• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Why is the Sega Dreamcast so beloved?

L

Lights and Waves

Member
I know why I love the system (mostly for the memories I associate with receiving it as a gift) but I was always under the impression that people thought the system was trash thanks to the PS2 blowing it out of the water. I'm a bit surprised to see that, and this might be because time has passed since then, so many people really loved this system.

What are your theories on why this system is always praised online? Was it the games? The aesthetic? The VMU? That start up noise?

9699106a1c7bf4e0ccd5d9e25b2d6a3c090518e6.jpg


Sidenote: Please tell me someone else played Sonic Shuffle.
 
S

Stone Ocean

Member
Because it had many high quality exclusives that wouldn't hit other consoles for a long time if at all, specially when it comes to arcade beat em ups and fighters.

TEEECH ROMAAAANCER
 
A

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
Phantasy Star Online.


Honestly don't know if ANY of the Dreamcast games are worth playing in 2015. Most of them are improved with future versions or ports to Xbox, etc. PSO is a pretty "out-dated" experience by today's standards. Soul Calibur II is arguably a better game, some may still prefer SC1.

lol some people still love that damn Shnume game. It also fits with what I said in spoilers... its outdated and not fun by today's gaming standards.
 
D

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Right place, right time. It brought late 90d arcade experiences home and was host to Sega at their most creative. It was an exciting
 
C

CB3

intangibles, motherfucker
Its online stuff was before its time for sure. PSO was a mind blowing thing for me.
 
SEGAvangelist

SEGAvangelist

Member
Classic Sega arcade games in your home plus all the other great exclusives and even good online games long before the competition. Great console.
 
D

Daingurse

Member
Because it had the goods. An extremely ambitious console for the time, with a host excellent titles that people still remember to this day. I'll never forget that console, it's my favorite of all-time.

Finale Fireworker said:
Dreamcast is beloved? Where? I know it has some games people love, but do people really love the system?

I had no idea.
Click to expand...

Yes.
 
F

Ferr986

Member
Great lineup with a lot of original and fresh games + awesome arcade ports that even surprased the originals (Soul Calibur) + introducing online gameplay as a standard in consoles and overall online services (Dreamarena).

Dreamcast was an innovative system with a great variety of games.
 
S

Skiptastic

Member
It seemed like the last hurrah of a formerly powerful hardware company, and they didn't just peter out and die: they went out HUGE.

The games, the online multiplayer that actually worked for a console, bringing the arcade home for the last time (both the Dreamcast and arcades essentially went kaput at this time).

It is personal for me for many reasons but that's my "objective" view of it.

Oh, and that $200 price tag? Freaking amazing for that time.
 
M

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
Zane said:
It was the last console that epitomized the play-at-home arcade experience.
Click to expand...

This is a pretty good way of putting it. It was basically built with the idea of being as arcade perfect as possible.

The system also had an unusually high density of great, quirky, weird, and niche hidden gem type games when you consider just how short lived it really was.
 
C

Cimarron

Member
It was a great system. I think some of its fame comes from the fact that it did pretty much everything right and it still failed. Aside from the fact that it didn't have a dvd drive the Dreamcast was a brilliant piece of hardware.
 
A

Arthr2ShdsJcksn

Banned
The graphics were also top notch for the time.

Dreamcast games looks so much better than early PS2 games.

Also
Shenmue, Phantasy Star Online, and Skies of Arcadia, a ton of good arcade ports, NFL 2K series was mindblowing, and Seaman.
 
C

Coxy

Member
Amazing games in a short period, built in online, Sega's last stand, games we still havent seen the like of since
 
Z

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
It had an incredible library of unique, colorful, and arcadey video games. Despite its short time frame on shelves it has so many quality games. They may not have had the widest appeal, but they were fantastic titles.

The premier game to showcase why the Dreamcast was both incredible and yet short lived is Chu Chu Rocket. It is an action puzzle game about weird cats and mice. Nobody knows what the hell they are looking at. But its a goddamn blast and everybody who plays it, loves it.
 
S

Steveo

Banned
I think for people who didn't own a Dreamcast, or were too young look back on the Dreamcast's library and aren't imrpessed because almost everything on the system has been ported to here and back. But during it's first two years, that wasn't the case, a lot of great exclusives, many extremely unique titles, and the first system to push online gaming.

For what the system had to offer for it's only two years of existence is very impressive. The Dreamcast also sold better than ppl think.... it was more Sega ran out of money than the Dreamcast was an utter commercial failure. In fact I believe the Dreamcast is still ahead of the Wii U in sales.
 
G

Gestault

Member
Big selection of distinct, quality games, and a lot of them were the more oddball titles that felt different from what was available elsewhere. Especially relative to its short lifespan. Also, it was super high-tech at release with some ahead-of-its-time features. For the US market especially, it sold well enough that some were surprised when the support got pulled because of the problems behind-the-scenes at Sega.
 
A

Alcoholikaust

Member
picgifs-console-dreamcast-7844146.gif

Shenmue
Seaman
Code Veronica
SFIII:Third Strike
Marvel vs Capcom 2
Soul Calibur
Crazy Taxi
Powerstone 1 and 2
many others

love the console-still use mine every once in a while
 
B

B_Signal

Member
It just seemed so far ahead of the curve. It was a huge step up graphically when it came out, had unique games, great games, all sorts of nonsense released for it, plus it was the first device I had that could get on the internet
 
F

flohen95

Member
Finale Fireworker said:
Dreamcast is beloved? Where? I know it has some games people love, but do people really love the system?

I had no idea.
Click to expand...

I really like the Dreamcast. The design is fantastic, and it just feels special playing on it with that big ass controller + VMU.

And I only bought one in 2014. It's... cool, somehow. I don't quite know why.

But yeah, the biggest thing are of course the games, and looking back, it's hard to believe how much good stuff came out for it in its short lifespan.
 
E

EdgeXL

Member
I think the Dreamcast has favorable nostalgia because it was among the last of the pure gaming consoles (along with GameCube). Nowadays consoles are movie players and video call machines and they happen to play games too. The Dreamcast also had a lot of features that were ahead of its time such as being the first system to ship with a modem in the box and a gaming network.
 
S

SMgamer83

Member
For me it was the first time I felt like I brought the Arcade home.

Soul Calibur, Marvel vs. Capcom 1 and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 that felt JUST like (or even better) than their Arcade versions.

Weird Capcom games like Giga Wing, Rival Schools, Power Stone, and the like were a bonus, and I kinda enjoyed Sonic Adventure 1 and 2.
 
S

Shanlei91

Sonic handles my blue balls
Huge variety of unique games, introduction for many to online multiplayer, a memory card that could play mini games and added another level of interaction...but really, the games.

9R5yZzF.png
cFQoj7U.png

2kIvTGn.jpg
EV7dIjQ.jpg

1FrCjwb.png
oGBEOSY.jpg

tQxmxPU.jpg
MjIP1rX.jpg
 
M

MrNyarlathotep

Banned
Arthr2ShdsJcksn said:
The graphics were also top notch for the time.

Dreamcast games looks so much better than early PS2 games.
Click to expand...

Enough time has passed that we can call Sony out for their utter bullshit tech demos without starting arguments now right?
Because I remember buying DC games retail at a game shop and being interrogated why I wasting my time on the DC when the PS2 was coming out in 6 months and had Toy Story level graphics
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

This year’s Hallmark Christmas Ornaments include a Sega Dreamcast
30
1K
Happosai replied
Believe me, a new Sega console would repeat all the same mistakes Saturn and Dreamcast.
2 3
124
4K
Scotty W replied
Peter Moore: I didn't kill the Dreamcast
2 3 4 5
211
13K
anthony2690 replied
  • Locked
Why are Sony and Nintendo so anti consumer?
Opinion 2 3
107
6K
harrisk954 replied
Sega Dreamcast. The best console ever. Why? See inside!
2 3 4 5
238
15K
Eddie-Griffin replied
Top Bottom