PS generation (game 5th generation)
Sega Saturn
Virtual Boy
Nintendo 64
3DO
In place of the mainstream ROM cassette, the new CD-ROM, with its large capacity, high technology and low cost, became the main media for game consoles from this era.
In addition to Nintendo and Sega, which were the main developers of game consoles, Sony and Panasonic also entered the market during this period, and this was the period known as the “Console War” from this generation to the next.
The main console of this era was the Sony PS, the first console to replace Nintendo as the dominant force in the market, and a symbol of the next generation of gaming.
There were many consoles that competed with the PS during this period, but we will focus on the Sega Saturn in this article.
Sega Saturn
Overview & Basic Information
Manufacturer SEGA ENTERPRISE
Compatible Media CD-ROMs
Release date November 22, 1994
It was the only console that was able to compete with Sony’s PS, and it sold one million units before the PS.
It was also a game console that supported polygon-based 3D graphics, but its 2D graphics technology was superior to that of the PS, and its performance was demonstrated in ports of 2D fighting games, which were immensely popular in arcades at the time, as well as in ports of shooting games.
It was also the console that established age-restricted games on home consoles, outside of the PC.
Losing points to PS
Killer titles were taken by PS
Categories too specialized
Inferior in 3D graphics
The main reason is that most of the killer titles that had supported the game industry in the past were taken by the PS, and the entry of Square’s “Final Fantasy” into the PS, in particular, had a huge impact not only on the Sega Saturn, but also on other consoles.
Until the actual release of Final Fantasy 7 on the PS, the penetration rate of the PS and Sega Saturn was comparable, but with the announcement of Final Fantasy 7, the market share of the PS increased dramatically, and with it, many popular game makers joined the PS, and the PS dominated the industry’s market share.
PS2 generation (game 6th generation)
The Dreamcast
Game Cube
Xbox
From this era, the mainstream of graphics became more expressive 3D graphics, which led to the appearance of many game consoles with online capabilities.
As with the previous generation of PS consoles, Sony was the dominant force in the industry, but there was also a lot of talk about Sega’s Dreamcast, with its excellent internet capabilities, and Microsoft’s entry into the gaming industry.
In this article, we pick up Sega’s last home console, the Dreamcast, and explain its features and points of defeat.
The Dreamcast
Overview & Basic Information
Manufacturer SEGA ENTERPRISE
Compatible Media GD-ROM CD
Release Date November 27, 1998
It was the last home video game console released by Sega, and Sega has not developed any more hardware. Its most notable feature is its standard analog modem for Internet communication, and in Internet, it outperforms the PS2.
The console was also a hot topic of conversation outside of its game content, with a flashy advertising strategy, postponement of its release and a significant drop in initial shipments.
Losing points to PS2
Home online games were not accepted at the time
Lack of killer titles
Today, online games have become mainstream on home consoles, but back then there was a clear division between “offline for home use” and “online for PC”, so the Dreamcast, with its superior online capabilities, was not well received by the public and did not break Sony’s stronghold until the end of its life.
Another reason for its defeat was that, like the previous generation of Sega Saturn, most of the killer titles were released on Sony’s PS2, and the Dreamcast only had old standout titles like “Sonic” and “Virtua Fighter”.
In the end, the Dreamcast’s biggest downfall was that it was only able to release titles that hadn’t changed since the Sega Saturn days.
