Sony Corp. emerged as the victor in the battle of the video game consoles in Japan, but the loser may prove to be the sweetheart among consumers.
Sega Corp. announced last month it would quit production of the Dreamcast console and concentrate on developing game software. To get rid of its worldwide backlog of 2 million consoles, Sega will begin selling them today at a discount price of 9,900 yen -- more than 50 percent off the previous price of 19,900 yen.
Sega is accustomed to taking a beating at the hands of Sony. It discontinued its Sega Saturn console in November 1998 amid disappointing sales and mounting debt.