Originally Posted by
zmweasel
Exactly. The Dreamcast sold to the hardcore, but never reached the mass market. The DS is currently selling to the hardcore, but the question is whether or not it will reach the mass market, like the GBA.
I don't know... the two things that spring to my mind when thinking about the various launches is:
Dreamcast was HUGE. The ONLY console launch date I remember because it was everywhere... 9.9.99. The system had incredible looking games like NFL 2K, Soul Calibur and Ready 2 Rumble right off the bat, as well as a pretty deep selection (12+) launch day games. The advertising was everywhere, and people were talking about it like crazy.
The DS is below the radar. I have seen commercials for it only on one day. It came out with a total of five games, none of which were revolutionary. The games were / are decent, but they weren't incredible. The advertising for the DS is pretty much no where, and it is barely mentioned outside the hardcore gamer.
I definitely wouldn't begin to compare them, seeing that the only similarity seems to be in the number of systems sold. Sega did the more noteworthy advertising campaign, pulled out some serious games and really looked good. The Nintendo DS... Well, we all have our opinions about that, but I think everyone can agree that it doesn't include a noteworthy advertising campaign.