Sega Dreamcast the final console by Sega, before they went 3rd party and started
making games for other consoles (though PC was well supported by Sega over the years).
Many feel the Dreamcast was a failure of sorts, here at Out-of-Print, we feel differently,
quite a bit differently.
The Dreamcast may have been Sega's final console but it was far from a failure, many many gamers the world over feel the same way we do (there are still commercial games being released for it, likeDUXand there have been more than a couple Japanese shooters released long after the DC "failed").
Sega released the Dreamcast 10 years ago on September 9th, 1999, it came with a 56k modem
(dial up for you youngsters raised on Broadband or wi-fi), one controller and a whole lot of attitude.
Sega learned from their mistakes with the Saturn system and the 32X launches and made sure
that there was a Sonic game there on day one (though both the 32X and Saturn received
some form of a Sonic style game with Knuckles Chaotix and Sonic 3D Blast respectively,
neither got a full blown Sonic).
Sega took it one step farther though and had over 15 titles at launch in the United States, more than they, or most other companies, have had at a system launch up to this point (although PS2 did best this number with fluff like Fantavision- a fireworks "game").
Many feel out of the over 680 officially released (worldwide) games for the Dreamcast are not
worth owning, we beg to differ with those pundits.
Check out titles likeSonic Adventure 1and2,Soul Calibur,REZ,Quake III, Street Fighter IIIorJet Set Radio.
And no matter what you think ofWorms World Party, that is one SICK advertisement.
There were countless more titles released for Dreamcast some better than the ones listed, some worse.
Just to name a few of the companies that hit their stride on Dreamcast were Psikyo(Cannon Spike), Bizarre Creations(Metropolis Street Racer), Tecmo(Dead or Alive 2), Visual Concepts,
later renamed 2K Sports (their 2K sports line took and defeated EA in many areas), Midway (though they have had success on previous consoles, they really attacked the marketplace on DC).
Konami and Capcom really threw their support behind the Dreamcast system with many many titles released during it's short lifespan.
With Halloween coming just around the corner, why not pick up a DC from a game shop?
There are many great Survival Horror titles available including The Ring, Resident Evil 2, 3,
as well as Code Veronica, Courier and we can't forget Sega's zombie themed games such as the cult classics Zombie Revenge,House of the Dead 2(though get a compatible gun, you will need it) andTyping of the Deadwith Keyboard (what you didn't know the dead can teach you typing skills?).
Then there was fellow console maker, SNK who put so much faith in the Dreamcast that they even included connectibility between it and their ill-fated Neo Geo Pocket Color system.
Working similar to the GBA to Gamecube connecting, you could only do it with certain games
but it was still a unique thing (and even now, is still unique-what the PS3 and PSP do is not the same).
If you are reading this and thinking to yourself, if the Dreamcast was just around a few more years what would it have been like, then you are not alone.
See the Dreamcast was dropped by Sega just 1 year and 4 months into it's life,
though they did support it for just over 2 years with the final game (NHL 2k2) being released
in February 2002.
It definitely was a system that was cut short of it's true glory.
Some games that were not released that really did show the capabilities of the system include Propeller Arena andHalf-Life(which was strikingly close to 3D accellerated PC in graphics quality).
What may be the biggest reason for the Dreamcast failing was because Electronic Arts could not be persuaded to release games for the system like their competition destroying (well, I believe the 2K series was selling just as well as Madden did for other systems) Madden games.
The biggest reason the Dreamcast failed is because the fans failed Sega. Maybe it was a lack
of trust in the company after the failed 32X and fairly botched Saturn systems, that maybe
the Dreamcast was just not enough to persuade consumers back to anything carrying the Sega name. It is truly sad, what could have been will always be a memory and something
on our minds here at Out-of-Print.
We salute you Sega for having the guts to give it one more try and we appreciate the nerve
it took to do it. We present to our fans, members, readers, anyone that wishes to view it,
Out-of-Print's tribute to the Dreamcast system.
Why not stop by theforumsand tell us your stories about Sega Dreamcast (we don't mind
if you want to post about other things, we will have appropriate forums made available soon).
Just enjoy the system that Sega gave us and the games that many companies released for it.
And to finish of, let's say goodbye to a true gaming legend:
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