I remember getting the Dreamcast 10 days after launch- September 19th, 1999. I was so excited to be getting a next gen system- and this was indeed next gen. The graphics were amazing- I mean, just look how pretty Sonic Adventure was! And internet capabilities- I couldn’t wait to surf the internet on my TV. In other words, I had to get the Dreamcast. Luckily on that date- the 19th- it just happened to be my birthday. I was promised a Sega Dreamcast, and I was actually lucky enough to snag one at the local Wal-Mart. Taking the system and Sonic Adventure with me, the next few years were some of the best I ever had gaming wise.
To be honest though, my gaming tastes at the time were not the best. I mostly liked fighting games like Street Fighter and platformers like Sonic. Obviously, considering what games were released for the Dreamcast, I was one happy camper. I remember reading in EGM abou Marvel vs. Capcom port that looked exactly like the arcade version, and I was very interested. I bought a copy and was mezmerized- I really did feel like I was playing in an arcade. Of course came the AWESOME Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and SNK vs. Capcom was just as great. I wasn’t a fan of Street Fighter III so I avoided that release, but I was mighty impressed with the graphics. I also got Mortal Kombat Gold for Christmas one year, but anyone who played that knew what a colossal dissapointment MK4 was.
The Dreamcast was innovative in a lot of ways, and maybe that led to its downfall. Either that, or the failures of the Genesis add-ons and the Sega Saturn proved too much to bear for Sega. So when I heard that Sega was abandoning the hardware market I was shocked and, well, saddened. Yes, Sega made a ton of mistakes in the last few years leading to the Dreamcast’s launch, but they finally did something right with their last console. Personally, I think it was a system that was released too early for it’s time. Online was something brand spanking new for video games back in 1999, and really didn’t hit the mainstream until the Xbox 360 launched in 2005. Maybe if Sega had waited a few years before ending development of the Dreamcast, maybe it would still be around today, or the next incarnation might have been released to the public.
But I guess I could list a bunch of things about what Sega could have done, but it isn’t going to change the fact that the Dreamcast is gone. I’m okay with that, though. I have lots of happy memories with my Dreamcast, as do other people. I’ll just sit back and think back to the day when I first got it and how amazingly impressed I was with the system the moment I unwrapped it. And who knows…maybe it’s time for me to bust it out of the closet hook it up again, for old times sake.
I remember getting the Dreamcast 10 days after launch- September 19th, 1999. I was so excited to be getting a next gen system- and this was indeed next gen. The graphics were amazing- I mean, just look how pretty Sonic Adventure was! And internet capabilities- I couldn’t wait to surf the internet on my TV….something about that just made me very, very interested in the console. And considering I only had a Nintendo 64 at the time, I was definately looking forward to picking up a new console. In other words, I had to get the Dreamcast. Luckily on that date- the 19th- it just happened to be my birthday. I was promised a Sega Dreamcast, and I was actually lucky enough to snag one at the local Wal-Mart. Taking the system and Sonic Adventure with me, the next few years were some of the best I ever had gaming wise.
To be honest though, my gaming tastes at the time were not the best. I mostly liked fighting games like Street Fighter and platformers like Sonic. Obviously, considering what games were released for the Dreamcast, I was one happy camper. I remember reading in EGM abou Marvel vs. Capcom port that looked exactly like the arcade version, and I was very interested. I bought a copy and was mezmerized- I really did feel like I was playing in an arcade. Of course came the AWESOME Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and SNK vs. Capcom was just as great. I wasn’t a fan of Street Fighter III so I avoided that release, but I was mighty impressed with the graphics. I also got Mortal Kombat Gold for Christmas one year, but anyone who played that knew what a colossal dissapointment MK4 was.
The Dreamcast was innovative in a lot of ways, and maybe that led to its downfall. Either that, or the failures of the Genesis add-ons and the Sega Saturn proved too much to bear for Sega. So when I heard that Sega was abandoning the hardware market I was shocked and, well, saddened. Yes, Sega made a ton of mistakes in the last few years leading to the Dreamcast’s launch, but they finally did something right with their last console. Personally, I think it was a system that was released too early for it’s time. Online was something brand spanking new for video games back in 1999, and really didn’t hit the mainstream until the Xbox 360 launched in 2005. Maybe if Sega had waited a few years before ending development of the Dreamcast, maybe it would still be around today, or the next incarnation might have been released to the public.
But I guess I could list a bunch of things about what Sega could have done, but it isn’t going to change the fact that the Dreamcast is gone. I’m okay with that, though. I have lots of happy memories with my Dreamcast, as do other people. I’ll just sit back and think back to the day when I first got it and how amazingly impressed I was with the system the moment I unwrapped it. And who knows…maybe it’s time for me to bust it out of the closet hook it up again, for old times sake.
