Yeah I proposed that scenario a while back, and thats using a 2004 DC-on-Chip that had more than twice the power of the DC. Today a 45nm version with four or five times the power (like that of a GC for example) could be done for the same price or even less. Now, looking at the iPhone apps (30 millions on its first week, damn!) I been thinking that such a portable could become a market leader if coupled with a HDD. Now while most gamers (myself included) are against DoD on consoles, a portable with that capacity would be quite attractive since you wouldn't have to carry carts/discs around all time: just power it and select a game, just like you do on any iPod-like PMP. On the business side of things such a portable would be highly profitable since an online DoD store such as iTunes would cut the middle-man(s) between the customer (us) and the producer (SEGA and any developer). I wouldn't compare any of those games to shenmue. Not that those were casual games, not even close, but shenmue was kind of an experimental game, very niche if you catch my drift. You know, for a supposed lawyer you are not very good at reading: I said "what IF SEGA came back" not "SEGA is coming back, what's your opinion?". I meant the ratio of good games over bad games isn't as good as it was back in the DC days.
What if Sega came back? I didn't know it had gone anywhere in the first place! Seriously, despite being quite proud to admit that I'm something of a die-hard fanboy, the fact is that Sega won't last forever throwing its few remaining followers the occasional bone - the carcass is starting to look a little empty of scraps, and I doubt there's a prime chunk of meat such as Shenmue III still hiding under its ribcage. How's that for a defeatist metaphor?
But DIFFERENT points... Look I dont want to burst the bubble, but shenmue just didnt make it, even most hardcore gamers didnt like it back then, and now with all the sandbox games around, a III wouldnt even have the aura of innovation the first two had. Shenmue is like Kubrick's 2001: groundbreaking in every sense, but too complex to most people. Games like PSO, JSR, SA2, etc were like the original indiana jones or star wars films: instant classics:nod:
Well, it depends on the console.... If Sega made a MegaSega Machine with cart slots for SMS, and Genesis, and a GD-ROM reader that played Saturn, Sega CD and Dreamcast region free with hdmi output I'd be all over that. Throw in a GDROM of Sega Classics to seal the deal. Guess Perfect SMS/Genesis/Saturn/Sega CD Emulator + a real Dreamcast. Net play for the 8/16 bit games, nice upscaling, you like? Rom download at the right price ($1 a game) But competing with PS3/360/Wii. I duuuunnnoooo... Maybe the time for an arcade based home console has passed. Poor old Sonics time has passed for sure. Keep it budget, do cheap translations of games that never made it to the US via download. Nice.
or they could just serve you a PC in a box with a download service to download their back history of games. still not happening though
I wouldn't trust their ability to manage the platform. Sega are best as a software developer. And even that foundation is shaky now.
If the Xbox answered any questions is that PC parts shouldnt be used in a console, since those tend to be discontinued in half a console's lifespan. Plus propietary IP (specially on the X86 CPUs) means you cant make the components on your own, which puts the console maker in the PC manufacturer's pocket, the later taking advantage and charging whatever he wants (intel and the Xbox). And if old games is all its going to have, a software-based solution like gametap would be much wiser. I would fully agree if their average game quality wasnt lower today than it was in the HW days.
Mugen Kairo, Collosus, Ico... Yeah, all crap. :? For as "anti-games" as Sony are branded, they come up with some excellent stuff.
Well if it's "What Sega machine would you run out and buy, then sure". OK, Bahn's new Sega machine Mark II. Base - Dreamcast with overclock, very cheap to make Built in 60GB HDD, user replaceable like PS3 USB port / Ethernet port Selection of accessories, cartridge ports, Megadrive usb adaptor. Buy official sega or use the ones you already have. Software Emulation: SMS,Genesis, Sega MegaCD, Saturn. Hopefully an overclocked Dreamcast is fast enough to emulate a Saturn. Downloadable ROMs at the right price, under $2. Downloadable disk games too. Read in your own cartridges. Translations of old games that never reached the west. Rent-a-hero etc. Unreleased prototypes. Very easy to publish your own Dreamcast overclocked games. iTunes App Store like service. Includes fan subs of games that never got to the west. Buy rom then fansub. If it ships without HDD for base version (BYO HDD) I'm sure they could do it for under $100. Well under. I'd buy that. Cats chance in hell of ever happening. But it's the kind of device that would make a small number of people very happy. Not a bad thing I think.
Wel the SOC DC by Renesas was already twice as powerful as the original DC was, so making it 4 or 5 times (roughly the power of a Xbox or even a Wii) should be difficult, plus it keeps the easy-to-code nature of the original DC. I would add WIFI since is dirt cheap now, and adds value. The cart adaptors, well the problem is whats cheaper to make? a ROM dumper so the console can read the ROM inside the cart? or a Genesis/SMS-on-a-chip in the adaptor itself than uses the console for I/O and nothing else?. But the thing is, making it compatible with original media is almost futile considering just a fraction of the market owns the games in said media, so it would be a futile effort in my opinion. The iphone-like app store could spawn a very interesting legal scene around the console, since translating old games (fansubs) and making mods of old games (theres already many mods of sonic games) combined with the right tools would let anyone make mini-games for this console. BTW, I was thinking that instead of selling the console, they could give it away for free with a monthly plan, like a cellphone, including online service (like LIVE) so even at $5 per month, with a console's average lifespan (4-5 years) it amounts to $240-300 dollars per unit, so SEGA will not only break even, but also make a couple bucks off it. My 2 cents...
