Saturday, December 12, 2009
I Hate the 00s: My Dearly Departed Dreamcast
We've had some fun so far in my look back at the 00s, but now it's time to start with the bad news. Leading off my top disappointments of the past decade is the demise of the Sega Dreamcast.
I've already written an essay looking back at the Dreamcast with fondness that appeared on Bitmob to celebrate the console's ten year anniversary. Even though it famously launched on 9/9/99, I doubt I played it much until the year 2000. It was a slow starter for me, something I bought out of obligation or boredom (perhaps both) but then left to gather dust because I was busy with other games. I'm sure The King of Fighters '99 was occupying most of my spare time that fall - that or KOF '98.
Of course, those 2D fighters ended up being my favorite thing about the Dreamcast. There were plenty of other wonderful games for the system (Chu Chu Rocket, Crazy Taxi, Jet Grind Radio and Seaman leap to mind) but the ones my friends and I latched onto were the stunning ports of our favorite arcade fighters. Even games we owned in flawless Neo Geo form (that is to say, arcade-perfect) we ended up replaying on the Dreamcast due to the 3D backgrounds and extra characters.
That love of 2D arcade ports is what kept us playing the Dreamcast long after the rest of US gave up. Whether it was the less-than-stellar sales or the looming specter of the PlayStation 2 (probably both), Sega of America threw in the towel in early 2001. Japan kept going for a little while and I was absolutely the type of gamer who paid big bucks in Chinatown for imported software. Don't forget, I own a Neo Geo. Those cartridges cost more than most consoles, so a $80 disc is peanuts by comparison.
The Dreamcast is typically labeled as "ahead of its time" due to the built-in modem, online gaming functionality and the free web browser that came with the system. Unfortunately, they didn't think ahead to include a DVD drive like the PS2 did. Instead they went with a proprietary disc that, while not an odd shape like the GameCube discs, probably cost them customers who might have taken the plunge if they got a movie player as well as a game machine. But that ultimately was precisely what the Dreamcast was: a game machine. A really, really fun game machine that catered to people who loved video games. Who would have guessed that in the 21st century, that wouldn't be good enough?
Well, Sony did. And Microsoft. And Nintendo, eventually.
This represents Part 3 in a series of 25 posts about my favorite as well as the most disappointing entertainment properties/trends of the last ten years. To Be Continued!
For more on the Dreamcast, I highly recommend comprehensive overview of the console's life and death by Jeremy Parish.
I've already written an essay looking back at the Dreamcast with fondness that appeared on Bitmob to celebrate the console's ten year anniversary. Even though it famously launched on 9/9/99, I doubt I played it much until the year 2000. It was a slow starter for me, something I bought out of obligation or boredom (perhaps both) but then left to gather dust because I was busy with other games. I'm sure The King of Fighters '99 was occupying most of my spare time that fall - that or KOF '98.
Of course, those 2D fighters ended up being my favorite thing about the Dreamcast. There were plenty of other wonderful games for the system (Chu Chu Rocket, Crazy Taxi, Jet Grind Radio and Seaman leap to mind) but the ones my friends and I latched onto were the stunning ports of our favorite arcade fighters. Even games we owned in flawless Neo Geo form (that is to say, arcade-perfect) we ended up replaying on the Dreamcast due to the 3D backgrounds and extra characters.
That love of 2D arcade ports is what kept us playing the Dreamcast long after the rest of US gave up. Whether it was the less-than-stellar sales or the looming specter of the PlayStation 2 (probably both), Sega of America threw in the towel in early 2001. Japan kept going for a little while and I was absolutely the type of gamer who paid big bucks in Chinatown for imported software. Don't forget, I own a Neo Geo. Those cartridges cost more than most consoles, so a $80 disc is peanuts by comparison.
The Dreamcast is typically labeled as "ahead of its time" due to the built-in modem, online gaming functionality and the free web browser that came with the system. Unfortunately, they didn't think ahead to include a DVD drive like the PS2 did. Instead they went with a proprietary disc that, while not an odd shape like the GameCube discs, probably cost them customers who might have taken the plunge if they got a movie player as well as a game machine. But that ultimately was precisely what the Dreamcast was: a game machine. A really, really fun game machine that catered to people who loved video games. Who would have guessed that in the 21st century, that wouldn't be good enough?
Well, Sony did. And Microsoft. And Nintendo, eventually.
This represents Part 3 in a series of 25 posts about my favorite as well as the most disappointing entertainment properties/trends of the last ten years. To Be Continued!
For more on the Dreamcast, I highly recommend comprehensive overview of the console's life and death by Jeremy Parish.
Labels: Dreamcast, I hate the 00s, Neo Geo, video games
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