... and what a sweet sweet dream that was. I'm talking about the Sega Dreamcast, that forgotten current generation videogame system, who's life was cut short when its creators prematurely pulled the plug on the system. I would argue that it's the best videogame system ever made. Most people would scoff, especially the legions of Sony fanboys out there... but to those who have owned and played the system--- they would know where I'm coming from. Whenever i meet someone who had dreamcast, a bond is instantly formed, as if we're both members of some elite fraternity, or some exclusive club. It's impossible not to love the system, with all the innovative and genuinely fun games released for it.
We've owned 3 Sega systems, but that doesn't make me biased. I can't be called a sega fanboy. Fanboys are likened to blind followers. i know a bad sega game when I see one, and I know how bad they've screwed up. We were reluctant to purchase a dreamcast at first because of the way s
ega f*cked up in the past, but with the games released for it, its cheaper cost, and with the impression that they're seem to be doing things right for their next system, we decided to take the plunge. To those who are not that keen on videogame history, Sega was acknowledged as the king of the 16 -bit hill, back when it was just Sega vs. Nintendo, back when videogames were actually made by people who cared about videogames, back when corporate giants like sony and microsoft weren't in the picture. Sure, Nintendo won in Japan, where it maintained such a tight stronghold, but sega won in the US and Europe, so when worldwide sales were considered, Sega was leading by a slim margin. Their campaigns have labeled Nintendo as uncool, and the Genesis was what the cool kids were playing. However, it seemed that success has gone through their heads. They seem to have become so overconfident, that they thought any product they released would be purchased by consumers because anything with a Sega label in it was cool. The first misstep was the sega CD, an add on which brought no improvements with regards t the hardware, save for the CD format which could hold more data. Graphically, games for it were no different than those for the Genesis. They just had better sound, longer levels, plus a whole lot of choppy videos. With no upgrades in graphics, those videos looked horrible. Thus the system was plagued with "full motion video" games, which had 
no fun factor whatsoever. On the other side of the fence, Nintendo was developing a CD add on with Sony (the company that would later crush them all) which would bring improvements with the system's performance. The plan was scrapped though, after marketing research showed that an add-on device is a risky investment for many people. The fact that the Sega CD wasn't much of a success proved this. After a few years, the next generation of systems were about to be unleashed. Sony caught everyone by surprise when they announced a very powerful videogame system--- the Playstation. Sega had to get back to the drawing board. Their next generation system was optimized for 2-D environments, while the playstation showed 3D capabilities that wowed everyone. It's a wonder how Sega never had the foresight to create a home videogame system optimized for 3D, when their arcade division was already in the 3D realm at that time, with the release of the virtua fighter and virtua racing games. It was too late to start from scratch, so they added chips here and processors there, to give the system more power. The result was The sega saturn, a system that was such a mess inside, that it was so difficult to develop games for it. And it also wasn't as powerful as the playstation, with its streamlined hardware, programming for it was a breeze. This resulted to many games that were 
being developed for it. Good thing Virtua Fighter was so popular in Japan, that Sega managed to hold its own against Sony... at least in Japan. Back in the United States, some stupid sega official had another bright idea. The saturn was too expensive, so why don't they make another add on for the Genesis, which would finally add power to the system. Shouldn't they have done that with the Sega CD? What's even more frustrating was the fact that they weren't learning from their mistakes. People didn't respond to the Sega CD add on, what made the think that the people would respond to the 32x? With the Saturn already released in Japan, gamers in America were aware that a more powerful Sega system will eventually be released shortly. Why purchase a 32x, which was clearly a stop gap measure, some evil attempt to milk more money from consumers? As predicted, the 32x failed. The saturn was launched in the US. By then, Sega's reputation was tarnished, especially for those who were duped into buying a sega CD or 32x. And their campaigns against Nintendo backfired on them. With graphics that were so much better, with more games available, and with more games with edgier content, Sony managed to brand sega as uncool, and made the playstation the cool thing to own. The nail in the coffin was made when squaresoft announced that they will be developing 
games for the playstation only. Squaresoft's games are huge in Japan, and the announcement was what sony needed to finally leave Sega in the dust, at least in Japan. In other territories, they had no problems. Sega had pretty much tarnished its own reputation to still be considered a threat. Nintendo survived because it still had a lot of loyal followers. The niche crowd was still profitable. On the other hand, Sega fucked up many of its fans, and only the blind fanboys remained. With the number of games made for the playstation, innovative games have surfaced which further expanded the market. Plus the realism attracted a lot of adults. Videogames were no longer viewed as for kids only. Sony was brilliant, examining the strategies of their would be competitors and learning from the mistakes of Sega and Nintendo, before making the plunge. Sony had clearly won the war by a landslide. They did everything right, and they deserve the victory.After a few more years, it was again time to develop the next generation of videogame systems. Sega wanted to redeem itself. First, they pulled the plug on the Saturn even when they still didn't have a new game system. I say it was the right decision. The userbase was so small it was no longer profitable to develop games for it. Better concede defeat and pool the remaining 
resources to gear up for the next war. However, this pissed a lot of saturn owners in Japan where there was still a profitable userbase, where Sega was still managing to hold its own. Some say this was the reason why the dreamcast wasn't received that well in Japan. Anyway, they seemed to emulate what sony did. The hardware was powerful, the design was so simple that it was easy to develop games for it. It included a modem, which was a sign that they were finally thinking of the future. Those memory cards called VMU's (visual memory unit) were innovative little gadgets where you can play mini games on. The price was attractive to many consumers. Most importantly, the first party games screamed of innovation. The games released for the dreamcast were sega games at their best... Probably because the Sega desperately wanted to atone themselves. They did have a shot. With aggressive promotions, a lot of systems were sold. People seem to have forgotten how they fouled up in the past. They also had a head start. After a year, the Playstation 2 was released. Developers complained that the hardware was a mess, it was difficult to develop games for it. There were also a lot of manufacturing problems, which 
delayed the mass production of systems. With all the problems hounding Sony at that time, Sega seemed to really have a shot--- then they suddenly pulled the plug on the system, just like that... claiming it was no longer profitable. The dreamcast was at the prime of its life back then. Naturally, developers stopped making games for it. Who would develop games for a system that was already pronounced as dead? Sega's developers may make the greatest games on earth, but their actions show that it's all about the money. Unlike Nintendo who cares about gamers, Sega is no different from those giant corporations like Sony and Microsoft. It's all about money. If there's one thing i've learned from all this, Sega shits on its own followers, it stabs its own fans in the back. I doubt if they'll ever be successful if they return to the hardware business. i wonder if anyone can ever trust a videogame system with the words Sega on it again. I know i won't.
resources to gear up for the next war. However, this pissed a lot of saturn owners in Japan where there was still a profitable userbase, where Sega was still managing to hold its own. Some say this was the reason why the dreamcast wasn't received that well in Japan. Anyway, they seemed to emulate what sony did. The hardware was powerful, the design was so simple that it was easy to develop games for it. It included a modem, which was a sign that they were finally thinking of the future. Those memory cards called VMU's (visual memory unit) were innovative little gadgets where you can play mini games on. The price was attractive to many consumers. Most importantly, the first party games screamed of innovation. The games released for the dreamcast were sega games at their best... Probably because the Sega desperately wanted to atone themselves. They did have a shot. With aggressive promotions, a lot of systems were sold. People seem to have forgotten how they fouled up in the past. They also had a head start. After a year, the Playstation 2 was released. Developers complained that the hardware was a mess, it was difficult to develop games for it. There were also a lot of manufacturing problems, which 
delayed the mass production of systems. With all the problems hounding Sony at that time, Sega seemed to really have a shot--- then they suddenly pulled the plug on the system, just like that... claiming it was no longer profitable. The dreamcast was at the prime of its life back then. Naturally, developers stopped making games for it. Who would develop games for a system that was already pronounced as dead? Sega's developers may make the greatest games on earth, but their actions show that it's all about the money. Unlike Nintendo who cares about gamers, Sega is no different from those giant corporations like Sony and Microsoft. It's all about money. If there's one thing i've learned from all this, Sega shits on its own followers, it stabs its own fans in the back. I doubt if they'll ever be successful if they return to the hardware business. i wonder if anyone can ever trust a videogame system with the words Sega on it again. I know i won't.But no matter how despicable Sega as a corporation is, I have to admit that they, together with Nintendo, make the sweetest games. Sure, with the ease to develop for the system, there are a lot of crappy games for it. A lot of third party games were uninspired ports of playstation games. Some ports were heavenly though, like Rayman 2 which fully took advantage of the system's capabilities. The graphics were so beautiful, one would really be immersed in the surreal 
Rayman universe. For a third party fighting game, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was such a joy to play, with all the madness going on the screen. Speaking of fighting games, nothing could match the level of quality of soul calibur. Sure, sequels were released for the playstation 2 and other systems, but the Dreamcast was the place were it all began. Dreamcast users were already witness to the majesty of Soul Calibur years before Playstation owners. And when it comes to depth, nothing can match the depth of Virtua Fighter 3. Tekken sure is fun to play, but ask anyone who has played VF3, and they'll tell you it's pretty shallow. The other first party games showed Sega at its best. The Saturn had The Panzer Dragoon series and Nights, but the Dreamcast had a lot more high quality games. Space channel 5 was such a guilty pleasure. It looked so fruity that I had to deny I enjoyed it. hehe. The sensation of speed in Sonic Adventure 2 was incredible. So what if some parts were cheesy? It was such a blast to play. So what if the playstation had a lot of RPGs? what the dreamcast had were of extremely high quality. Shenmue was really innovative, and the graphics were breathtaking. It would be 
impossible not to be immersed in its world. Phantasy Star Online looked boring at first, with seemingly repetitive gameplay and graphics that were not to flashy--- I was eating my words when I coudn't put down the controller whenever i played it. The game was so addicting! But my best RPG experience was when i played skies of Arcadia. I would argue that it's better than the Final Fantasy games that were already released at that time. Everytime I reminisce about the hours I've been playing that game, I can't help but smile. It was so much fun discovering what the whole world of Arcadia had to offer. All those quests, those hidden treasures, all the people encountered, to the epic battles--- such fond memories. Sure the graphics were cartoony, and the story seemed somewhat derivative... I don't care. The bottomline is, I've never had so much fun playing a role playing game in my entire life. My most favorite game for the system however, is Jet Grind Radio. Everything about it screamed innovation. The gameplay, the graphics--- it was a totally 
novel gaming experience. The cell shading makes the game look like a freaking cartoon, but it's in 3-D! Succeeding games would even copy the innovative graphics later on. And the gameplay... who would've thought skating around town vandalising property while escaping from the police could be so addicting?! and the soundtrack--- I never thought Japanese music could sound so good. Everything about the game was perfect. So what if it was a little short? with so much replay value, you wouldn't care if it only had one level or two. Sure, sega had pimped itself and ported the once exclusive games to other sytems, but it is only in the dreamcast where you can find all those exclusive games on one system. I strongly recommend buying a dreamcast when you find one on sale somewhere. It's technically a current generation game system after all, and a lot of great games are already available for it, and they're most probably dirt cheap. Any real gamer should experience what the dreamcast had to offer.
Rayman universe. For a third party fighting game, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was such a joy to play, with all the madness going on the screen. Speaking of fighting games, nothing could match the level of quality of soul calibur. Sure, sequels were released for the playstation 2 and other systems, but the Dreamcast was the place were it all began. Dreamcast users were already witness to the majesty of Soul Calibur years before Playstation owners. And when it comes to depth, nothing can match the depth of Virtua Fighter 3. Tekken sure is fun to play, but ask anyone who has played VF3, and they'll tell you it's pretty shallow. The other first party games showed Sega at its best. The Saturn had The Panzer Dragoon series and Nights, but the Dreamcast had a lot more high quality games. Space channel 5 was such a guilty pleasure. It looked so fruity that I had to deny I enjoyed it. hehe. The sensation of speed in Sonic Adventure 2 was incredible. So what if some parts were cheesy? It was such a blast to play. So what if the playstation had a lot of RPGs? what the dreamcast had were of extremely high quality. Shenmue was really innovative, and the graphics were breathtaking. It would be 
impossible not to be immersed in its world. Phantasy Star Online looked boring at first, with seemingly repetitive gameplay and graphics that were not to flashy--- I was eating my words when I coudn't put down the controller whenever i played it. The game was so addicting! But my best RPG experience was when i played skies of Arcadia. I would argue that it's better than the Final Fantasy games that were already released at that time. Everytime I reminisce about the hours I've been playing that game, I can't help but smile. It was so much fun discovering what the whole world of Arcadia had to offer. All those quests, those hidden treasures, all the people encountered, to the epic battles--- such fond memories. Sure the graphics were cartoony, and the story seemed somewhat derivative... I don't care. The bottomline is, I've never had so much fun playing a role playing game in my entire life. My most favorite game for the system however, is Jet Grind Radio. Everything about it screamed innovation. The gameplay, the graphics--- it was a totally 
novel gaming experience. The cell shading makes the game look like a freaking cartoon, but it's in 3-D! Succeeding games would even copy the innovative graphics later on. And the gameplay... who would've thought skating around town vandalising property while escaping from the police could be so addicting?! and the soundtrack--- I never thought Japanese music could sound so good. Everything about the game was perfect. So what if it was a little short? with so much replay value, you wouldn't care if it only had one level or two. Sure, sega had pimped itself and ported the once exclusive games to other sytems, but it is only in the dreamcast where you can find all those exclusive games on one system. I strongly recommend buying a dreamcast when you find one on sale somewhere. It's technically a current generation game system after all, and a lot of great games are already available for it, and they're most probably dirt cheap. Any real gamer should experience what the dreamcast had to offer.If sega didn't pull the plug prematurely, then the Dreamcast would probably still be alive, though on its deathbed since the next generation of systems have now arrived. If only the dream didn't end prematurely... How great it would've been if the dream lasted for 5 more years, i would've spent more time in pure gaming bliss. :)
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