Hi, i'm D.J, i am 23 years old and like films, music, internet, writing and Japan. (^o^)
Hi, i'm D.J, i am 23 years old and like films, music, internet, writing and Japan. (^o^)
Member since:02.09.2005
Reviews:8
Members who trust:1
The Sega Dreamcast was released in the UK during September 1999. At that time it was the most powerful console in the world and should have sold by the truckload.
Despite a reasonable ad campaign though, Sega just were'nt able to sell many units and had they have continued with the console then being declared bankrupt was a distinct possibility. When Sega announced that they were going to cease production in early 2001, most major UK retailers suddenly cleared out their DC shelves and removed all stock from exsistence (which was a completely unnecessary and idiotic move). At that time games were still being released and there were many on the way so like all the other DC owners, i had to live with the struggle that was trying to find the games i wanted(which i called Dreamcast syndrome and can now be found with Gamecube games even though the problem is not quite as severe). After the shop shelves had been emptied of DC consoles and games, they were re-filled with budget PS1 games instead (for a console which had been on shelves for over 5 years).
What also signalled the DC's death knell was the release of the Playstation 2 in late 2000. It's rather strange though how people rushed out and bought Sony's console despite an incedibly weak launch line up, yet they ignored the DC that year when Shenmue (perhaps one of the greatest games of all time) was released.
The fact is that the games (rather than the 'cool' factor) were the DC's strongest point, classics such as Shenmue 1 and 2, Skies of Arcadia, Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure, Toy Commander, Chu Chu Rocket and many others showed that the console contained the best games around at that time. Especially since the PS1 was past it's best and the N64 was starting to end it's natural life.
What was also great was the fact that the hardware was well built, reliable and it had 4 controller ports. Online gaming was possible too for a while thanks to a built in modem (the first console to feature such a thing) and of course there was the VMU's. The Visual Memory Unit was revolutionary due to the fact that it was a memory card which contained a screen and buttons so as well as displaying in-game info when plugged into the controller, you could unplug it and use it as a miniturised handheld console (similar in style to Sony's Pocketstation which was never released in the UK).
The controller itself had features which some can still be seen on the present day XBox pad, most notible was the twin analogue triggers of which no pad has ever done better (the Gamecube one in particular is nowhere near as good). These triggers allowed for prefectly precise control when playing racing/driving games such as Le Mans 24 Hours, F1 World Grand Prix 2 (still a favourite even today) and Crazy Taxi.
All in all i would recommend buying a DC (if you can find one) simply for Shenmue, it's sequel and Skies of Arcadia, any other games you get for it is a bonus. The Sega Dreamcast was so far ahead of it's time that only in the last 3 years have the subsequent generation caught up in terms of graphical capability (it was released 6 years ago remember), even today i am still impressed with the sheer quality of Shenmue's visuals.
All i can suggest then is that should you ever get the opportunity to own a DC (and not have one already), then try and get it as you will never regret owning one. Truly, a lost classic.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
(+) Plenty of storage space, for media. Good Games, Great for partys, with singstar. Very Reliable. (-) Sometimes the optical drive, breaks; but not very likely, my 60gb still working after 2 1/2 years.
This sum up the Dreamcast very well, you hit the nail bang on the head, it was a far better console than people gave it credit for.
But at least Sega can spen thier money making more good games now that don't have to suport a console manufacturing plant.
Miles13 08.09.2005 17:25
Betamax comes to mind a better machine than VHS but didn't sell as well even today most news agencies use betamax to film their reports, the same could be said about a dreamcast better than a PS1 or 2 but sony had the bigger name in the eyes of the public - Milt
pinkmatchstick 08.09.2005 15:53
And they used to sponsor Arsenal in the CL too........
Advantages: vague internet feature Disadvantages: not a good selection of games, all seem to be new games that haven't appeared on other platforms that are below par!
scottkilner 12.06.2000 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: not helpful
Review of Sega Dreamcast
Sep 8th, 2005
exceptional by (20%):
very helpful by (80%):
