Sega's Hard Goodbye: When Gaming Giants Had to Step Back

Peter Moore, a key figure in the gaming world, recently shared his thoughts on Sega's tough decision to leave the console market. It was a big moment when Sega stopped making its own gaming systems. The Dreamcast, Sega's last console, had a great start but faced a huge challenge: the PlayStation 2. Sony's powerhouse console was just too strong to compete with. Moore, who worked at Sega of America, Xbox, and EA Sports, explained that the Dreamcast was ahead of its time with online gaming. But the PlayStation 2's launch and Sony's financial muscle made it nearly impossible for Sega to keep up. Sega had to shift its focus to making games for other companies' consoles instead of making its own. This change wasn't easy. Sega had built its reputation on hardware, from arcades to the Genesis and Saturn. Moving to a software-only model was a big adjustment. Moore described it as "traumatic" and "difficult. " But Sega adapted quickly, creating popular games like Super Monkey Ball and Jet Set Radio Future for the GameCube and Xbox. Microsoft played a big role in this transition. Since the Dreamcast ran on a Windows OS, Microsoft was happy to have Sega on board. This relationship eventually led Moore to join Xbox, where he even got a Halo 2 tattoo. Sega's shift to third-party game development proved to be a smart move, helping the company stay relevant in the gaming industry.