The Rise and Fall of the Sega Dreamcast, the Best Console That Ever Lost

On September 9th, 1999 (a date Sega chose on purpose, 9/9/99), the Sega Dreamcast launched in North America for $199, and it was a triumph. In its first 24 hours it sold more than 225,000 units and took in $98.4 million, which Sega called the biggest 24 hours in entertainment retail history. The Dreamcast was the first console with a built-in modem for online play, and its game Phantasy Star Online was the first online console RPG, years before online gaming became the center of the entire industry. And yet, less than 18 months later, on January 31st, 2001, Sega announced it was discontinuing the Dreamcast and leaving the console hardware business forever, after selling just 9.13 million units worldwide. The Dreamcast was not a bad machine. It was very nearly a perfect one, killed not by its own flaws but by the sins of Sega's past (the Saturn, the 32X, the Sega CD), the hype of Sony's incoming PlayStation 2, the refusal of Electronic Arts to make a single game for it, and rampant piracy. This is the story of the best console that ever lost, and the greatest what-if in video game history. In this documentary: how Sega destroyed its own credibility before the Dreamcast ever launched, why the machine was years ahead of its time, how Sony froze the market with a console that did not yet exist, and why Sega walked away from hardware for good. Chapters below. If you owned a Dreamcast, tell me in the comments: do you think it could have won? This is Kilobyte Chronicles. CHAPTERS (timed, ~150 wpm) 00:00 The best console that ever lost 01:15 The grave Sega dug for itself (CD, 32X) 02:50 The Saturn: the wound that never healed 04:30 Everything Sega finally got right 06:40 The online console, years too early 08:30 The 9/9/99 launch: a real comeback 10:00 Sony's single shot: the PS2 hype that froze the market 11:40 Betrayed: EA says no, and piracy explodes 12:30 Sega surrenders: out of hardware forever 13:40 Why we loved it more after it died