Former Sega designer and creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, Yuji Naka, reveals in an interview that he was against the shuttering of Dreamcast until its final moments.
Has there ever been a gaming device as dramatic as Sega’s 1999 effort, the Dreamcast? From its incredibly impressive line of launch titles to its ultimate destruction at the hands of a superior competitor, gamers around the world tend to shed a tear ever year its anniversary rolls around. While many were upset at Sega’s decision to cease production of the console in 2001, no one can argue that ultimately, they made the right decision, as a Sega heavily invested in Dreamcast would have led to certain financial ruin. Even if it did lead them to turning its best franchises into withered husks.
If Sonic the Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka had his way, however, perhaps things would have been different. In an interview with Kikizo, the Probe founder reminisces about the last days of Dreamcast, saying that until its final moments, he was “very much against” Sega exiting the console business.
“In a way I feel that, had that decision not been made, Sega would have gone bankrupt,” Naka points out. “So maybe it was a good business decision. But at the same time, I also feel like, what the hell – we should have given it a go, and we should have taken that risk.”
“That is just my personal opinion, because I really enjoyed the hardware side of things at Sega.”
While I would have greatly enjoyed seeing what crazy direction Sega would have taken their controller designs (Have you picked up a Dreamcast controller recently? Those things are ridiculous.), Sega indeed made the best decision for its business.
Published: Feb 5, 2009 11:00 am