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| The Dreamcast reveal at The Sega New Challenge Conference 1998 |
The Past
I think at this point most people are pretty well versed in the history of the Dreamcast. As alluded to earlier, it was launched on 27th November 1998 in Japan, and the following year in the rest of the world. Initial sales were strong, and the system had an air of technological prowess about it. Graphics were far ahead of the console competition at the time, and in some cases superior to what PC gamers were enjoying too. But it wasn't just about the graphical capabilities; as the hardware too was new, fresh and exciting. The VMU in particular turned the humble memory card into a standalone console in its own right, and the controller, while it still to this day splits opinion was interesting, with its analogue triggers and aperture for a second screen of sorts. And of course, the modem that came packaged with the console as standard (apart from some very early editions) opened the door to a whole new way of playing on consoles - against people over the internet.
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| Eager gamers spy a delivery of Dreamcasts on the morning of the launch |
The utterly boring debates still rage to this day about why the console failed, and why Sega decided to ditch the console after a relatively short period in the west at least (the last official game was released for the Dreamcast in 2007 in Japan); but the main reason is that many people were more interested in the PlayStation 2 and waited for Sony's new machine rather than buy a Dreamcast. Yes, there are boring debates about software support from certain publishers, and there are boring debates about the ease with which games could be pirated and the lack of a DVD player...but the main reason is that the PlayStation 2 came along and stole the Dreamcast's thunder. It happened, let's all move on.
The Present
To clarify, what I'd like to describe as the 'present,' is the period leading from the time the Dreamcast was no longer being manufactured (late March 2001) right up until now; which is November 2018. Rather than fade away and simply become a forgotten footnote in the annals of gaming history, the Dreamcast still enjoys a large portion of the gaming limelight even now. And the reason for this is that the community that supports the console - people like you reading this article - continue to celebrate and discuss and buy games still being produced for the Dreamcast all these years after it was prematurely killed off.
The community surrounding the Dreamcast is one of the largest and most passionate there is. Yes, the Dreamcast represented one of the most advanced and impressive consoles ever developed when it was a contemporary machine, and the library released for it is every bit as impressive now as it was back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But it's the ever-evolving and ever-passionate community that keeps the system alive.
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| The DCHDMI internal board |
In terms of online functionality, it'd be hard to ignore the amazing work done by Luke Benstead, Shuouma, Dreamcast Now et al with the whole DreamPi online solution. By using the power of open source technology in the form of the Raspberry Pi, Dreamcast owners can once again play online with other people from around the world.
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| DreamPi has resurrected online gaming on Dreamcast |
To the uninitiated, the Dreamcast looks like a 'dead' system found at car boot sales and yard sales in amongst the broken ornaments and old Beano annuals, but if you take a trip down the rabbit hole and visit the Reddit threads, the forums, and Facebook groups, then you'll find a buzzing hive of activity. People constantly creating new things and new ideas; and people celebrating the original hardware, games and peripherals. The community is what has really helped to keep the Dreamcast in the spotlight, regardless of how small that spotlight might be in comparison to the one shining on the more mainstream, current gen systems.
The Future
What does the future hold? Who knows - we don't have a crystal ball. However, what is certain is that the Dreamcast isn't going anywhere soon. There are numerous new games still in development and numerous new peripherals yet to be enjoyed. New books are on the way, documenting the rise and rise of the Dreamcast. As the hardware fails with age, new technology is being reverse engineered to keep those Power VR chips pumping out polygons. So, as the Dreamcast reaches its 20th birthday, take a moment to reflect on all the fun the console has given us over the last two decades, and look forward to the fun it will (hopefully) continue to provide over at least another couple.
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| The Complete Dreamcast Guidebook by Yuichi Otsuka. Read an interview with the author at Dreamcast GAGA here |
I doubt I'll ever completely rid the Dreamcast from my life - nor would I want to - but the realisation that it has indeed been two decades since the console was first released does make you sit back and take stock. All of the things that have happened since then in my life (and I'm sure many of you who are reading this will have similar thoughts), it's really eye opening to know that the Dreamcast has been a constant throughout it all. Will I still be doing this when the next birthday milestone comes around? Probably not - I'm already looking at winding down and stepping away from this blog as I feel the need to move on and do something else with my spare time. However, I'm waffling now so I'll stop. But yeah...20 years. Damn.
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| Parties always end up going too far... |
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10 comments:
A great tribute, Tom.
DCJY and all those mentioned in this article have championed this wonderful system to a whole other level.
It's an amazing feeling to know that there will always be a home for passionate Dreamcast fans a in a community made up of many other like-minded individuals.
The Dreamcast is forever (at least until lasers die or disc rot gets us).
You say Hucast are still making dreamcast games when it's obvious they have taken the money and ran after milking dux for all its worth. They pretty much ditched the platform after being called out on their shady deceitful bullshit.
They just port their games to modern platforms now.
The Dreamcast is pretty much dead
Not really. This year has had more new releases than any other year since it was discontinued. It's far from dead
Hardak is pretty much dead.
Dead ? Rolfmao pimp. It will always have something to give me in terms of joy, either its when i gpt friends over for some powerstone 2/Track and field or playing alone Grandia2/Soa/Headhunter/Shenmue/Tokyo Highway challange series etc.. so many classics.
I agree with Tom, ofc when time goes by the dreamcast gets a bit less more intresting, but it will always have thoose special games that are more then worth to play in between <3 And the community around it is great ! Im looking at you "Xenocider" and "Izzy" amongst others :D
Dreamcast is just so fucking amazing. I have a brand new Switch and here I am still reading a blog about my truly favorite console. I will play this thing for life...
Far from dead. Late consoles are far deadier. In a year I will enjoy Okinawa Rush,Intrepid Izzy, Xeno Crisis, the new fighting game from Joshprod and hopefully a few more. What may be dead is this interest for this console.
Awesome post mate, it is interesting how a console created such a strong, resistant community? I guess there is something innit being the final Sega console, and being loyal to that memory.
Hope to see you pop-up with posts like this now and again on the DCJY!
Great blog post Tom. I feel ya on the 'when does it end' situation. I was also an early adopter, if there is such a thing, and still have grand memories of figuring out how to link to the internet! As much as we can be biased, the DC was truly revolutionary at the time. It set a new standard but ultimately Sega had to hand over the baton.
I agree with you about all the pointless circling debate. We just have to accept that more people wanted PSX and that is that. I will never think on the DC as a failure, it has way too many great games and a large library of standard ones to pick from.
As the years go by will we still see the same dedication to the DC as we have now? Possibly, I certainly would like to think so.
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