Final Days of DREAMCAST a quick retrospective

[sabre2922]

By Cliff O'Neill
Designed by Katie Bush


Sadly, the Dreamcast will soon be occupying an empty grave beside the late Saturn in the dreaded console graveyard--but its games will indeed live on! While the beloved 128-bit system never saw sequels to Panzer Dragoon Saga, NiGHTS, or Burning Rangers (among other Saturn favorites), the little white console with the triangular orange light and noisy internal fan can rest peacefully knowing that it--along with its older brother, the Saturn--laid the foundation for online console gaming and delivered a diverse lineup of quality games. And the games are still coming, though only a handful will be major releases, Shenmue II and Tennis 2K2 among them. Nope, we will not see Virtua Fighter 4 nor the next Sonic game on the Dreamcast, but rest assured that Sega is finding new homes for all of its popular game series.
Debuting quietly in Japan on November 27, 1998, the Dreamcast managed to deliver a great deal of game-playing enjoyment in just a few short years of life. The system launched strongly in North America on September 9, 1999, with several key titles--namely, Sonic Adventure, Soul Calibur, and NFL 2K--making for a very successful launch, one that set records for system sales and the number of available launch titles (nearly 20). A built-in 56k modem, proprietary GD-ROM format, and unique Visual Memory Unit (VMU) peripheral drew curious gamers to the console with the promise of new gaming possibilities. Dozens of memorable games followed in all the major genres, and games such as Seaman, Jet Grind Radio, and Shenmue attempted to stretch the boundaries of gameplay, graphics, and sound. Sports games, both traditional and extreme, were plentiful and attracted various sports fans, while music and dance games such as Space Channel 5 and Samba de Amigo lured many nongamers, as well as the ever-elusive female gamer, to the system. In addition, RPG lovers had a good assortment of role-playing games from which to choose, including Grandia II, Skies of Arcadia, and Phantasy Star Online.

Like the Saturn, the Dreamcast received several superb ports of hit Sega-made arcade games, and Capcom, Tecmo, and Namco supplied the system with stellar arcade translations. Unlike the Saturn, however, the Dreamcast had strong third-party support--at least initially--though famed developer/publisher Electronic Arts thumbed its pretentious nose at the system. Capcom's blend of survival-horror graced the Dreamcast with the beautiful, fully rendered Code: Veronica and high-res ports of Resident Evil 2 and 3 and Dino Crisis, scaring a new crowd of gamers. Finally, with the Dreamcast, Sega aggressively tackled online console gaming, launching its very own online-gaming service, SegaNet, and providing an array of cooperative and competitive online-gaming scenarios, ranging from traditional racing action and bloody FPS deathmatches to the wondrous role-playing experience that is Phantasy Star Online.

Although Sega is abandoning the Dreamcast and exiting the hardware business altogether to focus on what it does best--making games--the Dreamcast still has some game left in it. In this feature, we explore the last batch of American releases during the system's final days above ground.

[NintendoMan]

VERY NICE!!

I do love all the port/arcade titles that the DC got. Alot of racing ones, particularly Sega GT, Daytona USA, House of the Dead, Confidential Mission, Crazy Taxi 1 + 2, Sega Rally - Just to name a few.
I still am getting more and more titles everyday, well whenever I can. I am thinking about collecting every game released for the US only.

[NintendoMan]

I forgot to mention that the ports for the RE series that were redone for the DC, I absolutely loved! I know alot of people that don't. Dino Crisis is also a bad ass game. I just can't say enough how much I love all those rare titles that were exclusive to the DC.
LONG LIVE THE DREAMCAST!

[sabre2922]

Yeah I have all the RE DC ports and the Dino Crisis port and they look soo much better than the old PSX versions at least in this gamers eyes they also seem to play better

[kainemaxwell]

Very nice article my good man!

[Kepone]

I once owned a DC and a PS1 at the same time and I believe the DC was the more advanced of both systems.

It had nicer games and all.

The problem is that I was stupid enough to let the DC go. :(

I will probably end up getting another one eventually.

[Lord007]

I played DC a lot more back then compared to PS2 now. It introduced me to online gaming which ended up being a serious addiction for me. I did manage to win a few SegaNet memorabilia items before DC died tho:

http://img63.photobucket.com/albums/v193/trd22regts/Sega/scooter1.jpg
http://img63.photobucket.com/albums/v193/trd22regts/Sega/shirt1.jpg
http://img63.photobucket.com/albums/v193/trd22regts/Sega/shirt2b.jpg

[whoisKeel]

The problem is that I was stupid enough to let the DC go.

You can get one at almost any game store for about $20-25...go pick one up :)

I re-acquired one a few months ago and am lovin' it. I dunno what it is, but the games are just fun on that system. and it's kinda nice the graphics are still keeping up with the newer systems, i think it looks pretty close to ps2 graphics. Best of all tho, the great loading times on 2D games :)

[Jibbajaba]

I never had a Saturn, so I can't comment on it at all, but I do have a Dreamcast and it is really an awsome system. It has so many great games, and it's a damned shame that it got killed off so fast. It should still be on the market now. Shit they still make PS1 games so certainly they should still be making dreamcast games.

[NintendoMan]

Yeah I have all the RE DC ports and the Dino Crisis port and they look soo much better than the old PSX versions at least in this gamers eyes they also seem to play better

Oh yeah, in this gamers eyes as well they definately play better on the DC. Hell RE2 plays better on the N64 than the ps1. I had both versions of RE for the PS1, then got them for the DC. Everything about them was better, but of course it should be because of them being on more of an advanced system.

Does anyone know if they just ported the RE games to the DC, or did they actually redo some things so it would show up better, play better, etc. without changing the actually game?

I also, in the past couple months have picked up ALL versions, except RE2 which I personally think is the best in the series which I will be buying asap when I see it, of the RE series on Gamecube. I can't tell too many differences between the DC + GC, but can say that the GC might play a little better. Well to me at least.

[NintendoMan]

I once owned a DC and a PS1 at the same time and I believe the DC was the more advanced of both systems.

It had nicer games and all.

The problem is that I was stupid enough to let the DC go. :(

I will probably end up getting another one eventually.

Well of course the DC was more advanced than the PS1. You can't compare to the DC having 128 graphics, modem, online capability, and whatever else - to the ps1 having 32 bit graphics.

You should definately go and get a DC as soon as you can. Yeah, usually ever game store has them for like 20-30. Awesome buy! :D

[NintendoMan]

The problem is that I was stupid enough to let the DC go.
I re-acquired one a few months ago and am lovin' it. I dunno what it is, but the games are just fun on that system. and it's kinda nice the graphics are still keeping up with the newer systems, i think it looks pretty close to ps2 graphics. Best of all tho, the great loading times on 2D games :)


Yeah, I had a DC on 9-9-99 when they were released, had it for 2 years and didn't fully appreciated it's ability. I then reaquired a new one on ebay last year and now have 4 times as many games as I did than when the damn thing was released. And yes, the games are tons of fun on that system, espcially the games that you can't get on any other system, just the DC.

[Nez]

It is sad that the dreamcast died. I had a N64 at the time so I didn't know much of the dreamcast. Now I have a dc with 26 games (2x as much as N64) I must say it is one of my favorite systems. It was a pioneer in the industry, with a very diverse ammount of titles. The dreamcast should still be around today, heck imo the software department is much stronger for the Dreamcast then it is for the Ps2 or Xbox.

Three Cheers for the Dreamcast! :cheers:

[TNTPLUST]

I've been collecting systems since the original Odyssey. I had told myself that I would stop collecting after the 64bit era. I saw a lot of positive posts about the DC on this board. Two months ago I walked into my local Gamestop and bought the Console, 12 games, controllers, vmu's, and a fishing rod for less than $50. The system is truly remarkable with some really great games. I'm hooked on Vitrual Tennis, in love with Ulala, and raising Seamen LOL

Dreamcast you will be missed...RIP.

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/9776/images71.gif

[Duncan]

I also went the GameStop route. Fifty big ones got me a Dreamcast, VMU and Soul Calibur in near-perfect shape. Great value!

I played the hell out of Soul Calibur - I like it more than the sequel, actually. :)

This, consequently, got me hooked. I promptly went out and bought Crazy Taxi, Sega Rally 2, Samba de Amigo (no Maracas, though) and Space Channel 5. All great games.

I'm up to about 10 DC games so far - I'll get more later, but for the next little while I've drifted back to my cartridge pursuits. Next on the 'cast list is Grandia II, if I can find it.

I don't regret getting the DC for a second, though. Best used console I've purchased so far - and that includes the PSX I bought many years ago solely to play Gran Turismo. (GT owns my life, so that should tell you something!)

[anagrama]

Hmm, now if only all these new fans had been there in 2001... ;)

(Please don't take offence, I'm not ribbing anyone, just pondering "what if...".
I was the same with the Saturn, and didn't appreciate it's charms until late '98 by which time it was already buried :()

[Jive3D]

[quote="
Does anyone know if they just ported the RE games to the DC, or did they actually redo some things so it would show up better, play better, etc. without changing the actually game?[/quote]

I know that the DC version of RE2 has all of the extras unlocked from the begining, including different costumes, the Hunk & Tofu Missions etc. This was reason enough for a hardcore RE fan like myself to purchase it, because as huge of an RE fan as I am, I could never accomplish the feat of earning that stuff on the PSone version, I mean come on, FFVIII had just come out at the time ^_^.

I LOVE the DC now. I worked at EB when it came out and I bought it on Launch day. Sadly though I must say that I have learned a few things since then. B/c at the time I was VERY unimpressed with Soul Calibur, I tried every launch game on the system and nothing grabbed me as much as Sonic. so I played the game until I could play no more and then being SUPER bored of the sysmtem, I returned it. There was a few month period after Launch where NO games came out at all and I got really impatient. I did however purchase a DC again a few months ago and I have collected what I think to be all the key titles. And as soon as I finish up Wind Waker, I'm jumping feet first into Shenmue I & II.

And in your article, please don't neglect to mention one of the coolest games of all time: REZ and mention the trance vibrator for the PS2 version. As perverted as some people's mind get when they think about the Trance vibrator, it really is awesome if you put it under your seat cushon, it shakes the whole chair...

DC will be plugged into my TV for a long time to come.

[NintendoMan]

Very nice article my good man!

HELL YEAH!! AWESOME ARTICLE!

[goatdan]

I got my Dreamcast for my birthday when they were $99.00 (I think the one that I got was a little more, since it was the Smash Pack version.) I really loved the system, and played Tony Hawk 2, Rush 2049 and NBA 2K1 to death. I actually played every game in a season of NBA 2K1 with at least 8 minute quarters... it was time consuming, but it was really fun.

When the Dreamcast died, I started seeing tons of games that I had wanted to for a lot cheaper than the price that I paid to get them. I happily started grabbing anything that caught my eye...

And now I have every game that was released stateside, about 10 PAL releases and 25 Japanese releases, tons of goodies and so on. I also got pretty into the whole Dreamcast homebrew scene, and I'm working with them to get new Dreamcast game releases to be a pretty regular thing. I think that the Dreamcast may have a lot of life left.

Some interesting things to check out:

http://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/images/mgc2004/mgc072.jpg - a new game called DCASTLE, based on the game Star Castle but in full 3D with incredibly impressive realtime lighting effects.

http://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/images/mgc2004/mgc073.jpg - Cool Herders, a "sheep herding game" that seems to be one of the most anticipated future releases. Reminds me of Bomberman, sort of.

http://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/images/mgc2004/mgc047.jpg - The about-to-be-released Inhabitants being demoed by Brandon, the lead programmer.

Other than those, there are at least five other games in the works at the moment. The Dreamcast may be dead, but I think that it is going to have the best support past-death that any console has had. On top of that, the games coming out in Japan still rock!

[dreamcaster]

Dreamcast. Best system ever. Without question.

(may or may not be biased :P )

I will admit however, I didn't get a DC back in the day. I desperately wanted one, but being a mid-teen with no income - it wasn't feasible. The only way to get one was to trade my N64 and all it's games in, and after hugely regretting doing that with my SNES back in 1997, I wasn't game to do that again.

Begging to my parents didn't help either.

I did finally pick up a DC in January 2003. Only wished I'd done it sooner.

[Nature Boy]

Although Sega is abandoning the Dreamcast and exiting the hardware business altogether to focus on what it does best...

How old is this article? They abandoned hardware sales long enough ago that 'is' should've been 'has' (among other things)...

[sabre2922]

ummm I didnt say that this was a "new" article I just posted it since it seemed to be a decent overall view of my favorite system ;)

[josekortez]

For anyone who might be interested, Dreamcast systems are $14.99 now at EB Games.

And no offense, but I remember reading a very similar article in a magazine a couple of years ago. I'm not dissing you if you're a video game columnist. We video game columnists have to stick together...

[Nature Boy]

ummm I didnt say that this was a "new" article I just posted it since it seemed to be a decent overall view of my favorite system ;)

I guess when I saw "retrospective" I expected an article, recently written, about the glory days of the Dreamcast. My bad.

[ShinobiMan]

Great article! As long as we are being retrospective, this is an article I too wrote back in 2001 about Sega. I was 14 years old when I wrote this, so bare with the low grade writing skills. It was originally published at my website:

Perhaps the biggest news in gaming history was announced on the 31st of January, 2001. After a long battle for the number one spot, Sega realized that even though they sold over 4.5 million units, the Dreamcast could never succeed with new rival systems like Nintendo's Game Cube, and Microsoft's X-box. They already had slow sales in Japan, and it would be too much for them to make another machine, and begin the battle all over again. So they decided to kill the Dreamcast by the end of 2001. But not only will they kill the Dreamcast, it seems they might never make another console again. Don't worry, they are not going out of business, they are still going to make games... for their enemies!


Yes, Sega has already planned to make games for the PS2, X-BOX, Game Boy Advanced, and the Nintendo Game Cube. For the first time since the Atari days, Sega will be just a game publisher. Sounds bizarre, but is actually true. Sega is now everyone's partner! It will be quite weird playing Sonic on a Nintendo! But it was inevitable. Lets take the time to look back on Sega's past.


Sega has always been giving the gamers what they want. When the SMS came out in '86, it was the most impressive and advanced system on the market. It was not Nintendo who had the 3D glasses. No. It was Sega. Nintendo's light zapper felt like a toy, and made sounds like a NERF gun, but Sega's light phaser (better name) was very serious. It was dark, as opposed to Nintendo's Orange color. It was soundless, and did not feel like a toy. For god's sake, Sega's machine even looked like something from the future, while Nintendo looked like a cable box. Yes, Sega was looking good, but still, Nintendo took the upper hand and won the first 8-bit war, due to major 3rd party support.


During this time, Sega knew they had to plan another console, so they began designing the Sega Genesis. It was released in 1988. This was a 16-bit console, with enough power to blow Nintendo out of the competition. This time though, Sega was looking for an older audience. So the game packed with the system was Altered Beast, a game that was said to be very violent and scary for children. After sales were low, Sega realized that they had to create a game that would appeal to all audiences. This game had to be fun, challenging, appealing, and fast. You all should know what I'm talking about. Yes, Sonic the hedgehog was released, and the public was hooked. This game sold so many copies, that Sega packed it with the system. This was perhaps one of the smartest moves by Sega, for it sold many machines, and gave Sega a name, a mascot, and a lot more fans.


Well, Nintendo released there answer to the Genesis with the Super Nintendo. And yes, Super Mario World was packed with the system. Well, you can predict that Nintendo sold many machines, but the truth is, a year later, Sega released Sonic 2, while Nintendo did not put out another Mario until 1995. Once again, Sega was giving the people what they wanted. Sega was looking to advance, so they released a add on to the Genesis that was to revolutionize the gaming industry. The Sega CD was released on the Christmas of '92.


Now, the only reason why the Sega CD did not succeed, was because of the price. It was way to expensive for the average fan to buy, But Sega had once again been the ones to give the people what they want. There was even a Sonic CD game for the Sega CD, that featured instrumental music, and animated cinemas. Now Nintendo had to act fast, so they announced that they would be making a CD ROM attachment to their Super Nintendo. Guess who was making the attachment. Sony. Yes, Sony were the ones. Now guess what? Nintendo turned them down. Nintendo abandoned the idea of a CD ROM, and continued to make games for the SNES. This would turn out to be the biggest mistake in gaming history. Sega continued to shoot out sequels to the beloved hedgehog, while Nintendo's Mario sat there with none. By the end of the 16-bit gaming war, Sega was victorious. This would be the first, and last victory...


Sega was now moving on to the 32-bit era. After a total loss with their last add-on, the 32X, they released the Sega Saturn. Once again, they were the first. Now sales were pretty stale throughout the Saturn's life, because Sega wanted to do new things. Believe me, this was a great machine, but the main reasons they lost was the lack of a Sonic game, and four letters... SONY. Yes, because of Nintendo cancelling the Sony CD add on to the SNES, Sony decided to make their own system. The Sony Playstation was released in 1995, a couple of months after the Saturn. The main success with the this system, was the name Sony. Every father and every electronics lover had the name Sony tattooed in their brain. So naturally, when they when to buy the best game system, they saw the name Sony, and automatically bought it. One of Sony's successful games was, Square's, Final Fantasy VII. It is one of the all time best selling games. So, Sega did not last in the 32-bit war, but it's not like they didn't try. There were so many classic games on the Sega Saturn, like Panzer Dragoon, Clockwork Knight, and Nights. Nights was to be a game that would rival Sonic. Yes, it did sell many systems, but not enough. Sega stopped production of the Saturn in 1998. But Sega still had a dream...


Nintendo's 64 bit system had been out, yet Sony still stayed on top. Meanwhile Sega was planning there most amazing console that would change the way we play games forever. Sega had learned from there mistakes, and when the Sega Dreamcast was released in Japan, there was a Sonic game. This time, Sonic was in total 3D, and had a new look. Sega also had a new look, with there superbly designed system, that was so compact for such a powerful machine. Sadly, the press walked all over the console, and said it copied the Playstation. Sales were slow in Japan (and still are), but when it came to the states, Sega had a great campaign, and had the best selling launch in the history of the company. The launch titles were the best I had ever seen, and featured great games such as Sonic Adventure, Soul Caliber, and House of the Dead 2. The system was selling well, but Sony still had an overwhelming popularity. It took a year to accomplish their dream, but at the beginning of 2000, players were able to battle each other online, via the DC's built in modem. This was a first in gaming history. With once again great advertising, and Sony without a new system during Christmas of 2000, Sega's sold like crazy, and managed to have two Christmas's. Sega was looking good.


But now it seems due to the loss of revenue, and the competition of Sony, Nintendo, and now Microsoft, Sega will have to stop their console making, and no longer be the enemy. Sega will continue to make great games on the DC, but after this year, they will become a regular publisher like Namco, Capcom, and Konami. But we must never forget the joyous memories they gave us on their own. Sega was the best, is the best, and always will be the best. They strived to make the public happy, and always made games with the gamer in mind, not the money. As I will always say, no matter who tries to out do the other. Long live the true king... Sega.