Happy 10th Anniversary Dreamcast
Posted on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 by Brad Ward
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GamingRing remembers the landmark and Sega’s last gaming console the dreamcast/Xbox Zero Here is an article that has been changed up a bit, that I wrote last year 9 year anniversary of the dreamcast, which is now 10 years today.
It was 1999 and we were smacktab in the middle of the Attitude Era of wrestling. On the very same day the Dreamcast launched, WWE launched it’s Smackdown product, with a special on UPN. Like Smackdown did to the WWF / WWE world, the Dreamcast disrupted gaming’s cliches and constants. Think of it, like the Nintendo Wii of the late 90’s Early 2K era. The Dreamcast was the first gaming system that i paid for my self and it was the first gaming system that really bridged me from being a casual gamer to a gamer that wanted to be part of the industry. So enough about me, lets get to why the Dreamcast had one of the best launches in video game history. The Hardware The Dreamcast was announced only a few years after the Playstation was released across the world. For years Sega and Nintendo were going at it, head to head for console supremacy. Then, a new challenger emerged for the brawl that was the console race. That Challenger was Sony with the Playstation, so now we had 3 consoles going at it in 1996 with the N64 , Playstation and Sega Saturn with the Sega’s next system in the shadows. That very system was the Sega Dreamcast, the Dreamcast boasted such features as 1 GB of storage, expandable and customizable LCD for your controller, a controller tailored to first person shooters, full surround sound capable of 3D Sound, Digital and Analog controller support and a graphics processing unit offering photo realistic 3D graphics. It was also the very first video game system to boast integrated network connectivity that allowed you to not only surf the world wide web, but play games with gamers across the world as well. The Dreamcast had everything to compete with the Playstation and Nintendo 64. It had the graphics, the audio, the ultimate controller and it had complete network connectivity. Unfortunately for Sega that was simply not enough. The E3 trade show before the release of the Dreamcast, Sony did what will always be known as the first nail in the coffin of the Dreamcast. Just months before the Dreamcast was even out, Sony launched a direct strike in what ultimately was the end of the consoles for Sega as we knew it. Many of us figured it was just Sony showing some technology, myself included. For many however it was Sony showing features like full DVD support, broadband network support, optical audio and graphics according to Sony that would be on level with Pixar’s latest epics like Bug’s Life and Toy Story. Later we found that not to be true, but the damage was already done. Dreamcast Specs
The Dreamcast for its time when it was announced and when it was released stood up with systems like Nintendo 64, Playstation One, Playstation 2, the Gamecube and more recently the Nintendo Wii. The Dreamcast no doubt could still be standing today if it wasn’t for certain things that Sony did to gain the upper advantage. Sega’s new powerhouse became the favorite of pc gamers and hardware gamers alike. Not only did it feature many unique titles, but it boasted some features that gamers were known to expect on the PC Platform. So the core feature that really made the Dreamcast standout hardware wise for me, was the controller. It featured both a directional pad and a analog stick, 6 face buttons, 2 triggers, customizable and expandable memory unit that not only functioned as a in game display unit, but it functioned as a portable gaming unit as well. The controller was a great advantage mainly because the stick was very precise and the triggers benefited for games like Quake and Unreal. As well the Dreamcast boasted full keyboard and mouse support which many games that were only playable during the pc realm was now playable in the console realm, the gap between consoles and pc’s was really starting to bridge. Along with the controller the game had the power overhead to illuminate and power at the time the most resource hungry games. The system was able to to do things like full screen anti-aliasing, full smoke effects, shading, bump mapping and more. Whatever the technology at the time, the Dreamcast could spit it out and run it without any effort. To go with the graphics and CPU power, we heard things like surround sound, 3d sound effects and had some of the best hardware compression out there. While the controller was a huge selling point, there was something else about the Dreamcast that also got me really excited. That feature was the fact, that it was the first domestic game system in North America with complete network connectivity . While at first dial-up was only supported, with broadband added down the line the feature set that Sega offered the owner of a Dreamcast, was very impressive to me. They allowed you to use any service provider that supported 33.6 or 56k, you could access the internet via the Dreamcast web browser, there was many games in development that would be supporting, online connectivity and later on Dreamcast users was even able to play an Online MMO called Phantasy Star Online. The Software Lineup – Launch and Beyond The launch lineup for the Sega Dreamcast meant a lot for a lot of franchises and a lot of genres. Five core games made up the launch lineup for me for the Dreamcast and in no order here is as follows. Soul Calibur. It Animates well, its easy to pickup and difficult master. While not a game we really haven’t seen before, it’s a game that really took two gamers and pitted them against each other and it was just straight up the best gamer wins. It came at no surprise that Namco would release another quality fighter, especially with the history with Tekken. Soul Calibur really defined what fun was. Sonic Adventure. While Sonic 3D Blast was technically the first 3D sonic game, it was not a true 3D Sonic Game. Sonic Adventure finally brought Sonic to true 3D in all of its glory. Sonic Adventure allowed Sonic gamers to not only partake in the classic Sonic spots, with the roller coaster type platforming but as well its the first Sonic game with platform puzzle solving, and allowed you to free roam in the Sonic world. Power Stone. In going with the theme of Dreamcast launch games being pure fun, the trend continues with Power Stone. If you tend to stray from most fighters, this game may be the game for you, think Smash Brothers mixed with Street Fighter. Lots of interactive levels, a good variety of characters, the graphics were gorgeous and the game has a high replay value. The Dreamcast quickly became the fighting game system to own. NFL 2K. The first true competitor to Madden in quite a few years, touches down out the gate on the Dreamcast. Bringing a deep game play system, television broadcast presentation and the most realistic recreation of America’s past time in a video game ever created. When NFL 2K came out, EA definitely had some competition, as the Dreamcast started to penetrate the market.The football simulation fans are the big winners here with great commentary, intuitive controls with a lot of depth the more you play and the incredible detail on the fields, the crowd and the models were mind blowing. One of the best reasons to buy a Dreamcast. House of the Dead 2. Ready 2 Rumble. While Sega offered the Dreamcast gamer a solid lineup at launch. Sega went strong into 2002, with heavy hitters and handful of instant classics. Whether it was bombing around in Crazy Taxi to experiencing one of the most realistic life simulations in Shenmue to the massive social and cooperative world of Phantasy Star. Sega was not only strong at launch but they kept giving you more games to play on your small little white system, with an orange glow. The Marketing Death and Dreams Thank You Sega, as a Sega fan for life. I will always Believe. Today is 09/09/09 again a date that wont happen for another 90 years, I hope sega you have something planed. So today don’t go buy Rockband beatles, but today go play all of the great titles in the Dreamcast library. Also we have a thread going on at the GR forums about experiences and DC Memories post yours and share them with the community at GR! If you would like to discuss this article with over 40,000 other registered members feel free to do so by joining the Gamingring.com forums. Its fast, free and easy to do so.
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