10 Canceled SEGA Dreamcast Games & Why They Were Shelved

The SEGA Dreamcast is one of the most beloved consoles of the past 30 years. From its iconic design to its innovative online features, it’s a system that many still hold a candle to all these years later. The console was a swansong to the gaming company SEGA, also responsible for iconic franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage, NIGHTS, and more. Even 25 years later, the Dreamcast is still supported by many dedicated fans, with new games still being developed and released for it, free of charge.

Back in the late 90s, SEGA was in the midst of the console wars between the Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation — and it was starting to fall behind due to the company’s upper management mistakes that were made with the SEGA Saturn, SEGA 32X, and its franchises.

The Dreamcast launched in November 1998 in Japan, followed by a September 1999 release in the USA, and finally Europe markets in November of the same year. The console was SEGA’s attempt at a restart, to finally put its foot in the sand of 3D gaming — but it wasn’t to be.

The Dreamcast console failed almost 18 months after its initial launch, with the Sony PlayStation 2 dominating the market thanks to its huge support by developers and the ability to play DVDs like movies. However, there were a bunch of titles in development that were meant to debut on the Dreamcast before they moved onto other consoles. With this in mind, we’ve drawn up a list of ten games canceled for the Dreamcast that were either lost to time or were eventually made available on other systems.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. 10 Games That Were Canceled for the Sega Dreamcast
3. The Bottom Line
4. FAQs
5. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. 10 Games That Were Canceled for the Sega Dreamcast
3. The Bottom Line
Show Full Guide
4. FAQs
5. References

10 Games That Were Canceled for the Sega Dreamcast

10. ToeJam & Earl 3: Mission to Earth

The third entry of ToeJam and Earl was originally planned for the Dreamcast until it was released for the original Xbox. ToeJam and Earl first debuted on the SEGA Mega Drive in 1991, starring two aliens stranded on Earth who have to try and get back home through procedurally generated levels. A sequel soon followed, drawing inspiration from games like Sonic and Golden Axe, shifting to a platformer.

The third entry, called ‘Mission to Earth’, had been planned for the Nintendo 64 at first for release in 1998. However, after several deals falling through and seeing the sixth generation of consoles wrapping up, efforts were made to create a new entry by ToeJam & Earl Productions for the SEGA Dreamcast. Inspired by the first game but now in 3D, you could control ToeJam or Earl in procedurally-generated levels, and this new entry was even showcased at E3 2001.

However, the game was ultimately canceled due to SEGA stopping support for the Dreamcast. Mission to Earth eventually debuted on the Xbox in 2002, where it received average reviews. Fun fact: a build of the Dreamcast version was found in 2013 and was unofficially released, offering fans a glimpse into what could have been.

9. Ecco II: Sentinels of the Universe

Another unique franchise from the SEGA Genesis days — Ecco the Dolphin, developed by Appaloosa Interactive and created by Ed Annunziata, stars a time-traveling dolphin searching through vast seas to save the world across many time periods.

Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future was the series’ 3D debut, which arrived on the SEGA Dreamcast in 2000 to positive reviews, spurring a sequel.

However, SEGA’s decision to stop supporting the Dreamcast meant that work on the sequel was halted. Unlike other titles on this list, Ecco II wasn’t ported to other systems, although a prototype exists. Nevertheless, it gives us a glimpse of what another 3D Ecco could have been.

8. Half-Life

The debut of Valve’s first-person shooter on the PC in 1998 received critical acclaim. Half-Life showcased how a narrative could be interweaved with gameplay without the need for cutscenes. Following the success of the game, Valve developed a port for the Dreamcast and added a local co-op mode. Magazines of the time showcased the game in a near-finished state, but Half-Life was scrapped, including the co-op mode.

Valve never gave a reason for the port’s cancellation, though a near-final build was leaked in 2023. Ultimately, a new port was eventually released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001, which also included a co-op expansion, Half-Life: Decay.

7. Croc 2

With a remaster of the first Croc game coming to Sony PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles, Nintendo Switch, and PC next month, its sequel was once destined for the Dreamcast in 2000. For those unfamiliar, Croc is a 3D platformer where you control a cartoon crocodile, and its sequel offered several hub worlds where you could tackle levels in whichever order you chose.

You would rescue creatures called ‘Gobbos’ scattered across the levels, collect crystals, and be able to drive vehicles such as cars, boats, and more. Developer Argonaut has since revealed that the port was left unfinished, but they still have the files — hinting that the game could finally see a release on the Dreamcast someday.

6. Grand Theft Auto 3

Yes, Rockstar Games’ hugely successful open-world sandbox game, Grand Theft Auto, was once destined for the SEGA Dreamcast. If you’ve somehow not played this entry in the series, GTA 3 marked the series’ transition from a top-down 2D view to a fully 3D world, allowing you to steal vehicles, take on missions however you wish, collect secret packages and lots more.

According to Obbe Vermeij, an ex-developer at Rockstar who worked on GTA 3, revealed on X in September that the game was being developed for the Dreamcast in its early days. However, because of ‘commercial reasons’, the game was moved to the Sony PlayStation 2. This is certainly an example of what could have been if GTA 3 had debuted on SEGA’s console in 2001.

5. Max Payne

Released in 2000, Max Payne drew heavily from The Matrix, a popular movie of the time, with its use of bullet-time effects and scenes like the hallway shootout. Set in the downtown areas of Manhattan, New York, the game is a third-person shooter that allows the player to switch on ‘bullet-time’, slowing everything down and even allowing the player to make Max dive, avoiding bullets while taking on enemies in a movie-like fashion.

Max Payne was a huge success on PC in 2000, so plans were afoot for the game to make an appearance on the Dreamcast. Developer Remedy Entertainment scrapped this effort due to SEGA’s exit from the console market. Still, it makes you wonder how the console’s VMU peripheral could have been used — perhaps how many painkillers were left to use, as well as the Bullet Time bar.

4. Ninja Gaiden

Ninja Gaiden was a big surprise when it debuted on the original Xbox console back in 2004, but it was originally planned for the Dreamcast. Developed by Team Ninja over five years as a reboot of the NES trilogy, you control Ryu Hayabusa, a ninja who fights, runs, summons magic, and throws shurikens at his enemies across 16 chapters, set in Japan.

What made this game stand out was the fluidity of the controls — enabling the user to have Ryu run in all kinds of directions, including across the walls. Engaging in combat, whether that was with henchmen or the bosses, is incredibly fun, letting you perform moves and dodges with ease. Again, Ninja Gaiden was a casualty of SEGA’s exit from the console business in March 2001, when the game was moved over to Xbox.

3. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3

In the early 2000s, the Tony Hawk games were everywhere. Much like the Call of Duty games, a new entry of the arcade-based skateboarding game, developed by Neversoft, would be released every year. After the first two games were made available for the Dreamcast, as well as the rest of the consoles at the time, it felt inevitable that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 would come to SEGA’s console, especially with rampant rumors that it was indeed en route, but it wasn’t to be.

Released in October 2001, it was way past SEGA’s announcement that it was leaving the console business, which likely prompted Neversoft and the game’s publisher, Activision, to cancel the port.

2. Time Crisis II

One gaming genre of the late 90s that has faded away was shoot-em-ups. Games like Duck Hunt in the 90s to Point Blank and House of the Dead would dominate arcades around the world. Time Crisis, a standout of the genre, was the first to debut on the Sony PlayStation in 1995. Developed by NAMCO, the game came packaged with a lightgun called the GunCon and became a huge success, leading to a sequel being approved not long after. Time Crisis II hit arcades in 1997, and plans were afoot for it to debut on the Dreamcast.

Given that House of the Dead 2 was released as a launch title for the console in 1999, as well as being packaged with the iconic Dreamcast Gun, having the sequel to one of the best lightgun games on the PlayStation would have been a perfect fit to help bolster SEGA’s console. However, NAMCO ultimately chose the PlayStation 2 for the game’s release in 2001, alongside introducing a new GunCon model. Still, we can dream and wonder how good it would have been to use the Dreamcast Gun with the sequel to one of the best light gun games of all time.

1. SSX

It’s hard to imagine that Electronic Arts, the developer and publisher of the snowboarding game SSX, once had a tight relationship with SEGA in the 16-bit era. You would see countless games featuring American Football, Golf, and more, but due to a disagreement in the lead-up to the launch of the Dreamcast, the relationship fizzled out, and no EA games came to the console.

A casualty of this was SSX, initially developed for SEGA’s console. The concept of the game was simple but addictive: you choose a rider and their snowboard, followed by selecting a variety of tracks that start at the top of the mountain and finish at the bottom. The aim is to perform as many tricks as possible to build up your speed and fill up your boost bar while making sure you finish in first place.

SSX was a huge success when it came out on the PlayStation 2 in October 2000. But again, like many on this list, you can’t help but wonder if SSX could have helped Dreamcast’s chances and delayed the inevitable.

The Bottom Line

The Dreamcast stands as one of gaming’s biggest ‘What If?’ stories. SEGA’s console had the potential to win the console war of that era, but a mix of missteps and the gargantuan success of Sony’s PlayStation 2 console destined it to an early grave.

It’s interesting to imagine how the console would have fared if it had the ten games listed above — especially a title as influential as Grand Theft Auto 3. Perhaps Microsoft’s Xbox console would have failed, and its gaming division would have become a third-party developer, much like how SEGA became.

Today, the Dreamcast remains a beloved console, with plenty of communities still developing games for it, such as the Halloween Collection. Others are also creating custom servers like Dreamcast Live to keep online games like Phantasy Star Online going. While almost every game listed above can be played on other platforms, the Dreamcast’s legacy makes us wonder how different things could have been for SEGA’s last console.

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