I guess the data mining was the missing ingredient for popularity?
this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2024
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Data mining, timing, and just sheer luck I guess.
See also: Sega Dreamcast: had online multiplayer and industry redefining graphics, but hamstrung by an onboard 33.6kbps modem.
Flappy Bird: one of the most rudimentary games ever, but just seemed to take off and start it's own snowballing success.
Google Glass: probably had the data mining and cash to weather a bad luck storm, but ultimately was a lower spec AR set that are being hawked today.
I suppose musical.ly rode the wave of popularity, hit the right time post-credit crunch, and rebranded itself in such a way that the pandemic was good for business...
...oh, and the liberal use and sharing of data, too.
The Dreamcast failed because it released on 9/9/99, then 11 days later, the PS2 was revealed at the Tokyo Game Show. The PS2 looked like a better system on paper, so no one bought a Dreamcast.
It was apparently selling well in the West, but Sega of Japan gonna Sega of Japan.
Was gonna say, knew quite a few people with a DreamCast, was surprised they kinda gave up on it
(EDIT: then again, literally everyone had a PS2…)
Yeah that was a huge part of it too. I'm not saying this was the only part. Just a big contributing factor.
I don't know man, I agree with everything you say but I wouldn't say the security element killed the system - the PS1 and DS had rampant piracy but still sold like hot cakes. I know people (anecdotal evidence alert) who bought a first gen Switch because it was so easy to flash and exercise the ability to boot "homebrew software".
I'm pretty sure the CD trick only worked on the first (or first iterations) of DC hardware too - I forget whether they either patched out the ability to read CD's aside from karaoke discs, or whether it was a change in CD drive or laser in manufacturing - but I didn't see much piracy where I was.
In a case of "opposite side of the same coin" though, I remember a small surge of people buying a CD just for Bleem!, and the ability to play patched editions of PS1 games on a DC. I understand Metal Gear Solid played well on it.
Fun times.