The Modern Console Era · 2000–2013

Sega Dreamcast

CompanySega
Lifespan1998 (Japan) / 1999 (US) –2001
LibraryAbout 620 games worldwide

Sought After?

Extremely — it's become one of the most beloved "died before its time" collector systems, with high demand for its exclusive titles and continued active homebrew/indie game development for the platform to this day.

Downsides

Included a built-in 56k modem for online play, ahead of its time but crude, slow, and expensive to use in practice.

Why It Faded

Crushing hype and pre-launch buzz around the PlayStation 2 caused retailers and third-party publishers to pull back support even before the PS2 launched; Sega, still recovering financially from the Saturn's failure, couldn't sustain the losses and exited the hardware business entirely in 2001.

Trivia

The Dreamcast was the last console Sega ever made — after 2001, Sega became a third-party publisher only, ironically going on to make games for the very consoles (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo) that had beaten it.