Sega arose from the ashes of failed consoles, but are they heading for another fall?

Legends speak of an epic battle, a feud between two titans that shook an industry for years. On one side, the mighty Nintendo, lead by a chubby Italian plumber with a penchant for stomping on turtles. Their foe was the army of Sega, their general a speedy blue hedgehog armed with blast processing.

Way back in the 8-bit days, when Nintendo ruled the world with the NES, Sega countered with their Master System, a technically superior machine that was hampered by a lack of quality software. While Sega themselves put out some classics, most notably the original Phantasy Star, Nintendo's headstart on the market and with the third-parties meant that the Master System never enjoyed nearly the same success as the NES.

When the dawn of the 16-bit war came, Sega lead the way with the Genesis. When Nintendo followed with the SNES, the battle escalated. Both systems had amazing software: Mario was met with Sonic the Hegdehog, Final Fantasy was countered with Phantasy Star, and in the end both consoles offered a spectacular gaming experience. Whether you were playing Legend of Zelda or Shining Force, or any of the more obscure titles that graced one console or another (track down and play the Genesis classic Landstalker) in the 16-bit console war it was the gamers that really won the day.

Sega attempted multiple add-ons to the Genesis, but unfortunately this experiment didn't prove to be the success they had hoped. While the Sega CD did have some notable titles, such as Sonic CD (arguably the crowning achievement of the series), and some killer RPG's such as the original Lunar games, the expensive unit didn't catch on and was really only adopted by the hardcore gamers. The following add-on, the 32x, really became more of a joke than anything else. A small unit that promised to double the processing power of the Genesis, it had a handful of forgettable games and ultimately became a footnote in the decline of the 16-bit era (although, to be fair, Kolibri is still the finest example of hummingbird shooters out there).

In the years that followed, and as a new player arose in Sony, Sega's empire began to crumble. The launch of their next console, the Saturn, was nothing short of disastrous. The system was expensive, and Sega actually released the unit a few months ahead of the expected launch. This meant that retailers and developers were caught unaware, and as a result the Saturn didn't get that early push a well executed launch can bring.

In addition, the system was difficult to program for, as it utilized a multi-core processor that had not been seen in a console before. The system was not lacking in power, but its strength was in the realm of 2D gaming, at a time when the Playstation was touting its 3D capabilities to the world. Again, there were some notable titles on the system, Dragon Force and Panzer Dragoon immediately spring to mind (and are both fetching astounding prices online these days), but the console just failed to catch on outside of the Sega faithful.

Enter the Dreamcast, Sega's last ditch effort at the console market. The Dreamcast was well ahed of its time, and even now if you mention the console in a room full of gamers you'll most likely get fond sighs followed by an in-depth conversation as to how awesome it really was. An onboard modem offered online gaming, which lead to the first major console online game: Phantasy Star Online.

The system had a unique memory card, called the VMU, which looked like a tiny Gameboy. Certain games, such as Sonic Adventure and Skies of Arcadia, had mini-games you could download to the VMU and take along with you. In the case of Sonic, you raised a virtual pet called a Chao, which you could then upload back into the game.

The VMU's screen was also visible when the unit was plugged into the controller, and many games utilized this extra bit of space for health bars or even directions to learn fighting combos (Shenmue). While really nothing more than a gimmick in most cases, it was something that the other consoles weren't offering. Unfortunately, the Saturn had left a bad taste in many a mouth, making many buyers hold off to see if the Dreamcast was going to follow the same path. At the same time, the Playstation 2 was announced, and the death bells sadly tolled for Sega's final console.