GameSpot reported earlier this week that Isao Okawa, chairman of Sega Enterprises Ltd., commented on the Dreamcast’s future, and said, when translated from Japanese to English, that the Dreamcast would be the last major piece of hardware from Sega, and that the company would focus on software and the Internet. Several web site reports falsified this, except Daily Radar, who has written up an ‘interview’. Here is an excerpt from it:
Daily Radar: You’ve got ambitious sales goals: two million units by March, six million by end of year 2000. Can you meet them? What happens if you don’t?
Isao Okawa: Well, I can’t really comment on that, but I will say that the future doesn’t necessarily lie in the hardware business. I think in the future there is the possibility of Sega becoming a software-only company. I think, if you look to the future, after e-commerce, the next trend after that will be e-services. I want Sega to be there, and I think games may be one of the major reasons for that trend to take off, so we will still be making a lot of efforts in games and entertainment! But that role may be redefined in time.
DR: So, if Dreamcast doesn’t sell, you will make a shift to being a software-only company?
IO: Well, even if Dreamcast does sell, we will make that shift! Online and networked entertainment is the future, and that is how we will compete in the future. It really doesn’t matter how fast we sell hardware in regard to the speed with which we transition ourselves into the new networked century. And the Dreamcast machine has a huge competitive edge right now for this.
Sega of America has denied this, and several fans are very confused as to the credibility of this story. Sonic HQ News will keep you posted on this, including a Special RA Edition this Saturday, with the public’s thoughts on this situation.