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Is Sega The Same As Xbox?

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If you are a gamer, even if you aren’t a big gamer, you have heard of Sega and Xbox. Maybe you have even owned one or both the consoles and you noticed some similar qualities. 

So is Sega the same as Xbox?

If you have wondered this, you are not alone. Although Sega and Xbox share similarities, they are not the same company or the same game system. 

Below we will discuss the differences between Sega and Xbox, so if you want to know more about these two then you will want to keep reading. You can also watch this video to see why the Xbox and Sega were both partners to Microsoft. 

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Sega Genesis Mini - Genesis

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What is Xbox?

Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. It represents a series of video game consoles developed by Microsoft, with three consoles released in the sixth, seventh, and eighth generations, respectively. The brand also represents applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox Live, and the development arm by the name of Xbox Game Studios. The brand was first introduced in the United States in November 2001, with the launch of the original Xbox console.

What is Sega?

Sega Games Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational video game developer and publisher headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California, and London. Sega’s arcade division, once part of Sega Corporation, has existed as Sega Interactive Co., Ltd. since 2015.

What’s the relationship between Sega and Xbox?

The original Xbox was released in 2001, in North America, February 22, 2002, in Japan, and March 14, 2002, in Australia and Europe. It was Microsoft’s first try entering the gaming console market. As part of the sixth generation of gaming, the Xbox competed with Sony’s PlayStation 2, Sega’s Dreamcast (which stopped American sales before the Xbox went on sale), and Nintendo’s GameCube. The Xbox was the first console offered by an American company after the Atari Jaguar stopped sales in 1996.

The Dreamcast is a home video game console released by Sega in 1998 in Japan, 1999 in North America, and 1999 in Europe. It was the first in the sixth generation of video game consoles, preceding Sony’s PlayStation 2, Nintendo’s GameCube and Microsoft’s Xbox. The Dreamcast was Sega’s final home console, marking the end of the company’s 18 years in the console market.

Which one is better?

By the time the Xbox was released in November 2001, Sega’s final console  the Dreamcast had ended. After twenty years in the hardware business Sega’s last game console was discontinued in March of 2001. 

Although this was a sad time, in many ways, the first years of the Xbox were like a swansong for the Dreamcast. An epilogue of sorts. Below we will go into depth why this is true. 

The Games: 

Though the Dreamcast died in 2001, many of its biggest and best games lived on courtesy of the Xbox. Sprawling RPG epic Shenmue saw its sequel find a home on not just the Dreamcast but the Xbox as well, while Jet Set Radio and RPG Rent-A-Hero No. 1 were remade and/or retooled for Microsoft’s console. Perhaps most important for the fortunes of the Xbox, though, was the transition made when Dreamcast title Metropolis Street Racer saw its spiritual successor arrive with Microsoft in the form of Project Gotham Racing.

The Legacy

It has come to light in recent years that the transition between Dreamcast and Xbox was so close that at one stage Sega wanted Microsoft to make the Xbox backwards compatible with Dreamcast games. While the plan ultimately failed over internet connectivity issues with Dreamcast games, the fact it was up for discussion at all shows how close the two systems were, and how close the Dreamcast came to literally live on inside the Xbox.

The Windows: 

The Dreamcast was a testbed of sorts for Microsoft, with some of the console’s games running on a custom version of Windows CE. When the Xbox arrived three years after the Dreamcast, you could say it was a more successful implementation of lessons learned with Sega.

So, there we go! The Xbox was hardly a proper Dreamcast 2, I know, but it was more of a swansong than most other dead machines could have hoped for. So, for nostalgic Sega fans, there’s at least that to be thankful for.

When you have to compare both Dreamcast and Xbox, it’s a tough one. When you look at the Dreamcast, you see amazing arcade ports and exclusives. When you look at the Xbox, you also see tons of amazing exclusives. Seeing as how the Xbox is a spiritual successor to the Dreamcast, it’s tough to decide which is the better one since the Xbox got sequels to the Dreamcast’s best games as well as enhanced ports of its best games.

Xbox Was Basically the Dreamcast 2

The Dreamcast (the last of SEGA’s home console hardware) is often talked about with misty-eyed fondness by certain gamers as being ahead of its time and gone too soon.  Like the name of an ex-girlfriend,if you mention either SEGA or Dreamcast in a conversation people will sigh like jilted lovers. Some may even pour out memories of good times, bad times, and why the Dreamcast was the one that got away. 

The console’s strengths were in its excellent arcade-based software library, its forward-thinking hardware, and so much more. The hardweart was a built-in modem that offered online gaming straight out of the box, and came with the promise that it was going to be the machine to right SEGA’s wrongs following the Mega-CD, 32X and Saturn. Those prior consoles had been cut short against stiff competition and had dented both retailer and consumer confidence. 

The Dreamcast was SEGA’s chance to support a next-gen machine over the medium and long-term. Come January 2001, however, just a little over two years after the initial Japanese launch, (and a mere fourteen months after the US launch) SEGA announced the Dreamcast was to be discontinued and SEGA would instead focus on producing and publishing software for their former competitors. 

Conclusion

Now that we know the Xbox and Sega Systems are not the same console, but very similar, you can be sure to play both systems and enjoy the games put out by both. Even though Sega worked closely with Microsoft, it just wasn’t meant to be for the Xbox to be a continuation of the Sega company. 

No matter if you prefer the Sega games or the Xbox games, there is no way that you can say that these companies did not lead the way in the gaming technology we have today. Both produce great games, and even though Sega is not around anymore, the Sega company and all of its games still live on in our hearts today. 

If you are interested in playing the original Sega games, you may want to consider purchasing the Sega Genesis Mini. It connects to any TV with HDMI and has 81 games already built into the system. This console looks similar to the original Genesis, but has all the technology of a brand new system.