Plans for DC successor before DC was discontinued

[Leynos]

With how many interviews about SEGA hardware and such last few years. Is there anything on early plans for the Dreamcast successor before the bottom fell out for SEGA? Typically console makers start preliminary plans for a successor within the first year or two of the current systems lifetime. I don't expect specs and such. Just any talks about early ideas or plans. I know people have their opinion what felt like the successor and all but not what i am asking. Thanks.

[stu]

In the book Opening the Xbox the author alludes to Sega working on a successor during the time that Microsoft and Sega were in talks about MS buying Sega. Sega wanted the Xbox to be compatible with the 'Dreamcast 2' and also run software from the existing machine. MS weren't interested though. Chapter 17, page 192-194. As far as timelines go it looks like it was around 1999, so very preliminary I'm sure.

[Team Andromeda]

Actually in one of his last rolls at SEGA after he stepped down, Shoichiro Irimajir was put in charge of SEGA next system looking at servers and the internet to deliver games to the home.

[Leynos]

I have to open the Xbox but I don't remember that part. INteresting. Been forever since I read it. I do remember them playing with the idea of Xbox being BC with DC games and controllers having VMUs. Everyone has their own views but my personal view is I like to think of Xbox as the extension of DC and 360 as my successor. Seems pretty good bet SEGA would have continued with online services. MS was the only one with the muscle to truly do it however.

[SegaDreamcast]

As hardware goes, there was supposed to be a zip drive expansion by Iomega. Never got released commercially though. Remember planning to buy it on Day 1. Felt the same about the Nintendo 64DD years prior, which also never got released in the states.

[Leynos]

Yeah I remember that thing


Not to mention cable boxes. CD players. DVD players. MP3 players and what not.

[Team Andromeda]

It's should also be remembered we did get a DC 2 in the shape of NA@MI 2 and no doubt that would have been the tech powering any DC 2 had the DC sold well enough

[Leynos]

Naomi 2 would be way too weak for 7th gen consoles

[Team Andromeda]

Naomi 2 would be way too weak for 7th gen consoles

SEGA usual life span was 5 years or so .The NA@MI II more than heled it's own against the PS2 and it would have been fully BC too . Would have been an amazing console in 2001

[zyrobs]

Remember that the DC predated the 6th gen so a successor could be just something that would bring it up to par with the PS2/GC/Xbox, and the Naomi 2 was pretty much that. But it would have been too expensive as a home console.

[turboxray]

Remember that the DC predated the 6th gen so a successor could be just something that would bring it up to par with the PS2/GC/Xbox, and the Naomi 2 was pretty much that. But it would have been too expensive as a home console.

How can it predate it, when it's part of it??

[Leynos]

Remember that the DC predated the 6th gen so a successor could be just something that would bring it up to par with the PS2/GC/Xbox, and the Naomi 2 was pretty much that. But it would have been too expensive as a home console.

It was a 6th gen console. WTF are you smoking?

[SegaDreamcast]

Yeah I remember that thing


Not to mention cable boxes. CD players. DVD players. MP3 players and what not.

Zip drive still looks cool 20 years later. I wonder what it was in focus testing groups or the technology itself that made Sega and Nintendo cool off the zip drives domestically. Even Nintendo originally released the 64DD as a mail order exclusive, seemed like a hesitant move. Were they afraid of add-on fatigue perhaps? Dividing or confusing the market? Not enough demand? Maybe a combination of all 3...

[zyrobs]

DC came out almost two years before the PS2, and it was discontinued just 1 year after the PS2 was released. The rest of the 6th gen consoles came out AFTER the Dreamcast was abandoned. And hardware wise the DC lacked a programmable pixel pipeline that characterized the 6th gen.

[Leynos]

Aside from SEGA's own financial issues. Iomega was having its own issues. CD-Roms were talking over. They had some lawsuits with the click drive click of death problems. Other mediums like flash memory cards and such were putting Iomega quickly out of date. I'd say both played a part if I had to guess.