Dreamcast

edited January 2010 in General Chat
I know the Dreamcast, is ten years old...but I was watching a video and thinking about all the joy the Dreamcast has given me..does anyone else besides me miss it?
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Comments

  • edited December 2009
    Not really. I was never a huge fan of it. I never used the online, the controller felt uncomfortable, and it was soon outdated by the PS2. It was a good console, but came too late, or came out too early (if they had waited a year or so, it could have been much better, and a contender in the console wars)

    Mind you, i didn't have many decent games (sonic adventure 1/2 & crazy taxi were the only decent ones i had), so that was a factor. The VM was a nice idea though.
  • edited December 2009
    The Dreamcast is the greatest video game system in history. Close the thread, end of story.
  • edited December 2009
    I loved it and always will love it, but I have accepted its passing.
  • edited December 2009
    The Dreamcast was, is, and will continue for a time to be the greatest video game console ever created. Second place is highly conteded for me. The list of possible contenders for second place include the xbox and the 360, the N64, and the Sega Genesis/Whatever Europe Called It.
  • edited December 2009
    The Dreamcast was, is, and will continue for a time to be the greatest video game console ever created. Second place is highly conteded for me. The list of possible contenders for second place include the xbox and the 360, the N64, and the Sega Genesis/Whatever Europe Called It.

    Mega drive, i think.

    Anyway, out of your list i would say the N64 was the best, but that's just me. I grew up with the thing. So many awesome memories...
  • ShauntronShauntron Telltale Alumni
    edited December 2009
    Loved the Dreamcast, it died too early. Playing Shenmue was definitely one of my all time most profound gaming experiences. But did the analog stick give anyone else thumb calluses?
  • edited December 2009
    Shauntron wrote: »
    Loved the Dreamcast, it died too early. Playing Shenmue was definitely one of my all time most profound gaming experiences. But did the analog stick give anyone else thumb calluses?
    I'd take those over the horrible blisters caused by rotating the N64's analogue at high speed (which can only really be done with the palm of the hand) On mario party. Ouch those hurt! Something i don't overly miss about old Skool gaming.
  • edited December 2009
    Sorry folks, but the Dreamcast was cack, not enough quality games, poor controller and the memory card VMU thing cost a bomb. It certainly innovated and took risks, the online integration which didn't really work that well was ground-breaking all the same.

    It's most ambitious title Shenmue, despite being once again innovative, wasn't really any good (Shenmue 2 was pretty cool though) I mean I have my own tedious monotonous daily grind to go to. Why should I have to take this spiky haired loser down to the docks to work his forklift job every day. Also remember before you decide to skewer me, Shenmue introduced the world to Quick Time Events.

    Jet Set/Grind Radio was awesome though :)
  • edited December 2009
    The list of possible contenders for second place include the xbox and the 360...

    ...I can't, really, feel like that...
    ...the N64...

    Mayyybe, the system was great and the games were fun as hell, but the games didn't vary that much. Kinda like Wii, but much much more successful. Wii sells like golden shit, I know, but still.
    and the Sega Genesis/Whatever Europe Called It.
    Winwinwinwinwinwin.
  • edited December 2009
    JedExodus wrote: »
    Sorry folks, but the Dreamcast was cack, not enough quality games, poor controller and the memory card VMU thing cost a bomb. It certainly innovated and took risks, the online integration which didn't really work that well was ground-breaking all the same.

    It's most ambitious title Shenmue, despite being once again innovative, wasn't really any good (Shenmue 2 was pretty cool though) I mean I have my own tedious monotonous daily grind to go to. Why should I have to take this spiky haired loser down to the docks to work his forklift job every day. Also remember before you decide to skewer me, Shenmue introduced the world to Quick Time Events.

    Jet Set/Grind Radio was awesome though :)

    Crawl into a hole & die.
  • edited December 2009
    Crawl into a hole & die.

    Well miaow Robby
  • edited December 2009
    miss it? how can I miss it when it's standing in my bedroom, still in perfectly working condition? XD
  • edited December 2009
    I wasn't a great fan of it.

    *shakes, trying to hide all signs of lying*

    ...I have a considerable amount of it's games on a shelf in my room
  • edited December 2009
    I still have it set up, despite it now being on a HDTV, the VGA cable for it and forcing the screen to 4:3 makes the game still look pretty decent.
  • edited December 2009
    JedExodus wrote: »
    ... not enough quality games ...

    Power Stone 1&2, Skies of Arcadia, Sonic Adventure (Yes, I even liked playing as Big the Cat), Crazy Taxi, Fur Fighters, MDK2 and, as you yourself admitted, Jet Grind Radio.

    Those are all fantastic games I would recommend to anyone.
  • edited December 2009
    Lena_P wrote: »
    Power Stone 1&2, Skies of Arcadia, Sonic Adventure (Yes, I even liked playing as Big the Cat), Crazy Taxi, Fur Fighters, MDK2 and, as you yourself admitted, Jet Grind Radio.

    Those are all fantastic games I would recommend to anyone.

    Oh, boy I love me some skies of Arcadia, I wish they would offer on steam or XBLA
  • edited December 2009
    You know, there's still a DC game in development (no, it's not Duke nukem forever)

    click here anyone going to pick it up?
  • edited December 2009
    Lena_P wrote: »
    Power Stone 1&2, Skies of Arcadia, Sonic Adventure (Yes, I even liked playing as Big the Cat), Crazy Taxi, Fur Fighters, MDK2 and, as you yourself admitted, Jet Grind Radio.

    Those are all fantastic games I would recommend to anyone.

    Yeah, but it's only a handful compared to say the Playstation or xbox 360 or even the NES, SNES, Mega Drive/Genesis...and I could go on and on. There was good stuff out there for it, but the other consoles out at the time had a far better library when you look back.

    ...plus I could never work the stupid Sonic Adventure Tamagotchi game on the memory unit :(
  • edited December 2009
    Name that many good games for the PS2. Also those are all the "A" list games I could think of, not all the "good" games I played. There were games like Toy Commander and San Francisco Rush that my brother and I played forever that aren't everyone's cup of tea. And playing with the Chaos in the VMU was pretty easy, if not actually that necessary. You didn't have to feed it or anything like a Tamagotchi ...
  • edited December 2009
    My personal A-List games would continue to include(on top of Lena's excellent list, by the way) Shenmue, Space Channel 9, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Marvel vs Capcom 2(PERFECT arcade port), Chu Chu Rocket, Crazy Taxi, Soul Caliber, Stupid Invaders, Rez, Samba De Amigo, and I'm sure I'm not mentioning a few. There are so many must-play oddities like Seaman and Typing of the Dead that are so strange they must be EXPERIENCED. There are so many games that are now ingrained into my consciousness.
  • edited December 2009
    I was addicted to my dreamcast for a long time, mostly Skies Of Arcadia, Crazy Taxi, House Of The Dead 2, and many other great games on the Dreamcast.
  • edited December 2009
    My brother had it. The only games we played were Sonic Adventure 1 & 2, Shenmue 1 & 2, Star Wars Demolition (we loved Vigalante 8 on the N64), and Star Wars Episode One Racer (I used to have this on the N64 and we played it to death but it was stolen along with my console and all my games unfortunately). We wanted to get a hold of Power Stone but never had the chance, unfortunately.
  • edited December 2009
    I absolutely loved the Dreamcast when it was going strong.
    For a year and a bit Sega put absolutely all of their effort into trying to support it, and you got a consistent string of really great games.

    The best of them have since been ported to other consoles though, so in hindsight there was not any need to actually buy the console to get the best pickings. Still, it was more exciting getting them as they first game out though!

    Without the Dreamcast there would have been no Skies of Arcadia or Phantasy Star Online (out of all the platforms the Gamecube version was probably the best in terms of the content released and the community, but it still wouldn't have happened without the original).

    I guess I'm quite a big fan ^_^;;
  • edited December 2009
    JedExodus wrote: »
    Sorry folks, but the Dreamcast was cack, not enough quality games, poor controller and the memory card VMU thing cost a bomb.

    Oh, come on, this is trolling.

    When the DC was alive it had much better games than the PS2 (and better image quality too). The PS2 sold only because of its name.
  • edited December 2009
    Oh, come on, this is trolling.

    When the DC was alive it had much better games than the PS2 (and better image quality too). The PS2 sold only because of its name.

    And sega weren't a major brand in gaming? How did the original PS sell? Sony wasn't a brand back then (at least not in a gaming sense). What about the Xbox? That managed pretty well.
  • edited December 2009
    It's because Sony, and Microsoft Hyped their systems, and sega never got a chance too, because at the time Sega was in finacial trouble, and the Dreamcast was their last chance.
    In all essence the dreamcast just game out at the wrong time.
  • edited December 2009
    Friar wrote: »
    And sega weren't a major brand in gaming? How did the original PS sell? Sony wasn't a brand back then (at least not in a gaming sense). What about the Xbox? That managed pretty well.

    Uhm, you've been living under a rock I guess. SEGA was having economical difficulties, thanks to their half-arsed upgrades and getting their ass kicked thoroughly by the Sony Playstation - which was a HUGE success, by the way, almost single-handedly expanded the gaming market tenfold or more. Before the PS1, only nerds played. When PS1 came out, it eventually expanded the market to include everyone, and gaming was suddenly a socially accepted hobby. Sony really shocked the games industry and made it clear that it wasn't all about Nintendo or SEGA anymore. SEGA spent too little marketing the Dreamcast, and was absolutely trashed by Sony, because only the oldtimers really cared about Nintendo or SEGA at that time.

    But the huge success of the PS1 and PS2 also brought some smashing games, and tons of it. I can't think of any console with more must-have or must-play titles than PS1 or PS2 to date. Dreamcast is a great machine, it has a decent amount of fantastic games, like Shenmue, and in some cases the better version of PS1 games, like Soul Reaver and Tony Hawk's.

    Sony was basically unbeatable and unstoppable during their first two generations. Xbox was a success to a degree, but only achieved a fraction of the userbase the PS1 or 2 did. Likewise with N64 and GC. Sega wasn't really even an option when the PS1 was out, with the Saturn heading for destruction the very moment the PS1 came out. Also, Sony got hold of Final Fantasy VII, originally intended for the N64, but because Nintendo were dumb enough to stick to cartridges, Squaresoft (not Square-Enix) went straight to Sony. And we know how great an impact the Final Fantasy genre had at that time.
  • edited December 2009
    Oh, come on, this is trolling.

    When the DC was alive it had much better games than the PS2 (and better image quality too). The PS2 sold only because of its name.

    I'd say you is trolling sir!

    If the Dreamcast really was that brilliant it would've survived because people would've enjoyed it and kept on buying for it.

    At the end of the day consumers make their decisions with their wallets and consumers make the product what it is, which with the Dreamcast wasn't a hell of a lot
  • edited December 2009
    JedExodus wrote: »
    I'd say you is trolling sir!

    If the Dreamcast really was that brilliant it would've survived because people would've enjoyed it and kept on buying for it.

    At the end of the day consumers make their decisions with their wallets and consumers make the product what it is, which with the Dreamcast wasn't a hell of a lot

    Actually, the dreamcast is still adored, and as soon as used ones are avalible they fly off the shelf.
  • edited December 2009
    Icedhope wrote: »
    Actually, the dreamcast is still adored, and as soon as used ones are avalible they fly off the shelf.

    Because there's less of them. 3DO's go for ridiculous prices and are snapped up in a shot, and it's somewhat less than adored
  • edited December 2009
    JedExodus wrote: »
    If the Dreamcast really was that brilliant it would've survived because people would've enjoyed it and kept on buying for it.

    I think adventure games are brilliant, and should be a huge success. I guess I'm wrong and they're crap then.
  • edited December 2009
    StarEye wrote: »
    Uhm, you've been living under a rock I guess. SEGA was having economical difficulties, thanks to their half-arsed upgrades and getting their ass kicked thoroughly by the Sony Playstation - which was a HUGE success, by the way, almost single-handedly expanded the gaming market tenfold or more. Before the PS1, only nerds played. When PS1 came out, it eventually expanded the market to include everyone, and gaming was suddenly a socially accepted hobby. Sony really shocked the games industry and made it clear that it wasn't all about Nintendo or SEGA anymore. SEGA spent too little marketing the Dreamcast, and was absolutely trashed by Sony, because only the oldtimers really cared about Nintendo or SEGA at that time.

    But the huge success of the PS1 and PS2 also brought some smashing games, and tons of it. I can't think of any console with more must-have or must-play titles than PS1 or PS2 to date. Dreamcast is a great machine, it has a decent amount of fantastic games, like Shenmue, and in some cases the better version of PS1 games, like Soul Reaver and Tony Hawk's.

    Sony was basically unbeatable and unstoppable during their first two generations. Xbox was a success to a degree, but only achieved a fraction of the userbase the PS1 or 2 did. Likewise with N64 and GC. Sega wasn't really even an option when the PS1 was out, with the Saturn heading for destruction the very moment the PS1 came out. Also, Sony got hold of Final Fantasy VII, originally intended for the N64, but because Nintendo were dumb enough to stick to cartridges, Squaresoft (not Square-Enix) went straight to Sony. And we know how great an impact the Final Fantasy genre had at that time.

    Sega may have been having a hard time financially, but they were still a widely recognised brand. Sonic was more recognised then mickey mouse at one point! Besides, Nintendo were also having a hard time. The N64 underperformed, the 64DD was a failure, the SNES disc system(s) which were pretty complete (one went on to become the playstation) were discarded, leaving huge amounts of wasted money. In fact, in the early years of the GC, their finances dipped into the red (or at least came close. i remember reading that somewhere), leading to an offered (and refused) merger with Microsoft, and Nintendo Presidency passed on to a non-family member for the first time in it's 100 odd year history: Satoru Iwata, which led to the wii/DS.

    Where was i going with this again?
  • edited December 2009
    I think adventure games are brilliant, and should be a huge success. I guess I'm wrong and they're crap then.

    One particular genre of games and a console that can in practice play a wide variety of games are hardly the same thing now
  • jmmjmm
    edited December 2009
    Why the Dreamcast failed was piracy.

    Back in the early days a group of hackers cracked the security features and published how to do it. That resulted on people plainly copying the discs with simple CD burning tools (And using a specially crafted "boot" disc)

    After that news was known, major gaming studios (like Capcom) withdrew their support and dropped development completely. That started the landslide, with fewer studios working on the Dreamcast, very few AAA titles, and considering SEGA's money trouble No wonder why the Dreamcast flopped.
  • edited December 2009
    JedExodus wrote: »
    I'd say you is trolling sir!

    If the Dreamcast really was that brilliant it would've survived because people would've enjoyed it and kept on buying for it.

    At the end of the day consumers make their decisions with their wallets and consumers make the product what it is, which with the Dreamcast wasn't a hell of a lot

    Monkey Island is the biggest piece of trash ever released. You mean to tell me that you are qualified to judge the dreamcast when you blindly follow that bs?
  • edited December 2009
    Monkey Island is the biggest piece of trash ever released. You mean to tell me that you are qualified to judge the dreamcast when you blindly follow that bs?
    I fail to see the logic in that. (i sound like a vulcan!)
    Personally, i think the dreamcast was an average console. It either came too soon, or too late, depending on how you look at it.
  • edited December 2009
    Friar wrote: »
    It either came too soon, or too late, depending on how you look at it.

    It came too awesome.

    :(
  • edited December 2009
    The consumers that didn't buy the Dreamcast were consomuers that Sony had created with PS1. Not the oldtimers that most of us in here are. Let's say, before PS1, the market consisted of 10 people. Now, when the PS1 came out, it eventually grew to 100. So, 90 percent of the market were new gamers, whose first step into gaming was the PS1.

    Now, the PS2 was on the cards and hyped to heaven and back. Sony had proven themselves, and showed that they can make a great console. SEGA hadn't proven themselves worthy since the Megadrive/Genesis. So, 10 oldtimers, 90 new gamers, and how many of them stuck to the SEGA brand? Out of those, probably only 1 or 2, because they were die-hard SEGA fanboys. The rest had already left SEGA behind, had fun with the PS1 who still churned out excellent games, despite looking a bit aged. All the while they're anxiously awaiting the arrival of the next revolution, the PS2. So, PS2 already had 98 of the 100 people in their hands, how in the hell would SEGA persuade these people to buy a Dreamcast? That's right, by proper counter-marketing. Oh, but there's a problem. They don't have the funds! Ok, let's just throw the console out there, put up some posters and hope for the best then.

    Oops!

    Nobody bought it. The 2 percent of the market that bought it loved it, became a very vocal minority, and word of mouth started spreading, thanks to the internet. They gained some sales, but unfortunately, the damage was already done and the PS2 arrived and crushed its puny rival to the point of no return. Not long after its arrival, SEGA decided doing software only, abandoned the Dreamcast, despite having a few marvellous games and really deserved to survive, much moreso than the cheap imitation that is the Xbox, or even the Gamecube. In a perfect world, the Dreamcast had survived and Microsoft would probably have never entered the console race. Nothing against the X360 (I have a few gems on that one as well, and the controller is excellent), but it's no substitute for an economically strong SEGA, that could've brought us Shenmue 3. Which is the sole reason the Dreamcast should've survived.
  • edited January 2010
    The problem is there didn't seem to be a place in this world for Sega as they were.

    Sega had a habit for making bad financial decisions. Even if Sony wasn't there, at some point they were bound to be overtaken by a company who made better ones (even if their games were worse) or else Sega would eventually turn into such a company themselves.

    Alas both things seem to have happened at the moment :(


    The only point I don't agree with you on is Shenmue.
    As much as I enjoyed Shenmue 2, the game and story could have been just as good on a tenth of the huge budget that was thrown at Shenmue - which would have been better spent on marketing really.
  • edited January 2010
    Chris1 wrote: »
    The only point I don't agree with you on is Shenmue.
    As much as I enjoyed Shenmue 2, the game and story could have been just as good on a tenth of the huge budget that was thrown at Shenmue - which would have been better spent on marketing really.

    Not sure if that was directed at me, but if it was, I don't seem to remember saying Shenmue required a strong budget. Only that Sega should've been strong economically, so that their survival would eventually bring us Shenmue 3. Not that they needed a big budget for it.
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