During an era where Nintendo was still the unquestioned giant in the console industry prior to the rise of the PlayStation and the Xbox, the one name that tried to challenge Nintendo was Sega. However, in case you haven’t noticed, there are no more Sega consoles nowadays following the Dreamcast, which was released in 1998. Since then, there hasn’t been any Sega console that entered the market. So, what if Sega still made consoles?
It would be a big gamble for Sega to make consoles again because of how they would end up having to compete with Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft instead of competing with only a few players. But even without consoles, Sega is making money out of its licensed games such as Sonic, Persona, Yakuza, and Total War.
All that said, when it comes to business, Sega is still doing pretty well nowadays even though it no longer sells consoles. It may have lost the console war against Nintendo but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t doing well today. Sega would only be making a huge risk if it tries to enter the console wars again unless it finds itself a niche market that it can take advantage of. Aside from that, it would be very difficult for Sega to compete against the current market giants.
What would be if Sega still made consoles?
Before the age when big names such as Sony and Microsoft entered the console market and jumpstarted one of the biggest console wars in history, the most prominent name in the industry was Nintendo, which basically dominated the console market for more than a decade thanks to consoles such as the NES, SNES, and N64.
However, one of the names that were also just as prominent in the past when Nintendo was dominating the market was Sega, which is one of the few names that dared to challenge Nintendo in its place of dominance. And Sega actually did pretty well with some of its consoles because of how the company had amazing first-party licensed games and amazing consoles.
Despite the relative failure of the Master System, which was Sega’s first-ever console, it did very well with the Sega Genesis, which was released in 1988 and was actually more powerful than the popular NES, which was released five years prior. The Genesis went on to sell nearly 31 million units, which may have been half of what the NES sold but was still pretty much amazing considering that Nintendo ruled the market during most of the entire 80s.
But Genesis was Sega’s only console that stood a chance. Its handheld Game Gear could not even stand up to Nintendo’s Game Boy. Meanwhile, the Sega Saturn could not scratch the 10-million mark just a year after the PlayStation, which sold over 102 million, was released. Finally, Sega’s final console was released in 1998 and it has never manufactured or sold a console ever since.
So, what if Sega still made consoles today? What would have happened?
Well, for starters, based on the performance of its final three consoles, it is safe to assume that Sega would not have done well unless it was able to actually find a niche market that it could capitalize on.
Plainly speaking, it would be a huge gamble for Sega to try to compete not only against Nintendo but also against Sony and Microsoft. When Sega was doing well with the Genesis, it only had Nintendo to contend with. But, even before the release of the PlayStation and the Xbox consoles, Sega had already begun to see a downward spiral that led to the eventual downfall of its consoles.
Imagine if Sega tried to compete against PlayStation and Xbox on top of trying to challenge Nintendo again. It would only end up having a small piece of the pie against the giants that have been ruling the market for about two decades already.
In that regard, Sega would probably be making a huge gamble if it were to make a new console. That’s because it would probably end up with losses from the development and production of consoles that would have a hard time competing against the established giants.
Why does Sega not make consoles anymore?
If you are wondering why Sega stopped making consoles, the only logical reason why they would do so is that they could no longer compete in a market that was becoming more competitive and was skewing towards the relative newcomers such as Sony and Microsoft all while Nintendo continued its role as a giant as well.
As such, the only logical way for Sega to still continue as a company without realizing losses from failed consoles was to cut its losses and stop producing consoles. Still, Sega is making money out of its licensed first-party titles such as Sonic, Yakuza, Persona, and Total War.
By focusing more on game titles instead of console production, Sega essentially found its bearings and its niche market in the entire gaming industry without having to release a console. This has allowed the company to stay afloat even though the gaming industry is becoming bigger and more competitive.
What was the last Sega console?
The final Sega console that was released to the market was the Dreamcast, which was released in 1998. While the Sega Dreamcast did indeed perform well during the early part of its life because of its amazing graphics and four-player capabilities, it ended up selling barely 10 million units during a time when the PlayStation continued to dominate the market.
While there are plenty of different reasons why the Dreamcast failed, the fact of the matter is that it was Sega’s final console. Since 1998, the company has never released a new video game console.
Will Sega ever make a console again
Now that you know why Sega has stopped making consoles and what would happen if it tried to enter the console market again, you might be wondering if Sega would actually try to make a new console again.
At this point, it is tough to say for certain but the consensus belief is that Sega will never make a console ever again unless it actually is able to capitalize on a hidden niche market that no other company is yet to discover.
On top of that, it would be a huge gamble for it to try to enter the market once again and compete with the giants in a console industry that is tough. For example, despite the fact that the Xbox One actually sold more than 50 million units, it took several years for Microsoft to see a significant profit margin out of it.
So, if Sega tried to enter the market and would once again have the same poor sales that Saturn and Dreamcast had, it would be too much of a gamble for the company. They would once again see more losses. This is why Sega would probably never release a new console again.
Who owns Sega now?
While Sega still pretty much exists as a corporation today, it was taken over by Sammy Corporation, which is now known today as Sega Sammy Holdings, in 2003 as Sammy purchased 22.4% of Sega’s shares. The same company holds the rights to Sega Corporation, which is responsible for Sega’s games.
Meanwhile, Sega still owns the rights to some of its licensed games such as Sonic, Yakuza, Persona, and Total War. However, certain companies have the right to sell Sega-licensed games. That’s why you can see many Sega games on the consoles of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft.