The SEGA Dreamcast has fallen into relative obscurity, but analyzing its failure leads us to one question. Were SEGA’s innovations too little too late? After the unfortunate flop of the SEGA Saturn in the 5th generation, competing with heavy hitters like the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 was almost futile.
The Saturn’s home library could not hold a candle to what Sony and Nintendo offered. SEGA had to think fast, as Saturn’s sales slowed, and the complicated hardware made porting games a tough task. Thus, SEGA was racing to create something that would attract gaming fans, both old and new, while also pushing the boundaries of gaming as they always have.
In 1998, less than 2 years after the release of the Nintendo 64, SEGA unveiled the Dreamcast.
The Hardware
SEGA released the Dreamcast as the first of the 6th generation consoles, between the N64 and PlayStation 2. Constructed with off-the-shelf computer hardware, the Dreamcast was cheap, easy to produce, and cheaper than previous consoles to sell. The embedded Windows CE allowed for even easier game development, opening up a wide support window for PC titles like Half-Life and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six.
The Dreamcast’s hardware was so powerful that previously released PS1 and N64 titles could be upscaled and ported. Often, those re-releases were the best way to play. These powerhouse components granted arcade classics like House of the Dead 2 access to a home format. The Dreamcast’s power was truly unmatched, and that’s not to mention the included-in-box modem adaptor that created a host of opportunities for online play, such as the hailed Phantasy Star: Online.
The Controller
Now, Dreamcast discussions are incomplete without at least mentioning the controller. If the strange shape and single stick don’t put you off, the weird cavity in the middle will definitely draw your attention. That would be where the Visual Memory Unit goes. Remember the Wii U, and how did the gamepad show you additional information pertinent to the game? The VMU was a proto-gamepad. The VMU worked as a memory card and could play small games like a Tomagatchi. Considering the failure of the Wii U gamepad, the VMU has been largely remembered as a silly little peripheral. However, it is but a testament to SEGA’s never-ending experimentation.
Despite these quirks, the controller is largely important for the technology of its analog stick. It used hall-effect technology, which used magnets to sense inputs. Hall-effect sensors prevent the infuriating stick drift we all have come to despise. Why is hall-effect not being used nowadays? Aside from its low utility among FPS players (whatever), companies rely on faulty controllers to sell more! What a wonderful world! But not SEGA, though!
Why The Dreamcast Matters
Growing up in the era where the Wii/PlayStation 2 were my first consoles, SEGA games always felt foreign to me. Sonic the Hedgehog was the edgy alternative to Nintendo’s lusterless Mario, but the only titles I had indulged in were Sonic CD (briefly) and Secret of the Rings (yeesh). The perpetuated mystique around SEGA extended to my discovery of Ecco the Dolphin, and the hazy 16-bit visuals of the SEGA consoles seemed to exemplify the nostalgia that I have now. D
iving deeper into the internet and entering underground music circles only grew my fascination, as these communities introduced me to niche titles like Power Stone and Soulcalibur through Devon Hendryx’s Dreamcast Summer Songs. The persistent gadfly of SEGA was easily relatable to outsider culture and thus found a renewed interest within the vaporwave period.
My findings culminated in the idea that SEGA had produced these ethereal, unconventional, yet underselling games in their later console years. I needed to buy a Dreamcast. I HAD to experience these games that I knew practically nothing about: Power Stone, Shenmue, Soulcalibur, and the list goes on. So, I rushed to Facebook Marketplace and spent weeks waiting for someone to list it, and when they did, I journeyed an hour and a half to pick it up in the shady parking lot of an abandoned mall. This nicotine-stained, grimy Dreamcast produced a nostalgia-affirming feeling in me, and I could not wait to dive into the SEGA Dreamcast’s off-kilter offerings.
The Games!
I booted up Sonic Adventure and discovered why these Sonic titles are relatively forgotten: they really are not that great. Sonic games have always been in the category of “fun for a little while,” but one can easily see the significance of something like Sonic Adventure. Releasing 2 years after Super Mario 64, the crisp polygons and high-res textures of Sonic Adventure could be considered the largest leap in gaming history. SEGA really pulled out all the stops with Sonic Adventure, experimenting with a multi-threaded narrative focusing on fast-paced gameplay. Sonic Adventure tried out non-linear levels like Casinopolis, which was a different experience from previous titles. It is easy to see that SEGA took its ugly-duckling reputation and ran with the freedom to experiment. SEGA’s fearless approach to trial and error is something irreplicable from AAA studios nowadays.
It could be easy to throw aside the Dreamcast library, with a lot of the well-known titles being ports from previous systems: Resident Evil 2 & 3, GTA 2, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater were all re-released on the Dreamcast, most of which had minor changes. However, some highly overlooked games were released on the Dreamcast, like Jet Grind Radio, Sonic Adventure 2, Shenmue 1 & 2, and many more. The fun of playing true arcade titles like Power Stone 2 and Street Fighter 3 with friends is unmatched. Playing these on a PS5 costs $70 per controller compared to $20(ish), so I’ll gladly take the latter. Playing through Crazy Taxi and House of the Dead reminded me of my childhood, where I felt that fond sensation of my parents taking me to an overwhelmingly colorful arcade.
Was It All For Nothing?
The Dreamcast’s obscurity could be attributed to many different things; perhaps the world was not looking for SEGA’s offerings back then. As I began this article, I wondered if SEGA’s innovations were too little, too late. I doubt I will ever be sure, but their silly IPs were not strong enough to compete with the classic characters from Nintendo and the upcoming PlayStation 2.
But SEGA will get their applause soon enough.
With the retro-gaming market booming, the Dreamcast has seen immensely renewed interest. Genius fans have found ways to emulate the disc drive and load games off SD, making those costly games cheaper. 3rd-party controllers akin to the PS2 exist to get the player over that hurdle. The Dreamcast was great! And that cannot be understated.
That’s not my nostalgia, though. I never had a Dreamcast. I never played Sonic extensively, and one of my fondest memories with the SEGA startup sound is Playboi Carti’s Cancun. The Dreamcast’s stylization practically rewrote the nostalgia in my head, making me yearn for something familiarly unfamiliar. Retro-gaming gives me a glimpse into my future and gives me more to look forward to. I cannot wait to share the experience my parents had, taking my kids to the arcade. I am so excited to sit them down with a Dreamcast controller and show them the memories that I made. Nostalgia is such a powerful force; nothing is more beautiful than sharing it.
