It Was All A Dream(cast)

25 years ago today, the Sega Dreamcast released in North America.  I don’t know how many people today care about such an anniversary, but I do.  I know that 25 years ago, on 09/09/99, I walked into a Toys “R” Us and bought the console, a VMU (Visual Memory Unit), and the fighting game, “Soul Calibur”.  Soul Calibur is still an excellent fighting game today and it definitely holds up, even though there are sequels to the game.  This was one of the better launch titles available.

Interestingly at the time, there was little in the way of a line or seemingly interest in what would be Sega’s last console offering.  It was almost as if no one cared.  It was kind of sad actually, when you compare it to a typical console launch today.  Console launches today are a big deal.  You have to preorder the console, if you have hopes of getting it on Day 1.  Then on the day of launch, you might have to battle a long line at the store from where you preordered.  If you didn’t preorder, maybe you can go to the store of your choice and pray that they might have one or two consoles that were not preordered and could be sold on a first come, first served basis.  It’s all pretty competitive and very exhausting.  I’m not a fan of console launches, but as a gamer, it is obviously a necessary evil and something that I needed to get used to.  Maybe one day, I’ll stop caring.  Until then, here I am.

I know that a lot of games wonder what might have been, had Sega supported the Dreamcast beyond the launch of the Sony PlayStation 2.  Instead, Sega got out of the hardware market and stuck exclusively to being a third-party publisher from here on out.  It was very weird seeing Crazy Taxi on Nintendo’s GameCube for the first time.

Today, I don’t play my Dreamcast that often.  I tend to use my Sega Saturn more than the Dreamcast as it is.  I’ve always favored the Saturn and still love that console to this day.

Still, let us not forget that today, on its 25th anniversary, that the Dreamcast is still a part of video gaming history.  It was definitely part of my gaming history.