Last week marked the ten-year anniversary of Sega’s semi-defunct Dreamcast console, so I’ve decided to gush fanboy-style over what is my favorite gaming system. Sure, I love the NES, the Super Nintendo, and I even have fond memories of my old Colecovision; nothing makes me smile more, however, than the oft misunderstood Dreamcast.
It wasn’t the first disc-based system that I owned, so why am I so fixated by Sega’s last resort system? Perhaps it’s because the Dreamcast was the first console that I had pre-ordered. Not at a brick-and-mortar Babbage’s or Funcoland, but through the burgeoning utopia known as the Internet. I remember receiving the UPS box early on the morning of September 9, 1999. It was more exciting than watching music videos on TBS on Saturday nights waiting for Huey Lewis and the News’ Doing It All For My Baby to air.
The pre-order was only available in bundles, the least expensive of which included 3 games, the system, and a VMU. I ended up with Sonic Adventure (awesome), Ready 2 Rumble Boxing (semi-awesome), and the Resident Evil clone Blue Stinger (not-awesome-at-all). I skipped class and spent the day with old friends (Sonic and his buddies). I marveled at the real-time bruise effects in Ready 2 Rumble. I wished I had bought Soul Caliber instead of Blue Stinger. It was a respectable launch, all told.
The Dreamcast was the first of the 6th-gen (128-bit) systems, so the graphics were a definite sight to behold. The experience was akin to popping in a DVD after watching a VHS tape. Everything was just clearer. It was as close as you could get to having an arcade machine in your home (without dropping a small fortune on a Neo-Geo). And with the near-perfect arcade port of Soul Caliber available, it really was an arcade machine, sans quarter slots and sticky buttons.
I found myself longing for more of these arcade experiences as the year went on. I found solace in games like Crazy Taxi, Dead or Alive 2, and the uber-awesome Marvel vs. Capcom and its sequel. I guess the reason I fell in love with the DC is because I had so many “firsts” with it. It was my first truly “next-gen” system, my first home arcade-box, and it introduced me to several new types of games.
There was the weirdness of the Leonard Nimoy narrated evolution simulator, Seaman and the ultra-emotional, engrossing, fork-lift driving revenge simulation of Shenmue. My love for music-rhythm games even blossomed through the cute and catchy seeds planted by Space Channel 5, as well as my love for music-themed games like David Bowie’s opus, Omikron: The Nomad Soul.
Oh, and don’t forget that the greatest film of all time (Evil Dead 2) made it’s video-game debut on the Dreamcast.
Sitting here thinking of my favorite games of the Dreamcast era, I’m beginning to feel those familiar butterflies of excitement deep in my gut. Which I suppose is proof that I will always turn to my trusty DC for some of the most original and fun games of my life. Much later, I discovered the wonders of emulation through Sega’s magic system. In a pre-Virtual Console world, the DC was the best NES and SNES emulator around.
You could fit every 8-bit game ever made on one CD-R (complete with manuals and screen shots) and relive your most frustrating moments to your heart’s content. There was and still is a vibrant homebrew scene among Dreamcast fanatics; a community has developed with the goal of nurturing and revering an often overlooked system. Heck, there are a few brave companies that are even releasing new games. It’s weird to know that I can still pre-order a game for the DC in 2009.
It’s hard to believe that ten years have passed since Sega sang their hardware swan song. If only Sega of Japan had held out another six months, the face of the gaming landscape may be different today. Sony is still supporting the PS2, which launched just a year after the Dreamcast. Game consoles have long tails, but the initial sales hump must be crossed before the rewards can be seen. Only now is Sony finding success with the PS3, and they’ll likely support it for another 8 years. I know, I sound bitter. Retrospection for games-gone-by always gets me fired up.
Thanks for listening to me gush. I’m turning off “fanboy” mode now. All is normal.