Why the Wii U Is Destined to Become the Next Sega Dreamcast

Explosion.com's Dave Walsh examines the parallels between Sega's ill-fated Dreamcast console and Nintendo's Wii U. Both systems launched to a lot of fanfare but quickly fell off of the radar, what does this mean for Nintendo?

[Jackhass]

Well, I liked the Dreamcast, so I won't complain if the Wii U goes down that path.

[MariaHelFutura]

The Dreamcast had amazing software, the Wii U doesn't (yet anyway).

[kirbyu]

"The Dreamcast had amazing software"

No it didn't.

[MariaHelFutura]

O, Yes it did. Wii U owners (not psychos) would love to have a game like Powerstone or Skies Of Arcadia versus getting 1-2 year old multiplatform ports.

[cervantes99]

Ahh - the Dreamcast had amazing software. That was a great system.

[FarEastOrient]

Remember Shenmue

[darkequitus]

Ikaruga, Banai-o, Chu chu rocket, MSR, Shenmue II

[imXify]

@kirbyu
Sonic Adventure 1 and 2.

[MasterCornholio]

I still have very fond memories of phatasy star online on the Dreamcast.

@KirbyU

Nintendo fan in denial how typical. Look the Dreamcast had some amazing games something that your precious Nintendoy system doesn't have at the moment. Which is why it could go down as one of the worst platforms in history if Nintendo doesn't start cranking out quality games for it. Nintendo fans keep saying that good games take time to make. But how much time is acceptable?

The Wii U will be called the delay U if Nintendo doesn't up their production.

Motorola RAZR i

[Marceles]

Lol @kirbyu, Dreamcast's first party titles is probably the most underrated of any gen. The problem with Dreamcast was most third party games were put on PS2, but in terms of their first party games they were pretty amazing at the time, and still hold up.

Dreamcast was the system mostly for sports and arcade perfect games, but it had some great unexpected surprises on it since everyone had their sights set on PS2.

Personally I think Dreamcast couldn't have done any better from their reputation with past consoles which is why not every developer was solld on it, but made a great effort. Unlike the WiiU where Nintendo always had a great reputation, but their handheld business is strongly overtaking the home console side at the moment.

[chadboban]

Who the hell writes this crap? It wasn't one failed console that killed Sega as a console maker, it was a string of them. the Saturn, Sega Nomad, the 32X, the Sega CD and The Gamegear didn't do well at all compared to their competitors.

Now I love my Dreamcast (the thing still works to this day as a matter of fact), but comparing it to the Wii U let alone saying that the Wii U will be Nintendo's downfall as a console maker is just plain ridiculous not to mention too damn early to tell. Nintendo hasn't had a failed console since the Virtual Boy (for the uninformed, despite selling less than their competitors both the Gamecube and N64 were profitable systems).

[TruthbeTold]

Agreed. Plain ridiculous.

Silly fanboys who want Nintendo to make their games 3rd party for their favorite console, or just disappear actually believe this crap, write articles, agree with each other, and come to a tiny circle jerk consensus that it's the truth.

Only on the internet...

[MEsoJD]

The Dreamcast had games I wanted to play.

[nerdkiller]

i wish nintendo would do the rumored console from a few years ago, nintendo revolution

[Myst]

That had a better name than Wii as well :(.

[joab777]

Is this a crazy idea? Scrap the wiiU and start again. They blew a golden opportunity to get the jump so I don't know if it would even be possible. I just don't know why u wouldn't creat anext gen console with a ton of software lined up. With a year jump they coukda seriously put the hurtin on MS and Sony.

[PopRocks359]

"The Wii U could be the end of Nintendo has a home console maker, much like the Dreamcast was the end of Sega’s run."

Sega lost a bunch of money on previous hardware endeavors. Nintendo has not and as long as they can keep making profits on consoles, I don't see them dropping out of that race, no matter how much 'intermanet germalists' seem to desire it.

I don't see why this author has written this article about the console with such certainty. The Wii U hasn't even been out a year yet. Hell, it doesn't even have its big name titles out yet (probably its largest drawback in the market right now).

[dvewlsh]

The Dreamcast had the plug pulled after two years. Nintendo has lost money two years in a row now with things not looking better.

Obviously nothing is certain, but there are some interesting parallels.

[PopRocks359]

The first loss they took was around half a billion in dollars. The loss they recently took was less than half of that! I know, a loss is a loss, but how is taking a much smaller loss not better than before?

I see very few parallels between the Wii U and the Dreamcast. Rampant piracy is not hurting the Wii U and Nintendo has not seen a string of hardware failures that caused them to lose more than they took in. The Wii U is having a bad first year. I don't see any reason why Nintendo can't change the pace to make the following years better like they did with the 3DS.

[Utalkin2me]

@Poprocks
"The Wii U is having a bad first year. I don't see any reason why Nintendo can't change the pace to make the following years better like they did with the 3DS"

Well the 3ds didn't really have as strong of competition. Unlike WiiU, it will be going up against a strong MS and Sony console.

[lilbroRx]

What are you talking about? They just posted profit and the value of their stocks has recently increased.

Also, you are excluding many relevant details and other aspects like the ones PopRocks pointed out.

[Realplaya]

@ Utalkin2me Are you insane the 3ds had the vita to contend with, the ipad , ipod,iphone galxy note, Sg3, Note, Note 10.1 smart shield. Damn do I need to continue?

[smoothdude]

I love the fact that the system is under powered as it means that you can emulate it on a computer. The dolphin emulator enhances the Wii experience, and as such I play my favorite Nintendo games on the computer.

That being said, I do believe that piracy is a problem for Nintendo. Their games are easy to find on torrent sites :)

[Utalkin2me]

@Realplaya

Really your comparing phones and ipads to a portable console strictly for gaming? It is totally 2 different markets guy. That would be like like comparing Pc gaming and console gaming, totally 2 different markets. Need i say more?

@lilbroRx
Maybe you missed the part where i quoted him and made a reply....jesus you guys.

[jcnba28]

You think Nintendo are in trouble financially? They have billions in the bank from the DS and Wii sales. Nintendo are the richest gaming division in the world. Sony are the ones we need to be worried about.

[Adamated]

@Utalkin2me - It's all about how narrowly you define their market. For me personally, I returned my DSi for an ipod touch and never regretted that decision.

You make a valid point though, that you can't ambiguously compare these categories of phones and portable consoles. However, let's not be ignorant to think that these devices do not play a huge factor in the sales of portable consoles.

[Qrphe]

No, Gamecube if anything

[LOL_WUT]

Which is pretty much up their with the Dreamcast in my humble opinion ;)

[Qrphe]

The DC was the end of SEGA as a console maker, neither the GC nor N64 killed Nintendo and neither will the Wii U.

[lilbroRx]

Your humble opinion is that whatever the worse scenario for Nintendo is in any situation, you want it to be true. ;)

Most of us are looking at this rationally, however.

All circumstances point to sales ramping up when games being to release on the Wii U. Nothing more is needed. Just a steady stream of good games and good games alone will fix 90%+ of the problems with the Wii U's marketshare.

[Realplaya]

@ LOL_WUT you are the worse when it comes to posting a comment you flip flop on views consistently SMDH. Dude pick a side either be a troll or be a fanboy.

[Utalkin2me]

@Realplaya

Man you just have problems of understanding when to keep that mouth shut.

[LoveOfTheGame]

IDK why people hate on the Gamecube so much, I thought it was a great little console. It wasn't on par with the PS2 or Xbox really but the games were fun as hell. It had the best mario kart and super smash bros, along with a great game in super mario strikers. Friends + Gamecube + Alcohol = some of the funnest all nighters you will ever have.

Edit: Just wanted to add I miss college.

[Garethvk]

We hardly even play ours. I have used it more to browse the web and such when I am downstairs while the phone is charging than we have for gaming in recent weeks.

[DigitalRaptor]

That's not surprising since it's suffering from a drought of games. It will be fine in a couple of years, but for now it's quite a disappointment.

[Garethvk]

I am hoping that we see something worth the effort at E3 and PAX.

[Avernus]

WiiWho? :P

I kid I kid. I wouldn't want Nintendo to fail. Tbh, if I had the money I'll buy the WiiU for the first party games. But I'm no millionaire, so only 1 console at a time for me.

I liked the Dreamcast, but sadly it wasn't a success :(

WiiU sales doesn't look promising so far, but calling an early doomsday for it might be too much. WiiU failing isn't good news for anyone, and if you actually want it to fail then wow.

[GiantFriendlyCrab]

atleast dremacast was great

[Neko_Mega]

I miss my Sega Dreamcast :( I got two of them and both had the controller slots quit working.

I love the hell out of my Dreamcast, I have five controllers for it and alot of games. As for the Wii U, its problem is really the lack of titles. So its not really the same as Dreamcast.

[Oh_Yeah]

Me too man! The damn controller slots went on 2 of mine :( what's up with that?

The Dreamcast...runs emulators out the box! It has by far the largest game library of any console (without hacking) even though it only lasted 2 years. All the nes, snes, genesis, game boy, and some ps1 games with bleemcast. Then you have Power Stone, Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, Sonic Adventure, and so many other great games...damn what a console. If people were well informed about all the capabilities and Sega didnt pull the plug it would have definitely been a competitor.

[PSNintyGamer]

wishful thinking as always.

Just like the 3ds was the next virtual boy right.

[MyNutsYourChin]

Man, the rampant ignorance in Nintendoom articles is despicable. Unbelievable how stupid some people are.

[SolidDuck]

But sega didn't fail because of the dreamcast. It had much more to do with sega cd and Saturn. Plus sega didn't have a handheld like the 3ds to help hard times along. Really its not the same at all.

[Gamer-Z]

I don't think what happened to Sega will happen to Nintendo.

[blackbirdi]

comparing wii u to dreamcast make no sense because dreamcast has amazing games from day one which wii u doesn't have att

[Picnic]

When you put Luigi's Mansion : Dark Moon on the 3Ds with no announcement for a WiiU version you deserve for the WiiU to fail.

Particularly when the WiiU has a handheld console style controller. It's as if Nintendo are understandably worried about cannibalising their own market. But you don't make that at the expense of what is supposed to be your major console.

[iplay1up2]

I would not count a Wii U version out, but the one thing Nintendo does not seem to get, not all of us like handhelds. I do not want to carry around a cell phone, and a handheld. I am kind of thinking about picking up a 3DS though, and I have not had a portable since GBA. I never thought about getting one till the XL came out.

[PopRocks359]

Wait, why would you want a 3DS game for the Wii U? If they did that then people would just say "Why would I get this on Wii U when I already have it on the 3DS?"

The Wii U should stand alone with its own unique software. The problem is that that software hasn't been released and the Wii U is struggling as a result. Now if you have a game on both with cross-comparability, like Monster Hunter, then okay; there's a point to having it on both systems.

But developers shouldn't port a game for the sake of it. There should be a good reason to owning a game that you can get cheaper on a handheld.

[Realplaya]

They should have made two versions like the Monster hunter and Lego game. They should have had a Hd version at home and then you could take it with. I don't bleed Sony but at least there trying to push that.

[Picnic]

Because Luigi's Mansion was an iconic game for many Gamecube owners and the sequel deserves to be on the major TV console.

[1upgamer99]

First of all, Dreamcast was a great system, in fact ahead of that gen BY FAR. For those of you who disagree, you were probably too young to even play video games. Then PS2 came out. Just like Gamecube too many people never even owned Dreamcast. Tons of great games on Dreacast too. The only thing that I did not care much for was the controller.

That said. Wii U fail or not, will have some AMAZING games, and if the people who call themselves "gamers" don't buy one well that is their loss. Because this gen Nintendo will look and play GREAT. No it is not going to be 720/PS4 in terms of power, BUT the gap in power is not going to be that of PS3/Wii. I do not care if you like Nintendo or not. Nintendo has AMAZING 1st party games. Nintendo also invented most of what games consist of now. I really wish some of you would acknowledge that, instead of bashing them all of the time. If you are a true "gamer" you should love games not the just the name on the console. IF Nintendo did give up home consoles, don't bet on them making games for Sony/Microsoft, as Nintendo clearly OWNS the handheld market, and shame on you for not supporting Wii U.

[jcnba28]

Bubble up for you sir.

[ps3_pwns]

its becomeing the sega dreamcast but without games lol. dreamcast released first like the wii u then sony came out and wiped the floor with them and gamecube came out. this time nintendo coming out first sony gonna come out and wipe the floor with them then x720 will release.

[iplay1up2]

I think you are wrong. I do not think the sales on home consoles are in any way going to be what they used to. Oh sure there will be people like us that run out and pick one up day one, but not the general public. I can not wait for PS4, but allot of my friends are pretty happy with their PS3's. Look around you. People, like my friends are much more excited about the newest cell phone or tablet. Kids are now asking for those instead of consoles. So yeah, mark my words, Microsoft, nor Sony are going to do that much better if any than Nintendo Wii U.

[ps3_pwns]

i think you are wrong the tablet and phone craze is stabalizing. many people are just like meh the new iphone or i already have a few tablets and those devices are now just an everyday thing where people dont or wont even factor it in as an big entertainment purchase. on the other hand blueray is still not owned by many and many people are just now getting into that and hd and 3d tvs and such. a lot of people still have the dvd players. those who dont have the ps3 likely dont have a blueray player. gamers buying a standalone blueray player is just dumb and not smart purchasing decisions no matter how you look at it. and there is a lot of gamers without a ps3 still so blueray playback will still be a big factor for next gen. also all the people who bought the wii have no need to get a wii u as there are plenty of mario games, zelda games and pikmin games and such on it. the general public sees them as all the same. especially the older ones.

[TechnicianTed]

@ps3_pwns

You are delusional if you think the tablet and phone market is just a craze or a fad. The market is here to stay and their power and potential are increasing by the day. I will always want consoles, but I think eventually phones will overtake consoles in the near future as the preferred gaming systems.

Every year that goes by phone technology gets better and better, and the market for those phones increases. Not so long ago games on mobile phones were pretty simple affairs, tetris and bowling sort of games, but now they are able to make increasingly more complex games which were, until fairly recently, only possible on a console.

Within a few years it's not unreasonable to believe the majority of people will just be hooking up their phones to their tvs and using them instead of a console. Consoles will still be alive and kicking, sure, but if you think moblile gaming isn't a threat then you are quite blind to what's going on.

[ape007]

change your name to ps4 pwns and worship it

[lilbroRx]

And when it is the exact opposite of that situation a year or two from now, I will be laughing extremely hard.

None of the issues that led to the Dreamcast's demise are present for the Wii U.

[iplay1up2]

I way disagree with you on the blu-ray. I am a 41 year old guy. I do NOT use my PS3 as a BR player because it is harder on the drive. I use it for games only. I have a BR player, and a smart TV. Also as an older gamer I have to disagree with you on the Mario, Zelda, Pikman tip. There are allot of other Nintendo games like Donkey Kong, Smash Bros, Eternal Darkness, Star Fox, Metroid, FZero, Kirby. All of which will be on Wii U.
My point was this next gen not as many people are going to rush to buy them, accept people like us...Yes they will buy them, but I personally do not think the numbers are going to climb as fast as this gen did...and lets face it PS3 just started really selling 3 years ago. Before that the numbers were pretty bad.

[Utalkin2me]

I'm 39 years old and i use one of my PS3's exclusive in my theater room for movies and a little gaming. It ouputs sound greater then any blu ray player.

[Jek_Porkins]

Well the Dreamcast sold less than 10 million units in 3+ years on the market, it was at a time when the PS2 was eating everything up in sales, Wii U doesn't have either of those issues, it's still an infant and we haven't even seen the killer apps for it yet.

Secondly, the Dreamcast was cautionary tale of what happens when a company loses consumer confidence, Sega never won a generation, never really had a successful console aside from the Sega Genesis, which came out at the right time and offered Sonic as a bad ass mascot.

Sega came out with the Sega CD and 32X, but then abandoned them very quickly, people who bought these things were pissed, and rightly so. Then the Saturn came out, great console, but rushed to market, expensive and difficult to program for, Sega abandoned it very quickly as well. The Dreamcast was amazing, I was all in when it launched, bought like 10 launch games, it was my first online gaming experience, I loved it!

The problem was that for $100 more you got a more powerful game console, and a DVD player, it was an easy choice for most people.

Nintendo hasn't lost consumer confidence, they always sell a ton of handhelds, they are coming off the Wii's dominating performance of last generation, and even though the Wii U is off to a rocky start for this generation, it still is going to end up with a 5-7 million lead by the time the next Xbox and PlayStation release.

It's not really as terrible as it looks for Nintendo.

[StrongMan]

The Dreamcast was killed by the release of the PS2 and.......well.........the PS4 is about to release so......

[Shok]

Yes, and due to the PS4's stronger specs, the Wii U is doomed, right?

That's a very good point. After all, the GameCube and Xbox destroyed the PS2 when they came out, and the PSP and Vita destroyed the DS and 3DS when they came out.

Very good point sir.

[LoveOfTheGame]

After that one he is speechless, wait I'm getting reports that he only has one bubble and is a notorious troll.

Sometimes I think you and greenpowerz are the same person with split personalities or a very sad life.

Edit: Accidentally pointed that one at Shok, my bad.

[arbitor365]

"Nintendo hasn't lost consumer confidence"
"....the Wii's dominating performance of last generation"

Neislon research and numerous other studies have shown that the wii has been, by far, the least played console since 2008 (and it launched in 2006. what a lifespan).

most people's wii's become dust collectors. most consumers did not get their use out of the console. which is why they arent falling for it again, especially when there isnt even a new gimmick to draw them in.

and you cant compare it to the handheld market. nintendo has never had too much serious competition in that department, in terms of sales. but it isnt the same market as the console market.the success of the gameboy systems and the DS did not magically save the N64 or gamecube.

[Jek_Porkins]

I'm sure the research is all well and good, but once a console is sold, that is all the research that needs to be done. I play the heck out of my Wii, even though I own a 360 and PS3.

The N64 had expensive cartridges and they lost third party support over them, but the console actually had some really amazing games. I don't think the reason people aren't buying a Wii U is because they didn't use their Wii, that's ridicules, the Wii launched with great games, even a Zelda game, where as the Wii U launched with next to nothing, they just need some software.

You don't think Nintendo has had competition in the handheld market?
Sega Game Gear
Atari Lynxx
Wonderswan
N-Gage
Turbo Express
Neo Geo Pocket
Gizmondo
Experia Play
iPhones
Smartphones
PSP
Vita

Nintendo has had a ton of competition in the handheld market, but Nintendo always comes out on top because they know how to properly support their handhelds.

[josephayal]

Damn, I was hoping this article was going to announce some Dreamcast games for the WiiU's Virtual Console. Instead it's just another Nintendo is doomed thread

[TheSkullkid]

These journalists are destined to have my foot planted firmly in their asses if they keep disrespecting Nintendo like this.

[Jagsrock]

It's always easy to kick something when it's down.

[eagle21]

DS (153 million), PSP (76 million), Wii (99 million), PS3 (77 million), 3DS (32 million)...all were to be Dreamcasted...lmao. Fuck off haters.

[arbitor365]

nintendo horribly lost 2 generations in a row. what is the magic element that saved them last gen? a massive, unprecedented gimmick craze. is that element still here with the wii u? no. not even a little bit.

it doesnt take a doctorate in marketing to see that the wii u has none of the buzz or casual appeal that the wii did.

wii sports was a sensation. everyone was talking about motion controls. it was all over the news. wiis were selling hundreds of thousands every week and were out of stock. it was madness

some of you people clearly don't remember or understand why the wii sold what it did and what those first years were like. If you did, you would see why the wii u holds none of the same appeal and none of that same power

[Laneiac]

yes it will where do u think sony and microsoft came up with the idea for move and kinect. look and see how many wii u's have been sold to date, a lot more than any other system's launch, nintendo innovate's while the other's simply copy, look and see which company has the most mony between the 3, Nintendo by a far margin, ill bet you Sony 4 will be there last system before they file for chapter 7, check sony's finances there in great danger and if the system flops so does sony, the big N is just fine even if wii u fails which it wont, u know why, cause Nintendo way ahead of the game

[Agent_hitman]

I beg to disagree with this article cause I believe that Nintendo will still stand up and compete with the next gen hardwares..

Low sales doesn't mean that a Console manufacturers will drop their production for Console and become a software only company..

Price drop would help them boost their sales.. Go Ninty

[Shnazzyone]

I wish I could imagine Nintendo going out in a blaze of glory like that. However Sony is the one plodding that path right now. Nintendo is still pretty secure. They left room to do bad. Nintendo is still making profit, they are just below their profit goals.

[Laneiac]

Are you serious man, this artical is crap Nintendo sets trends, while microsoft and sony just simply copy from Nintendos success, remember sony move, microsoft kinect, hmmm I wonder where they got that idea from, Nintendo is in no trouble at all, anyone who thinks they are, are un intelligent sony and microsoft fanboys, do your homework and you'll see that the big N has way more money in the bank than sony and microsoft, hell if anything ill bet ya the playstation 4 will be sonys last system before they file chapter 7. Nintendo does two things and two things only, They make great systems and great games for true video gamers, so all u like minded sony and microsoft fanboys, keep spending 60$ a year on a regurgitated copy of call of duty, untill then, ill patiently wait for the killer games from my boys at the big N.

p.s. Nintendo forever

[weekev15]

Whilst Wii U sales are relatively low compared to the monumental success of the Wii, you can't, in all honesty, say that it is anything like the Dreamcast.

For a start Nintendo have a ridiculous cash reserve so will not be going anywhere soon.

Then there is actual sales numbers. Wii U has sold 3 and a half million in 6 months. That is not as good as Nintendo would have hoped, but with strong first party titles around the corner, I would imagine Nintendo will expect to more than double that by Christmas. Compare that to the Dreamcast which sold 10.6 million units in it's entire lifecycle and it becomes obvious that this comparison is ludicrous.

Sure the Dreamcast had some awesome games, but I can already see Wii U having an awful lot more (Bayonetta, 3D Mario, Xenoblade 2, Zelda, plus some great 3rd party titles like Watch dogs)

The you have to consider Nintendo's approach to Indie developers. With the Unity engine and the apparent ease at getting games on the E-Shop, Nintendo is looking like making huge improvements on the front of Indie titles.

All of these things considered I really think it is a matter of time before the Wii U ends up shifting units like the 3ds is, probably starting around the holiday season this year.

[AKR]

Honestly.... HOW do these articles become approved? Why is it that OTHER articles which are reporting the same thing (Like two separate articles reporting an interview or new game details - which happen to be the same) ~ get a red flag, and are canceled, yet the same "Wii U is Doomed" garbage is not reported? You never see DOOM articles get shot-down, but other articles, even when they include GOOD news, get reported over LITTLE things.

Wow, N4G - Palace of Logic, right?

Wii U is in NO position to be the next DreamCast. As so many others have mentioned, SEGA was dead in the water even before the DreamCast. That thing was birthed from a sleuth of failed hardware, and the company was nearly out of money. They had no choice but to drop out of the console race, if they expected to survive.

Nintendo on the other hand, are coming off their two most successful systems in history ~ the Wii and DS. They have made BILLIONS off those two systems, and are in a MAJOR better financial shape than Sega was, or than the game divisions of Microsoft and Sony are now. I don't see why everyone keeps saying that N should drop out of the home console race. If anything, take a look at how Sony has been doing financially. They're in 8 YEARS worth of losses right now. If the PS4 sells anything below profit, it might be SONY who becomes the next DreamCast and Sega. But no, you never hear ANYONE speak about the REAL one who's in trouble.

But no matter. 3DS was "doomed". DS was "doomed". Wii was "doomed". PS3 was "doomed". All those consoles, completely made a turn around. 3DS is the hottest selling gaming system on the market. PS3 is the dominating in every country except the US. Wii was a worldwide financial phenomenon. DS is currently the BEST-selling gaming system in history.

All those systems - were declared, well in their infancy, to be dead or a flop. Yet they ALL made a comeback - and a HUGE one at that.

Wii U ~ Don't say anything, until 2 years. Things may seem gloomy now, but seriously, it's crazy articles like these that make a gray-colored situation, seem like a onyx black one with no hope.

[Morgue]

Maken X

[stragomccloud]

Aren't people tired of writing these yet?
We can't call a system doomed until its killer apps release and then it still doesn't shift units.

[yesrod]

This will not happen because the Dreamcast had a very small amount games 1st and third party while the Wii will have Pikmin 3, Wind Waker HD, Sniper Elite V2, Deus Ex, Ac4, Watch Dog, Smash Bros., Mario Kart, and more and also can be supported by the revenue the 3DS makes and has also sold better than ps3 and the 360 when release. the xbox720 is going though these problem before release
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