Dreamcast Launch 9/9/99

[JubeiSaotome]

Let's nostalgia. Here's the Gamespot TV preview of the Dreamcast. I remember watching this a lot before I got my DC.

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[UC1]

That's so trippy, Adam Sessler, Peter Moore and Jeff Gerstmann! If DC2 were coming out this year, the coverage might not be all that different =P.

It's easy to see why it failed, but it was better than the comp for a good while. I remember when all the shops stopped stocking DC games, the clerks asked me if I wanted anything on PS2 and I raged =P.

[Lazlow]

I remember when Electonics Boutique had a demo setup playing Sega Rally 2, and I was in awe because there was a complete moving crowd, and a dude who actually counts down your start.

Too bad I didn't buy one until they were well and truly dead.

[freeradical]

I recently (6 weeks ago) picked up a Dreamcast, 1 controller, 1 VMU and 9 games. It was given to me by a mate who works for a contractor who goes in and cleans up public housing houses after the tenants shoot through, and he picks up some goodies at times. It looked absolutely rooted. The disc tray would not close and it looked like it has been pissed on!!! Power and Open buttons were jamed down and (much like the console) were coated in a thick grime. Anyway, i pulled it apart, dismantled the console buttons and controller, gave all the plastic bits a good clean (some with disinfectant) being careful to avoid the electronics (actually i was suprised at how dust free the interior of the unit was!!). Put it all back together and it works a charm. Mostly. The controller port needs to be 'wiggled' to get the controller to work, piece of match stick wedged in there seems to fix that. Also need to replace the batteries in the VMU.
The games:
Sonic Adventure (gahh!)
Vigilante 8: The 2nd offence
Shadow Man
Dead or Alive 2
Trick Style (made by Criterion!!)
San Francisco Rush 2049
Racing Simulation: Monaco Grand Prix
Virtual Fighter 3tb
South Park: Chefs luv shack

Interestingly, as poor a condition as the console was in, these games are all in cases and include manuals that look like they have never been touched. All games work.

I missed out on the DC and chose the PS2. Retrospectively, i reckon it has a good interface/dashboard for its day and actually makes the PS2 look inferior (easy to say in hindsight i suppose). Actually, reminds me a bit of the wii dashboard (kinda). Controller aint to bad either. Suppose i should hook it up to the net and see if anything still connects?

As much as i've enjoyed this trip into gaming history, i'm thinking of putting this puppy on ebay. I have enough old consoles lying around.

[Lazlow]

Suppose i should hook it up to the net and see if anything still connects?

Be more trouble than its worth. Dreamarena was shut down years ago, and AFAIK, only Phantasy Star Online was kicked along by private servers, after Sega closed all the official ones. And even then only specific versions of the game work without action replay codes.

Plus networking the DC's dial up modem with PC to use its broadband connection is no mean feat for a novice (http://www.dreamcast.onlineconsoles.com/phpBB2/guides_pcdcwin98.php)

Unless of course you manage to snag a DC with a broadband adapter, rather than a dialup modem. Which would be like winning the lottery.

[JubeiSaotome]

Also the browsers might have been good back in the day, but they are horrible by the PS3/iPhone's standards.

[freeradical]

Plus networking the DC's dial up modem with PC to use its broadband connection is no mean feat for a novice (http://www.dreamcast.onlineconsoles.com/phpBB2/guides_pcdcwin98.php)



That is one painful process!!! All that for 33.6kbits/ps.

[Blue]

If anyone has a spare DC AV cable, I am in desperate need. :(

[Thraxas]

Shadow Man


Man I loved this game.

[SOX]

I recently (6 weeks ago) picked up a Dreamcast, 1 controller, 1 VMU and 9 games. It was given to me by a mate who works for a contractor who goes in and cleans up public housing houses after the tenants shoot through, and he picks up some goodies at times. It looked absolutely rooted. The disc tray would not close and it looked like it has been pissed on!!! Power and Open buttons were jamed down and (much like the console) were coated in a thick grime. Anyway, i pulled it apart, dismantled the console buttons and controller, gave all the plastic bits a good clean (some with disinfectant) being careful to avoid the electronics (actually i was suprised at how dust free the interior of the unit was!!). Put it all back together and it works a charm. Mostly. The controller port needs to be 'wiggled' to get the controller to work, piece of match stick wedged in there seems to fix that. Also need to replace the batteries in the VMU.
The games:
Sonic Adventure (gahh!)
Vigilante 8: The 2nd offence
Shadow Man
Dead or Alive 2
Trick Style (made by Criterion!!)
San Francisco Rush 2049
Racing Simulation: Monaco Grand Prix
Virtual Fighter 3tb
South Park: Chefs luv shack

Interestingly, as poor a condition as the console was in, these games are all in cases and include manuals that look like they have never been touched. All games work.

I missed out on the DC and chose the PS2. Retrospectively, i reckon it has a good interface/dashboard for its day and actually makes the PS2 look inferior (easy to say in hindsight i suppose). Actually, reminds me a bit of the wii dashboard (kinda). Controller aint to bad either. Suppose i should hook it up to the net and see if anything still connects?

As much as i've enjoyed this trip into gaming history, i'm thinking of putting this puppy on ebay. I have enough old consoles lying around.

I would hold off putting the console on ebay and instead offloading the games you have and picking up some decent ones like PowerStone 1/2, Marvel vs Capcom 2, 3rd Strike, etc
Plus I find its good for multiplatform PS1/N64 games as it was around the same time and got similar releases (like Tony Hawk 2 is easily best on DC)

[Xanafalgue]

*tear*

[super_deformed]

Ah the Dreamcast. Owned it. Sold it. No regrets. If I still had mine I doubt I'd be using it much anyway. Maybe the occasional game of Rival School 2 and Ikaruga.

A good system, but one that gets way too much praise from the SEGA crowd imo.
"SEGA IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE DREAMCAST"
Those folks should be talking up the Saturn.

[Lazlow]

I had a Saturn, it was shit!

[super_deformed]

I had a Saturn, it was shit!
PAL SATURN?

I dare say it was. For the record Id say the PAL DREAMCAST library left a lot to be desired as well.

[JubeiSaotome]

Unfortunatly with the DC, aside from the fighters, 90% of the library was horribly mediocre. I blame companies like Climax for this.

[Xanafalgue]

I had a Saturn, it was shit!

Bite your TONGUE :mad:

[This_is_me]

Happy Birthday too you! Just got my dc from ebay, reunited again...

[Lazlow]

Bite your TONGUE :mad:


Truth be told I only got it three years ago. So any wow factor the console held had been well and truly superceeded. I had Daytona, Virtua Cop, Panzer Dragoon II, and none held any interest. Daytona was a shoddy port, Virtua Cop I'd played to death on PC, and Panzer Dragoon II was attrocious.

Sounds like it was only decent for 2D fighters, and shmups, with the use of the RAM cart.

Offloaded it pretty quickly.

[This_is_me]

The Saturn was great for 2d fighters and shmups, Nights was awesome though and the Internal Cd player function was pretty cool. Ahhh well the DC made up for it though.

[freeradical]

Hand held Dreamcast. If i had the time and skill, maybe....................

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHCl6Pi-Uyg

[super_deformed]

The often lame SCREW ATTACK has made a DREaMCAST TOP 10 video

LINK: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/top-10-screwattack/55604

ONly problem is their list has more than 10 games in it.

[Space_Monkey]

So it's the 10 year anniversary of the Dreamcast's American launch today?

[Xanafalgue]

Yesterday :(

When was the AU launch?

[grimace06]

Check out Giant Bomb they've "Throwback" Quick Looks of a bunch of dreamcast games.

[This_is_me]

Yesterday :(

When was the AU launch?

I think was december or october.

[freeradical]

October 14th?

[Revoltix]

I miss my dreamcast sometimes. Almost like a blueprint for the original xbox it was.

[This_is_me]

It was the only console that gave me gosse bumps when i first got it.:D

[concrete donkey]

such a great console. skies of arcadia, powerstone2, ecco the dolphin, crazy taxi, fur fighters, shenmue, worms, nfl blitz etc etc. so much gaming fun

[Creedy]

Top 100 Dreamcast games

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HodOhUvpL4Y

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqVFc2pn8vY&feature=related

Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4oBy5wNZ8k&feature=related

[StorminNorman]

I miss my dreamcast sometimes. Almost like a blueprint for the original xbox it was.

I've always considered the XBox 360 to be its spiritual successor. Right down to both of them having circular logos.

I belatedly celebrated 10 years of Dreamcast today by playing Shenmue 2.

[concrete donkey]

I've always considered the XBox 360 to be its spiritual successor. Right down to both of them having circular logos.

I belatedly celebrated 10 years of Dreamcast today by playing Shenmue 2.

i only ever played shenmue2 on xbox. i couldnt stick with it

[StorminNorman]

Once you get past the rather hideous English dub, it's pretty awesome.

<3 Joy.

(I'm playing it on the 360. CBF dredging up the Dreamcast.)

[Lex]

So I just got a dreamcast in the mail, and killed it. I put the plug into the shit converter the wrong way ( I think, ****ing stupid American plug system) and smoked started pouring out the vents. I'm such an impatient tard. So do I need some kind of power converter (as in the whole 110-230 thing) or did I just have the plug the wrong way around in the converter?

[JubeiSaotome]

I'm not sure, but it could even be a coolant issue. Early Dreamcasts were know for smoking and leaking black liquid when they were broken.

[Lex]

Well there's another one in the post. An expensive lesson, but a valuable one.

Still shit that anyone could put out a converter that allows you to kill your appliance.

So, how do you guys run your import consoles without exploding them?

[9warbane]

It was the Dreamcast's 11th birthday yesterday.

No one came. ;_;

[Xanafalgue]

It was the Dreamcast's 11th birthday yesterday.

No one came. ;_;

I came

[tau]

(h)


)h(

[McChimp]

MIGHT be getting my hands on a DC soon! w00t!!
It's amazing what a random conversation about 'retro collections' can garner.

[fearofthesky]

Haha I just sympathy pepped Lex for his fried DC...then looked at the date of the post!

Oops. Ah well, its good to spread the love around.

I dusted off my DC a year or so ago, but the game I wanted to play (MVC2) wasn't working for some reason. I have it on XBL now, but still sucks.

[ireadtabloids]

Hey Dreamcast! I know it's your birthday around this time of the year!
I just thought I'd say hi =)
The present is on the way, honest. Just was late coming in the mail.