Yesterday was 9/9/09, ten years removed from 9/9/99. Ten years ago, Sega launched its swan-song console, the Dreamcast. Sega launched the Dreamcast a year ahead of Sony’s Playstation2. Sadly, the Dreamcast didn’t put up much of a fight against a system that is still in production today. The gaming and technology press has been running retrospective commentary this week to remember what Sega did right and how it failed. The Dreamcast can still show us how video game marketing can be done right and how it can go wrong.
It’s thinking. Sega had a a unique way of positioning its console as the most advanced on the market at the time. A classic commercial for the game NFL2K had former Chicago Bear Jim McMahon complaining of “getting beat by the same whack play over and over” in his prime during the Sega Genesis days. The Dreamcast is still the only console to position its strength of technology based on game AI. Sony and Microsoft have played up hardware with impressive video demos, and Nintendo has used the unique motion-sensor controls of the Wii to its advantage. But gamers always want a challenge when playing against the computer, and for computer controlled allies and teammates to respond in believable ways. It’s hard to make jaws drop with an AI demo in a commercial compared to a CGI movie, but the whispered tagline in the commercials still resonate today.
Keep developers happy. One of the most glaring weaknesses of the Dreamcast library was the lack of Electronics Arts publishing support. EA was the largest third-party publisher at the time, and the lack of EA titles showed. EA had six launch titles for the PS2, including Madden and NHL 2001 alongside their original snowboarding IP SSX. While Sega was able to have their NFL2K series compete with Madden with the critics, Madden continued to dominate in sales until the final installment of the 2K series, NFL2K5. Sega was unwilling to negotiate licensing terms that met EA’s satisfaction, and in the end, it cost Sega dearly.
Exclusive third-party titles. The Dreamcast launched with a title from Namco called SoulCalibur that has gone on to be one of the most beloved fighting games ever developed. SoulCalibur was not released for any other system until arriving on XBox Live last year. Exclusive titles help drive hardware sales. If a game you want is not released on a system you have, you either buy the new hardware or go without. This is a lesson that Sony and Microsoft have learned well. Sony managed to get exclusive release windows for popular titles such as Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, and San Andreas and Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3. In addition to exclusive third-party titles, Microsoft has signed exclusive downloadable content windows for popular multiplatform games such as Grand Theft Auto IV and Fallout 3. Sony got gamers to their console first, while XBox 360 titles with exclusive content windows frequently outsell the PS3 version of the same title.
I could write many pages on the marketing lessons the Dreamcast taught us. While the Dreamcast lived too short a life (by video game standards), the memories and lessons still stand today. Several Dreamcast games are as popular today as they were ten years ago, such as SoulCalibur and Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Sadly, internal blunders and market forces doomed the system. And in a grand piece of irony, Sega’s senior VP of marketing during the Dreamcast years, Peter Moore, now holds the title of President at EA Sports.
Further reading: IGN, “History of the Dreamcast”, Ars Technica “The swirl that shook gaming: the Sega Dreamcast turns 10″
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