Sega Dreamcast – 6 Feet Under but not Dead Yet.
The Sega Dreamcast shaped gaming to what it is today, whether you noticed it or not. I pathed the way for a new type of gaming and though has been pulled out of manufacturing, isn’t dead yet.
* So what is a Sega Dreamcast? *
The Dreamcast is a 128-bit games console.
It was released in Europe in 1999 but a year earlier, in 1998 was released in Japan.
It was the first console to have a built In 56k modem
Aspects based around Microsoft CE
The Dreamcast featured online gaming and the ability to check email and browse the web before any other console even considered it.
Had 4 controller slots and featured a similar controller to the N64.
First and only console to have the unique Visual Memory Unit (VMU) with on screen tips, games and images of your last save.
* It may as well be dead, what the point in bothering with it anymore? *
The Dreamcast ISN’T dead. Yes, games are no longer made for it and Sega takes no interest in support
anymore unless you have to ring a 0900 number, yet the Dreamcast still boasts great features and a line up of some of the best games available. When it was released, the primary function of the Dreamcast was to first defeat the N64 and Playstation 1. This it could do with ease, the Dreamcast had the power, the graphics, the sound quality and the extra features along with new games like no one had seen before. At the time a Playstation – Dreamcast chip was created so that Playstation games could be taken to Dreamcast for better performance. I experienced the better performance with THPS2 – I had played it in 2 player with some friends, it was slow, the level appeared before your eyes and the levels were restricted, yet with the dreamcast it provided as good gameplay as it did within the one player mode. When the PSX and N64 died a death, the Dreamcast was still ready to fight the PS2 and Xbox. It could match them on games and graphics and had bundles more features such as the VMU. The dreamcast could boast of a 200MHz Hitachi SH4 processor (360 MIPS) that could churn through the games at a steady pace and wasn’t far behind the PS2 with performance yet being year or two older. It also had 8MB 100MHz 128-bit SDRAM, 1.6GB/sec video memory bandwidth, 45MHz ARM7 + Yamaha DSP audio processor and 2MB audio memory – all ready to produce the best possible sound, graphics and video play possible and five years later can still keep up with new Xbox games! The use of the Microsoft CE operating system worked well but with certain games it provided for some slower gameplay and lower frames per second. In general though it was satisfactory. Also, it is the smallest console on the market yet can match much bigger and chunkier consoles such as the xbox - it is highly portable. The dreamcast was Sega’s last throw at Consoles, but why didn’t the Dreamcast become the knight in shining armour it should have become? Why aren’t we still finding new games full of the trademark fun and great graphics we became used to seeing on the Dreamcast? Because..
* The downfall of the Dreamcast *
That makes it sound like it must have be underpowered or lacked good graphics or games? No, the dream was ended for one sole reason, the name Sega. It wasn’t cool to have a dreamcast, why have a Sega Dreamcast when you can have a highly marketed cool slick PS2? That’s what the people though and lead to the drop in sales and the fall of the Dreamcast. This combined with the fact that Sega released it too early. Some felt this was an advantage and it was and it leaves it in living memory of the Console that made the way for ‘next-gen’ consoles BUT I feel that it came and went before the PS2 or Xbox had even hit the shelves. The Dreamcast won’t be forgotten – It made video gaming what it is today.
* So, what happens next? *
Well, you could go back and play your £150 PS2 with your £40 games that you play for a week then get bored of.. OR you could purchase a Dreamcast. Dreamcasts can still be picked up on the Internet in working order with controllers, VMUs, and over 200 games on sites such as eBay, Chipsworld.co.uk or Amazon. It is now VERY VERY cheap to own and run a dreamcast and refuel your gaming needs every now and then with a great game equal to PS2 standards for what - £5? The Dreamcast left some great games with it, MSR which led the way for Project Gotham with the whole Kudos thing, Shenmue I and II the best RPG’s ever, Soul Calibor etc etc. There are some truly great games with better graphics than your current console all for a extremely low budget. So, if your bored or can’t afford your PS2/Xbox habits, why not get a Dreamcast for a couple of quid, 50 games and 4 controllers and have fun! It wasn’t called the Dreamcast for nothing. Have you ever come across a dreamcast owner who loathed it? No! Go today and buy!
The dreamcast is buried, but far from being dead.
by (10%):
by (6%):
17.01.2005 12:39
Great review, I have never had one of these, I think I am missing out x
19.12.2004 21:49
I have one of these, i may just take it out of its box, and blow the dust off the top
16.12.2004 23:12
the dreamcast was and still is a superb machine. yet again, a great review!!! take care. regards, john.