Ex-Sega of America head and EA Sports boss, Peter Moore has posted an emotional blog post commemorating the Dreamcast's 10th Birthday - which is today.
"It certainly doesn't feel like a decade has gone by since this innovative console ushered in the era of online gaming, albeit through a 56K modem, and thus changed the face of interactive entertainment forever," he said.
"And what a launch line up we had. 18 titles was probably 3 or 4 too many, but we had all genres covered, featuring classics such as Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, NFL 2k and Ready 2 Rumble. All were brought to glorious 3-D life through the Power VR graphics chip.
"The 'biggest 24 hours in retail entertainment history' occurred on 9/9/99, with day one sales totaling just under $98m to support this outstanding portfolio of games," Big Pete continues, paying particular attention to Dreamcast's online breakthroughs.
"With the Dreamcast's online capabilities, we coined a phrase 'We're taking gamers where gaming is going'," he said. "In our heart of hearts, we worried that we would not be there for the entire journey, but it was with great pride that with our Sega Sports games in particular, that we ushered in the era of connected interactive entertainment.
"I don't think it is an overstatement to say that the Dreamcast and it's online network laid the ground for what we all take for granted today."
But the memories are of course bittersweet for the ex-SOA man, and he held a conference call in January 31, 2001 to announce the cease of production of Sega's console.
"Many saw the Dreamcast as a spectacular failure, a last-gasp effort by a once-powerful player in the industry to remain relevant (and solvent). If measured by longevity and the ultimate financial outcome, they were right. But the Dreamcast had a profound and lasting impact on the world of video games.
"Isao Okawa, the Chairman of Sega Enterprises and the driving force behind the Dreamcast, tragically passed away two months after that fateful January conference call. He had a vision that a game console, combined with the power of the internet, could bring people together in ways that were previously unimaginable.
"He didn't live to see that vision come to fruition, and his beloved Dreamcast couldn't survive to play a role in the powerful world of connected gaming we all enjoy today, but it certainly lit the spark, and that we should never forget..."
Along with a glass for the England football team, we'll be raising a pint this evening to the excellent console. Cheers, Dreamcast!
Huh? - Soul Calibur wasn't a launch title....I actually remember managing to get a copy early when Special Reserve put them on the shelves a couple of days before release, I figured I'd try my luck and they let me buy it.
At launch we got Ready 2 Rumble and Powerstone.
Still, Happy Birthday Dreamcast - definitely the greatest console of all time....I still have mine and plenty of classics to go with it.
Maybe it was a launch game in America? I have fond memories of the dreamcast. It was the console that ushered in the 'better than coin op' precedent.
I traded in both my N64 and my PSone for an import DC back in the day, oh how my mates laughed at me when I set it up and it was in black and white. My tv couldn't support it.
I loved my dreamcast. I spent hours playing phantasy star online with random people. And geting pasted by the wife at ready 2 rumble as she just button mashed. Happy days much missed. Traded it in for a platinum zelda gamecube.
lol wasnt just me then! Got my japanese one with sega rally 2, VF3 and Sonic at the end of '98, then had to go out and get an AV to Scart converter to find it was black and white After that I had to go get a new television. For a lad working 15 hours a week at Sainsburys to fund this, £400 for the console and £250 for the television was a bit of a blow. Still id do it all over again.
by the way playing Sonic adventure 1 in full japanese is for the hardcore (or crazy) only
Maybe it was a launch game in America? I have fond memories of the dreamcast. It was the console that ushered in the 'better than coin op' precedent.
I traded in both my N64 and my PSone for an import DC back in the day, oh how my mates laughed at me when I set it up and it was in black and white. My tv couldn't support it.
That's unlucky....I remember loading it up for the first time and being blown away by it - probably about as much as I was when I saw the PS1 for the first time (Battle Arena Toshinden, no less...awful game, but it looked light years ahead of anything I'd seen).
Yeah - Soul Calibur probably was a launch game in either the US or Japan....it wasn't out that long after the consoles release in the UK.
So many great games....Soul Calibur, Shenmue, Daytona, Crazy Taxi, Bass Fishing, Virtua Striker, Powerstone, 335 Challenge...I could go on and on.
It makes you wonder how Sega did manage to f*** up something so good, but will always remember the dreamcast with my greatest memories being Shemue, Hidden and dangerous and playing Unreal tornament online on a 56k modem awesome times
It makes you wonder how Sega did manage to f*** up something so good, but will always remember the dreamcast with my greatest memories being Shemue, Hidden and dangerous and playing Unreal tornament online on a 56k modem awesome times
Hmmmm - my greatest memory would have to be landing a (then) record fish on Bass Fishing (that thing was a monster!).....I checked the high scores and it was top - I'm sure it's been beaten since, but I was really proud of that....luckily, there were witnesses too.
Of course, there is also the regular Daytona races that still happen.....I don't think anyone ever tires of that game.
It makes you wonder how Sega did manage to f*** up something so good, but will always remember the dreamcast with my greatest memories being Shemue, Hidden and dangerous and playing Unreal tornament online on a 56k modem awesome times
It was mainly errors they did before they released the Dreamcast, too many to list! There was a fantastic article on IGN not long ago looking at all the mistakes they made. I suggest you search for it.
It makes you wonder how Sega did manage to f*** up something so good, but will always remember the dreamcast with my greatest memories being Shemue, Hidden and dangerous and playing Unreal tornament online on a 56k modem awesome times
It was mainly errors they did before they released the Dreamcast, too many to list! There was a fantastic article on IGN not long ago looking at all the mistakes they made. I suggest you search for it.
Top top machine, no one has mentioned Sonic, it was a launch title and at the time was brilliant, it even had Darth Vader doing the voice of tails (er okay, it was the annoying child Anakin, but still!)
Also Sony were very underhanded in the way they destroyed the Dreamcast. forcing shops to have a larger section for playsation over sega etc
It makes you wonder how Sega did manage to f*** up something so good, but will always remember the dreamcast with my greatest memories being Shemue, Hidden and dangerous and playing Unreal tornament online on a 56k modem awesome times
It was mainly errors they did before they released the Dreamcast, too many to list! There was a fantastic article on IGN not long ago looking at all the mistakes they made. I suggest you search for it.
Yeah, I think I read that a while back too.
The thing is, people on forums always get misty-eyed about the DC and rave on about it....but, you just know that - were Sega to release the DC2 tomorrow - it still wouldn't sell enough. We're the types that know about consoles and games, so we were probably all very aware of how great it was - but, it's the average Joe on the street that chooses a PS1 over a DC because of the Sony badge and clever advertising.
It's the same reason that I doubt we'll ever see a Shenmue 3 - we all love Shenmue, but the average Joe doesn't get it and didn't buy it.
I will always mourn the loss of Sega as a hardware developer and the Dreamcast was certainly the finest console they ever released. Too many silly mistakes with the Mega CD, 32X and Saturn meant their financial reserves were severely depleted and couldn't give Dreamcast the push and long term battle strategy they'd need to take on Sony, Nintendo and MS. Apart from the cramp-inducing gamepad it was an amazing machine. Even though Sega are still around, it's not the same anymore. Happy Birthday DC *sniff*
Probably the most unreliable console I ever owned (I went through 3 of them- easily replaced for £20 though), and to this day still my favourite of all time. Powerstone 2 with a bunch of mates = unbeatable hilarity.
It makes you wonder how Sega did manage to f*** up something so good, but will always remember the dreamcast with my greatest memories being Shemue, Hidden and dangerous and playing Unreal tornament online on a 56k modem awesome times
It was mainly errors they did before they released the Dreamcast, too many to list! There was a fantastic article on IGN not long ago looking at all the mistakes they made. I suggest you search for it.
Yeah, I think I read that a while back too.
The thing is, people on forums always get misty-eyed about the DC and rave on about it....but, you just know that - were Sega to release the DC2 tomorrow - it still wouldn't sell enough. We're the types that know about consoles and games, so we were probably all very aware of how great it was - but, it's the average Joe on the street that chooses a PS1 over a DC because of the Sony badge and clever advertising.
It's the same reason that I doubt we'll ever see a Shenmue 3 - we all love Shenmue, but the average Joe doesn't get it and didn't buy it.
Damn right! I remember playing Shenmue and some family came around. They asked if it was a Playstation, to which I replied "nah, it's the Sega Dreamcast". Cue lots of WTF is that looks!
It is a real shame, the Dreamcast had such a wealth of awesome games.
At least some of the games are living on on XBLA and PSN.
The problem with Sega is they've never done themselves any favours. I mean, all these websites are celebrating 10 years, and what are Sega doing?
If I was them I'd be doing special deals on the aforementioned services on the dreamcast ports and releasing some more classics to mark the occasion. I'd release Shenmue 1 and 2, Powerstone 1 and 2 and Daytona DC as well while I was at it. Sega just don't seem to know how to make money these days do they?
It is a real shame, the Dreamcast had such a wealth of awesome games.
At least some of the games are living on on XBLA and PSN.
The problem with Sega is they've never done themselves any favours. I mean, all these websites are celebrating 10 years, and what are Sega doing?
If I was them I'd be doing special deals on the aforementioned services on the dreamcast ports and releasing some more classics to mark the occasion. I'd release Shenmue 1 and 2, Powerstone 1 and 2 and Daytona DC as well while I was at it. Sega just don't seem to know how to make money these days do they?
I don't understand why Sega seem to be so intent on pushing Megadrive compilations and not Saturn or Dreamcast.
A multiplayer Daytona or Powestone on XBLA/PSN would sell - absolutely no doubt about it.
Damn, I miss four player battles online with quake 3. Us lucky european owners only had a 33k modem in our dreamcasts. The starlancer servers were still up when I last checked about four months ago, as were the worms world party ones.
What a great machine. I played mine to death. company wide virtua tennis sessions every lunchtime. such a shame they pulled the plug on it. might have set mine up this weekend!
Anyone who uses the main forums know ima big lover of the dreamcast. Though im not quite going to say happy b-day yet as it was released here on the 14th otober 1999 and i didn't get one til about two weeks after that launch. Couple of things i want to point out that we brits had only 28k modem and soul calibur was NOT a launch title over here, it came out 6 weeks after the console launch.
Sega forced themselves into making and releasing the Dreamcast, hence why it was before its time. The almost universal failure of the Saturn led to this machine coming out sooner..
But what a machine it was. Even though the pad hurt my hands playing Street Fighter, the machine was really good. I remember getting Soul Calibur - wow, what a game that was!
I still have mine with that game and stuff like MSR, Daytona, THOTD 2 + gun ("don't point the Dreamcast gun at someone. They might get hurt or worse" ha ha!), Shenmue, RE: Code Veronica, SF III, SFA 3, Sonic Adventure, Confidential Mission, Jet Set Radio, Marvel Vs Capcom 2 and more....
And if I may take a moment.. The Dreamcast was the first console to offer 60hz gaming in PAL territories, too.
Something I can single handedly take credit for forcing through while I was a member of the Product Development department at Sega Europe.
Don't thank me all at once!
I doth my cap to you sir! As an import kid for many years, Dreamcast put an end to all that and gave me the luxury of stable UK prices and second hand games.
Best console ever. Shenmue, Skies of Arcadia, Grandia 2, Phantasy Star Online, Virtua Tennis, Crazy Taxi, Soul Calibur, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Ferrari F355 Challenge, Samba De Amigo, MSR...... Such an injustice that it failed like it did.
I helped launch the Dreamcast in the Electronic's Boutique(remember them?) store I worked in, we really pushed it like mad, and a very successful launch day it was too!!! Selling lots of those amazing, well ahead of it's time consoles and taking part in a Ready 2 Rumble tournament in store was a great day, one I will always remember. If only EA would have supported it!!! Fifa 2000 online anyone...
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