With the anniversary of its mysterious demise, many questions still linger in the air like dust particles in an NES cartridge that no one can seem to blow out. Like so many forgotten classics, the details surrounding the death are fading to the background, trumpeted only by irate conspiracy fans on meaningless message boards on the internet.
Sega has disavowed any knowledge of its former operatives demise and has taken an oddly enthusiastic proclivity to assisting more modern ones, refusing to distinguish between allegiances and flying under the equal opportunity banner most agencies seem to flock to. However, as I began to probe the inconsistencies within this decade old story, I found that former and current employees of Sega, as well as associates past and present, have an odd assortment of knowledge on the Dreamcast case that was never made public. These interviews attempt to address the issue of the Dreamcast’s death, and any role Sega or other companies may have had in it.
For the record, Sega’s official statement on the issue has not changed throughout the course of my investigation, and it remains: “The Dreamcast was a valued part of our organization, and although its death was untimely, we can assure the public that no foul play was involved and that its service will be forever honoured.” Much like that annoying high score on Space Invaders that refuses to go away, that’s all we get out of them. Call me crazy, but I think there’s more to this story than that, and as my interviews showed, there’s more to them than Sega, and some others, want us to know.
Level 1 : Sonic
Sonic seemed like the obvious choice, and he oddly came to me without any misgivings about my intent. I told him I didn’t trust Sega, and he didn’t care. I think he’s been through some shit with them that’s made him a bit bitter, and those lifetime contracts are a bitch. I wish I could toss the poor bastard a 1UP, but I forgot he used those TV things. Never give a hedgehog a green mushroom.
ME: The Dreamcast. Tell me what you know about it.
SONIC: Great machine. One of the fucking best I’ve ever worked with. When died, shit, I didn’t know what to think. They told everyone that it was a sudden illness, couldn’t get the funds together for treatment or something? I don’t know, the story vanished real quick. You ask me though? Those bastards at Sega did it. Didn’t like how the insiders were warming up to him, and then pulled the plug.
ME: Insiders?
SONIC: Don’t play coy. The enthusiasts. The rabid ones. The fucking hardcore psychos. I used to roll with them, hell, sometimes I wish I still did. You get all the glitz and glamour for doing something rad, but a few months later, you’re old shit and some other asshole has taken your place. It’s a tough way of doing things, but it’s amazing when it works.
ME: So how was the Dreamcast different?
SONIC: See, that was the weird thing, it stayed popular. It always helps to make a big flash, but that guy just kept going and kept getting the love. See, the way Sega works, they don’t like it when that happens to one of their boys. They like it when people look at them like that, but one of their boys? That’s too much. Soon the boy gets so big it surpasses em, and then it’s the Dreamcast people love, not Sega.
ME: Wouldn’t it all reflect well on Sega either way?
SONIC: Have you seen what I’ve been fucking doing over the last few years? God, those bastards turned me into a werehog. A werehog! And the party game, the racing game, the damn fighting game! Don’t get me wrong, it was pretty cool working with Mario and those guys, which is really tough as a free agent, but why the hell do we have to go to the Olympics? And then there’s those other guys they saddle me with. Tails is OK, and Knuckles is fun after you get a few drinks. But Amy? Or Big? Freaks. All of em. And then when they made me date that human chick, I just stopped caring.
ME: Sounds like you have some bad blood with Sega.
SONIC: Yeah, me, the Phantasy Star guys, the Golden Axe guys, the Panzer Dragoon dragons. You see what happened to G? He’s getting put on the same turf as me when the new House of the Dead operation started. I’ve been around there for a while, and let me tell you, you won’t last a second there unless you’ve got a red hat.
The transcript may not show it well, but Sonic had been drinking. He went on for another half hour, but it was just the same bitching. I’m not sure if it was hit hate for Sega that made him think they wanted to take out the Dreamcast, but it was hard to ignore his conspiracy theory. I needed more answers.
Level 2: Mitsurugi
The Soul Calibur poster boy. He got his big start in the Soul Blade games, but only made it big on the Dreamcast. After that first foray he got out, hit the town big with everyone from the Gamecube to the PS3, and always gets the love. Well, usually. Seems like he knows how to rack up the combos better than anyone else.
ME: So, you got your break on the Dreamcast.
MITSURUGI: Yeah, I did.
ME: So you made it big on the Dreamcast, but why’d you get out?
MITSURUGI: Wasn’t totally my decision. By the time I was ready for another go, Dreamcast was out of the picture.
ME: Were you planning to return?
MITSURUGI: Maybe. Maybe not. Things seemed off. Like with Sega.
ME: In what way?
MITSURUGI: Dreamcast had some attitude. It thought it was a big shot, that it deserved better. I never knew the Saturn, but I heard it was a similar story, but even worse.
ME: Who’d you hear that from?
MITSURUGI: Oh, I can’t mention who, I’d get into some trouble. But they told me the Saturn had too much attitude and too many failures. The Dreamcast was the same way, but it couldn’t even make up for its failures with an early start. It had the love from the insiders, sure, but the people didn’t trust it. Sega burned them in the past, and the Dreamcast knew that. It knew it was paying for Sega’s mistakes.
ME: So you think Dreamcast was bucking a little?
MITSURUGI: It kept going in Japan, right? I hear it’s still operating there, just to stick it to Sega.
ME: Have you seen it though?
MITSURUGI: Not since I had to fuck up the Soul Fighter guys.
ME: Yeah, I remember that. Hey, by the way, you gonna put a shirt on?
MITSURUGI: No.
I could tell I couldn’t get anything else out of him, and his rippling physique was making me curious about his costume choice for this round, but it was some help nonetheless. Dreamcast and Sega didn’t get along, at least not the way the liked to make it look. I decided to move on.
Level 3: Ulala
Haven’t seen her in a while, and I don’t think anyone else has. She pops up every know and then in the scandal sheets, but after tracking her down, seems like those were desperate pleas for attention. She works the streets now, trading dances for space bucks. I’m not sure what she uses them for, but she seemed nervous and twitchy.
ME: What was your relationship with the Dreamcast?
ULALA: Relationship? Like I was his girl or something? Can’t I just have been a star on my own?
ME: Easy, I just want to know more about it.
ULALA: Right, right, I’m sorry. It’s just, ever since he died, I knew that was it for me. We were close. Real close.
ME: He ever tell you anything about Sega?
ULALA: Not really. Just that he didn’t trust them. He thought they were going to sell him out.
ME: Why?
ULALA: It’s no secret some factions in Sega hated EA. The sports teams were at each other’s throats. Sega wanted to take down EA at any cost, but not just with the Dreamcast, with everyone.
ME: And that didn’t work out so well.
ULALA: No! They sold out the Dreamcast, and what happened? They got their ass handed to them. And they deserved it. There’s nothing that won’t convince me that they let their own ambitions get so big it all blew up in their face. They wanted everyone’s pie, couldn’t just wait their turn for things to come around again. They always do, right?
ME: Yeah, I guess they do.
But what was coming around was Sega’s comeupins. I knew Ulala was angling for her own return, but I don’t have a say in that. But if this was all Sega’s doing, I’d go back for her like a missed item that gives me a useless speed boost.
Level 4: Seaman
Seaman was an odd fish. No pun intended. People say he doesn’t know shit, but I had to put it to the test.
ME: So Seaman, what do you know about the Dreamcast’s death?
SEAMAN: Hey let’s talk… are you there?
ME: Yeah. I am. I asked about the Dreamcast.
SEAMAN: What?.. what?.. I can’t hear you…
ME: The Dreamcast! You remember it?
SEAMAN: Let’s think about what you said, shall we?… I’ll see you later…
ME: Can’t you understand me?
SEAMAN: Well until next time… bye…
And that was it. I don’t know what it means, but I think Sega did something to him. Messed up his head so bad he doesn’t know what’s what.
Level 5: Mystery Man
I’m not supposed to reveal this guy’s identity, but he knows everything. EVERYTHING. He’s like a cheat code that gets you to any level, with max lives, and lets you listen to a sound test. If anyone knew the truth, it had to be him.
ME: So, do you know what happened to the Dreamcast?
HIM: Of course. It was murdered.
ME: By who?
HIM: Some people say Sega, and they hand in it, but it wasn’t them. They set the thing up though. There was definitely some hate.
ME: But who was it specifically?
HIM: You really want to know? It’s dangerous knowledge. I was scared to death for a few years when I was working with ——-, I didn’t think he’d be able to protect me. But now I’m safe, so I don’t worry about it too much. What about you?
ME: I’m a big boy. I can take it.
HIM: Really? I told it to Mega Man, and the poor bastard has never recovered.
ME: Trust me, I can take it.
HIM: OK. Well, it was Master Chief.
ME: Master Chief?!
HIM: It was his gun, right in the back of Dreamcast’s head.
ME: Why would he do it?
HIM: Wasn’t his fault really. Someone had to do it, it was the only way to keep the peace. Dreamcast was getting too loud, was going to throw things out of balance by taking out Sega. The insiders couldn’t protect it from that, and you know us corporate guys, we can’t let that happen. Someone was going to take out Dreamcast. See, Master Chief though, he was the new kid on the block. No one gave him any respect, so he needed a big first score. So before showing up, he took out Dreamcast and before you know it, he’s got a chunk of the insiders with him. It was a brilliant move really.
ME: So it was just a power play?
HIM: Yeah, pretty much. That’s the way I see it.
ME: But what about Japan? I hear Dreamcast is still hanging around there.
HIM: I got good with Japan, and I think it’s a fake. I mean, Chief never goes there often because he doesn’t have the crew to back him up, so it’d be a good place to hide, but I don’t think Dreamcast made it. You can survive getting shot, pull a Game Boy and pull yourself out of the grave, but it’s rare. And if it only happens in Japan? Meaningless. In the big picture I mean. Dreamcast is dead.
But was it? I couldn’t shake the feeling that Master Chief’s arrival wasn’t the final word. The Dreamcast kept going for years in Japan, and it still had some of the insiders backing it up. So is it really dead? It doesn’t have much time left if it’s alive, but who the hell knows? It’s like a game that keeps sucking in quarters, you just can’t quit it sometimes, which is why I tried to find out the truth. Turns out the only truth I found was that Sega is filled with lies and that the Dreamcast was a renegade.
There’s still so much to learn, so much I have yet to uncover, but considering all the threats I received while conducting these interviews, it might be smart to lay low. Course, I was never very smart, so I might just go on trying to get to the bottom of this. Even if it takes my last life.