Skip to content
The Beige Years

What Killed the Dreamcast? Sega Did

Watch on YouTube ↗

The Dreamcast was stopped by Sega's own board, yet the same meeting accepted its chairman's own assets.

Not the pirates: by their own account, Sega's American team told Tokyo to get out of hardware.

Subject
The Sega Dreamcast, 1998
Chapters
8
Sources
8
Credits
51
Corrections
0

Sources

8
  • Interview4
  • Article3
  • Book1

The sources the story leans on most, primary sources first. Read dates are when the page was consulted; the live page may have changed since.

  1. [1]
  2. [2]
  3. [3]
  4. [4]
  5. [5]
  6. [6]
  7. [7]
  8. [8]

Image & music credits

51
  • License unknown43
  • CC BY-SA 3.02
  • CC BY 2.02
  • CC BY-SA 2.01
  • CC BY 3.01
  • CC BY 3.0 US1

49 photos, 1 music track, from the hosts linked below. Each file name links to the file's page, which carries the full license terms.

#UseFileAuthorLicense
1 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Sega-Dreamcast-Console-FL.jpg Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
2 Photo https://cdn-uploads.gameblog.fr//img/news/392943 61a0d4691a701.jpg?width=&height=&aspect ratio=:&ver=1 Yameen's Hi8 video of the Dreamcast launch party, Club Townsend, San Francisco, September 10, 1999: Peter Moore announcing sales (frame via Gameblog.fr) License unknown
3 Photo Tokyo night (85053475).jpg Eric Van Hensbergen CC BY-SA 2.0
4 Photo https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration35Nov1997/page/n17 archive.org License unknown
5 Photo https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration42Jun1998/page/n19 archive.org License unknown
6 Photo https://archive.org/details/egm2-1997-11/page/n17 archive.org License unknown
7 Photo https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration39Mar1998/page/n19 archive.org License unknown
8 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Sega-Dreamcast-Modem-Dialup-FL.jpg Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
9 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Sega-Dreamcast-Internals.jpg Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
10 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Sega-Saturn-Console-Set-Mk1.png Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
11 Photo https://live.staticflickr.com/1871/44652492222 e32e936808 c.jpg FritzchensFritz, Flickr License unknown
12 Photo https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration35Nov1997/page/n17 archive.org License unknown
13 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Sega-Dreamcast-Motherboard-Top.jpg Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
14 Photo https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration39Mar1998/page/n17 archive.org License unknown
15 Photo https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration50Feb1999/page/n13 archive.org License unknown
16 Photo dreamcast-startup-ntsc-7s.png A frame (7.0 s) of the start-up recording, archive.org dreamcast-startup-ntsc-hd License unknown
17 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Dreamcast-Console-Set.jpg Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
18 Photo https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration50Feb1999/page/n14 archive.org License unknown
19 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/PS2-Fat-Console-Set.jpg Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
20 Photo https://archive.org/details/next-generation-issue-53-may-1999/page/n10 archive.org License unknown
21 Photo https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/HkIAAeSwVr9q0msw/s-l1200.webp i.ebayimg.com License unknown
22 Photo Dreamcast-Console-Set.jpg Evan-Amos CC BY-SA 3.0
23 Photo https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration55Jul1999/page/n82 archive.org License unknown
24 Photo Sony Playstation 2 SCPH-5001 V9 (19452491266).jpg Deni Williams from São Paulo, Brasil CC BY 2.0
25 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Sega-Dreamcast-Controller-FL.jpg Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
26 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Sega-Dreamcast-VMU.jpg Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
27 Photo Philips 16X 650MB CD-R 20030628.jpg Stefan Kühn CC BY-SA 3.0
28 Photo Compaq Presario 5000.jpg Erickarroqui CC BY 3.0
29 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Sega-Dreamcast-Keyboard.jpg Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
30 Photo https://archive.org/details/official-sega-dreamcast-magazine-2000-11/page/n13 archive.org License unknown
31 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Recordable Compact Disc (CD-R or CD-W) (8743839365).jpg Wikimedia Commons License unknown
32 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Sega-Dreamcast-Deconstructed-02.jpg Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
33 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Xbox-console.jpg Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
34 Photo https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/uR8AAeSwCMlqqeMV/s-l1200.webp i.ebayimg.com License unknown
35 Photo http://image.itmedia.co.jp/news/0101/images/sega.jpg ITmedia News, January 31, 2001 License unknown
36 Photo Chairman Idei.jpg Joi Ito from Inbamura, Japan CC BY 2.0
37 Photo https://old.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/03/okawa-hero.png Sonic Stadium, March 2001 ('SEGA President Isao Okawa Dies') License unknown
38 Photo moore-sega-booth-2000.png Peter Moore at Sega's E3 booth, about 2000 (SegaNet, SWAT 3 and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 behind him), a TV interview frame; found by the owner License unknown
39 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Akihabara station south street, 1995, (by Danny Choo).jpg Danny Choo, Wikimedia Commons License unknown
40 Photo laox-dreamcast-sold-out-1998-11.jpg AKIBA PC Hotline (Impress Watch), November 28, 1998, via the Wayback Machine License unknown
41 Photo moore-stage-ea.png Peter Moore on stage in his EA years; found by the owner License unknown
42 Photo moore-zdtv-sega-1999.png Peter Moore interviewed by ZDTV at Sega of America, about 1999-2000 (476 px: shown as a card); found by the owner License unknown
43 Photo moore-sega-booth-2000.png Peter Moore at Sega's E3 booth, about 2000, a TV interview frame; found by the owner License unknown
44 Photo moore-dreamcast-pad-1999.png Peter Moore with a Dreamcast controller, Sega years (420 px: shown as a card); found by the owner License unknown
45 Photo moore-profile-bw.jpg Peter Moore, a later portrait (EA years); found by the owner License unknown
46 Photo moore-closeup-headset.jpg Peter Moore at a press event, Microsoft or EA years; found by the owner License unknown
47 Photo moore-interview-sonic-crop.png Peter Moore in a later Sega interview (cropped to him: Sonic beside him failed the single-subject gate); found by the owner License unknown
48 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Sega-Genesis-Mod1-Set.jpg Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
49 Photo https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/PrwAAeSwHahqsDwM/s-l1200.webp i.ebayimg.com License unknown
50 Music Heart of Nowhere (MacLeod, Kevin) (ISRC USUAN1400045).oga Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) CC BY 3.0 US

Sound: Dreamcast%20Startup%20-NTSC-%20HD.mp4 — https://archive.org/download/dreamcast-startup-ntsc-hd/Dreamcast%20Startup%20-NTSC-%20HD.mp4

Corrections

No corrections logged since publication.

Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] with the timestamp and the source that contradicts it. Corrections are logged here with the date.