Dreamcast Not So Old School After All

[Nz17]

Over at The Dreamcast Junkyard was a contest to win one of three prizes: a copy of the XBOX 360 "Dreamcast Collection," a promotional vinyl "Dreamcast Collection" record containing select songs thereof, and a promotional Dreamcast hooded sweatshirt made just for the game compilation's release.

To win, entrants needed to tell a great yet true story about these games and the real world or write about one of their favorite moments from one of the games. A lot of entries were received but only three winners could be had. And I liked the last winner's story the most of all.

From The Dreamcast Junkyard's winners' page:

My favorite moment would have to be with Sonic Adventure. It was 2004 or so, and I was one of the kind of video game nerds that would get into debates about video games, consoles, etc. I was always, always a big Dreamcast fan. (At this time, at least around me, the general sentiment was that GC and PS2 were the kings, and DCs were a rightfully forgotten failure.) I, of course, argued that the Dreamcast was really, really ahead of its time, and, even at this time, not too far behind the GC and PS2. Anyway, it was me versus about every other gamer, so it wasn't much of an argument. They were all in agreement that the DC was pretty bad and that's why it failed. A few weeks later, I had my friends come over and I was playing Sonic Adventure on my faithful Dreamcast. They came in, saw what I was playing, and sat down. The important thing to note is that my DC, because of my setup, was kind of placed right behind my GC, which was currently on, but not plugged in (forgot to turn it off after I switched to my DC). They immediately sit down and say something like "see! I told you the GC version is better. Look at those graphics--you wouldn't see a better frame-rate on your little Dreamcast." They thought they caught me secretly playing the GC version when they wouldn't notice. After their little teasing, I was laughing and without a word I leaned over and turned that GC off in front of them; lo and behold, Sonic was still standing there, in all his 1998, Dreamcast glory! Got'cha! My friends aren't one to admit defeat, but it was pretty hard for them to say too many words against the DC after that.

[kafa111]

lol that is great

[leatherrebel5150]

As Charlie Sheen would say ...WINNING!

[Emperor Megas]

Sonic was still standing there, in all his 1998, Dreamcast glory!

Wasn't the Dreamcast launched on 9.9.99?

[Gameguy]

I could see the story ending better if he then unplugged the GC and started beating his friends with it.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Wasn't the Dreamcast launched on 9.9.99?

In North America, yes. Japan had it's launch in '98, so it can be seen as technically valid, though a bit confusing.

[Emperor Megas]

In North America, yes. Japan had it's launch in '98, so it can be seen as technically valid, though a bit confusing.

Wow, we got it almost a year later? I didn't realize.

[tubeway]

And nobody noticed him holding a dreamcast controller?

[Emperor Megas]

And nobody noticed him holding a dreamcast controller?

That is pretty strange, but I can see something like that happening. I'm not convinced that this was the case, and that this story wasn't a fabrication, but in the event the person was sitting behind him, and not really paying much attention...

[retroman]

i loved and still do the dreamcast..got it on day one and still play it today..i remember how i wished it would whip the ps2 and new ass...the old saying is money talks, and we all know what happened...the ps2 turned out to be a great thing also..so

[sheath]

At the retail shop I used to work at we had four CRTs hooked up to various consoles at all times and a metal basket in front of them with various system controllers that ran into the wall. When I would work a shift alone I used to put the Genesis version of Street Fighter II SCE on one of the screens and completely unknown games on the other screens.

I wish I could have made a study, or at least a video, but people *always* grabbed the SNES controller and looked at Special Champion Edition while exclaiming what a great game it was.

[evildead2099]

At the retail shop I used to work at we had four CRTs hooked up to various consoles at all times and a metal basket in front of them with various system controllers that ran into the wall. When I would work a shift alone I used to put the Genesis version of Street Fighter II SCE on one of the screens and completely unknown games on the other screens.

I wish I could have made a study, or at least a video, but people *always* grabbed the SNES controller and looked at Special Champion Edition while exclaiming what a great game it was.

SF2: SFE for the Genny sure looked and played great, but the sound was awful compared to SNES versions of SF2. I still loved it anyway, and played the hell out that game back in the day.

[kedawa]

I think the Genesis SF games actually have better music, but the voices and sound effects are pretty bad.

[sheath]

I think the comparison between SCE and Turbo on the SNES is much closer than emulators make it out to be.

[Peonpiate]

I think the Genesis SF games actually have better music, but the voices and sound effects are pretty bad.

This.

Both versions are nearly equal quality wise. Capcom did a great job making the Genesis game look as good as the SNES version considering the color limits and all. Its only downfall is sound and voices but the Genesis music is definately alot better.

[Rob2600]

At the retail shop I used to work at we had four CRTs hooked up to various consoles at all times and a metal basket in front of them with various system controllers that ran into the wall. When I would work a shift alone I used to put the Genesis version of Street Fighter II SCE on one of the screens and completely unknown games on the other screens.

I wish I could have made a study, or at least a video, but people *always* grabbed the SNES controller and looked at Special Champion Edition while exclaiming what a great game it was.

I used to work at Electronics Boutique in the late 1990s-early 2000s. Shortly before World Series Baseball came out for the Dreamcast, I had the latest All-Star Baseball game running on an N64 behind the counter. My customers couldn't see the console or the controller, only the TV running a CPU vs. CPU game.

Everyone who came up to the TV said, "Wow, World Series Baseball is out on the Dreamcast already? These graphics look awesome! I want to buy this!"

When I told them it was All-Star Baseball on the N64, they would reply with something like, "Oh, for real? Yeah, I knew the graphics looked bad."

Huh?

[kedawa]

People are just dumb. Back when the Dreamcast and PS2 were actually competing with one another, the EB games near my old place had demo kiosks for both systems. At one point I was there buying something, and the DC was running a demo of Metropolis Street Racer, and the PS2 had Midnight Club or some shit. Some customers were practically drooling over the vastly inferior graphics of the PS2 game, and talking shit about the Dreamcast. The clerk and I just laughed at them, and he said that it wasn't unusual, even though the DC pretty much always had the more impressive demo running.

[sheath]

I remember the first time I saw Dreamcast in a store, I think it was a Software Etc or a Game World in San Antonio. The clerk pointed to the screen and said "isn't it awesome," I didn't know what "it" was but I recognized a Namco game right away. I watched for a minute and said, "damn I hate FMV intros, where's the gameplay?"

I didn't know I was watching Soul Calibur's Attract mode of some character doing their weapons form.

On the subject of the average clerk's intelligence. I remember every BlockBuster in town telling me to return my Dreamcast immediately because the Playstation 2 was going to come out in December (1999) and "blow it away."

In 2001 I saw somebody playing Sonic Adventure 2 on a Gamecube kiosk. I thought said it quietly, but I told my friend that I didn't remember the pop in I was seeing in City Escape (Level 1) in the Dreamcast version. The fellow playing the game literally dropped the Gamecube controller and glared at me like he wanted a fight.

Game Stores are a bad place for choosing games or consoles.

[Viraneth]

First post in over two years. It's a bit dusty.

I remember I got my dreamcast when Gamestop was offloading them all, and I got a Dreamcast, a madcatz controller, Maken X, and Shenmue for $10; and PSO Ver.2 for $3. My first classic game purchase, I guess; since it was around 2004-2005. Since there were few nerds around me growing up and they all hated Sega, I was alone lauding how good the system still was. I love my Dreamcast and when I can get a good deal on games I always buy them (even if I have barely any money left in my bank account). I've got about 17 DC games (Shenmue went missing, lost to the aether I assume); and all in all I've payed about $40-50 for them, in total (there used to be a PNT by my house and the owner would let me into the backroom and scope out the retro stuff they'd get in, and anything I wanted I would get at discount, like Soul Calibur for $5). And when I go places with my dreamcast, I'd have to say the most popular games end up being Soul Calibur, Gauntlet Legends, Skies of Arcadia, Jet Grind Radio, and Super Magnetic Neo (it's a novelty).

Here at my university, I am no longer the only one who has a love affair with the DC. It is, and will forever be, my favorite game system. This is a great thread; and I think that the story in nz17's post is one I'll save for a long time.

[vincewy]

While in the end, you only have less than 250 games released in US, I'd say at least 50 (up to 100) games can keep you hooked on for a while. Crazy Taxi alone, I think I've put in over 300 hours trying to earn $120,000. The best part of it? I had fun playing it every time, not just for the sake of beating the record.