very long.
I bought the Dreamcast first, and it was by far the more interesting of the two. It introduced me to the internet, online gaming (Quake 3 and PSO), and mouse and keyboard control for FPS games. Unfortunately, the flow of new game releases soon dried up.
I bought the PS2 after reading a review of GTA3, and that game was the highlight of my PS2 ownership. I bought a desktop PC in March 2003, and sold both consoles soon after that.
I still have both, i have more games for the PS2 though so i play that more. Some of the games i do have for the Dreamcast though are some of my fav games ever.
I loved the dreamcast, I was so addicted to the Virtua Tennis games, plus other great games like Crazy Taxi, Shenmue, Jet Set Radio, Soul Calibur etc, these games have since been ported to other consoles, the lack of EA games was a big problem, i hated not being able to play FIFA or Pro Evo which led me to get a PS2, ultimately while there was some great games on Dreamcast there wasn't enough of them, PS2 has a much better library of games to pick from which is what matters the most..........
The Dreamcast was a great console, to be sure, but its short lifespan and reputation as The Sega Killer have given it an undeserved mystique. This tends to cloud the simple fact that it was a console that was flawed in many respects, falling into the wider pattern of mistakes that Sega had been making since the Saturn.
I think Sega were making mistakes long before the release of the Saturn.
The 32X is the one that springs to mind. Often referred to as the Sega Mega Drive being put on life support by critics. The Mega CD add-on being another. Although I think alongside that, the management decisions being made between the Sega divisions were what killed off the console manufacturing sector of Sega, ultimately accumulating in many mistakes being made, panic against the announcement of the Sony PlayStation adding a second CPU, complexity and expense to the architecture of the Sega Saturn, in-fighting between management and EA's decision to abandon developing games after the losses accumulated from supporting the Sega Saturn pretty much sealed the fate of Sega as a console manufacturer and the Dreamcast before it was even released.
Shame actually, because there a lot of things that Sega should be credited for and celebrated for, sadly, it'll be its decisions and mistakes made by Sega that some will remember them by. A bit like Atari.
I think Sega were making mistakes long before the release of the Saturn.
The 32X is the one that springs to mind. Often referred to as the Sega Mega Drive being put on life support by critics. The Mega CD add-on being another. Although I think alongside that, the management decisions being made between the Sega divisions were what killed off the console manufacturing sector of Sega, ultimately accumulating in many mistakes being made, panic against the announcement of the Sony PlayStation adding a second CPU, complexity and expense to the architecture of the Sega Saturn, in-fighting between management and EA's decision to abandon developing games after the losses accumulated from supporting the Sega Saturn pretty much sealed the fate of Sega as a console manufacturer and the Dreamcast before it was even released.
Shame actually, because there a lot of things that Sega should be credited for and celebrated for, sadly, it'll be its decisions and mistakes made by Sega that some will remember them by. A bit like Atari.
Oh, definitely. They were always their own worst enemy. I only mentioned the Saturn as the starting point because of the particularly memorable, and disastrous, surprise launch, which seemed to be the point at which Sega revealed publicly what a shaky grasp they had on the whole console release enterprise.
Another example that you didn't mention was their foray into the handheld market. The Game Gear was one thing (albeit a largely unsuccessful thing, at least compared to the Gameboy), but the Nomad was something else.
Thinking about it, though, if Sega were to re-enter the console market (the chances are slim, of course), the handheld sector might be a good way back in for them...
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Don't really think that's a good argument, as RPGs such as Elder Scrolls have been top-sellers, while other Japanese titles such as Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid are the same.
Like others have said, Shenmue was tremendously badly marketed. It had the potential of a killer-app but Sega never realised it; compare that to Sony who marketed GTA III to the *bleep*ing moon and back.
They tried to, but they simply didn't have the cash to match Sony's marketing blitz.
I bought the Dreamcast first, and it was by far the more interesting of the two. It introduced me to the internet, online gaming (Quake 3 and PSO), and mouse and keyboard control for FPS games. Unfortunately, the flow of new game releases soon dried up.
I bought the PS2 after reading a review of GTA3, and that game was the highlight of my PS2 ownership. I bought a desktop PC in March 2003, and sold both consoles soon after that.
The 32X is the one that springs to mind. Often referred to as the Sega Mega Drive being put on life support by critics. The Mega CD add-on being another. Although I think alongside that, the management decisions being made between the Sega divisions were what killed off the console manufacturing sector of Sega, ultimately accumulating in many mistakes being made, panic against the announcement of the Sony PlayStation adding a second CPU, complexity and expense to the architecture of the Sega Saturn, in-fighting between management and EA's decision to abandon developing games after the losses accumulated from supporting the Sega Saturn pretty much sealed the fate of Sega as a console manufacturer and the Dreamcast before it was even released.
Shame actually, because there a lot of things that Sega should be credited for and celebrated for, sadly, it'll be its decisions and mistakes made by Sega that some will remember them by. A bit like Atari.
Oh, definitely. They were always their own worst enemy. I only mentioned the Saturn as the starting point because of the particularly memorable, and disastrous, surprise launch, which seemed to be the point at which Sega revealed publicly what a shaky grasp they had on the whole console release enterprise.
Another example that you didn't mention was their foray into the handheld market. The Game Gear was one thing (albeit a largely unsuccessful thing, at least compared to the Gameboy), but the Nomad was something else.
Thinking about it, though, if Sega were to re-enter the console market (the chances are slim, of course), the handheld sector might be a good way back in for them...
It wins by default
Yes! Really fun little game, had a great splitscreen deathmatch mode.