Sega Dreamcast
From LoveToKnow VideoGames
Sega Dreamcast
First there was the Sega Master System, which didn't really do so hot in the marketplace. Then, Nintendo found themselves in quite the battle when the Sega Genesis hit the market, but the Sega 32X made little impact. The Sega Saturn was a sign of things to come, but what about the Sega Dreamcast? What was this next-generation (at the time) machine supposed to be? What did it have? What made it different?
Ahead of its Time
Although the Sega Dreamcast is usually considered to be in the same generation of home gaming consoles as the Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Xbox, when it first hit the market in November 1998 (Japan) and September 1999 (USA), it found itself in direct competition with the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64 (N64) instead. In this way, it got a jump on its rivals and was ahead of its time technologically. The graphics were clearly superior to what was available on the market, and the Dreamcast even came with a disc that contained web browsing software for dial-up Internet access. The Dreamcast may not necessarily be considered the first home gaming console to offer online game play, but it was certainly one of the biggest names to first enter into the foray. In fact, the PS2 did not offer online play until 2002.
A Box of Dreams
Interestingly, the Sega Dreamcast was designed by an outsider to company. Sega President Shoichiro Irimajiri turned to Tatsuo Yamamoto of IBM Austin. The final design kept the console itself quite compact. It was simple sleek design that was basically a small square. The standard system was a very light grey (some just call it white), with limited versions available in black, blue, Sonic Anniversary, and Hello Kitty designs. In an effort to thwart pirating, version 2 Dreamcasts could not read CD-ROMs, and as a result could not play burned games. Most legitimate Dreamcast games were in GD-ROM format, which held 1.2 gigabytes of data, but there were smaller independently created games that were CDs, and as a result, could not be played on version 2 Dreamcasts. Other technical specifications include a SH-4 206 MHz RISC CPU, PowerVR2 CLX2 graphics engine, 16MB of main RAM, 8MB of video RAM, and 2 MB of sound RAM.
Controlling with VMU
Most video game systems on the market, even to this day, make use of memory cards that are quite different than those found for the Sega Dreamcast. The Dreamcast originally offered something called the VMU or "Visual Memory Unit". It was not a simple block that could be shoved into a controller or into the front of the game machine, but instead including a directional pad, a couple of gaming buttons, and a monochrome LCD screen. This served several purposes beyond the standard requirement of saving a game's progress. For example, in NFL 2K, users could see the name of the play they were selecting on the VMU's screen, rather than on the TV screen. This was particularly helpful when playing with friends, because it made sure they could not know what play was being selected; however, if you do not recognize the plays by their names, and would need to actually see the diagram, then this function was basically useless to you.
Another fun function that the VMU had was that mini games could be downloaded onto it, and then the VMU could be used as a simple, standalone, portable gaming unit. In Sonic Adventure, players could load a Tamagotchi-like game onto the VMU and take it on the go.
Standard memory cards were also available, mostly from third-party manufacturers, in addition to the VMU.
Save the Last Dance
Just as the Sega Saturn received limited third party support, so did the Dreamcast. Moreover, Sega did not have the resources available to keep up a marketing campaign at the same level of its three main competitors -- Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. As a result, unfortunately, the Dreamcast was Sega's swan song in the world of video game consoles. After the Dreamcast, Sega removed itself from the hardware wars, and focused all of its attention on software. To many, the Dreamcast died well before its time.
Games: The Last Batch
Even though the Dreamcast was Sega's final hardware offering, it still had a strong, albeit small, library of titles. Among the most popular are the following:
- Bomberman Online
- ChuChu Rocket!
- Dead or Alive 2
- Guilty Gear X
- The House of the Dead 2
- NFL 2K
- Power Stone
- Samba de Amigo
- Sonic Adventure
- Virtua Fighter 3TB
- Virtua Tennis
Learn More
This page has been accessed 2,563 times. This page was last modified 21:46, 7 June 2006.
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