Press release: 2001-12-05: Dream of Dreamcast Set-Tops Dead

This is an unaltered copy of a press release, for use as a primary source on Sega Retro. Please do not edit the contents below. Language: English Original source: www.extremetech.com (archived)

By Mark Hachman on December 5, 2001 at 9:02 am

The dream of Dreamcast inside a set-top box appears to be dead.

So far, not a single cable operators has signed on to use the technology, according to executives at set-top manufacturer Pace Micro Technology, which licensed the Sega game console technology in January.

In January, when the deal was struck, Sega of America was still manufacturing the Dreamcast console, and Sega vice chairman Shoichiro Irimajiri was talking about moving beyond the traditional hardware and software markets into an all-in-one platform similar to a home gateway.

Since then, however, Sega decided to exit the hardware console market and focus exclusively on software. Pace’s license would have allowed the company to strike supply contracts with Sega’s existing suppliers, sources said, but the demand hasn’t been there, according to Chris Boyce, vice-president of strategic development for Pace, whose U.S. subsidiary is in Boca Raton, Flor.

“We had a relationship with Sega,” Boyce said. “With respect to that, it was never what I would call hard and fast.”

The concept had been pitched to network operators as another revenue stream. As part of its @Hotel PC service, OnCommand Corp., Denver, Colo., offers games designed for Sony Corp.’s PlayStation console in over 300,000 hotel rooms worldwide, including the Marriott and Holiday Inn hotel chains, and Starwood properties, including the Westin and Wyndham chains. OnCommand, however, manufactures its own boxes.

Like other set-top manufacturers, Pace’s goal is to convince network operators to buy and deploy the company’s boxes, so set-top firms have worked to develop hardware support for as many value-added services as possible. “It was something that was used as a business development tool—’What do you think about a gaming console equivalent?'” Boyce said.

To date, however, Pace has only discussed the Dreamcast set-top with customers. No deals have been signed,.

A spokeswoman for Sega in San Francisco also confirmed that the games manufacturer has not licensed its technology to any other set-top manufacturers. “There hasn’t been a whole lot of activity in that area since (the exit from the console business),” she said.