Gaming Without Sega

Written by Ryan Smotherman on June 13, 2001

Gaming Without Sega: To put it bluntly, it would suck.

Believe it or not, there are many people around the world who think that Sega is the greatest video game company around, Akash and I for example. You might ask yourself, Уhow in the world can this company which has had back to back hardware failures and which been forced to abandon the hardware business all together, be the greatest gaming company?Ф It's simple; Sega is always on the cutting edge of the gaming industry. From their breakthrough games, that often change the way we play, to their determination to make Online gaming a standard in the console gaming world, Sega has always been at the forefront. So, what if Sega had never existed (can't believe I said that)? What would the gaming world be like today? And what revolutionary games would we have missed out on? This article will take a look at just that scenario.

If you think about it, Sega is one of the main reasons the gaming industry is so huge today, and this is because of one console, the Sega Genesis. Ahh yes, everyone's favorite underdog in the 16-bit generation, if this console never existed then we might see the console world still dominated by Nintendo. Face it, in the early 1990's Nintendo was gaming, period. The NES was dominating the 8-bit market, the Gameboy was dominating the handheld market, and the 16-bit Super Nintendo was about to hit the streets, it seemed as if no one could stand up to the Big УNФ. But with Sega's release of Sonic the Hedgehog (more on this later), and some killer marketing (what happened to that Sega?), Nintendo's spotlight in the 16-bit revolution was now being shared with Sega, and at some points they where even losing the battle. Sega pretty much proved that there was more to gaming than Nintendo.

What I'm trying to imply here is that without Sega, Nintendo would have dominated the 16-bit market just as they did the 8-bit market, and just as they are still doing in the hand-held arena. This would in effect make Nintendo an even bigger name than ever (if that's possible). So when Sony and their Playstation come rolling into town, what do you think people will buy? The standard in the gaming world, Nintendo? Or the newbie, Sony? And if Nintendo was to dominate the next-gen wars, the mainstream gaming world might not be so big today. As much as I hate to admit it, Sony is the reason the gaming world is the multi-billion dollar industry it is today. They brought a cool factor into gaming, which in effect attracted the mainstream audience. And without Sega bringing competition to Nintendo in the 16-bit era, the gaming world we all know and love today might still be monopolized by Nintendo.

Another big influence Sega has had in the console gaming world is online gaming. Without Sega, the only way to play games online nowadays would be with a computer. Their first venture with the internet actually started with the Sega Genesis. Who remembers the Sega Channel? For a small monthly fee, you could download new Genesis games to try out before you buy them, this was definitely a cool feature and it was fairly successful. Their second venture wasn't as successful as the Sega Channel, but it actually allowed head to head action on the Sega Saturn, via the Net Link. While not very many games where available (Bomberman, Virtual On, and Duke Nukem to name a few), it was still a first in the console industry. Then comes their most successful online push, the Dreamcast. Sega was so determined to make online console gaming a standard that they included a 56k modem with every Dreamcast. Then on September 7, 2000 Sega launched it's own internet gaming service called SegaNet, it promised super fast Online gaming even on a 56k modem. To this day, the Dreamcast has had huge online success, Phantasy Star Online alone has brought in over 250,000 gamers worldwide, and not to mention all of the Sega sports franchises that offer online play. And without Sega, who knows when online console gaming would become a reality.

While Sega has had a huge effect on the console gaming world, they've probably have had an even bigger effect on the arcade industry. With the arcade industry in the shambles it is in today, you can thank Sega for it actually still existing. Why this may be a bold statement, more than likely it is a very true statement. Sega has been revolutionizing the arcade industry since the С80s, with titles like Space Harrier, Out Run, and Hang-On. And Sega has pretty much owned the arcade industry in the С90s, just check out these titles: Virtua Fighter series, Daytona USA series, Virtua Racing, Crazy Taxi, Star Wars series, Virtua Tennis, Sega Rally series, Virtua Cop series, Jumbo Safari, Virtual On, The Lost World, Super GT, Manx TT, Die Hard Arcade, Sega Touring Car, Ferrari 355 Challenge, House of the Dead series, Sega Bass Fishing, Brave Fire Fighters, 18 Wheeler. Now if you can find an arcade developer who can even come close to releasing this many amazing arcade titles, I'd like to know who . And do you think it would be possible for the arcade industry to be alive (barely) today without all these titles? I don't.

Although Sega has brought out many different gaming systems, they have never really been known for their hardware abilities (except the DC). With Sega it's always been about great software, it's their forte. From the heydays with the Genesis to the end of the Dreamcast's life, Sega systems have never been short on great, quality games. The Genesis introduced us to many new franchises, such as Sonic (who helped in revolutionizing the platformer), Ecco the Dolphin, and Shining Force to name a few. Even the Saturn, which by many was considered a huge disaster, churned out quality software that made the system a can't miss (at least for Sega fans anyway). There were the countless Sega arcade ports, Nights, Sonic Jam, and the amazing Panzer Dragoon trilogy; all these titles make the system worth owning, even to this day.

But no Sega system has ever been as full of breakthrough games as Sega's Dreamcast. The system has had its genre busters with their sports franchises, Space Channel 5, Skies of Arcadia, Crazy Taxi 1&2, and Sonic Adventure (your welcome Akash). And the system has also had its share of breakthrough games with Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, Seaman, and Samba de Amigo. The Dreamcast also marks the first time a console has ever stepped into the MMORPG world, with Phantasy Star Online. And to think, without Sega you would've missed out on all this gaming bliss. [Ed. Note: 1 week till SONIC ADVENTURE 2!!!!]

To sum it all up for you, without Sega, Nintendo would still have the game industry in a headlock, the gaming world would definitely be much smaller, console internet gaming would still not be a reality today, the arcade industry would be dead, and we'd have missed out on some of the best games ever made. All this from a company who gets no respect with the mainstream audience, only us hardcore gamers understand the importance of Sega and their games. I consider Sega one of the most underrated companies in the world, but the irony of it all is that I think Sega's ambition to revolutionize the industry is what caused a lot of their failures, the people and the industry just wasn't ready. But with Sega's move to a 3rd party company, I think people are going to finally realize how great they are, and the software sales are going to prove it. Trust me, Sonic and company are in it for the long run, watch out EA, the Big Blue has his eye on that У#1Ф spot you seem to be occupyingЕ