1997-1999: Looking toward the new millennium

In the popularity and relevancy in the home console market, Sega had faceplanted with the Sega Saturn. However, they were the out of the gate with the Saturn. this meant that while the competition was catching up with their own console releases, Sega had years to plan their next move. The Saturn was a failure, but they still had the goodwill of gamers from their success in the early 90s with the Sega Genesis.

They had one last shot, and on September 9, 1999 Sega threw their Hail Mary pass: the Sega Dreamcast.

Once again, Sega was ahead of its competitors. Sony and Nintendo wouldn't end up releasing their own follow-up consoles until 2001. The Dreamcast was a thing to marvel at, with cutting-edge hardware and graphical capabilities. The PlayStation and Nintendo 64 looked severely outdated by comparison.

The Dreamcast was well-liked and successful, ending the decade on a high note for Sega. Ultimately though, the early 2000s would see the upcoming Nintendo and Sony consoles eclipsing the Dreamcast in both sales and popularity. The damage of past missteps had been done, and 1999's Dreamcast would ultimately be Sega's final console.