Editing Sega (section)

===Sega as a major console manufacturer (1989–2001)===
====Sega Mega Drive====
{{Main|Sega Mega Drive}}
[[File:Mega Drive1.png|thumb|250px|The Sega Mega Drive.]]
With the introduction of the [[Sega Mega Drive]], titled "Sega Genesis" in America due to legal reasons, Sega of America launched an anti-[[Nintendo]] campaign to carry the momentum to the new generation of games, with its slogan "Genesis does what Nintendon't." This was initially implemented by Sega of America President, Michael Katz.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=103&title=Interview:%20Michael%20Katz |title=Interview: Michael Katz |first=Ken |last=Horowitz |publisher=Sega-16 |accessdate=28 March 2009 |date=28 April 2006}}
</ref> When Nintendo launched its Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, Sega changed its slogan to "Welcome to the next level."

[[File:Sega CD Model 1.png|thumb|250px|left|The [[Sega CD]].]]
The same year, Sega of America's leadership passed from Michael Katz to [[Tom Kalinske]], who further escalated the "[[wikipedia:console wars|console war]]" that was developing.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=245&title=Tom%20Kalinske:%20American%20Samurai |title=Tom Kalinske: American Samurai |first=Ken |last=Horowitz |publisher=Sega-16 |accessdate=28 March 2009 |date=18 February 2005}}</ref> As a preemptive strike against the release of the Super Nintendo, Sega re-branded itself with a new game and mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. With his hip attitude and style, he was marketed to seem "cooler" than [[Mario]], Nintendo's mascot.<ref name="ce2.coos-bay.k12.or.us">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ce2.coos-bay.k12.or.us/Studentwebs/Danny/90s.htm |title=The History of Sega: The 1990s |last=Chapman II |first=Danny L. |year=2003 |work=Community Experience for Career Education |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20030623133523/http://www.ce2.coos-bay.k12.or.us:80/Studentwebs/Danny/90s.htm |archivedate=23 June 2003 |accessdate=5 August 2018}}</ref> This shift led to a wider success for the Genesis and would eventually propel Sega to 65% of the market in North America for a brief time. Simultaneously, after much previous delay, Sega released the moderately successful [[Sega CD]] as an add-on feature, allowing for extra storage in games due to their CD-ROM format, giving developers the ability to make longer, more sophisticated games, the most popular of which was Sega’s own ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog CD]]''. ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2]]'' was also released at this time, and became the most successful game Sega ever made,<ref name="gamasutra">{{Cite web |last=Boutros |first=David |url=http://www.gamasutra.com:80/view/feature/1851/a_detailed_crossexamination_of_.php |title=A Detailed Cross-Examination of Yesterday and Today's Best-Selling Platform Games |publisher=Gamasutra |date=4 August 2006 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080209182815/http://www.gamasutra.com:80/view/feature/1851/a_detailed_crossexamination_of_.php |archivedate=9 February 2008}}</ref> selling six million copies as of June 2006.<ref name="gamasutra"/>

Despite their massive advances in the arcades, Sega’s share of the home market plummeted to 35% by 1994. That year, Sega released the [[Sega 32X]] in an attempt to upgrade the [[Mega Drive|Mega Drive/Genesis]] to the standards of more advanced systems. It sold well initially, but had problems with lack of software and hype about the upcoming [[Sega Saturn]] and Sony's PlayStation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thegameconsole.com/videogames94.htm A History of Home Video Games from Atari to Xbox, Playstation and Wii |title=A History of Home Video Games from Atari to Xbox, Playstation and Wii |year=2006 |publisher=The Game Console |accessdate=4 August 2018}}</ref> Within a year, it was in the bargain bins of many stores.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.planetdreamcast.com:80/about/sega/ |title=About Sega |publisher=PlanetDreamcast |year=1999 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20000815080508/http://www.planetdreamcast.com:80/about/sega/ |archivedate=15 August 2000}}</ref> Also in 1994, Sega launched the [[Sega Channel]], a subscription gaming service delivered by local cable companies affiliated with Time-Warner Cable or TCI through which subscribers received a special cartridge adapter that connected to the cable connection. At its peak, the Sega Channel had approximately 250,000 subscribers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Buchanan |first=Levi |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/06/11/the-sega-channel |title=The SEGA Channel |date=11 June 2008 |publisher=[[Wikipedia:IGN|IGN]] |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20140227045458/http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/06/11/the-sega-channel |archivedate=27 February 2014 |accessdate=4 August 2018}}</ref>

====Sega versus Accolade====
In 1992, Sega lost the [[wikipedia:Sega v. Accolade|Sega v. Accolade]] case, which involved independently produced software for the [[Sega Mega Drive]] console. Accolade had copied a small amount of Sega's code to achieve compatibility with the Mega Drive platform. The verdict set a precedent that copyrights do not extend to non-expressive content in software that a system requires to be present to run the software.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cse.stanford.edu:80/class/cs201/projects-99-00/intellectual-property-law/reverse_engineering.htm |title=Reverse Engineering |work=Stanford University |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20030228235133/http://cse.stanford.edu:80/class/cs201/projects-99-00/intellectual-property-law/reverse_engineering.htm |archivedate=28 February 2003 |accessdate=4 August 2018}}</ref> The case in question stems from the nature of the console video game market. Hardware companies often sell their systems at or below cost and rely on other revenue streams such as in this case, game licensing. Sega was attempting to "lock out" game companies from making Mega Drive/Genesis games unless they paid Sega a fee (something its competition has done in the past). Their strategy was to make the hardware reject any cartridge that did not include a Sega trademark. If an unlicensed company included this trademark in their game, Sega could sue the company for trademark infringement. Though Sega lost this lawsuit, all later Sega systems seemed to incorporate a similar hardware requirement.

====Sega Saturn====
{{Main|Sega Saturn}}
[[File:Sega Saturn Mk1.png|thumb|250px|right|The first model of the [[Sega Saturn]].]] 
On May 11, 1995, Sega released the [[Sega Saturn]] (with ''[[wikipedia:Virtua Fighter (arcade game)|Virtua Fighter]]'') in the American market, which utilized a 32-bit processor and preceded both the PlayStation and the Nintendo 64. However, poor sales in the West (including the traditional stronghold markets in Europe) led to the console being abandoned.<ref name="ce2.coos-bay.k12.or.us"/> Notable titles include several titles exclusive to the Japanese market, like ''Radiant Silvergun'' and ''Sakura Taisen'', involving fighting games like ''Last Bronx'', rail shooters such as ''Panzer Dragoon'' and ''The House of the Dead'' and a few well regarded RPGs: ''Panzer Dragoon Saga'', ''Grandia'', and ''Shining Force 3''.

In 1997, Sega entered into a short-lived merger with Bandai. However, it was later called off, citing "cultural differences" between the two companies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=Chris |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sega-bandai-merger-canceled/1100-2466444/ |title=Sega, Bandai Merger Canceled |publisher=[[Wikipedia:GameSpot|GameSpot]] |date=27 May 1997 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20150716054727/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sega-bandai-merger-canceled/1100-2466444/ |archivedate=16 July 2015}}</ref> Entertainment fun center GameWorks was founded in 1997 as well as the now defunct [[wikipedia:Sega World|Sega World]] theme parks.

====Dreamcast====
{{Main|Dreamcast}}
[[File:Sega Dreamcast.png|thumb|250px|left|The [[Dreamcast]].]]
In September 1999 (the date 9 September 1999 was featured heavily in American promotions), Sega launched the [[Dreamcast]] game console in North America. The Dreamcast was competitively priced, partly due to the use of off-the-shelf components, but it also featured technology that allowed for more technically impressive games than its direct competitors, the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation. An analog 56k modem was also included, allowing gamers to play multiplayer games online on a home console for the first time, featuring titles such as the action-puzzle title ''Chu Chu Rocket'', ''Phantasy Star Online'', the first console-based MMORPG, and the innovative ''Alien Front Online'', the first console game with online voice chat.

The Dreamcast's launch in Japan was a failure. Launching with a small library of software and in the shadow of the upcoming PS2, the system would not gain great success, despite several successful games in the region. The Western launch a year later was accompanied by a large amount of both 1st party and 3rd party software and an aggressive marketing campaign. It was extremely successful and earned the distinction of "most successful hardware launch in history," selling a then-unprecedented 500,000 consoles in its first week in North America.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barr |first=Adrienne |url=http://www.vidgame.net/SEGA/DC.html |title=Sega Dreamcast (HKT-3020) |work=VidGame |year=2002 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20040721061945/http://www.vidgame.net:80/SEGA/DC.html |archivedate=21 July 2004 |accessdate=5 August 2018}}</ref> Sega was able to hold onto this momentum in the US almost until the launch of [[Sony|Sony's]] [[PlayStation 2]]. The Dreamcast is home to several innovative and critically acclaimed games of the time, including one of the first cell-shaded titles, ''[[Jet Set Radio]]''; ''Seaman'', a game involving communication with a fish-type creature via microphone; a rhythm game involving the use of maracas, ''[[Samba de Amigo]]'', ''[[wikipedia:Shenmue|Shenmue]]'', an adventure game of vast scope with free-form gameplay and a striking attempt at creating a detailed in-game city and'' [[Sonic Adventure]]'', the first true 3D action/adventure Sonic game which was notable for being the top-selling game for the Dreamcast, selling 2.5 million copies. Despite receiving critical acclaim, these titles failed to garner much public attention in the face of the upcoming PlayStation 2 launch.

Faced with debt and competition from Sony's PlayStation 2, [[Nintendo]]'s [[Nintendo GameCube|GameCube]], and [[Microsoft]]'s [[Xbox]] (although Microsoft hadn't entered the video game market at this point), Sega officially discontinued the Dreamcast hardware in 2001. The final game Sega released for it was ''NHL 2K2''. This was the last SEGA console to be released in the USA, while in Japan, Advanced Pico Beena was the last console to be released in Japan.