Better late than never

OMG!  I was completely ignorant that yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the US launch of the Dreamcast.

It was the console that did everything right, but still failed to get a firm grasp on the market.  Sure, there were a few factors that caused it to go down in less than two years from its US launch date on 9/9/1999, but it sure gave a lasting impact in the mind of gamers in that short amount of time when it was out on store shelves.

Originally acting like a home version of Sega’s own arcade games -- similar to when SNK made a home console (AES) of their arcade system (MVS)--, the Dreamcast would shortly grow its own legs by including an incredible library of unique and fun games developed by 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party game studios.

I believe this was Sega’s shining years as they were, at the time, losing the race in the console battle during the Saturn years and were desperate to come out on top during the new console generation.  And as the old saying goes: desperate times call for desperate measures.

Sega of America would even go as far as to focus all their attention on the Dreamcast and ditch the Saturn a year before the Dreamcast’s scheduled release date; leaving Sega fans adrift without a console for months.  Sure, it was a jerk move, but it gave them time and money to invest in the Dreamcast’s marketing and games development.  It would also be a time when they would reorganize their internal development studios and create fantastic teams like Smilebit and United Game Artists.

Being a great emulator of their arcade games due in part of the Dreamcast being nearly the same as Sega’s arcade board Naomi, the ports were nearly identical to their arcade counterparts.  Some of these games included Crazy Taxi, The House of the Dead 2, Virtua Tennis, and 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker.  Close ally Capcom also built some of their arcade games on Naomi hardware, too; giving gamers incredible fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Power Stone, Capcom vs. SNK, and Project Justice.

Now don’t get me wrong.  Arcade games are great and all, but when it came to first and second party developers who built games exclusively for the Dreamcast, is when I believe Sega really brought the big guns in regard to creativity and style.  For example, to promote their online gaming services, ChuChu Rocket! had players connecting to each other via dial-up and trying to direct mice into rockets.  For music rhythm gamers, Space Channel 5 would be right up their alley with its upbeat and fast paced music.  And for people looking for something new, the ambitious adventure game Shenmue from creator Yu Suzuki and team AM2 should get their attention.  Other notable games include, but now limited to, Jet Grind Radio, Phantasy Star Online, Sega Marine Fishing, and Sonic Adventure.

Looking back, Sega during years 1999 and 2000 were probably at their peak in terms of high creativity output, and the Dreamcast was right in the middle of it all to act as a canvas for these artistic bunch of developers to place their ideas on to.  I am glad to see the gaming community always celebrating the Dreamcast every year in September to give it the praise it deserves.

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