"Say-GUH!"

I was browsing GAF yesterday and found this really interesting article and accompanying thread from the 90s. It's an interview with the then-president of SEGA of America. Very prescient and a good read.

They're scans so you should just read it on the thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?s=7ac3d76ef3a68bd11eed2a0ee3bc5608&t=422270

I always wonder how my life might be different if Sega never exited the console war. It's quite sad that they lost so badly, too, especially since the Dreamcast is now looked upon so fondly. Even then, it was liked, I think; Sony just was a tough competitor. The Dreamcast couldn't stand a chance against the PS2 with its DVD player (and better reputation; after the Sega Saturn, Sega's brand name was so damaged in this country that the Dreamcast was arguably screwed from the start).

It's especially sad when you realize that all of this could have been avoided had the higher-ups over in Japan not been so negligent of their American counterpart. Maybe Japan was ready for the Saturn (not that it did so hot there), but the Genesis was still riding high over here and could have lasted another year or two. Reading about the mismanagement back then and knowing full-well what the aftermath was is so sad.

Especially, if you read the thread, when you find out about the massive mess-up that was the Saturn's launch in this country! It was supposed to come out on "Sega Saturday," and the PS1 was going to come out a week afterwards. However, at that year's E3, the president (Tom Kalinske, who is the guy interviewed) announced that that was a ruse and the Saturn was immediately available at certain retailers. The retailers left out turned their backs to Sega, feeling abandoned, and this move just caught people really off-guard. Coupled with the fact that the Saturn just wasn't a very good system, Sega was doomed to fail against the superior Sony PlayStation.

Of course, Sega is still in the video game business, so it's not completely different now a days. But I always wonder what would have happened if the Dreamcast was a juggernaut and instead of the XBOX 360 we had Dreamcast 2 fanboys or something? That the latest Sega console was ubiquitous with gaming, just like the Wii and PS3 (and 360) are now? These hypotheticals will forever remain hypothetical.

Sigh.