Dreamcast Hangover.

I am feeling a bit blue this morning.

You see I was celebrating the Dreamcast's birthday last night with a few rounds on the off-white box.


Yep. In North America 9-9-99 only meant one thing...the Dreamcast (and stocking up on canned goods and bottled water for no good reason *Y2K*). And now so many years later the Dreamcast is still a wonderful gaming device enjoyed by many.

Yet this auspicious occasion was marred by this article that reminds us of of the sad truth that soon Sega will no longer support it's greatest creation. You should still read that Kotaku article though, the comments people listed below it are a testament to how great the Dreamcast truly is.

So go to Sega's website while you can if you need to grab a manual for the Dreamcast or a Sega Dreamcast game (Scroll down to the bottom of the manual's page). Or consider sending in your Dreamcast in to Sega to be fixed if it's a limited edition one.

I currently have 4 Dreamcast's in the house. One mint condition one hooked up to my VGA adaptor at my computer desk. My Sega Sports limited edition is in secure storage in my closet. Down cellar I have Dreamcast that has been professional repaired and a beater Dreamcast that I use the most. The only thing that has ever gone wrong with any of them was the control board blowing up the F1 fuse in my beater model. But a quick fix and that Dreamcast is still going strong. If you make sure that they are on a cool hard none-carpeted surface Dreamcast consoles can keep working for a long time... But it would be nice if I could send in my Dreamcasts to Sega to get professionally repaired after this month is over. Too bad.

Still it's not all bad news. While I was at a game store recently a young gamer who looked about 14 years old was buying Dreamcast games. I heard him tell the store clerk that he had only recently got a Dreamcast and that it was his favorite console. It's nice to know that the system keeps getting new fans even as Sega keeps trying to pull the plug on it.

But Sega can't end the Dreamcast. It has a life of it's own and it will never die.



All hail the undead console. All hail the Dreamcast.

7 comments:

Caleb said...

BTW it costs $55.00 to get your US or Canadian Dreamcast fixed by Sega.

Worth it if you have a limited edition one.

Anonymous said...

Encounter Zone for Dreamcast coming soon.

Caleb said...

I thought that Encounter Zone was canceled?

I played the demo version and thought that the guy who was making it decided to end the project...?

I hope it does get made though. I really liked the concept of a "Bullet Hell" where you only got a few shots.

fatherkrishna said...

Great article Caleb and a fitting tribute to the undead console!
I think that after Sega withdraw support, there will be independent specialists that will spring up and take over...

There's already one in Scotland I think...

Happy Birthday Dreamcast! (BTW I love the cake, did you bake it yourself?)

Anonymous said...

Nope. Brian put the game on hiatus because he opened a Big Boy restaurant. Now that things have settled he's resumed work on it with me doing the artwork. He's not saying much about it until it's released due to the lack of interest in the game from the scene in general. I can tell you that the gameplay is pretty much unchanged except for some better enemy AI and graphics and some attract screens to tie it all together. It should be out soon but there's no specific day or timeline.

Anonymous said...

great post caleb! I own 2 Dreamcasts one is my favorite '99 model that has never had any problem at all. My other (soon to be modded) Dreamcast is in a drawer of my desk.

Caleb said...

For the love of Pete.

No. I just found that picture.

I did not make the cake...

Wow. I can't believe people would think I was such a Dreamcast freak that I would bake something like that...

(Anyways the controller cord was all wrong and my Dreamcast cake would have much more detail.)