DREAMCAST AT 6

[RCM]

Well it's 9/9/05. Do you remember what you were doing 6 years ago today? I do! I was playing my brand new Dreamcast along with a few choice launch titles. Best launch ever? I'd say so!

The failure of the Dreamcast is one of the greatest travesties of gaming. It deserved to live! This thread is dedicated to 6 years (domestically) of one of the better systems ever.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[swlovinist]

I remember the day well due to the fact that I was in my second week of work as an assistant manager at Gamestop. The intensity of that day was awsome. I saw person after person drop $300 to $700 on games and a system extras. It was a very good day, and one that showcased some good games, most notible was Soul Calibur. Still to this day one of the most polished 3D fighters I have ever played. The Dreamcast to me is the saving grace of Sega in the US. The Dreamcast was and still is a great system, and I cannot believe it has been six years. May retrogamers everywhere on Sept 9th give homage to the pioneer to the 128 bit generation...

[CrimsonNugget]

Back in '99 I had pretty much lost faith in Sega's ability to push its console, but when the Dreamcast was released it became clear that this could have saved them. Unfortunately, Sony out-marketed Sega later. :( I didn't get one on launch day, I got it as a Christmas gift, but it was dated September 1999 nontheless. It still is going strong today, I have yet to have any DC horror stories.

[kainemaxwell]

I didn't get a DC until the DP Survivor contest a few years back but I do remember being impressed by the screenshots and movies of the Dreamcast in action. Once I got my DC, I've been happy with it since- love the quality and the fact that Sega took the time to give each their games, and the 3rd party ones, different qualities.

[Damaramu]

Uhh....Happy Birthday Dreamcast!!

Funny, I was just playing some DC games tonight. It totally slipped my mind that 9/9 was drawing near!

Ah, Dreamcast...what a cool little system you are! :bday:

[NoahsMyBro]

Shortly before the Dreamcast launched, I saw a demo system running in one of the chain mall videogame stores. IIRC, it was running a demo of World Series Baseball. Yeah, the game was awful, but at the time I could only watch, not play, and I was astounded - it looked like I was watching a live game on TV.

A few days later, I got to play Air Force Delta on another store demo system. I must have flown the single mission I tried for at least 10 minutes, and when I finally died, the game showed me a full, complete, instant replay! I couldn't believe the system actually was able to show me the entire replay, over 10 minutes' worth!

Now, I hadn't purchased a videogame system or game since buying a Genesis almost 10 years earlier, and I had only ever had 3 or 4 Genesis games (Sonic and Sonic 2 free with the system, and then a used copy of Spaceflight).

But I wanted a Dreamcast, it was just too cool to not have. I started plotting how I'd get one. Money was a little tight, so I had to somehow work my wife.

Now, Sept. 18 is my birthday. If memory serves, and I'm too lazy to look it up, the 18th was a Saturday. When the system came out on the 9th, I still hadn't realized that I had already made up my mind; I thought I was still undecided about getting a DC. Within a week, I'd received a combined $150 in birthday checks from my Dad and my Grandparents. I chipped in some bucks I'd made from a couple of quick jobs I'd done recently, and on Saturday, 9/18, I went out and bought myself a brand-new Dreamcast. Of the launch games, I wanted Sonic Adventure, but as it turned out, the store I bought the DC from was sold out of SA. SO I drove to another KayBee and found a copy there.

I had a lot of fun that day - the anticipation, the excitement of getting the new system, seeking out and finding the game I wanted, and of course getting home and playing the game.

FUN.

[vincewy]

Also sad to see even Japanese releases (including dating sims) have stalled, just check this link

http://www.sega.co.jp/dc/

Perhaps SNK can crank out a few more later Neo-Geo ports to keep Dreamcast alive, nonetheless, the system had life span of 6+ years in Japan.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Well, I can say i'm doing my bit to keep the dream alive and preserving that little piece of DC history! ;)

Didn't get my DC until a few months before Sonic Adventure II was released (Which was June I believe), so would have been about January of 2001 if i'm not mistaken. Something like that anyway.

[Fuku-san]

Dreamcast is the best

[ubersaurus]

Also sad to see even Japanese releases (including dating sims) have stalled, just check this link

http://www.sega.co.jp/dc/

Perhaps SNK can crank out a few more later Neo-Geo ports to keep Dreamcast alive, nonetheless, the system had life span of 6+ years in Japan.

Nah, SNK's abandoned the Dreamcast.

Looks as though Trizeal is indeed the final commercial release for that little white box.

[Fuyukaze]

Its hard to believe its been out 6 years now. So much joy in a lil white box. Or black, or pink, or what ever damned color depending on if its been painted. I wish more games had been released domesticly, if only to give me more games to buy. Ah well.

[FurinkanianFrood]

DC should have lived. PS2 should have died.

But people are morons, and they bought Sony's hype.

The DC will live forever in the hearts of the true gamers.

I can only pray that the PS3 somehow fails. Bittersweet it would be, but revenge nonetheless.

Long live the true Sega of memories!!

[sabre2922]

I still play my Dreamcast and I STILL like it better than my PS2 wich I have bought 3 of :angry: although the PS2 slowwwly won me over and brought me to the dark side ;)

Playing the DC reminds me of some of my favorite days as a gamer and my current Dreamcast probably has the more hours on it than any console Ive ever owned before.

From my blog:

The glorious Dreamcast, killed by the evil Playstation!

In early to mid 1997, it became known that Sega was working on its successor to the Saturn, code-named Black Belt. 3Dfx was approached in order to design the graphics processor for the console, however, in June of that year Sega ditched them in favor of their long-time rival NEC. 3Dfx filed a lawsuit and things got nasty for a bit.

The decision to favor the NEC over the 3Dfx was because Sega had two design concepts drawn up by its teams in America and Japan. The American team chose the IBM/Motorolla PowerPC 603e as the processor and a custom version of 3Dfx's Voodoo 3 as the graphics processor. The Japanese team chose the Hitachi SH4 along with the NEC PowerVR2 graphics processor. When the latter design was chosen, both the team members at Sega of America as well as 3Dfx were furious. The new project was named Katana and announced to the public by that name on September 7, 1997.

On May 21, 1998 Sega unveiled its next-generation console called Dreamcast to the world. It was the first console to be 128-bit and have a 56kbps modem. The Dreamcast was made available to the public that Autumn at the Tokyo Game Show along with a range of upcoming titles for the first 128-bit console to hit the market. Capcom showcased their Resident Evil: Code Veronica and Sega showed off its Sonic Adventure and Virtua Fighter 3tb games. Over a month later, on November 25, 1998, the Dreamcast was finally released to the Japanese public and sales were incredible. The European release came on October 14, 1999 and was also a success.

Sony ruined the show for Sega with the release of its 128-bit PS2, which had added features such as being able to play DVDs and PS1 games. News of Nintendo's upcoming console and Microsoft's XBOX just made matters worse for Sega.

In March 2001, production of the Dreamcast was ceased and Sega announces that they are leaving the hardware business all together to focus on writing games for various other consoles. Today, Sega have a number of titles on consoles and gaming devices ranging from the Nintendo Game Cube to the Nokia N-Gage.

The Dreamcast retailed for $199.99. About 250 games were released in the US, 150 in Japan and 26 were exclusively released in Europe.

Technical Specs:

CPU: 128-bit Hitachi SH-4 RISC processor (200MHz 360 MIPS)
Graphics: NEC CLX2 processor
RAM: 16MB, 8MB Video RAM, 2MB Sound RAM
Colors: 16.7 million
Polygons: 3 million per second
Game Media: 1.2GB GD-ROM, 12x access speed
Resolution: 640x480 pixels
Sound: Yamaha 64 channel
Operating System: Custom Windows CE with DirectX support
Modem: 56Kbps (US/JP NTSC), 33.3Kbps (PAL)

[Cryomancer]

Yay Dreamcast Day.

The system that really got me into collecting really. Infinate fun. Almost ever game on this system is worth playing a bit, except for maybe "random liscened platformer #12", and hell, even those can be fun.

[sabre2922]

early Dreamcast prototypes:

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/weblogs/upload/50/208574609143212e9674cac.jpg

funky @_@ http://www.digitpress.com/forum/weblogs/upload/50/100874734243212ee310b3e.jpg

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/weblogs/upload/50/58461790943212f2b529c9.jpg

Last production model Dreamcast:
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/weblogs/upload/50/93873705743212f71e518b.jpg

Prototypes gallery:
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/weblogs/upload/50/60497373443212fe6502bd.jpg

From Dreamcastgallery.com

[Naouruki]

I first saw a DC running in June 1999 in South Africa in a gameshop, with SA.

Man do I miss the DC. It is indeed sad that Trizeal looks to have been the last release, but if so, what a fitting title. Though it pisses me off it's goign over to Ps2 now, which ruins the magic.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Coincidently, the DC was the last console I bought... Well, technically, as I bought myself a brand new pink Hello Kitty DC last week! :)

Definitely the last "Collector's" console. Yet it's legacy still lives on, as most the better games have since appeared on one or more of the current three console platforms.

I dread to think how much Shenmue II would have been worth had it not been rereleased on the Xbox...

[alec006]

Yay Happy Birthday Dreamcast,im going to play it for along time! 8-)

[s1lence]

I picked mine up at Kaybee toys. It was the last one of there shipment. It was the first system that really blew me away with the graphics. The first level on Sonic Adventure with the dolphins on the beach was just simply amazing.

[VACRMH]

DC should have lived. PS2 should have died.

But people are morons, and they bought Sony's hype.

The DC will live forever in the hearts of the true gamers.

I can only pray that the PS3 somehow fails. Bittersweet it would be, but revenge nonetheless.

Long live the true Sega of memories!!

Oh boo fucking hoo. How dare people buy good games for other systems.

Get over it.

The only thing I find sad is the fact that some great games were left in Japan.

I guess "True Gamers" buy the system that dies fast? Only Hardcore people play the Jaguar and CD-I.

I think tonight i'll play some Soul Calibur, Zero Gunner 2, Gunbird 2 and then some Tekken 2, Resident Evil and Klonoa

[NintendoMan]

Well it's 9/9/05. Do you remember what you were doing 6 years ago today?

Holy shit! It's already 9/9/05, just yesterday I remember posting on here about the Dreamcast when it was 9/9/04. That year went by fast!
Anyways, yes, for some reason the DC release sticks out most in my mind out of all the gameday buys. I think because I was a senior in high school and me and my best friend both got one that day. (The lucky bastard was also able to afford more controllers, VMU's, and 3 more games than me)

This is a great day in gaming that I will for sure NEVER FORGET!!!!!

[NintendoMan]

I picked mine up at Kaybee toys. It was the last one of there shipment. It was the first system that really blew me away with the graphics. The first level on Sonic Adventure with the dolphins on the beach was just simply amazing.

Same thing happened to me, with Sonic I mean.

I don't think there will ever be another system that blows people away like this one did. I mean the jump in graphics was just so big.

[Xantan the Foul]

I bought a Dreamcast last year, didn't hook it up for several months, when I did hook it up I played Armada through to completion over a few weeks.

I haven't touched it since.

Maybe eventually I'll pry myself away from my 115 PS2 games to play a couple of my 7 Dreamcast games.

On that note though, Armada was a badass game.

[WanganRunner]

Unfortunately, I didn't buy one at launch due to lack of funds, I didn't get a Dreamcast until more than a year later when I bought one to play Shenmue with.

9/9/99 was my first week of college though, so I remember it pretty well. There were several student groups auctioning off Dreamcasts, because it was sort of the toy of the moment at the time.

[Jive3D]

I worked at EB at the time that the DC came out. They provided us with a Japanese DC for the weeks leading up to the launch - so we could use the Japanese DC to run Sonic Adventure in the window to get people hyped up.

I was so hyped up that one day I unplugged the DC and just carried it around with me all day like a baby. I wanted it so bad.

The manager at the time was a complete and total bag of douche. Would you beleive that this tool took the DC controllers home with him so that we could not play the Dreamcast!? Total dick move on his part. Then I transferred to another store, bought a DC and lived happily ever after.

[pookninja]

happy birthday dreamcast!!!i had my dreamcast preordered and paid in full,so i got mine on 9/9/99,along with soul caliber,ready to rumble boxing,1 vmu,and extra controller.i still play my dreamcast quite often,mainly play alot of the capcom releases,and smurf doom that i burned on a disk.

[GameSlaveGaz]

Don't forget, it's also the Super Nintendo's birthday. It was released 9/9/91. Coincedentally, it's also me and my boyfriend's 5th anniversary. I think it's befitting that two gamers so in love share an anniversary with 2 great video game systems.
We're gonna have to go back to my house and play as much DC and SNES as we can stomach. Well, he does have a DC at his house, but not an SNES, and since it's the SNES' b-day too you can leave it out.

It's such a happy day, but it's all overcast here in Massachusetts :( Why is it crappy weather on such a happy day?????

[RJ]

On 9/9/99, I wasnt playing the Dreamcast. Actually, I was never even considering buying one. If anything, I was enjoying my newly acquired Playstation (see PS Birthday thread).

Our city has a big city-wide garage sale event every summer, & 2 years ago my mother-in-law went. I asked her to call me if/when she came across ANY video game/related items. She found a DC, extra controllers, VMU, & 16 games all for $30. I didnt know much firsthand about the system, but I'd heard about its ColecoVision emulation, & it was a great deal, so I had her buy it.

I got rid of some of the games I didnt care for (Floigan Bros, some flight sim, football, basketball). Funny side story: I brought these to EB Games & was offered AROUND 2 DOLLARS, being told that DC games werent popular/in demand. I promptly took them to a mom-&-pop store where I got $17 for them-even for titles they already had.

The most fun I've had w/ my DC is unlocking stuff in Sega Marine Fishing w/ my nephew who also got a used one awhile back.


PS2 should have died.

But people are morons, and they bought Sony's hype.

Yeah- 80+ million "morons" worldwide. Whatever.

[rpepper9]

Yeah the Dreamcast was great, but not all that some are making it out to be. I think that some of the features were kinda pointless. Like the ability to replay an entire race after you finished. Why? You just did the race, why sit there and watch it all again when you could go onto the next race? Couldn't that power and resources be put into some other feature?

Just my thoughts.

[MuppetMaster]

happy Birthday Dreamcast! Got mine at launch with all the bells and whistles(cost a bloody fortune though) and never looked back!

[Sailorneorune]

Happy Birthday to the Dreamcast. It seems like only a month ago that I brought you home from a small local-chain game store...

oh wait, it was.

Now I have 8 games (Sonic Adventure 2 pending in), 3 controllers, and 2 VMUs to go along with my little white box that could have.

The DC would still be alive were it not for the allure of a reasonably priced DVD player to Japanese and American consumers at the beginning of the new millennium.

Celebrate the Dreamcast by sending me some VMUs... please?

sailorneorune

[CreamSoda]

Happy Birthday Dreamcast!!!!!!!!

This was and always will be the best system ever!

I remember reading an EGM magazine in early 1999 looking at the Dreamcast game screen shots(Shenmue, Sonic Adventure, Air Force Delta, ect). And being totally blown away. I clearly stated that graphics could never get better then this. And even though thats not exactly true, the DC has aged VERY well. Just look at the launch titles, they still look awesome.

I only had an N64 at the time and didn't know about the DC launch, so when I went to rent some N64 titles one night I was all excited to find DC titles for rent and a playable demo kiosk of Sonic Adventure. Great stuff indeed! :)

I didn't get mine on launch(I was an 11 year old with no extra cash at the time). But I got it a year or so later with Worms: Armageddon, Shenmue, Crazy taxi and NFL 2K1. It was one of the best days ever, I remember spending like a couple hours just looking through all the drawers and cabinets in in Ryo's house in Shenmue. LOL Good times.

DC was also the first system I played online, and I still think it makes a great web browser in my room. In just the first few months I got the system I had some of the best gaming memories ever. Playing Shenmue and being amazed at everything from the graphics/sound/story/dialouge/ect, to playing through Toy Commander, and downloading VMU saves off the internet, to playing Unreal Tournament,NFL 2K1 and Phantasy Star Online all night on the weekends(if only UT was still online!). Great times indeed! :)

Dreamcast will always be the best and greatest system I've ever played, and I'm always enjoying going back to playing the classics as well as finding new titles/features.

Happy Birthday Dreamcast!!!!!! :D :D :D

[Doonzmore]

The Dreamcast was the last great gaming system I ever experienced. I picked one up launch week as well and remember being blown away by the first level of Sonic Adventure where Sonic was dashing across the bridge with the whale tearing behind him. An amazing way to wrap the 90's indeed.

CHEERS :cheers:

[RCM]

I wrote a little thing about the DC for my website. Not my best work but it'll do.

http://www.gamersunitemagazine.com/2005/09/dreamcast_at_6.php

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[drewbrim]

DC should have lived. PS2 should have died.

But people are morons, and they bought Sony's hype.

The DC will live forever in the hearts of the true gamers.

I can only pray that the PS3 somehow fails. Bittersweet it would be, but revenge nonetheless.

Long live the true Sega of memories!!

Oh boo fucking hoo. How dare people buy good games for other systems.

Get over it.

The only thing I find sad is the fact that some great games were left in Japan.

I guess "True Gamers" buy the system that dies fast? Only Hardcore people play the Jaguar and CD-I.

These statements make me laugh as well. It seems that for a system to be considered "hardcore" that it had to be underappreciated, i.e. Dreamcast, Saturn, Turbografx, etc...

That being said, the Dreamcast is currently the system I play the most and the Turbografx is probably my favorite of all time. Happy B-Day!!

[RCM]

DC should have lived. PS2 should have died.

But people are morons, and they bought Sony's hype.

The DC will live forever in the hearts of the true gamers.

I can only pray that the PS3 somehow fails. Bittersweet it would be, but revenge nonetheless.

Long live the true Sega of memories!!

Oh boo fucking hoo. How dare people buy good games for other systems.

Get over it.

The only thing I find sad is the fact that some great games were left in Japan.

I guess "True Gamers" buy the system that dies fast? Only Hardcore people play the Jaguar and CD-I.

These statements make me laugh as well. It seems that for a system to be considered "hardcore" that it had to be underappreciated, i.e. Dreamcast, Saturn, Turbografx, etc...

That being said, the Dreamcast is currently the system I play the most and the Turbografx is probably my favorite of all time. Happy B-Day!!

I don't think a system has to be underappreciated to be "hardcore." But a lot of the best games on those systems you list seem to only appeal to the enthusiast crowd. That's backed by the poor sales of said systems. It's sad b/c the casuals miss out on a lot of great games.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[Link_Chrono]

Happy Birthday Dreamcast! Have a cake I just found:

http://www.sblnet.co.uk/photosblucket/images/linkchrono/dccake.jpg

I've only had my Dreamcast for a little while, but I definately plan to get more games for it in the near future (and my local Gamestation has quite a few games, which is a plus). I've been loving Sonic Adventure and Evolution so far.

[Six Switch]

oh shit yeah do i remember today well.


i was a wee lad,in 7th grade.i had my damn pre order slip,i still thought you had to save them back then,for close to 6 months.i was sooo excited.at school everytime i wrote i date,9/9/99,i was smiling for sure.my mom was going to take me right to ebx after school to grab my new system and sonic.i get in the car,excited as hell,and what do i see?the black dreamcast bad on the seat next to me.MY MOM GOT IT FOR ME AND SHE IS THE SHIT.it was awesome.i played it all day even though i only had one game.and it was awesome.

first system i ever got on launch day,couldn't have been better.


i love dreamcast

[GameNinja]

Although I didn't buy a Dreamcast on realease day or anywhere near it, I still love mine. It is my only video-game find EVER at a garage sale and I got it for 10$. :D

I just finished playing a round of Jet Grind Radio. Man, that game is great.

I do remember the first time playing it. It was at Best Buy and i was playing Sonic Adventure. I was VERY close to wetting my pants when that whale started jumping at me.

Great times. (and more to come)

:bday:


On a small side-note: Is there a chance of Sega ever making a new system or am I just being hopeful?

[MrRoboto19XX]

Ah, good old DC.
There's just something about it.
The white box that could.

A Dreamcast Haiku by Earl Gray III

I know it sounds crazy, but theres this feeling to DC games, its like no other.

One could say "Its got the arcade feel!"

[Yago]

I really can't say enough good things about the system. I am still a ways from getting all of the games, but the ones I have are just a joy to play. Sega really put a good effort into releasing some great games. I always found the play ability in Sega games to be very good. I still play my DC weekly. Got my dad hooked on Bass Fishing (No Pun Intended). Crazy Taxi with a wheel is just awesome. Typing of the Dead, truly way out there, I couldn't feel my hands for days after finishing that game. Ms. Pacman is still one of my favorites. I am not really into fighting games, but Soul Caliber, holy sh*t! Rock on DC!

[Retsudo]

I just got a DC 2 months ago. I only have two games for it. Soul Calibar and SFA3.

I remember when I went to buy my PS2 and I was looking at that DC price tag. It was $100 bucks at the time. That sure did look better than spending $300 bucks for that PS2.

Im still not too crazy about the controller, but I got it for 5 bucks with 2 games from my nephew. Who would turn that down?

[NEOFREAK9189]

happy Birthday Dreamcast Got mine at launch 9/9/99
Dreamcast is my favorite I remember that day I was so happy
anyone remember a tv show cnet I have the dreamcast 5 week before the launch
also I have the show in video tape

[PDorr3]

Wow it seems like it has been so much longer that the DC came out. Anyway here is to the underdog of gaming, and one hell of a system!

[Lothars]

6 years ago, I was playing my Computer, but I was planning to rent a dreamcast, once I did i fell in love with it and had to have one

it's a great system and I love it, It's such an awesome system :D

[mcgrail0007@netzero.net]

I remember 9/9/99. I worked late that night so that I could go and buy the Dreamcast early that morning. I still play the Dreamcast all the time. I have 6 Dreamcast systems. Still one of my favorites.

[sabre2922]

Ah, good old DC.
There's just something about it.
The white box that could.

A Dreamcast Haiku by Earl Gray III

I know it sounds crazy, but theres this feeling to DC games, its like no other.

One could say "Its got the arcade feel!"

I agree when the Dreamcast start-up screen starts its like your know your about to play a great game on one of the greatest systems ever made (THE GREATEST Imoa) 8-)