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[Kazza]

While 9/9/99 is a date which will forever be indelibly linked with the Dreamcast (even for us Europeans), the system was actually first released in Japan on the 27th of November 1998 (27/11/98 or 11/27/98 doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it?)



While I'm sure next year's anniversary will garner more attention, there were lots of interesting things going on with the Japanese launch. Despite the Saturn's moderate success in Japan, Sega obviously had their backs to the wall, as this Japanese Times article on launch day explains (Dreamcast’s success critical to Sega’s future). This quote in particular shows how desperate the situation had become as Sega prepared for one last role of the dice:

And what if Dreamcast goes down? “We have no plan,” Sega President Shoichiro Irimajiri said at a recent speech in Tokyo.

Sega's status as scrappy underdog is hilariously emphasised in their pre-launch adverts. This one stars Sega's Senior Managing Director, Hidekazu Yukawa, as he gets gets depressed overhearing kids say how lame Sega is compared to Sony. As if that isn't enough, in a scene remarkably reminiscent (or should I say prescient) of Sega's later Yakuza games, he gets bullied by thugs in what looks like a real life Kamurocho. Unfortunately, Yukawa is no Kazuma Kiryu, and he doesn't come off too well from the encounter:




Fortunately, Yukawa would survive the beating and was there on launch day to help distribute Dreamcasts to eagerly waiting punters, as the following news report shows:




The Dreamcast would completely sell out its stock of 150k on the day (apparently there were some PowerVR chip shortages, meaning it couldn't beat the 200k Saturns sold on its release date). Unlike the stellar line-up prepared for the North American release, options for first day Japanese buyers were rather sparse in comparison, with only Virtua Fighter 3tb selling well out of the 4 initial launch titles.

To give an idea of what that launch period was like for Japanese players (and foreign importers who couldn't wait for 9/9/99), here is a great video from Sega Lord X:




Does anyone here have any memories of the Japanese launch?

 

[Kazza]

Unfortunately, my own experience with the Dreamcast is rather sparse. I owned every Sega console from the Master System to the Saturn (except the 32X - as much of a fanboy as I was, even I wasn't that stupid!). For reasons I can't quite remember (probably due to an increased interest in girls, alcohol etc as I was on the cusp of adulthood), the Dreamcast passed me by. Any gaming I did was pretty much entirely taken up with PC strategy games. I've always felt oddly guilty about ignoring the Dreamcast, kind of like a betrayed a girlfriend or best friend.

That loss was mine, as it seems like it was an amazing system. The only experience I've had with it is through the re-released HD games on steam (Jet Set Radio, Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi etc). I can't imagine how amazing it would have been to play back in the day.

While with some systems, you could point to mistakes made by the company to explain its failure, the Dreamcast seemed to failed in spite of getting everything right. The Dreamcast didn't fail us, we failed the Dreamcast.

 

[Kazza]

If you liked the Yukawa advert, here is the full series:



He had big shoes to fill, taking over from the amazing Sega Sanshiro, but I think he managed it.

In this article, cnet journalists share their memories of the console.

For those with more time on their hands, here's a 30 minute VHS promo tape from 1998:

 

[Kazza]

One could argue that, with the Saturn very much alive in Japan but dead in the West, It would have made more sense to release the Dreamcast in North America and Europe first, instead of in Japan. If gamers were blown away by its graphics on 9/9/99, imagine how much more impressive it would have been in 1998. On the other hand, after the Saturn's disastrous US launch, it could be argued that the last thing the Dreamcast needed was another rushed launch with a weak line-up of games. Just compare the launch line-ups below:

Japanese launch: November 27, 1998

• Godzilla Generations
• July
• Pen Pen TriIcelon
• Virtua Fighter 3tb

U.S. launch: September 9, 1999

• AeroWings
• AirForce Delta
• Blue Stinger
• CART Flag to Flag
• Expendable
• The House of the Dead 2
• Hydro Thunder
• Monaco Grand Prix
• Mortal Kombat Gold
• NFL 2K
• NFL Blitz 2000
• Pen Pen TriIcelon
• Power Stone
• Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
• Sonic Adventure
• Soulcalibur
• TNN Motorsports Hardcore Heat
• Tokyo Xtreme Racer
• TrickStyle

 

[petran79]

The main motive to buy a used Dreamcast cheaply in early 2000 was to play both Virtua Tennis games which I played in arcades. They felt identical too. Had bought the PC version of VT1 but it was a problematic port with 1 missing player, though you could unlock him via HEX editing but only in World Tour mode.

Virtua Striker 2 was another arcade favorite and we played countless matches with my bro. Could not stand FIFA and PES, even today.
Same for NBA Hangtime and WWF Royal Rumble.

Puzzle Bobble 4 was a puzzle game I played in arcades and DC version was faithfull to the Taito cab.

At that time there were news that CPS3 games were dumped and since Dreamcast had Jojo and 3S, one extra motivation.
though 3s was far too complex for me back then, but I liked the graphics in the arcades.

During that time everyone was raving about Jet Set Radio and not in vain. Game was one of the best games ever released.

Also discovered Soulcalibour. No comments. One reason I still keep the console and thanks to ReviveDC I enriched the library, unofficially this time.

A console like no other. Had the perfect balance for all ages and genres, something no other console achieved to such quality and degree.
Only console I dont play with nostalgia googles.

 

[Mecha Meow]

Late 1998 to 9/9/99 was the most excruciating wait time I've ever had as a gamer. All throughout 1999 until the day I finally picked it up from Funcoland, I was dreaming on how it was going to look sitting in the backseat until I got home.

I had that bad boy preordered and paid for along with an extra controller, a green goblin, two light guns, one VMU, Sonic Adventure, Soul Calibur, Powerstone, and House of the Dead 2.

The time period from September 1999 until the end of 2001 were some of the best years I had gaming with home ports that were identical (or better) than the arcade versions.

Giga Wing 2, Grandia 2, Evolution 2, Atari Anniversary, Gunbird 2, Mars Matrix, Last Blade 2, Project Justice, Tech Romancer, and Mark of the Wolves would be my last Dreamcast purchases in 2001. Yes, I was a bit late buying and playing some of those.

My biggest Dreamcast regret: Selling everything for about half of what I paid for it in 2007 before the retro boom a few years later. Same with my Gamecube, Genesis, NGPC (complete, and two of every fighter for 2-player), Virtual Boy (complete), and a copy of The Dynastic Hero on TDUO.

 

[Breakage]

It's still thinking:

This Dreamcast advert is very PlayStation-esque. It really captures the late '90s / early 2000s sci-fi aesthetic.

 

[Ma-Yuan]

Those were the days Still remember reading about the anouncement and seeing the CEOs Head rendered by the Dreamcast. I was just blown away Those days never come back ; ;

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

It's Thinking!

I owned a Dreamcast in its heyday (although not at launch). Played stuff like Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, Crazy Taxi, Dead or Alive 2, Mars Matrix, Sonic Adventure, and so forth. I wish I built a Japanese import collection back then but such things were outside of my reach.

 

[Boris The Spider]

The Dreamcast remains my favourite console and I have around 100 games for it secured in a box somewhere (a few nice rarities!). I have the steering wheel, couple of keyboards, mouse, lightguns, fishing rod etc and even a VGA breakout box if I want to use it with a monitor (though would need some sort of a converter these days probably). Loved it because it was the first console to make a proper stab at full screen 60hz games for the UK market. Bless you Sega!

 

[Boris The Spider]

Actually, I knew I had an inventory somewhere (along with ratings out of 10 for condition of the games). Sorry for the nerdblast but some might find it interesting?

Hardware:

Dreamcast console
Cha Cha Amigo maracas x2
Official Race Controller
Official Joypads boxed x2
Joyteck Joypad boxed
Official Keyboards x2
Fission Fishing Controller
Official Arcade Stick
Joypad extenders x2
Official Mouse
Boxed VMU
Loose VMU's x2
Blaze VGA converter
Mad Catz rumble pak

Boot stuff:

Blaze Xploder
DC-X

Demo Discs: (think I have the magazines to go with them too)

Dream On 1-22 (missing 21)
Fur Fighters Demo
Metropolis Street Racer Opel Challenge demo

None of the games below have broken boxes or disc holder tabs. The marks out of 10 are the condition of the games/boxes as a whole.

Import Games (9):

Virtual On Jap 8/10
Sega Rally 2 with spine JAP 9/10
Sega Marine Fishing NTSC 9/10
Samba De Amigo NTSC 9/10
Unreal Tournament NTSC 9/10
Ooga Booga NTSC 9/10
Outtrigger NTSC 9/10
Sega Smash Pack Vol 1 NTSC 9/10
Seaman NTSC small crack in back of jewel case 9/10

PAL Games (72):

Planet Ring 9/10
F55 Ferrari Challenge 9/10
Le Mans 9/10
Virtua Tennis 2 9/10
Street Fighter 3 3rd Strike 9/10
Soul Calibur 9/10
Daytona USA 9/10
Crazy Taxi 9/10
Sega Bass Fishing 9/10
Sega Rally 2 9/10
Starlancer 8/10
Virtua Athlete 2k 9/10
Shenmue outer box bit scuffed 7/10, boxes and discs 9/10
Shenmue 2 10/10
Virtua Striker 2 9/10
Tee Off 10/10
Plasma Sword disc lightly scratched 8/10
Speed Devils Online 10/10
Dead or Alive 2 disc lightly scratched 8/10
Bust a Move 4 9/10
Rez 10/10
Rival Schools 2 10/10
Metropolis Street Racer disc lightly scratched 8/10
Worms World Party 9/10
Maken X Factory Sealed 10/10
Sega Worldwide Soccer 9/10
Ready 2 Rumble 2 9/10
Quake III 9/10
Vanishing Point 9/10
Grandia 2 marker over barcode 9/10
Tomb Raider Chronicles 9/10
Toy Racer 10/10
Marvel Vs Capcom 2 disc lightly scratched and manual some loose pages 7/10
Capcom Vs SNK 10/10
4 Wheel Thunder 9/10
Tokyo Highway Challenge 2 9/10
Powerstone 2 10/10
Gigawing 9/10
F1 World GP II 9/10
Space Channel 5 9/10
Hydro Thunder disc lightly scratched 7/10
Sega GT 9/10
Outtrigger 9/10
Confidential Mission 9/10
House of the Dead 2 box set with light gun 7/10
Chu Chu Rocket 9/10
Star Wars Jedi Power Battles disc lightly scratched, marker on barcode 7/10
Crazy Taxi 2 10/10
Nightmare Creatures 2 8/10
Sword of the Berserk 8/10
NBA2K2 10/10
Racing 2 8/10
Phantasy Star Online Ver 2 9/10
Phantasy Star Online 9/10
Powerstone 9/10
Headhunter 8/10
Gunbird 2 9/10
Mr Driller 9/10
V Rally 2 disc lightly scratched 7/10
Sonic Adventure 9/10
Sonic Shuffle 8/10
Skies of Arcadia 9/10
MDK 2 7/10
Resident Evil 3 Nemesis 9/10
Tony Hawks 2 8/10
NFL Blitz 7/10
Jet Set Radio 9/10
Fighting Vipers 2 9/10
Virtua Fighter 3tb 9/10
Bangai-o 9/10
Resident Evil Code Veronica 8/10
Sonic Adventure 2 9/10

 

[Space Runaway]

And what a crappy launch line-up they had for Japan. Even VF3 was botched with the lack of a proper VS mode.

That said I loved the Dreamcast while it lasted. For awhile it had a constant stream of solid games coming out non-stop. Felt like I had a new game to buy every month at one point.

Despite the PS2's library, it sorta felt like the older era (8-32bit) ended with Dreamcast. Though I've no way to back up that statement up beyond "feels", so don't take it too seriously.

 

[stranno]

This thing in every single magazine around the world.

 

[Killer751]

I love the Dreamcast..

 

[kunonabi]

Dreamcast remains my favorite console of all time and it's hard to believe it's been around 20 years already. I still need to get around to picking some releases and a some hardware for it. Might hit up ebay or something tonight.
That's a nice collection Boris. I really need pick up some of those peripherals for mine.

I'm currently at:

5x official controllers
8x official VMUs
4x official jump packs
2x official dreamcast guns
1x official keyboard
1x official mouse
1x offical broadband adaptor
VGA box
nothing really boxed aside from the keyboard

US
Blue Stinger
Bomberman Online
Cannon Spike
Carrier
Chu Chu Rocket
Confidential Mission
Crazy Taxi
D2
Daytona USA
Death Crimson OX
Dino Crisis
Dragon Riders: Chronicles of Pern
Dynamite Cop!
Elemental Gimmick Gear
Fire Pro Wrestling D
Grandia II
Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise From the Ashes
Heavy Metal Geomatrix
The House of the Dead 2
I-Spy Operation Espionage
Illbleed
Jet Grind Radio
The King of Fighters: Dream Match 1999
The King of Fighters: Evolution
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Marvel vs Capcom 2
Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes
Metropolis Street Racer
NFL 2K1
NFL 2K2
Omikron The Nomad Soul
Ooga Booga
Phantasy Star Online
Phantasy Star Online V. 2
Plasma Sword
Power Stone
Power Stone 2
Psychic Force 2012
Rayman 2
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 3 Nemesis
The Ring Terror's Realm
Seaman
Sega Rally Championship
Seventh Cross Evolution
Shadow Man
Shenmue
Skies of Arcadia
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure 2
Soul Calibur
Space Channel 5
Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles
Starlancer
Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage
Tech Romancer
Tennis 2k2
Time Stalkers
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2
Tomb Raider: Chronicles
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
Toy Commander
The Typing of the Dead
Virtua Fighter 3tb
Virtua Striker 2 ver 2001.1
Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram
Wetrix+
WWF Royal Rumble
Zombie Revenge

Japan
Black Matrix Advanced
CAPCOM vs SNK Millenium Fight 2000
Confidential Mission
Cool Cool Toon
Cosmic Smash
Dead of Alive 2 Limited Edition
Death Crimson 2
DeSPIRIA
Dreamstudio
El Dorado Gate Vol. 1
El Dorado Gate Vol. 2
El Dorado Gate Vol. 3
El Dorado Gate Vol. 4
El Dorado Gate Vol. 5
El Dorado Gate Vol. 6
El Dorado Gate Vol. 7
Frame Gride
Giant Gram 2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling 3
Giant Gram All Japan Pro Wrestling 2
Gundam Battle Online
The House of the Dead 2
Hundred Swords
Interlude
Jet Set Radio
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Konohana 2
Konohana True Report
Macross M3
Maken X
Marionette Company
Marionette Company 2
Metal Wolf
Missing Parts 2: The Tantei Stories
Missing Parts 3: The Tantei Stories
Missing Parts: The Tantei Stories
Mobile Suit Gundam EFF vs. Zeon & DX
Mobile Suit Gundam Gihren's Greed - Blood of Zeon
Moero! Justice Gakuen
Nanatsu no Hikan
Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream
Puyo Puyo 4
Rent-a-Hero No.1
Revive...Sosei
ROOMMANIA #203
Sakura Wars
Sakura Wars 2
Sakura Wars 3
Sakura Wars 4
Segagaga LE
Sengoku Turb
Space Channel 5 part 2 LE
Spawn: In the Demon's Hand
Super Producers
Super Robot Wars Alpha
Tako no Marine
Treasure Strike
UnderCover A.D. 2025kei
Vermilion Desert

PAL
Headhunter
Shenmue II

Missing one manual and I have spine cards for maybe 70% of the Japanese releases.

 

[Breakage]

I bought one just for Shenmue. (This was when the spectre of the PS2 was lingering on the horizon.)

 

[BANGS]

Dreamcast is my favorite console to this day. Not only from nostalgia and sentimental value(this console got me through some tough times as a teenager), but from it's amazing library that I still love combing through daily. The Dreamcast represents the end of the hardcore gaming/arcade era, while trailblazing the future that we live in now. These two videos do a good job expressing my sentiments toward the console...

 

[Vitacat]

LOVE the Dreamcast.

I sold so many wonderful retro systems and games I used to own, and regret much of it. But, I always kept (most of) my DC stuff.

 

[Orta]

Biggest compliment I can pay Sega and the Dreamcast is that my interest as an active super hardcore nerdy gamer died when it died.

Nothing gaming related will ever top my memories of it

 

[fury]

20 years...damn I feel old!

I didn't get one until the US launch, but I remember looking online for news during the Japanese launch (on 56k dial up). I wanted to import one but it costed too much. The original PSO is probably my most played game of all time.

Sucks that I lost a lot of interest in gaming after Sega left the hardware business.

 

[pramod]

I still remember seeing Soul Calibur for the first time at E3 and my jaw dropping. I really thought right then this was a real killer app that would guarantee DC's success. How wrong I turned out to be.

 

[dolabla]

I won't ever forget getting mine Christmas of 1999. I was so dang excited and absolutely blown away playing Sonic Adventure and NFL 2K for the first time that Christmas day. There really was something special about the Dreamcast and nothing has compared ever since.

I remember the day I heard the news they were discontinuing and closing up shop. It freaking sucked and hit hard. I actually heard it from my friend's grandmother, lol. She came home from Toys R Us one day and me and my friend were at her house and she told us they told her they were discontinuing the Dreamcast. We were both like what heck, this can't be. Then we saw the news .

 

[Afro Republican]

In Japan not a single DC game sold more than 500k. A big difference with the Saturn.

Japan Best selling games:

Sonic Adventure
Resident Evil Code Veronica
Seaman
Sega Rally 2
Shenmue

 

[BANGS]

I still remember seeing Soul Calibur for the first time at E3 and my jaw dropping. I really thought right then this was a real killer app that would guarantee DC's success. How wrong I turned out to be.

You weren't that wrong... it was a killer app and it did contribute to the DC's success... just a shame SEGA ran out of money lol

 

[Athena~]

I still remember seeing Soul Calibur for the first time at E3 and my jaw dropping. I really thought right then this was a real killer app that would guarantee DC's success. How wrong I turned out to be.

Namco really made tons of bad decisions for the Soul Calibur franchise. Launch exclusively for DC, and SC3 exclusively for PS2 when the GCN version of the previous game sold best. Then SC5 with the children and then now they pretend it didn’t happen.

Anyhow happy birthday for DC SC alone was worth it!

 

[Kazza]

Great replies everyone. now I feel even worse about not getting one during its lifetime. Oh well, it'll be worth the wait when Sega finally releases a comprehensive Dreamcast collection on steam, which we all know is totally going to happen any time soon, right? Failing that, at least the Switch might get some action through Sega Ages.

 

[Kazza]

Just for fun, here is a list of games which would likely have come to the Dreamcast, if Sega had had enough cash reserves to keep it going (based on Sega releases on other hardware, current arcade games and cancelled games):

2001

Super Monkey Ball
The Lost World: Jurrasic Park
Half Life

2002

Super Monkey Ball 2
Virtua Fighter 4
Gunvalkyrie
Sega Soccer Slam
Virtua Striker 3
Jet Set Radio Future
Sega GT 2002
Shinobi
Crazy Taxi 3
Guilty Gear XX
Toejam and Earl 3
Otogi

2003

Billy Hatcher
House of the Dead 3
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution
Nightshade (Shinobi 2)
Otogi 2
Shenmue 3

2004

Outrun 2
Virtua Cop 3
Sonic Heroes
Spikeout: Battle Street
Spartan: Total Warrior

Not a bad list of games. 2002 in particular would have looked pretty tasty.

 

[Lucumo]

Too bad I was a kid with no money back in the day. Sega was definitely worth supporting. Their demise is one of the tragedies of gaming (including no real Shenmue 2 sequels).

 

[cireza]

Got the console at Christmas 1999 with Soul Calibur. Supported Sega as much as I could. Stuck with this console until the lights went out, my final game (back then) being Cannon Spike in Europe (I bought a few others later of course). I then switched to Xbox + Gamecube, in order to continue playing great Sega game.

Amazing console, extremely forward thinking. Fantastic library of games, despite the pretty short lifespan.

 

[Kazza]

I almost forgot that I already made this thread on the Japanese launch last year. I think it's worth a bump on 9.9.99, as the launch makes for a nice comparison with the NA one. It was obviously rushed, given the awful launch lineup and subsequent trickle of games thereafter. Even some of those later games (including Sonic Adventure) were rushed out, resulting in a buggy end product (somewhat fixed for the Western launched). Of course, Western games reviewers managed to get their hands on import Dreamcasts and games and weren't impress by what they initially saw (although the 9.9.99 and stellar Western launch lineup eventually managed to win over naysayers).

With Japan being the Saturn's most successful market, it's strange that Sega felt the need to rush the console to market so quickly. Maybe Saturn sales had fell off a cliff? Maybe they wanted to maximise the technological advantage and steal a march on Sony's next gen system? The US's great launch stands in massive contrast. With the Dreamcast, the rolls were reversed from the previous gen, where SoA made a pigs ear of the Saturn's launch whereas SoJ got off to a blazing start with the Saturn (even outselling the PS for a good while).

Anyway, at least we got those great Japanese Dreamcast ads.

 

[Komatsu]

We need more DC thread this month! More! MOAR!

But yes, the Japanese line-up was pretty puny.

 

[CyberPanda]

Such an awesome system.

 

[pramod]

PSO was the greatest game I ever played. Long live the Dreamcast!

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

I would buy a Dreamcast HD remaster in a blink of an eye.

 

[nush]

We need more DC thread this month! More! MOAR!

But yes, the Japanese line-up was pretty puny.

As an importer it was a benefit as there was no need to day one the console at fucking extortionate prices becuse there was not a "killer app". Couple of months in, more games lower console prices and a steady output of games.

 

[Ten_Fold]

Dreamcast will always be my favorite system, I fell in love with power stone, enjoyed playing cvs2 and mvc2 at home, RECV was cool, grandia 2 was sooo good, skies of Arcadia is a must. I feel like I can always go back to those games and enjoy them.

 

[Trimesh]

I got it on the release day - I happened to be in Japan at the time, although I didn't consciously synchronize it with the DC release.

I got it with Virtua Fighter and Pen Pen (which was surprisingly fun if you were drunk and with friends). It came in the box with Yukawa on it.