Tuesday, 08 September 2009 22:46
And so began what was arguably the most successful console launch in U.S. history on September 9, 1999; not only with the sales numbers (which was $98.4 million on launch day), but also with an amazing lineup of games such as Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, Power Stone, Hydro Thunder, The House of The Dead 2, and NFL 2K. With such AAA-calibur games...
And so began what was arguably the most successful console launch in U.S. history on September 9, 1999; not only with the sales numbers (which was $98.4 million on launch day), but also with an amazing lineup of games such as Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, Power Stone, Hydro Thunder, The House of The Dead 2, and NFL 2K. With such AAA-calibur games on launch, it became very clear that SEGA's Dreamcast was something special indeed.
For anyone who decided to break from the Playstation/N64 mold and go with the Dreamcast, they were in for one hell of a ride during the console's brief, albeit amazing run; this system catered fully to the hardcore gamer, and they were (and still are) extremely grateful for it, and as such have nothing but find memories to say of the system. Myself, I had a Dreamcast on launch, as I decided I would stick with SEGA from the start on this one, as I had unfortunately went with the PSX instead of the Saturn, which ended up being a giant mistake for me as I was not able to play any of my beloved fighting games in playable order (where the Saturn had arcade-perfect ports of all my beloved fighters). Needless to say, purchasing the Dreamcast was one of the best decisions I had made as far as my console choices go; I grew up in the boom of the arcade scene in the 80s/90s and as such had an extreme passion for the "quarter-muncher" style of gameplay. This was what the Dreamcast excelled at, and I was all the merrier as a gamer. On top of that, it had all of the fighters I could desire; a better-than-arcade-perfect port of Soul Calibur, as well as perfect ports of Power Stone, Marvel vs. Capcom 1 &2, Capcom vs. SNK 1 and 2, as well as the great King of Fighters 98 and Garou: Mark of The Wolves.
"SEGA Dreamcast - It's Thinking"
Yes, the Dreamcast ended up losing the console war to Sony's Playstation 2, but the spirit of the system has lived on throughout the years, both in the memories of hardcore gamers and in the homebrew community. Was I sad to hear about the Dreamcast's end? Of course...I still remember January 31, 2001 when SEGA announced via conference call that they were leaving the hardware business and dedicating themselves solely to software (of which I listened in on), leaving me an emotional wreck for many days afterwards. Now, I have nothing but fond memories of SEGA's little console that could, and still regard it as the greatest console I have ever owned; though its lifespan may have been short, it was within that period that I had many of the greatest gaming experiences in my life (the amazing Killer Whale chase in Sonic Adventure, having 30-minute matches with my cousin in Power Stone, experiencing a true arcade-perfect port of Marvel vs. Capcom, being completely engrossed in the story of Resident Evil: Code Veronica, exploring the streets of Tokyo in Shenmue), as well as marvelling at the advent of true online gaming for a console (though it was not the first...that honor goes to the little-known XBAND).
So what to do on 9-9-09? Reflect on one of the greatest consoles of all time and all the joy it brought during its short run. If you have a Dreamcast, hook it up again and bring yourself back to 1999, when it was all about the fun factor of the game and not about being 300+ hours to complete; when arcades were still around and booming (thanks in no small part to games like Marvel vs. Capcom and Dance Dance Revolution). If you're 21 and over, pop open a cold one as you reminisce about the good times, and if not, a cold soda will do 
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[image courtesy of Michael Saibato]
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