The Digital Home

The Sega Genesis, put on the market to challenge Nintendo, turned 20 on Friday. And after a long and enviable stint, it became a classic game console that, to this day, is remembered as one of the few that made its mark without actually leading the market by the end of its generation.

The 20-year-old Sega Genesis.

(Credit: GiantBomb)

Sega has had one of the most tragic histories in the video game industry. In the early 1990s, it had Sonic; Nintendo had Mario. It had high-quality, third-party titles; Nintendo had high-quality, third-party titles. It had the Sega Genesis; Nintendo had the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Battles over which console was better were waged on playgrounds across the world. The Nintendo fans said Mario and the SNES were the kings of gaming. Sega fans said Sonic and the Genesis held that crown.

Today, the Genesis (and Sega's console business) are relics of the past. In the 20 years that has lapsed between the Genesis' release and today, despite Mario's enduring presence, the video game industry has changed dramatically. Nowadays, battles are waged over price as much as they are waged over games. And Sega, the once-beloved organization that kept a blue hedgehog as its mascot, is a third-party developer.

But it's the Genesis--and its success--that we remember today.

If you've read the Digital Home for the past two years, you probably know that I hold a special place in my heart for Sega. I was always a heavy Genesis user and subsequent to that, I owned every console Sega released. That's precisely why a report from Siliconera has me excited.

According to the publication, Sega has trademarked two names, "Ringwide" and "Ringedge," as well as a logo containing rings. The trademark clearly says that the names will be used for "arcade game boards...stand alone video game machines, [or] arcade game machines with built-in screens."

Sega's new console logo?

(Credit: Sega)

So what can this mean? Obviously it's too early to tell, but some are saying that it could be Sega's return to the arcade business. I'm sure they would get excited about that, but the arcade business is a shadow of its former self. Since console gaming became a mainstay, it has lost much of its importance. I just don't see Sega investing in the arcade business.

But what if this filing is for a top-secret console the company is developing to compete with the next-generation of hardware? Will Ringwide or Ringedge take on the Wii 2, PlayStation 4, and Xbox 720?

I certainly hope so.

Sega should go back to the console business and forget about software. And least, that's what I think.

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Much has been made about Apple's cash. The company, which operates with no debt in its financial structure, is one of the most financially sound organizations in tech, with $24.5 billion in cash on hand, even more cash than Microsoft.

But now that it has all that money, what should it do with it?

Some say Apple should simply hold on to the cash and be prepared for what could be a difficult few years, as the economy continues to feel the pressure of a credit crunch, while others think Apple should start spending while the targets are cheap and do what it can to expand its role in the industry.

I can't help but agree with those in the second camp. Why should Apple, one of the most profitable and powerful companies in the industry, sit on its hands while other companies with strong properties and technologies in their own right need to worry about the future? For the first time in recent memory, tech companies can be acquired for a relatively affordable price, and a company in the position that Apple is in needs to capitalize.

So what can it do? Quite a bit. Instead of spending all its time on cell phones, PMPs, and Macs, maybe Apple should try to become the company that offers products that tag along with you throughout the day. Or maybe Apple should get into the video game business and start solidifying its position in that market. Or maybe Apple should start putting real pressure on Microsoft and build an operating system that not even Ballmer & Co. can match.

Reports have surfaced claiming Sega is getting back into the hardware business with a new device called the Vision PMP, slated for a U.K. release in 2009.

The Vision PMP will reportedly be able to play MP4, Java-based games, and double as a camera and eBook reader. There's no word yet if Sega wants to throw the kitchen sink into this thing too, but based on all that, it probably will.

Is it just me or does this device have failure written all over it? You mean to tell me that Sega actually believes this product will be a success? Sure, it might be a success if we compare it to the 32X or something, but when compared to all the other devices in the market, I simply don't see why Sega would even consider playing this game with that device.

Worse, Sega went out of its way to tell the world that its latest device isn't a handheld gaming platform. Instead, its latest hardware can do it all.

What a joke.

Listen, Sega: I realize that this latest ploy to get into the PMP business is a reaction to the fact that you can't sell video games nearly as well as you did in the past, but getting into a different market is the wrong idea. It's time you put all your money down on a console and do it right this time.

It's your only hope.

Sonic the Hedgehog

(Credit: Sega)

In the next week, a new Sonic game, called Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood will hit store shelves for the Nintendo DS. Some are anxiously waiting for the title to be released, while many don't care all that much. Why is that? Probably because Silent Hill: Homecoming will be released during the same week and, well, Sonic has lost his stride over the past decade.

Practically any poll you search for on the Web about the most popular video game characters will say that Mario is tops. In fact, a recent survey in Japan [Google translation warning] returned similar results showing Mario as the popular game character in the country, followed closely by other big names like Cloud from the Final Fantasy series and Yoshi.

Other surveys feature Sonic in the Top 10 -- usually around the middle area -- and the vast majority of people I surveyed on my Twitter page agreed with the public: Sonic isn't the best video game character of all-time, but he's certainly up there.

So what happened to Sonic? A decade ago, the blue hedgehog was at the top of his game and battling it out with Mario for the top-spot as the world's most popular video game character. Since then, even though he has been featured in a number of titles, his popularity has dropped significantly and his money-making potential has fallen with it.

All the while, stalwarts like Mario and Link have clung to the top spots with nary a drop in popularity.

Although few outside the video game community noticed, September 9 was the nine-year anniversary of the Sega Dreamcast's launch. I can still remember holding the Official Dreamcast Magazine in my hands with a huge picture of Sonic on the front just waiting for the console to be released. And once it was released, I couldn't have been happier.

But unfortunately, I was (and I'm probably still) in the minority. Back then, Sega was off its game. It was trying to recover from the Saturn debacle and the countless other false starts it had succumb to over the years with products like the Sega CD and arguably, the GameGear.

The Dreamcast seemed different to me, though. Unlike previous Sega consoles, which only copied competing products and failed to truly grasp what gamers wanted, the Great White Beauty sitting under my TV was different. For once, Sega was ahead of its time; the Dreamcast had the best graphics of any console in the space at that point, offered compelling games that people actually wanted to play, and even included support for online gaming.

Of course, it lacked some of the necessities that could have made it more relevant in succeeding years: it didn't offer a DVD player like the Playstation 2 and although it had connectivity options, Ethernet support wasn't built into the console, which put it at a significant disadvantage once Sony, and especially Microsoft, entered that generation's console war.

Worse, the Dreamcast was plagued by poor third-party support and even major titles like Shenmue were met with lackluster excitement. Everyone wanted to play the Playstation 2--it offered better graphics capability, a DVD player, and better third-party support. All the while, the Dreamcast sat on store shelves.

And in the end, the Dreamcast finally died before its time and Sega was forced to retreat from the console space and try its luck in software. It was a sad time for Dreamcast Fanboys, but they got through it. How you ask? By keeping it connected to their HDTVs at all times and telling themselves that no matter what sales figures say, the Dreamcast really did win the last console war.

Sega is in trouble. According to its latest filing in Japan, the company incurred a loss $501 million during its 2008 fiscal year and its video games division lost about $56.3 million. And as the company was quick to point out, something needs to be done on the video game front.

The Sega Dreamcast is not the right prototype.

(Credit: CNET.com)

"As rebuilding our consumer video game business is crucial, we now need to review our game title strategy more flexibly to adapt ourselves to changes in the trend of the market," said Koichiro Ueda, head of Sega's public relations department.

Of course, Sega did what it could to downplay the news of its impending failure on the video game front and said that it thinks it can turn things around, but I just don't see how that's possible with just games. Let's face it -- the company's once proud Sonic franchise is floundering and there's no indication that it's really that valuable on Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo platforms. Beyond that, the company has done poorly with other titles it has released and aside from a lingering desire for the return of the Shenmue series, few people even think about the developer any more.

With that in mind, Sega needs to change its strategy and turn things around. And the only way it can do that is to release its own video game console.

In the world of Sega and especially the Dreamcast, few video game series were able to live up to the considerable hype that preceded them. And while some critics thought Shenmue was nothing more than a poor attempt at writing a real saga, others knew better. And although the chances of seeing this series come back to today's consoles are slim, it should and it must.

So what is Shenmue? Shenmue is the result of $70 million and countless of hours of development that were summed up in one simple statement at the beginning of the saga:

"He shall come from a far eastern land across the sea. A young man who has yet to know his potential. This potential is a power that could either destroy him or realize his will. His courage shall determine his fate. The path he must traversed brought with adversity. I await whilst praying, for this destiny predetermined since ancient times. Awaiting in anticipation. A dragon emerges from the earth as ominous clouds fill the sky. A phoenix descends from the heavens trailing purple from its wings. The pitch-black night unfolds with the morning star as its only light. And thus, the saga begins....."

And it's that saga that not only revolutionized gaming, but kept millions across the globe captivated by the story of Ryo Hazuki, a young man who watched his father die at the hands of the Lan Di in 1986. From there, this Japanese man set out to find the man who killed his father, solve the mystery of why his father was killed and seek revenge.

Although a few simple paragraphs may not do this story justice, those that have played the titles and want to lead Ryo in his quest know that there would be no greater moment than to hear Sega announce that the next installment in the series is coming soon.