The Dreamcast (ドリームキャスト Dorīmukyasuto) is a video game console which was released by Sega in late 1998 and was the successor to the Sega Saturn. It was the first entry in the sixth generation of video game consoles, releasing before its contemporaries - Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube. Sega discontinued the Dreamcast in March 2001 and withdrew entirely from the console hardware business, making it the company's final console. Support of the system continued in Europe and Oceania until the end of 2002, as well as in Japan, where consoles were still sold until 2006 and new licensed games continued to be released. According to Bernie Stolar, former President and CEO of Sega of America, the Dreamcast was discontinued because the new chairman of Sega wanted the company to focus on software.