DC to be $99?
Phillip Roncoroni
Is this good... or bad? On one hand Sega loses a lot of money per console...
but then again lots of people may buy it for 1/3rd the price of a PS2. But
if they're doing this just to liquidate their inventory, that's really
bad...
--
Sega is slashing price of Dreamcast to $99
BY DAWN C. CHMIELEWSKI
Mercury News
Sega of America plans to slash the price of its Sega Dreamcast game console
to $99 as the Japanese game maker looks for a way out of the money-losing
hardware business, game industry executives and retailers said.
Sega is expected to announce plans Wednesday to cut the price of its
advanced Dreamcast system from $150 to sell off 2 million units from
inventory, according to a buyer for a national retail chain who asked not to
be identified. Sega will quit making the game console it introduced to great
fanfare in 1999.
But even as Sega quits production of the Dreamcast, dropping 15 years of
making gaming hardware, it apparently won't abandon support for the game
platform. Today it releases in stores a dozen new games, dubbed the Sega
Smash Pack, and has plans to launch 100 new titles this year.
Sega said it would make a major announcement Wednesday. Sega of America
representatives refused to disclose the nature of the announcement but
gaming industry sources confirmed plans for a price cut.
``We've made no public announcement about price changes whatsoever,'' said
Sega of America spokesman Charles Bellfield, in San Francisco. ``The
information is only official when there is an announcement.''
The fate of the Dreamcast has been the source of intense speculation in the
United States and Japan. The Mercury News reported in December that Sega was
exploring ways to bail out of the money-hemorrhaging hardware business.
Plans included ditching the Dreamcast or selling the hardware operation to
another console maker such as Nintendo or Microsoft. Dreamcast drained $357
million from company earnings last fiscal year and is expected to cost Sega
even more -- an estimated $359 million -- in the current fiscal year that
ends in March.
Sega has been strong in the arcade business and sought to capitalize on its
success there with its game consoles for the home, said Trip Hawkins,
founder and CEO of 3DO Co., a game company in Redwood City. ``They were
trying to fight a battle on two fronts and it chewed up a lot of capital,''
he said. ``The arcade business was draining money and they lost money on the
last two console systems.''
Sega's Dreamcast was the first advanced system offering realistic graphics
and online play. Sales got off to a running start, with 500,000 sold in
September 1999, the first month on sale.
It was a strong recovery from the Saturn, the 1995 sequel to Genesis, which
sold 2 million units in the United States before Sega pulled it from the
market in 1998 and wrote off $450 million in losses. Dreamcast sales
remained brisk through the end of 1999.
But after a strong start -- and positive reviews -- Dreamcast lost momentum.
Last summer Kmart decided to stop carrying Dreamcast.
Dreamcast sales have never met Sega's bold projections. One analyst said the
company sold 4.5 million game units in the United States since its
introduction -- well off the company's goal of 7.5 million systems sold by
March 2001. Another analyst said North American sales were even more anemic,
amounting to a mere 3.9 million units.
This past holiday season, Sega had hoped to exploit the missteps of rival
console-maker Sony, which promoted its next-generation PlayStation 2 only to
experience component shortages that left it unable to fulfill consumer
demand. Sega said these frustrated gamers would choose the only other
128-bit system on the market: the Dreamcast at half the price of Sony's $299
PS2.
But that never happened.
``They didn't press the market opportunity by saying, look we're $150
bucks,'' said P.J. McNealy, a game industry analyst for Gartner Group in San
Jose. ``They just assumed people would buy it.''
Last week, Tokyo-based Sega confirmed it may stop production of the
Dreamcast console and focus its resources on the more profitable software
operations -- developing games for rival platforms like the PlayStation 2
and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox expected next fall. Japanese markets reacted
favorably, with Sega's stock price rising 60 percent on the news.
In other moves away from the Dreamcast, Sega said Monday it agreed to
license its game technology to Pace Micro Technology PLC, a U.K.-based maker
of television set-top boxes and personal video recorders. These boxes could
be used to allow game-players to download games to their television sets in
episodes.
It is viewed as the first step in a strategy Sega outlined last fall to
bring the Dreamcast technology to a variety of devices, from television
set-top boxes to wireless handheld devices. It already has signed deals to
create Java-based games for Motorola devices.
``It means Sega will make some good games for established platforms,'' said
3DO's Hawkins. ``That's how they will make their mark on the industry.''
--
GoodCow =)
"BillyComic" on AIM
*more useless information coming soon*
--
Lawrence
"Phillip Roncoroni" <goo...@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
> http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/sega013001.htm
>
> Is this good... or bad? On one hand Sega loses a lot of money per
> console... but then again lots of people may buy it for 1/3rd the
> price of a PS2. But if they're doing this just to liquidate their
> inventory, that's really bad...
Sega already is losing lots of money per console - what's another
$100,000,000 (2mil x $50(149-99)).
What other reason would they be slashing the price - again??
--
"ixnay on the oopidstay"
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
Offspringer
Why cut prices now? What's the motive? While Sega's reputation has been
tarnished a bit by recent events, Sega just announced that over 100
games are still in development. Hmmm... does that mean that half won't
come out on disc and instead have to be downloaded?
At least the DC has a good library of games already available and the
$99 makes a good purchase for sure, but I think that there's something
more serious going on than Sega trying to save face here.
Sega hasn't confirmed this report yet, so it's still hearsay only. You
guys have complained about the validity of rumors versus confirmation
from Sega, so I'll stop at this point. Still... something just isn't
right about this, especially if SegaDojo's theory that Sega's trying
to "liquidate its inventory" is indeed true.
In article <SiDd6.2341$Lt.3...@typhoon2.ba-dsg.net>,
"Phillip Roncoroni" <goo...@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
--
GameGuys... your #1 source in Western Massachusetts
for video gaming news, previews, and reviews!
Coming in January 2001!
Tim Holt
be $99, you will probably be able to get the DC at even lower prices that
that!
"Phillip Roncoroni" <goo...@bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:SiDd6.2341$Lt.3...@typhoon2.ba-dsg.net...
Tim Holt
eBay after the word gets out.
"Phillip Roncoroni" <goo...@bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:SiDd6.2341$Lt.3...@typhoon2.ba-dsg.net...
Lawrence
Offspringer <pske...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> To quote Han Solo, "I've got a bad feeling about this..."
>
> Why cut prices now? What's the motive? While Sega's reputation
> has been tarnished a bit by recent events, Sega just announced
> that over 100 games are still in development. Hmmm... does
> that mean that half won't come out on disc and instead have to
> be downloaded?
> At least the DC has a good library of games already available
> and the $99 makes a good purchase for sure, but I think that
> there's something more serious going on than Sega trying to
> save face here.
> Sega hasn't confirmed this report yet, so it's still hearsay
> only. You guys have complained about the validity of rumors
> versus confirmation from Sega, so I'll stop at this point.
> Still... something just isn't right about this, especially if
> SegaDojo's theory that Sega's trying to "liquidate its
> inventory" is indeed true.
True, Sega has announced the 100 games, but "development" is the
key word. Make a list of those games then see what percentage
actually get published...
--
"ixnay on the oopidstay"
Tim Holt
eBay after word gets out!
"Phillip Roncoroni" <goo...@bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:SiDd6.2341$Lt.3...@typhoon2.ba-dsg.net...
fas...@my-deja.com
liquidation out the console business. They won't keep producing consoles to
sell at that price. Target's sale may have been the beginning, as I doubt
they will restock. They had Sega Fishing for $5.00. Best Buy had the $50
giftcard deal for a while now. It was like NFL2K1 was never restocked at all
it seems. It looks bad.
I won't say what I've been told by some employees at local stores(EBs,
Target, BB, etc) this week, as it can't be proven yet. Just rumors.....
In article <SiDd6.2341$Lt.3...@typhoon2.ba-dsg.net>,
"Phillip Roncoroni" <goo...@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
Chad Faber
Phillip Roncoroni wrote in message ...
>http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/sega013001.htm
>
>Is this good... or bad? On one hand Sega loses a lot of money per
console...
>but then again lots of people may buy it for 1/3rd the price of a PS2. But
>if they're doing this just to liquidate their inventory, that's really
>bad...
>
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010130/tc/sega_2.html
Stick a fork in it folks, this baby is done. Oh well, time to raid the
retail racks and get some of those titles I never got around to getting. Jet
Grind Radio, Ecco the Dolphin, Wetrix+, Samba, etc. Hopefully, they can hang
on long enough to release Shenmue II, Crazy Taxi 2, Headhunter and Sonic 2
before they ditch the format for good... *sigh*. Oh well, time to whore
myself to the PS2. We live in a world where mediocrity rules as long as
there's a big name attached to it or a depraved and derivative concept (see:
Temptation Island, Survivor, PS2).
-Chad
defecto
meeting the demand. Maybe this is the step that is needed.
Phillip Roncoroni <goo...@bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:SiDd6.2341$Lt.3...@typhoon2.ba-dsg.net...
Brother Bheid
"Tim Holt" <ina...@usa.net> wrote in message
news:GtEd6.195409$w35.34...@news1.rdc1.nj.home.com...
Iron Lung Ryan
Tim Holt
"Brother Bheid" <bh...@greyrobes.com> wrote in message
news:3a77441a$0$16401$7f31...@news01.syd.optusnet.com.au...
Dave
3rd party
"Lawrence" <lawren...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:9572rl$hpk$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
The Good Guy
> Hopefully, they can hang
> on long enough to release Shenmue II, Crazy Taxi 2, Headhunter and Sonic 2
> before they ditch the format for good... *sigh*. Oh well, time to whore
> myself to the PS2.
*sniff* don't worry, you'll be able to play these games and their sequels on the
PS2, and they'll also look better, sound better and control better, that is if
Sega's programmers are compentant enough...
> We live in a world where mediocrity rules as long as
> there's a big name attached to it or a depraved and derivative concept (see:
> Temptation Island, Survivor, PS2).
nope, you live in a democracy where majority rules...
Superstar
the PS2.
On Wed, 31 Jan 2001 02:43:23 GMT, The Good Guy <TheB...@nonet.net>
wrote:
Rvalostinspace
9.99.
Can you say "SATURN".
oogabooga
wrote:
>Chad Faber wrote:
>
>> Hopefully, they can hang
>> on long enough to release Shenmue II, Crazy Taxi 2, Headhunter and Sonic 2
>> before they ditch the format for good... *sigh*. Oh well, time to whore
>> myself to the PS2.
>
>*sniff* don't worry, you'll be able to play these games and their sequels on the
>PS2, and they'll also look better, sound better and control better, that is if
>Sega's programmers are compentant enough...
>
I hope you realize that your PS2 will officially break the record for
shortest-lived console when XBox arrives.......