The Dreamcast is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan, September 9, 1999. In North America, and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first in the sixth generation of video game consoles, preceding Sony’s PlayStation 2, Nintendo’s GameCube, and Microsoft’s Xbox. The Dreamcast was Sega’s final home console, with its discontinuation in 2001 marking the end of the company’s eighteen years in the console market.
In contrast to the expensive hardware of the unsuccessful Sega Saturn. The Dreamcast was design to reduce costs with “off-the-shelf” components, including a Hitachi SH-4 CPU and an NEC PowerVR2 GPU. Released in Japan to a subdued reception, the Dreamcast enjoyed a successful US launch backed by a large marketing campaign. But interest steadily declined as Sony built anticipation for its upcoming PlayStation 2.
Sales did not meet Sega’s expectations despite several price cuts. And the company continued to incur significant financial losses. After a change in leadership, Sega discontinued the Dreamcast on March 31, 2001, withdrawing from the console business and restructuring itself as a third-party publisher. In total, 9.13 million Dreamcast units were sold worldwide.
