Alternate history: Sega stays in the hardware business

[firebush03]

curl-6 said:

firebush03 said:

It’s very hard to say. It doesn’t seem that third-party was looking to support DC, so Sega would’ve needed some killer 1st party titles, which—judging by Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic ‘06–doesn’t sound like a very safe bet. DC would’ve sold far less than GCN regardless of if the system ran until 2005/2006, and the subsequent generation would’ve not been any kinder with Nintendo dominating the casual/family-friendly & JP market.
That all to say: Sega would’ve probably been stuck at a distant fourth place. If they stuck around until the late-2010s, however, I could definitely see a Sega system racking up some really strong figures! With all that Sega has been putting out, as well as the third-party support likely being present (assuming Sega stuck with similar hardware infrastructure as PS5/XBSXS), I could see a Sega system today burning through 40-50mil units.

Interesting; why do you think Sega would suddenly have a better shot in the late 2010s? Are you basing that on their software output, or do you see an opening in the hardware market then?

My focus was mostly on software output, though with Xbox sales falling as they are and Sony struggling to maintain a solid stream of first-party titles (at higher and higher costs for hardware), I guess you could also say that an opening in the hardware market has opened up.