10 years ago today, one of the greatest gaming consoles ever made its debut. The Sega Dreamcast was a fine system for its time, innovative and comparable to any other system of its generation (PS2, GC, and XB). There are several reasons why the Dreamcast ultimately failed and forced Sega to restructure itself. The most notable causes include the release of the PS2, Sega’s mishandling of the Saturn and the late Genesis add-ons, and the chronic delays of just about every major high profile title that was due to the system (including Resident Evil: Code Veronica, a Star Trek title, and of course, Shenmue I and II). Despite these horrid blots on the system’s past, it has managed to remain dear in the hearts of many gamers – especially Dreamcast owners.
There are few “retro” systems that see regular play nowadays. As awesome as Goldeneye64 was back in the day, the number of people openly raving about how often they still boot it up has dwindled considerably. I personally have not yet met a Dreamcast owner that does NOT at some point hook this gem up and play something. I would if certainly have my own up and running if it could actually run – my disc motor is busted ;(. The Dreamcast had a superb line up of classic games that deserve to be played even now: Soul Calibur, Chu Chu Rocket, Shenmue, Sonic Adventure, NFL 2k1, NBA 2k1, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, Power Stone 2, Crazy Taxi…
Sure, several of those titles have managed to live on on other consoles. Others have thrived on other consoles. There are even a few that are available online on services like GameTap and XBL. But, it’s just not the same. I want my DC controller in my hands. After all, Microsoft ripped of its XB controller design from the DC – don’t lie to yourself, it’s true, I distinctly remember the designers admitting the inspiration in an issue of EGM. Many things about online gaming we take for granted today, Sega was toying with through the DC – hell, Sega had online gaming on its Genesis. No, if we are to live our lives with no Dreamcast 2, then we at least deserve to get roms through the Wii Virtual Console, XBL, and the PSN Store. We deserve to see DC franchises revived on the current-gen consoles, re-imagined and updated.
Damnit… We deserve Shenmue 3!
Today, fly your flags at half-mast and honor the Dream…
G.O.N.G.
09/09/09 – Sweet Dreams
Tags: 9/9/99, dreamcast, sega, Video Games
10 years ago today, one of the greatest gaming consoles ever made its debut. The Sega Dreamcast was a fine system for its time, innovative and comparable to any other system of its generation (PS2, GC, and XB). There are several reasons why the Dreamcast ultimately failed and forced Sega to restructure itself. The most notable causes include the release of the PS2, Sega’s mishandling of the Saturn and the late Genesis add-ons, and the chronic delays of just about every major high profile title that was due to the system (including Resident Evil: Code Veronica, a Star Trek title, and of course, Shenmue I and II). Despite these horrid blots on the system’s past, it has managed to remain dear in the hearts of many gamers – especially Dreamcast owners.
There are few “retro” systems that see regular play nowadays. As awesome as Goldeneye64 was back in the day, the number of people openly raving about how often they still boot it up has dwindled considerably. I personally have not yet met a Dreamcast owner that does NOT at some point hook this gem up and play something. I would if certainly have my own up and running if it could actually run – my disc motor is busted ;(. The Dreamcast had a superb line up of classic games that deserve to be played even now: Soul Calibur, Chu Chu Rocket, Shenmue, Sonic Adventure, NFL 2k1, NBA 2k1, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, Power Stone 2, Crazy Taxi…
Sure, several of those titles have managed to live on on other consoles. Others have thrived on other consoles. There are even a few that are available online on services like GameTap and XBL. But, it’s just not the same. I want my DC controller in my hands. After all, Microsoft ripped of its XB controller design from the DC – don’t lie to yourself, it’s true, I distinctly remember the designers admitting the inspiration in an issue of EGM. Many things about online gaming we take for granted today, Sega was toying with through the DC – hell, Sega had online gaming on its Genesis. No, if we are to live our lives with no Dreamcast 2, then we at least deserve to get roms through the Wii Virtual Console, XBL, and the PSN Store. We deserve to see DC franchises revived on the current-gen consoles, re-imagined and updated.
Damnit… We deserve Shenmue 3!
Today, fly your flags at half-mast and honor the Dream…