The Birth, Life & Death of Dreamcast

[extrarice]

Subtitle: "Why won't anyone love me?"

The only redeeming program (in my opinion) on G4TV is Icons. They actually RESEARCH and have interviews with heavy hitters in the game industry. Enjoy, then, this little history of the Dreamcast (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9214419766443021135) (20+change minutes long).

[Demonic Weasel]

Ah the DC... I really loved that thing for what it was. It had only two major problems and those were 1 not enough RPG's, 2 Sega could somehow afford to launch it, but they couldn't afford to stand behind the Saturn and translate some pages of Japanese text that could've potentially saved the system?

Yeah.

[j_factor]

I think it was a mistake for Sega to discontinue DC. Not only was it hasty, but the system was finally doing well, at least in the US. Its sales weren't so good elsewhere, but I think things would've turned around in Japan (in fact they sorta did; Sega re-started DC production after the fact due to high demand). Perhaps Europe was a lost cause, but a system needn't be successful in all markets.

But not only do I think they canceled DC unnecessarily, I think it was a bad business move that has seriously affected their business negatively. In 2000, Sega was the #6 publisher of videogames in the US -- #6 across all formats, on Dreamcast games alone. In the past few years, Sega hasn't even been in the top 10, and they publish on all systems.

[Joe Redifer]

That's saying a lot right there. I agree with J Factor. I was PISSED when they decided to can the US Shenmue 2 and instead give it to the Xbox (I ended up buying the Euro version like everyone else).

[Obviously]

This is another one that I saw on G4, it was pretty good.

If it means anything, two more Dreamcast games were made this year. Radilgy and Under Defeat.

[Melf]

Travis, a friend of mine, did an excellent write up (http://www.got-next.com/features_read.php?id=342) of Under Defeat for our sister site GotNext (which I also write for :D). It sounds like a great little shmup that I'm going to have to pick up before it disappears completely.

I agree about the DC dying prematurely, but you have to remember that Sega just didn't have the cash resources to continue it. This, of course, was the direct result of them being complete dumbasses since 1994. Poetic justice then, that SOJ's shit attitude was what eventually ran them out of the hardware business once and for all.

Sega is now such a pale shadow of what it once was. :(

[Elusive]

Sega is now such a pale shadow of what it once was. :(

...and that's where I :rolleyes:'d. In case you hadn't noticed, they're the world's second-largest videogaming company, behind the EA Empire.

As for the Dreamcast: what killed it was how easy it was to download a game via your 1MEGABIT BROADBAND CONNECTION onto your 1 GIGAHERTZ PROCESSOR computer and burn it to CD-R at 28X. (lol 2000 is funay). When you're losing £40-odd every time someone downloaded a game, you can't win. You just can't survive.

Sadly, Sony kept pulling lie after lie and ruined everything with the PS2.

I still maintain that the DC was the last proper 'videogame' console. The only console to hit its peak and remain consitent in terms of quality from launch date.

OH GOD I MISS IT AAAAARGH

[Melf]

...and that's where I :rolleyes:'d. In case you hadn't noticed, they're the world's second-largest videogaming company, behind the EA Empire.

This has nothing to do with quality though. Look at their 3rd party releases and tell me they've been as consistent as when they were hardware developers. About the only great releases they've had since 2001 have been Panzer Dragoon Orta, JSRF, and OutRun 2. Everything else has been decidedly lackluster.

[j_factor]

Hey now, Virtua Cop 3 is the shiznit.

[Joe Redifer]

Super Monkey Ball is one of my favorite games ever to exist.

[Melf]

Hey now, Virtua Cop 3 is the shiznit.

I meant on consoles. :D

...and yeah, I'll give you SMB....the first one.

[j_factor]

Well Super Monkey Ball came out in 2001, and you said "since 2001", which I took to mean not counting games released that year. Otherwise I gotta mention Shenmue II, Headhunter, Crazy Taxi 2, etc. etc.

And aside from 2001, I just thought of Space Channel 5 Part 2, REZ, Virtua Fighter 4, and a couple others.

But nitpicking aside, I do agree with your overall sentiment. :P

[16bitter]

Well Super Monkey Ball came out in 2001, and you said "since 2001", which I took to mean not counting games released that year. Otherwise I gotta mention Shenmue II, Headhunter, Crazy Taxi 2, etc. etc.

And aside from 2001, I just thought of Space Channel 5 Part 2, REZ, Virtua Fighter 4, and a couple others.

But nitpicking aside, I do agree with your overall sentiment. :P

F-Zero GX for the win.

Best Nintendo game this gen is a Sega game.

[16bitter]

I still don't own a PS2. Somewhere inside I know it's connected to Sega fanboy bitterness.

Can't help it. From the time the PS2 was released I've felt underwhelmed as compared to what it was promised to be through all the hype -- and what led to the DC's demise to a decent degree.

Remember the end of 2000? PS2 comes in with one of the suckiest launch lineups in history (as far as the 'big' players, I'm tempted to flat out call it THE worst) whereas the Dreamcast is loaded with awesome software for the holiday season. What happens? The PS2 is the hottest item since the N64 or Tickle Me Elmo -- only with the added benefit of eBay now being far bigger -- selling out everywhere, while the DC and games like Jet Grind or Shenmue rot on store shelves unnoticed.

I fucking hate all the sheep. What the hell was the PS2 other than a logo back then? The thing was vaporware arguably a year into its Western existence -- even the maligned and aforementioned N64 had a killer app from the very start.

Still, it all leads back to the Saturn. That machine and Sega's handling of it along with all its other generational pieces of hardware during that time is what truly destroyed the DC's chances from the beginning -- they gave Sony a market they never would have owned if not for the competition's gross incompetence, and bankrupted themselves so badly that the Dreamcast would have had to own all markets outright for it to be considered "successful" enough for its continued existence to have been viable.

Wasn't gonna happen. As far as pulling out too early in America, when hasn't Sega screwed us over in that way? Every. Damn. Time.

That's a great way to treat the same customer base that gave you your greatest success, isn't it? Matches up with Sega's generally appalling record in regards to business practices.

Oh. And why are all our instruction manuals printed with low-grade black and white paper? Fuckers.

If this post is schizophrenic, it's only because that's the nature of any and all Sega fans after years of devotion to the maddening, oft genius, group that falls under that moniker. Horrible and wonderful. Brilliant and moronic. So very often simultaneously.

[Joe Redifer]

F-Zero GX for the win.

Best Nintendo game this gen is a Sega game.
I agree 100.001%

[Oi_Oi_Spanky]

I love my Dreamcast. My boys love my Dreamcast. I like it so much I have two set up in the same room for those link-up plays. Like Ferrari 355 & um... something. To make you Shenmue fans feel better, I went to a shop & bought Shenmue 2, got home hastily & found Shenmue 1 discs in the boxes. That's where the saga ended for me on Dreamcast because I was so rattled about it I denyed myself of buying the game again. Played the first through & loved it. Played the second through on Xbox but it was strange. Like having a bath with your socks on so to speak.

[Joe Redifer]

Do they not allow returns in England? If you bought something, you should return it to the store and exchange it for what you paid for.

[Drixxel]

Sega really did nail it with F-Zero GX. I'd like to see them try to rejuvinate some other of Nintendo's franchises... Kid Icarus deserves to be dredged from the netherworld.

..and the Dreamcast is/was awesome. PSO, Jet Grind Radio, Soul Calibur, Ooga Booga, HotD2, Power Stone, etc. etc. ... oh yes. Oh yes indeed.

[Oi_Oi_Spanky]

Do they not allow returns in England? If you bought something, you should return it to the store and exchange it for what you paid for.

Indeed they do without question. But I'm as stubborn as my dad.

[Genesis Knight]

Radical gravedig just for this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxLLhwCx4cM

[Myrkwood]

Damn the dreamcast was a great console. Some great games pumped out in its short lifetime. Genesis' Knights video was great because it was indeed surprising how the PS2s launch line-up managed to obliterate (sales wise) the great bunch of games coming out for the dreamcast at the time.

[TmEE]

DC IS a great console !!! Homebrew scene still lives, and I'm pretty sure something cool comes to reality. Same for MD... 2 major games coming next year... damn I love homebrew.

[David J.]

I had the longest love/hate relationship with the console for many years, but now I think it's pretty good.

It's going in storage this weekend with the rest of my consoles. :/

I remember I used to post at Dreamcast History when it was active, then the board crashed and I quit visiting, because eh I lost interest, so eh... I went back earlier this year as I was building up my DC collection, and it's deader than a fucking door nail right now. I haven't posted there in a month, and I don't think I'll go back, because it's so dead and boring.

[Myrkwood]

I wanted to get into DC Homebrew but I couldn't find one of those uSB serial cable things and I wanted to buy another DC incase I screwed my current one up doing it lol.

[Zebbe]

Same for MD... 2 major games coming next year... damn I love homebrew.

Tavern RPG and...?

[Mel]

Dreamcast scene seems to have slowed. I worked at bestbuy during the dreamcast/ps2 launches. Dreamcast sold pretty well. It FLEW when they announced the price drops. It seemed like sega gave up on it. To be honest, the system had potential but too many ppl thought it was part of the prev generation because it came out before the ps2 AND they don't remember the saturn. If they would've waited until well after the gamecube launch and threw out titles that competed at that level (ala rayman 2 level of quality) they would've been fine. Maybe not at the top, but still profitable.

They got lazy it seems.

Edit: oh yeah and it seems 3rd parties didn't abandon dreamcast untils ega announced its death.

[Mr Smith]

I was a fan of the Dreamcast back in the day, but when playing it recently I couldn't get into it, found myself frustrated and now have no interest in that tosh console. It is only a matter of time before I flog it on ebay.

[Genesis Knight]

Are your games PAL or NTSC?

[David J.]

Why would that matter? In case you don't know... most PAL DC games can be played in 60hz if your TV supports it, and most PAL games you can select if you want to play in 50hz or 60hz. I burned a PAL copy of GTA 2 and it had a 50/60HZ option.

But when I bought the US version, it had no option, and I wonder why. Hmmm... :p

But if you where stuck with the PAL version of Skies of Arcadia, then I can understand, since it's 50hz only (even in a US or JP console it runs at 50hz) and doesn't support VGA, while the US version supports VGA and is 60hz.

[Joe Redifer]

Super Monkey Ball was originally going to be on the Dreamcast. Super Monkey Ball is one of the best games evar. It would have been better on the DC vs the Gamecube, because then it would have been in 480p.

[AxelStone]

The Dreamcast is easily better than the PS2. I remember when I first played Sonic Adventure I was like "AAAAGH! This is so gooood!" I was amazed by the graphics and the sound quality. I love my Dreamcast and have experienced some of the best gaming experiences I will ever...experience on it.

LIST OF BEST GAMES:
-----------------------

Blue Stinger
Zombie Revenge
House of the Dead 2
Sega Rally
Sega GT
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure 2
V-Rally 2

[TmEE]

Tavern RPG and...?

...and CA the meowian !!! http://www.spritesmind.net/_GenDev/forum/viewtopic.php?t=68

[Mr Smith]

Are your games PAL or NTSC?
No idea, but I would guess at PAL.

[Damon Plus]

I didn't care for the DC when it was new. At all. But neither I cared about other systems when the Genesis died (yes, I stayed at the 16-bit era until very recently). Having a bit of money, I decided to buy a second-hand DC at Spring, 2005 (the other choice was a N64).

It SHATTERED my world...

First two games I purchased were Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 (and, *ejem* downloaded Soul Calibur and Jet Set Radio. Don't worry, I eventually purchased them ^_^ ). I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. Then, I purchased Shenmue, and it quickly became one of my top 10 favourite games. Then I bought Marvel vs Capcom 2, Street Fighter 3rd Strike, Bangai-O, Resident Evil: CV, both Virtua Tennis, both Power Stones, House of the Dead 2, Grandia 2, Skies of Arcadia...

Yes, they were 2 very intense years, and I played my DC 90% of the time. I discovered critically acclaimed games, underrated gems, had a blast playing with friends in games such as Fur Fighters, Powerstone2 , Chu Chu Rocket... Recently, I've slowed down my DC purchases in favor of portable games (I don't have as much free time as before), but I still play it almost every week.

It's very sad, really. Sega had it all. A competitive price, an innovative, attractive system, a second Golden era (Skies of Arcadia, Crazy Taxi, Samba de Amigo, Shenmue, Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, Virtua Tennis, NFL2K and NBA2K, Jet Set Radio...) But they failed. It was too late for Sega to save the ship, even though it was (arguably) their best system.

[ThunderForce]

Shmups for the DC = The Win.

Ikaruga, Zero Gunner 2, Mars Matrix, Border Down, Under Defeat, and more shmups release after 2001, what more can you ask for?

[Genesis Knight]

No, I didn't know that, David. If you're going to sell, Mr. Smith, why don't you let us have a look-see before eBay?

[Mr Smith]

No, I didn't know that, David. If you're going to sell, Mr. Smith, why don't you let us have a look-see before eBay?
Fair enough, if I can be bothered to sell I shall post a few pics here first to see if anybody's interested. That being said, I don't even want to imagine how much it costs to send two eighteen-tonne Dreamcasts over to the States. (Maybe I exaggerate slightly about the weight of a Dreamcast.)

[Genesis Knight]

I was more interested in the games, lol.