Dreamcast Launch a Disaster Down Under

UPDATE 12/1: More reaction tonight from the Sega X Message Board; here is Demonwomb’s thoughts:

If you didn’t know Australia had the DC launch on the 30.11.99 . Good for us you may say. Alas. No first party games. No VMS No Controllers or any other hardware other than the system. No Demo disc either. No Internet Kit.

Further more I have been complaining about the lack of advertising here there has been NONE NOTHING AHHHHHHHH frick it.

Back to the DC Tech Pages, where some are speculating whether Ozisoft can be sued over this matter. Here’s Toothfairy:

Okay, I’m no big fan of lawsuits, but Ozisoft has to have had the worst launch in gaming history. No first-party titles, controllers or VMUs. Internet play has been suddenly switched from unlimited to pay-by-hour. Few 3rd-party titles and controllers. And the list goes on.

My question now is: what can Sega do to get Ozisoft in shape? I believe Ozisoft is an independent 3rd party contracted to distribute DCs in Australia – if that’s the case, can it be sued for gross negligence in distributing the DC? I’m pretty sure you can make a case that Ozisoft has severly hurt Sega’s reputation in Australia, which in turn will have a significant impact on Sega’s bottom-line.

Sega2000 had this rebuttal:

I run Ozisoft NZ’s website, but don’t worry, I’m anything but biased to Ozisoft Australia, Steve in particular I really really… (stops there so not as to break the rules). But it’s not entirly their fault. The shipments from Asia are beyond their control. Which is why there are no VMU’s for example.

But for those games that got stuck in customs, now that is Ozisoft’s fault. Everything should have been arranged and triple checked before hand.

The stores down here arn’t helping either, some of the biggest (K-Mart) are refusing to sell anything Sega after the Saturn.

Personally I think Sega should buy back Ozisoft. Things were much (MUCH) better in those days.

Finally, we go to the SegaWeb message boards, and our only comment comes from Wyldkard:

I’ve rung around Three stores where I live and they all say the same thing. We haven’t received our stocks yet hopefully it will be today. So what has happened to the release date of the 30th??????

I was talking to a guy at our local K Mart and he said that K Mart isn’t even going to stock the Dreamcast because of the new Playstation comming out next year!!!!

Sega Ozisoft you have a lot to answer for!

It looks like Australians are very angry at this latest failed attempt to launch and support a Sega console by Ozisoft. More as we get it.

11.30: It was bound to happen, but after a very successful launch in the US and Europe, Sega Ozisoft somehow managed to screw up again in Australia. Let’s start with a report from Daily Radar:

Chagrined, would-be Sega customers have been swift to air their views on forums and unofficial “fan” sites for Dreamcast.

Last night’s midnight launch strategy, which has proved a success in other territories around the globe, has left Australian gamers cold. Few games were on offer, and no first-party titles at all could be purchased at launch. This means no Sonic Adventure and no Soul Calibur. The games that were on shelves included Blue Stinger, Hydro Thunder and Ready 2 Rumble, but amazingly there were no first- or third-party VMUs, no browser discs, no first-party light guns, no extra controllers and no rumble paks to be had anywhere.

OziSoft have lost a fair amount of goodwill and will have to go it some to recoup the Aussie gamers’ faith in the system. Consoles were even sold without a demo disc, it apparently being forwarded to gamers after they have registered their Dreamcast. Although Sega and its distributor can’t be held solely to blame for the lack of first-party titles, as a customs hold-up in Sydney has caused the delay, the whole launch appears to smack of a lack of foresight and planning.

Rumor now has it that VMUs will not appear in Australia until February, so either Australian gamers won’t be progressing very far on Sonic (when it eventually arrives) or it’s time to fire up the power stations as a lot of Dreamcasts are going to be on 24-7 Down Under.

We go to the DC Tech Pages Message Board, where the same story was present. Let’s start with TheChosenOne:

One of our posters at DCU by the name of drachon gave this early report of the Australian DC launch on our message board:
“Well this is extremely dissapointing. The general consensus over here is that it was the worst launch EVER for ANY console. Where to start? On top of the numerous delays there were no VMU’s, extra controllers, demo discs or browser disks, and very few games, even people that preordered didn’t get all they ordered. The worst thing though (for me at least) is that the console itself hasn’t even reached some towns (like mine) . The blame goes squarely on Ozisoft, the company organising the distribution over here. There has been practically no advertising and well… suffice to say there are lots of unhappy people around. After the great US and European launches I really expected more. “

He continues…

I just received this by e-mail in response to this topic. It’s an interesting read, though quite sad.
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hi all. we picked up our pre-ordered PAL-B DC this afternoon being launch day in Australia and one can’t help but wonder if Kevin Beermeister, Danny Gambaro and the other leftover zombies of Sega Ozisoft really do have any faith in the success of the Dreamcast at all (despite record breaking sales in the USA and also Europe). sure, it’s a harsh call but consider that Ozisoft distribute Eidos PC and PSX games in Australia as well and you have a better perspective on the situation at hand..

also considering they were capable enough to recently organize publicity and a big cross promotional campaign for a Playstation game such as No Fear Downhill Mountain Biking; it definitely begs the question why they did not do any mainstream advertising on television or radio. if my memory serves me correctly, a figure of A$200,000 was being thrown around for their marketing budget here but whatever happened to the marketing group that they employed months ago? ho hum..

if anyone up in Sydney is reading: it’s a well known tenet in business that you first have to invest money to make money, and secondly that change equals opportunity. surely if Ozisoft do not have confidence in the quality of their product then how can they expect the consumer on the street to make a substantial investment of A$500 and feel like they will not be burnt later on (as happened with the dismal support for Saturn software)?! think about it. the weak launch only helped to reinforce the somewhat misinformed belief over here that in the public eye Sega is synonymous with 2nd rate and more of a niche system than a real lasting competitor in the console market..

it is obvious now that 40,000 Dreamcasts for our launch was a *gross* underestimate as most of the main distributors have already sold out of stock on the first day. this is all the more encouraging however, since *none* of the major department chains are carrying Dreamcast due to the poor performance of the Saturn and a reluctance by Ozisoft to back up retailers. there won’t even be any Dreamcast promotional materials or posters until later this week or next which is a shame because alot of the smaller video game retailers are genuinely enthusiastic about the system and keen to push DC. Sega Ozisoft have cultivated a woeful reputation for themselves amongst the trade here over the last few years and yet remain fundamentally unwilling to mend their past ways..

on the positive side, consumer awareness and desirability of the Dreamcast is quite high amongst the younger teens i have spoken to, and the older gamers seem to know of it through following DC on the internet. gamers need games to play though, and not having *any* (nada) 1st party titles ready for launch date just deflates the party. this is a real snub to the early adopters, who will no doubt form quite important impressions that manifest into good or bad word of mouth. sure, creating a shortage stimulates demand but where is the logic in selling only 40,000 units when it is likely possible to comfortably sell through three or four times that amount?

as you may have heard by now, there will be no internet access until early 2000 and to somewhat compensate Telstra will be giving 150 free hours online per registered owner plus Sega Ozisoft are promising to send everyone an over-the-shoulder slung DC bag. exciting or what. but the real kicker is that to validate the 12 month guarantee you have to use the Dreamcast to connect to their web portal. go figure! furthermore the demo gdrom which is listed on the packaging might not arrive until the end of December. useful..

going into the technical details the machine itself (HKT-3030) is labelled as being made in Indonesia and has specified operating conditions of 230-240V and at a frequency of 50-60Hz which may bode well for a future territory override! also i’m not sure if it’s just me but the exhaust from the fan feels quite warm compared to my Asian model. default start-up date is 27/11/98 which i find kinda interesting. i did try booting the ODCM gdrom but the Australian DC doesn’t like it..

meanwhile, we’ll just have to wait for the staggered release of 30th November launch titles over the next few weeks. Sonic Adventure will hopefully be available later this week with overall dates for other big games such as SR2, Soul Calibur, VF3TB, and HoTD2 (sans lightgun) still vague. new owners will have to be content with the likes of Ready 2 Rumble and Trickstyle (both published by Acclaim and on store shelves 3 weeks ago) in the time being. of course that is if they can go without saving games and extra controllers..

i love Sega and Dreamcast, but why do the faithful in this country have to cop the brown end of the stick time and time again? we pay about 40% more in price for a DC than the rest of the world, only to get games last and worse still : letterboxed. we must either be fanatics or just game for a good shafting perhaps..

[flaky] (Writer of the letter)
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So, the question stands: Do you think Ozisoft should have delayed the launch in order to get its act together, or should they have launched the console on the 30th? You know the outcome of one, and I want to know what you think. Drop me an E-Mail.