Alas, Poor Dreamcast, I Knew It Well
The Dreamcast was a fantastic system, but consumers were starstruck by the rumors and pre-release hype for this not-even-released competitor, leaving the poor Dreamcast in the lurch.
What is the PS2?
Once this toy company acquired all of Atari's properties, the Jaguar patents were released into the public domain, and it became an open platform.
What is Hasbro (or Hasbro Interactive)?
What is the PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16?
In NA, Nintendo famous partnered with this company to push Virtual Boy rentals, since it was impossible to show 3D graphics on 2D advertisements. In fact, this strategy was a major factor in the VB's collapse.
What is Blockbuster Video?
Not wanting to compete with video games consoles, Philips initially pushed software focusing on music, self-improvement, museum tours, and encyclopedia, a genre that's come to be known as this.
What is "edutainment?"
This man, SEGA of America's senior VP of marketing, came up with the intriguing "It's Thinking" campaign for the Dreamcast's stellar launch.
Who is Peter Moore?
This Jaguar add-on, despite coming with two games, failed to save the flagging system, perhaps because it was launched in 1995--after the system had stopped selling.
What is the Jaguar CD?
In an effort to re-launch the system in America in 1992, this enhanced version of the TurboGrafx-16 was released. Although it included a CD-ROM add-on, it met the same fate as its predecessor, and for the same reasons.
What is the TurboDuo?
Reflection Technology, Inc. developed a stereoscopic head-tracking device called the Private Eye in 1985 and demoed it to several big names, including Mattel, Hasbro, and this video game company in the early 90's--who turned it down due to the single-color display and motion sickness concerns.
What is SEGA?
Development of the "Compact-Disk Interactive" began in 1984, and both Philips and this electronics powerhouse announced their success with the format at a 1986 Microsoft conference in Seattle.
What is Sony?
SEGA launched this successor to Heat.net for the Dreamcast in September 2000, but it was discontinued less than 11 months later (although Phantasy Star survived the axe).
What is SegaNet?
The Atari Jaguar is the successor to this cancelled Atari console with a similar name.
What is the Atari Panther?
This Japanese redesign of the PC-Engine was released in 1989 (and a second version in 1991) and included a revised CPU, A/V port, and a different color scheme.
What is the (PC-Engine) CoreGrafx?
The VB's lone expansion port was intended to support this, which would factor into games like Waterworld and Faceball. But it was never released, so that mode was removed in Waterworld and Faceball was cancelled.
What is a multiplayer link cable?
Nintendo probably regrets their decision to let Philips use Legend of Zelda characters in these three infamous CD-i games after negotiations about building the SNES' CD add-on fell apart.
What are Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda's Adventure, and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon?
SEGA cut the price of the Dreamcast several times, and you'd have been a fool not to grab one for this amount--the lowest SEGA was officially willing to go at the end.
What is $49.95 (or $50)?
In 1997, the Jaguar's cartridge and console molds were purchased by Mike Kennedy in an effort to crowdfund this new game console with Coleco (it failed) (either name is acceptable).
This prominent hip-hop artist's 8th solo album was initially announced to be titled "TurboGrafx-16" but was later changed to, and released as, "Ye."
Who is Kanye West?
Nintendo spent $5M on a partnership with this major American television network to promote the VB in commercials for shows like Mad About You and Caroline in the City.
What is NBC?
One of the CD-i's downfalls was the development--by Microsoft--of this similar, but competing format, echoing the rivalry between Betamax and VHS.
What is CD-ROM?
Reminiscing about the Dreamcast for Eurogamer in 2010, Dan Whitehead compared it to this American President, writing that its abbreviated lifespan “may have sealed its reputation as one of the great consoles ever,” and that “nothing builds a cult like a tragic demise.”
Who is John F. Kennedy?
Claiming that the Jaguar's twin 32-bit processors resulted in a 64-bit system, Atari launched the ill-fated console in 1993 with this perhaps ingenuous slogan.
What is "Do the Math?"
After watching the Turbo self-destruct in NA, NEC cancelled its European releases, although units had already been produced. NEC sold this stock to a few Euro. distributors, among them the UK wing of this Texas-based video game company.
What is Telegames?
The VB uses an oscillating mirror to display parallax images--an awfully complicated way to create an anaglyphic 3D effect. Perhaps if one of the screen could display this color, the mirror would've been unnecessary.
What is blue/cyan?
The CD-i hosted several game show games, including Jeopardy, Name That Tune, and an adult version of Joker's Wild hosted by this man, best known for hosting What's This Song, Gambit, and High Rollers?
Who is Wink Martindale?