Dreamcast 2.0 : Is Xbox360 the second comming of the Sega Dreamcast?

23 eerie parallels between Xbox 360 and the Sega Dreamcast.

Ever since the first details of the Xbox 360 hit the web, gamers have drawn comparisons to Sega's ill-fated (yet still highly regarded) Dreamcast console. There are the obvious examples - the timing of the launches or the color of the hardware - but then there are a lot of not so obvious ones, too. As part of our Xbox 360 countdown, we've put together a list of our favorites.

Launched a year before the competition.

Launching a year before the competition (likely).

Faced a "far superior" next-generation PlayStation console that wowed gamers with fancy tech demos.

Facing a "far superior" next-generation PlayStation console that wowed gamers with fancy tech demos.

Sleek white console following in footsteps of bulky, black console.

Made its American debut on MTV.

Made its American debut on MTV.

Games ran on a Windows-derived OS.

Runs on a Windows-derived OS.

Dreamcast's marketing mantra.

Xbox 360's marketing mantra.

"Dreamcast will evolve much more into a network environment rather than a standalone system. It's not about you and the machine any more. It's about you competing against your friends, your enemies." - Charles Belfield, Sega's VP of Marketing

"Xbox 360 is driven by the passion of a worldwide community. It's a product that will bridge vast distances through shared stories and experiences...It's about the ability to connect with your communities."

- J Allard, Corporate VP and Chief XNA Architect

Big selling point: Online for all with packed-in modem and SegaNet.

Big selling point: Online for all with built-in Ethernet port and Xbox Live Silver.

Huh.

Unable to play the latest in cutting edge movie media (DVD).

Unable to play the latest in cutting edge movie media (HD-DVD/Blu-Ray).

Big selling point: Hi-def monitor output.

Big selling point: Hi-def monitor output.

Big proponent of customization.

Big proponent of customization.

Peter Moore spearheaded the marketing.

Peter Moore spearheading the marketing.

Played previous generation games under emulation.

Plays previous generation games under emulation.

Tetsuya Mizuguchi worked on highly anticipated First Party title (Space Channel 5).

Tetsuya Mizuguchi working on highly anticipated First Party title (Ninety-Nine Nights).

Exclusive promotional partner leading up to launch: Pepsi.

Exclusive promotional partner leading up to launch: Mountain Dew...which is owned by Pepsi.

Highly anticipated First Party racing game from Bizarre Creations (Metropolis Street Racer).

Highly anticipated First Party racing game from Bizarre Creations (Project Gotham Racing 3).

Unique selling point: Microphone peripheral.

Unique selling point: Microphone peripheral.

Software medium (DVD-9) criticized as having not enough capacity by some developers.

Software medium (GD-ROM) criticized as having not enough capacity by some developers.

Promised to be an evolutionary system - to someday play DVDs.

Promises to be an evolutionary system - to someday play HD-DVDs.

Crazy rich bald guy spotted at several promotional events leading up to launch.

Crazy rich bald guy spotted at several promotional events leading up to launch.

Planned to eventually offer larger storage capacity with a Zip drive.

Plans to eventually offer larger storage capacity with new Hard Drives.

Metal Gear Solid 2 trailer stole much of its next-generation thunder.

Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer stole much of its next-generation thunder.

But will the Xbox 360 go the way of the Dreamcast and have Microsoft abandon it a few years into its life cycle? Yeah right.

10 reasons why the Xbox 360 will succeed where the Dreamcast failed.

10 reasons why the Xbox 360 will succeed where the Dreamcast failed.

Sure, it's easy to come up with some parallels between the two platforms, but will the Xbox 360 go the way of the Dreamcast and have Microsoft abandon it a few years into its life cycle? Extremely unlikely. Microsoft is in a much different position than Sega was a few years ago. Here are some of the top reasons why the Xbox 360 will succeed where the Dreamcast failed.

Its predecessor was a complete failure.

Square, the most important publisher in Japan, never supported the console.

EA, the most important publisher in the U.S., never supported the console.

Dreamcast was too early for broadband gaming; 56K didn't really cut it.

Wasn't backwards compatible.

Sorry Dreamcast fans, but the system's controller really wasn't that great.

Had tons of amazing games...but no Halo 3.

FFVIII released the same day as the Dreamcast.

Former president Bernie Stolar quit right before the system launched, sending a bad sign.

Had a limited budget of only $100 million to market the console.

Following on the heels of the very popular Xbox.

Has the support of Square Enix starting with Final Fantasy XI.

Has the full support of EA, with a whole lineup of titles at launch.

Broadband penetration is getting higher and Xbox Live is unparalleled.

Backwards compatible (mostly).

Has a wireless pad that many claim may be the best controller ever made.

Will have Halo 3. And it will be huge.

Next to no competition at launch.

Solid executive team in J Allard, Robbie Bach, and Peter Moore.

Can, and will, spend whatever it takes to make the Xbox 360 a success.