Back in 2018, SEGA hit a milestone as a company when on December 18 they had been in the third party business for as long as they were in the first party home console business. The first party period spanned 6,470 days (a little under 18 years) and ended officially on March 31, 2001. As such, today marks 20 years since SEGA left the first party home console business, a period which eclipses the time from SEGA’s debut of the SG-1000 in Japan on July 15, 1983 to that fateful day of March 21, 2001.
Some fans have clung onto those early days, bemoaning what has since become of the company, though if you have been following SEGAbits for the past ten plus years you’d know that while we have fond memories of those glory days we believe SEGA is still a great company. In the time since December 18, 2018 we have seen a slew of excellent SEGA and Atlus games, a light return to the home hardware market by way of plug and play consoles like the Genesis Mini and Astro City Mini, oddball items like the Game Gear Micro and the return of Segata Sanshiro and the debut of his son for the company’s 60th anniversary. Suffice to say, SEGA is far from over and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for us in 2021 and beyond.
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Those first-party days were glorious, indeed. I often find myself perusing through the book “The Game Console,” which provides an in-depth look at consoles from 1st Gen to present, and review those wonderful SEGA machines. I always imagine what could have been if the company had been more conservative with their finances and played it a little safer with their consoles. What if the Genesis/32X concept (Neptune) hit the market and carried them through the 5th Gen? What if SEGA stood by the Saturn a little longer during the 5th Gen? What if they gave the Saturn a proper Western release? These thought exercises often recur as we advance from those gilded first-party years. Regardless of their faults, SEGA, and their consoles, will always hold a special place in my heart. Cheers!
It sure makes me feel old to read this, but those Dreamcast and Saturn days were so formative for me in my early and teen years, and I hate to say it, but I needed the kick in the pants that Dreamcast’s death provided to explore life beyond my basement
Que the boring cliché “I feel old to read this” comments.
Get a life people, and some originality while you’re at it.
*CUE the fussy nostalgic who uses his wealth of life experience to teach lessons in the comments section.
Oh what should we do with our lives, M’Lord Gideon?
Lol! Didn’t you know that Lord Gideon has a YouTube channel instructing how to replace the faulty thumb sticks on the Switch?
Just kidding. Liked your post. The Dreamcast played a huge part of my life too in my early 20’s. While I was also working full time in radio, playing in a rock band on the weekends, and living with my girlfriend who became my wife. Is that “original,” or “having a life,” master Gideon?
Grew up playing the SEGA Master System when I was 9. I loved the arcade conversions that ported to the SEGA Master System. I was a fan of Sonic when he premiered on the SEGA Genesis. As a retro video game collector, I own their consoles, so I can remember them for their efforts.