Dreamcast 25th anniversary | Japan launch 27-Nov-1998

Last edited by jawa_ on Tue Nov 28, 2023 9:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

Dreamcast is twenty-five!

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Time Extension wrote:Released in Japan on November 27th, 1998, Dreamcast was a forward-thinking system that Sega hoped would help reclaim the market share lost during the 32-bit battle with Sony's PlayStation.

Equipped with powerful internal tech and online functionality out of the box, the Dreamcast was arguably the first home console that could legitimately claim to offer "arcade perfect" conversions, as Sega's Naomi-based coin-op titles ran on the same basic hardware.

Despite solid sales in North America (the console generated $98.4m on launch day, with SoA head Peter Moore calling it "the biggest 24 hours in entertainment retail history"), Dreamcast struggled in its native Japan and Europe and failed to gain the kind of momentum Sega needed to gain a significant foothold before the PlayStation 2 arrived on the market.

Dreamcast arrived in UK/Europe a little later, launching on 14 October 1999. I remember there being loads of demo pods around during the Dreamcast years, showcasing games such as Metropolis Street Racer, Crazy Taxi and Ready 2 Rumble.

Of all the consoles that I've not owned, I think the Dreamcast stands out as the one I wish I'd gone for. The games just seemed so sharp, bright, vibrant and arcade-y!

Loved my Dreamcast, still have it proudly on display.

Bought mine in late 99 (I think), with F355 Challenge and a wheel.

Happy memories playing that, Soulcalibur, Power Stone 1 & 2, Shenmue, PSO, MSR, Crazy Taxi 2 and a few others.

The graphics REALLY popped on that machine.

Amazing console, I had one at launch and it was such a magnificent piece of hardware.

As you say Jawa, the games were just so bright and vibrant compared with the other consoles of the day, and the whole package was way ahead of it's time.

My top games were...

Shenmue 1 & 2
Skies of Arcadia
Crazy Taxi
Sonic Adventure
Pen Pen
F1 World Grand Prix II
Toy Commander (never had the full game sadly, only got to play a demo disc version)
Le Mans 24 Hours

There was a shop in Exeter also which sold some imported peripherals, so i was able to get a US controller with the red swirl on it, and a clear red VMU.

I never got rid of any of my Dreamcast stuff either, it's all still in the original boxes.

Love the Dreamcast. I actually own more games for the console now than when I was younger. Crazy Taxi and Shenmue are in my all-time top 5 and still so playable today.

I played the Dreamcast once and once only, the games of choice were Crazy Taxi and ChuChu Rocket.

It was a great experience, though I was knee-deep in N64 releases I was catching up with at the time so a purchase was never on the cards.

I think the Dreamcast was Sega's best console (narrowly beating the Mega Drive) and probably my favourite console of all time. It's such a shame it never got a full lifetime to reach it's full potential. I'm still bitter that I never got to play Argatha. Highlights for me are:

Shenmue 1 and 2
Ecco
Headhunter
Phantasy Star Online
Chu Chu Rocket
Crazy Taxi
Rez
Jet Set Radio
RE: Code Veronica

Still got mine - got an HDMI adapter for it.

It has but one purpose - to run Samba De Amigo.

Loved the Dreamcast. Had some wonnderful experiences with it, including one of my first experiences playing over the internet in PSO and Chu Chu Rocket.

Top 10:

1. Shenmue 1
2. Shenmue 2
3. Virtua Tennis
4. Phantasy Star Online
5. Grandia 2
6. Chu Chu Rocket
7. Jet Set Radio
8. Crazy Taxi
9. Sonic Adventure
10. Headhunter

Honourable mentions to Soul Calibur Sonic Adventure 2, Power Stone, Metropolis Street Racer and Fur Fighters.

The only Sega console I own and I came to it much later - I bought one from someone on here!

My game collection:

ChuChu Rocket
Jet Set Radio
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Power Stone
Rayman 2
Skies of Arcadia
Sonic Adventure

Most of these games I actually played first another way. ChuChu Rocket I originally played on GBA; Power Stone (and Power Stone 2) I originally played on PSP; Rayman 2 I originally played on N64 (and now I own it on N64/PS1/PS2/DC/DS/3DS!); Skies of Arcadia I originally played the GC version on Wii.

The Dreamcast is very much a cool console and even with its games appearing elsewhere over time, the console and its games still have such a strong identity.

Vermilion wrote:...As you say Jawa, the games were just so bright and vibrant compared with the other consoles of the day, and the whole package was way ahead of it's time...

There just seemed to be something about the Dreamcast. I only ever saw it playing on demo pods but the graphics were so vivid; not in a garish way but in a sharp, bright, slick way. I had a PlayStation at the time and many games seems to be grey, brown and with quite a dull sheen and the Dreamcast was the opposite.

Thinking back, I have no idea why I didn't get a DC. Well, I kinda do - money was tight at the time and so I stuck with my PS1/PSone right through until 2003. But I recall a period when GAME was selling a DC plus four games (inc Craxy Taxi and Shenmue, iirc) brand new for something like £100.

I wish that I had owned a DC!

Vermilion wrote:Amazing console, I had one at launch and it was such a magnificent piece of hardware.

As you say Jawa, the games were just so bright and vibrant compared with the other consoles of the day, and the whole package was way ahead of it's time.

My top games were...

Shenmue 1 & 2
Skies of Arcadia
Crazy Taxi
Sonic Adventure
Pen Pen
F1 World Grand Prix II
Toy Commander (never had the full game sadly, only got to play a demo disc version)
Le Mans 24 Hours

There was a shop in Exeter also which sold some imported peripherals, so i was able to get a US controller with the red swirl on it, and a clear red VMU.

I never got rid of any of my Dreamcast stuff either, it's all still in the original boxes.

I'm surprised Jen hasn't mentioned it before.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:
Vermilion wrote:Amazing console, I had one at launch and it was such a magnificent piece of hardware.

As you say Jawa, the games were just so bright and vibrant compared with the other consoles of the day, and the whole package was way ahead of it's time.

My top games were...

Shenmue 1 & 2
Skies of Arcadia
Crazy Taxi
Sonic Adventure
Pen Pen
F1 World Grand Prix II
Toy Commander (never had the full game sadly, only got to play a demo disc version)
Le Mans 24 Hours

There was a shop in Exeter also which sold some imported peripherals, so i was able to get a US controller with the red swirl on it, and a clear red VMU.

I never got rid of any of my Dreamcast stuff either, it's all still in the original boxes.

I'm surprised Jen hasn't mentioned it before.

We like to keep some things as a surprise for visitors

Jenuall wrote:
kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:
Vermilion wrote:Amazing console, I had one at launch and it was such a magnificent piece of hardware.

As you say Jawa, the games were just so bright and vibrant compared with the other consoles of the day, and the whole package was way ahead of it's time.

My top games were...

Shenmue 1 & 2
Skies of Arcadia
Crazy Taxi
Sonic Adventure
Pen Pen
F1 World Grand Prix II
Toy Commander (never had the full game sadly, only got to play a demo disc version)
Le Mans 24 Hours

There was a shop in Exeter also which sold some imported peripherals, so i was able to get a US controller with the red swirl on it, and a clear red VMU.

I never got rid of any of my Dreamcast stuff either, it's all still in the original boxes.

I'm surprised Jen hasn't mentioned it before.

We like to keep some things as a surprise for visitors

The surprise being that the shop isn't there anymore.

Octoroc wrote:got an HDMI adapter for it

This is actually a thing? I'd love to be able to plug in my DC and boot it up at some point.

I also have an hdmi adapter for my dreamcast, it looks strawberry floating great.

I can't really remember what lead up to it, but I bought mine not long after launch as an impulse buy along with sanic adventure.

Many many happy memories from that console. A proper arcade experience at home :wub:

I found a big stack of dreamcast magazine demo discs in the loft at the weekend, might have to dig the console out to go through them.

Edit: here's my dreamcast stuff:

Vermilion wrote:
Octoroc wrote:got an HDMI adapter for it

This is actually a thing? I'd love to be able to plug in my DC and boot it up at some point.

Yes it is a thing. I did not tell a lie.

Look at Jimmy White in there :lol:

Tomous wrote:Look at Jimmy White in there

I know

I think it was only a fiver or something.

One of the biggest issues i had with the DC, was getting the games after Sega announced it's discontinuation.

This was back before i had online access, so i had to search for the new releases in places like Electronics Boutique (which i only got to visit rarely). The moment the announcement came, Woolworths (and others) immediately dropped the console like a stone so most of the games which were released in 2001 (Sonic 2, Shenmue 2 etc) were a nightmare to track down.

A genuinelly great console with a suprisingly high level of high-calibre games considering the lower number released for it. Very worthy of the hype, surely basically as many classic games as the GameCube.

For Soul Calibur alone it was a worthwhile purchase. Insane game for the time, one of the best games ever made.

I vividly remember buying Soul Calibur based on a magazine review having seen nothing of it. Absolutely jaw dropping watching the intro and character demos for that. Just insane how good it looked, and still does imo.

Dreamcast 25th anniversary | Japan launch 27-Nov-1998

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