It's popped up in several places this week but two days ago it was the 20th Anniversary of the American launch of the Dreamcast which took place on the 09/09/99. Personally the American DC was always the least notable, the Japanese launch was the real starting pistol the previous year and for me the blue hued styling of the European Dreamcast was significantly preferable to the Orange imagery of the other two regions. The system lived a short life, coming at the end of Sega's fortunes in hardware which were so poor it was arguable they shouldn't have even made this attempt, but it cast a long shadow with games from its catalogue being rereleased for years in its wake.
The system itself wasn't even that much of a flop. Selling just over 9m units in its brief 17 month western lifespan, had Sega been in a better position could have hit a respectable number. It brought in the dawn of early online console gaming thanks to its modem and the likes of Chu Chu Rocket and Phantasy Star Online as well and was notable for its pocket sized VMU memory cards with built in controls and horrific battery life. Despite its short life there were no shortage of special editions released in Japan making it a collectors dream and that's without the fact that despite the system being short lived it remains a fan favourite milestone in gaming.
The system also proved notable for being home to many Sega arcade home conversions of the day, having multiple peripherals and being the place where Sonic first stepped into a full fledged 3D adventure. That's not to mention the legendary legacy of Shenmue which still continues to this day with this years third game that marks effectively a resurrected Dreamcast brand.
The system still received small releases years after Sega discontinued the machine and exited the hardware business, it's Windows CE base also created one of the first steps in Microsofts ladder of history within the sector. More importantly, the Dreamcast perhaps most embodied the spirit of what Sega once was whilst also offering a brief tantalising glimpse of the Sega that might have been making it a slow burning ember of promise many have held on to for many years. It's name was ridiculed upon reveal but in the end it turned out Sega had cast a dream, for some a dream console.
Share your thoughts and memories of the Dreamcast and why Blue is always best
The system itself wasn't even that much of a flop. Selling just over 9m units in its brief 17 month western lifespan, had Sega been in a better position could have hit a respectable number. It brought in the dawn of early online console gaming thanks to its modem and the likes of Chu Chu Rocket and Phantasy Star Online as well and was notable for its pocket sized VMU memory cards with built in controls and horrific battery life. Despite its short life there were no shortage of special editions released in Japan making it a collectors dream and that's without the fact that despite the system being short lived it remains a fan favourite milestone in gaming.
The system also proved notable for being home to many Sega arcade home conversions of the day, having multiple peripherals and being the place where Sonic first stepped into a full fledged 3D adventure. That's not to mention the legendary legacy of Shenmue which still continues to this day with this years third game that marks effectively a resurrected Dreamcast brand.
The system still received small releases years after Sega discontinued the machine and exited the hardware business, it's Windows CE base also created one of the first steps in Microsofts ladder of history within the sector. More importantly, the Dreamcast perhaps most embodied the spirit of what Sega once was whilst also offering a brief tantalising glimpse of the Sega that might have been making it a slow burning ember of promise many have held on to for many years. It's name was ridiculed upon reveal but in the end it turned out Sega had cast a dream, for some a dream console.
Share your thoughts and memories of the Dreamcast and why Blue is always best
Then I bought a Dreamcast a few months later with Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, and Ready to Rumble. Loved how the games had a, for the time, hi-res sheen. They also played really well and felt more solid than 3D games on previous consoles. 
the family would all look forward, to watching it on 'TV' 
. Like per usual, my mate's father would get a stack full of cans in for us all and his wife would make us all Sunday dinner (other members of the family would be there too) and before and after the match, we would play SEGA stuff. 
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