Did Sony have a big release on 9/9/1999 or thereabouts?

[Ed Oscuro]

I'm talking with somebody and they're pretty sure Sony had a big release the day the Dreamcast launched. I've checked around a bit, but I haven't found anything.

I do see that the PS2 hype machine was in full swing at that date, though.

Another interesting tidbit: Bernie Stolar left SoA three weeks before the DC launch...just as he had left Sony three weeks before the American PSX launch. From that article:

"Bernie has done a fine job positioning the product," Leibowitz said, "orchestrating a media blitz that has resulted in a sell-out before it hits the shelves."

My personal theory is that the DC's failure within three years had nothing to do with Stolar or anything internal - I think people were wary of Sega after the Sega CD and 32x, and looking forward to the backwards-compatible PS2 at the time.

[Zadoc]

It was FF:IX

[InsaneDavid]

The way I hear it, Bernie Stolar had no intention of leaving Sega of America before the Dreamcast launched. He got into an argument with Sega of Japan top brass and said "fine, seeya" - again, that's the way I've always heard it.

It was FF:IX

I don't think so. I'm pretty sure that Final Fantasy IX was released when I was working with Target Corporation and I didn't begin with them until September of 2000.

Side note - MGS2 was released on the same day as the XBox.

[JLukas]

It was Final Fantasy VIII.

[Steven]

What JLukas said. Indeed it was. I remember the ads still. On one page you had 9.9.99 DC baby! On the other you had 9.9.99 new minty FF game! Fanboys rejoice on both ends... what a great time. New system in time to enjoy for the last holiday season of the 20th century, playing DC and the new FF when 2000 rolls in -- man it was some good times huh

[Ed Oscuro]

The way I hear it, Bernie Stolar had no intention of leaving Sega of America before the Dreamcast launched. He got into an argument with Sega of Japan top brass and said "fine, seeya" - again, that's the way I've always heard it.

The article said the same thing was likely the case, yes.

As for Final Fantasy VIII, that released on August 31st, 1999. Nine days short. Yes, it'd definitely be something big in the news, but not a 9/9/99 release.

[tylerwillis]

The way I hear it, Bernie Stolar had no intention of leaving Sega of America before the Dreamcast launched. He got into an argument with Sega of Japan top brass and said "fine, seeya" - again, that's the way I've always heard it.

The article said the same thing was likely the case, yes.

As for Final Fantasy VIII, that released on August 31st, 1999. Nine days short. Yes, it'd definitely be something big in the news, but not a 9/9/99 release.

I would have sworn that it was FFVIII; IGN lists a 9-9-99 release date.

[Steven]

Ed where did you get that date? I swear it was released on 9-9-99. Every single ad promoted it as such, and EGM even had a "Which will you buy on 9-9-99 if you could only pick one -- FF VIII or DC?"

I swear it...

[Oobgarm]

The way I hear it, Bernie Stolar had no intention of leaving Sega of America before the Dreamcast launched. He got into an argument with Sega of Japan top brass and said "fine, seeya" - again, that's the way I've always heard it.

The article said the same thing was likely the case, yes.

As for Final Fantasy VIII, that released on August 31st, 1999. Nine days short. Yes, it'd definitely be something big in the news, but not a 9/9/99 release.

I would have sworn that it was FFVIII; IGN lists a 9-9-99 release date.

Allgameguide.com is listing it as a 9-7-99 release, which makes sense since most games release on a Tuesday, and arrive in stores on Wednesday. I'd trust their info over IGN any day.

[Ed Oscuro]

Ed where did you get that date? I swear it was released on 9-9-99. Every single ad promoted it as such, and EGM even had a "Which will you buy on 9-9-99 if you could only pick one -- FF VIII or DC?"

I swear it...

Oh, sorry - GameSpot.

[GrayFox]

Final Fantasy 8. That was it.

I know for a fact it was 8. I went to GS that night and picked up my Dreamcast with Sonic Adventure and Soul Cal, and also snagged a copy of FF8 I had reserved.

Official date was 9/9/1999. They had ads for that date. Did some store release copies early? Who knows, but the date that it was supposed to be released was the 9/9/1999, atleast according to Square's 'WIN THIS CAR!' ads they had running for FF8 at the time.

[Ed Oscuro]

Alright, I'm convinced then

Thanks for the help, everybody!

[Zing]

[keiblerfan69]

Well thats all the proof we need.

[Xexyz]

Oooh, a Toyota...

[poopnes]

Oooh, a Toyota...

Man, I forgot how ugly Echo's really were.

[Jasoco]

New system in time to enjoy for the last holiday season of the 20th century

Nope. That would be the end of 2000. Not the end of 1999.

[smork]

Ick, still regret choosing FFVIII over a new DC. Love my DC now, never did like FFVIII. Ah, you know what they say about hindsight.

[keiblerfan69]

Ick, still regret choosing FFVIII over a new DC. Love my DC now, never did like FFVIII. Ah, you know what they say about hindsight.

I still regret choose a PS2 or a Dreamcast.

[smokehouse]

I regret having bought a DC, it sat unused on my gaming shelf for years. I finally sold the damn thing last summer.

As for the PS2 I bought one on release day, returned it a week later and used the $$ to buy my first Dolby Digital/DTS receiver. A Yamaha RX-V596 I believe. That was a smart move. To this day I still don’t own a PS2, I just borrow one from time to time.