Dreamcasts birthday today. It had some good games...

[Vizzys]

Shenmue wasn't one of them.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

sorry himu

[close]

[Synbios459]

Shenmue II was.

[Vizzys]

liar

[FatalT]

I'll never forget the Dreamcast. I have so many memories of playing Phantasy Star Online and Unreal Tournament with 56k. I love you, Dreamcast.

[Van Cruncheon]

:'(

[demi]

One of the easiest consoles to pirate, and the emulators you spawned, you shall be missed

[Mr. Gundam]

Oh, Dreamcast... I remember buying you on a total impulse at Fred Meyer on 9/9/99... took you home with Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, Power Stone, House of the Dead, and Hydro Thunder... because of you, I'm a totally obsessed gamer who buys more games than I can ever play.

I've been gaming since I could stand in the early 1980s, but Dreamcast took my fandom to a whole new level.

[Smooth Groove]

I got my Dreamcast when they had that get a free DC when you sign up for 1yr of internet deal.  I got the Elite DC, aka the black 2ksports version.  480P w/a VGA adapter was pretty awesome back in the day.  The quality of the arcade ports for the DC was simply amazing. 

[Ichirou]

It was no Saturn but it was a great little console.  Let's all imagine what could've been...  :'(

[Mr. Gundam]

It was no Saturn but it was a great little console.  Let's all imagine what could've been...  :'(

Remember when Halo was listed as a Dreamcast game?

[Smooth Groove]

Are you nuts?  DC was way better than a Saturn.  DC might have been the candle that burned too brightly but at least it burned, unlike the Saturn. 

[Mr. Gundam]

Are you nuts?  DC was way better than a Saturn.  DC might have been the candle that burned too brightly but at least it burned, unlike the Saturn. 

I agree. There were some absolutely brilliant Saturn titles, but it was nothing compared to the Dreamcast.

[Ichirou]

Sega should have delayed the launch another year and worked on getting the tech for the DC up to par with the PS2.  Bernie Stolar really ruined Sega's chances when he flat-out stated that they were getting out of the Saturn business a mere three years or so into the console's life cycle.  People didn't trust Sega to stick to a machine (they'd already been screwed by buying the 32X and the Saturn), so that's why it ultimately failed.

Smooth Groove, if you count the Saturn's Japanese library, it was overall way superior to the DC's.  I own like a hundred Saturn games or so.

[Mr. Gundam]

I just remembered that someone stole my copy of Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise From the Ashes back in college. I need to replace that one of these days...

[Ichirou]

That game kinda sucked...you couldn't even pilot a Gundam, just GMs.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

The DC started my love of 2D gaming and broke me of my Nintendo fanboyism (hey, I was young).  Thank you Sega, for making me a better gamer, and a better man.

[Mr. Gundam]

That game kinda sucked...you couldn't even pilot a Gundam, just GMs.

Eh, I liked it back in the day. Not sure how well it's held up, though. Berserk and Gundam Fed vs. Zeon still rock the 'Cast, though.

[Ichirou]

Sega Saturn is the ultimate 2D system.  Arcade perfect ports of Capcom and SNK fighters!!!!!!

[Smooth Groove]

Saturn was almost like the PS3 of its time.  It was complex, ambitious hardware that can sometimes deliver better performance than its rival.  But more often than not, its rival had more and better looking/playing games.  Although PS3 will end up faring much better than the Saturn because it's the only next-gen system that is viable in Japan. 

[Ichirou]

Saturn was successful and profitable in Japan.  I don't know if the PS3 ever will be.

[Smooth Groove]

Saturn was successful and profitable in Japan.  I don't know if the PS3 ever will be.

It will be eventually, since the 360 seems destined to be a pariah in Japan forever. 

[Ichirou]

What's MS gotta do to sell some consoles?  They already have the awesome games, why won't people buy the damn thing?

[Mr. Gundam]

What's MS gotta do to sell some consoles?  They already have the awesome games, why won't people buy the damn thing?

I think the only way it could have worked is if MS had outsourced EVERY ASPECT OF THE XBOX DEVELOPMENT to a Japanese company from the get go.

[MrAngryFace]

While the 3 year warantee is nice, consumer confidence was affected by the fact that it was a required move

The 360 is already a huge success compared to the first, and adding the 3 year warantee, which wasnt cheap, proves that they are willing to stick with it even if its not selling the almost absurd Wii numbers, and then there's the PS3 which is up till this point still a big joke.

[Mr. Gundam]

While the 3 year warantee is nice, consumer confidence was affected by the fact that it was a required move

The 360 is already a huge success compared to the first, and adding the 3 year warantee, which wasnt cheap, proves that they are willing to stick with it even if its not selling the almost absurd Wii numbers, and then there's the PS3 which is up till this point still a big joke.

It's pretty clear that the 360 is a success in North America. We're talking about Japan.

[MrAngryFace]

Japan doesnt matter.

[Ichirou]

It's where all the best games come from, though. 

[MrAngryFace]

They still come from there, despite 360 numbers and the legacy of the original xbox. Go figure.

[Smooth Groove]

What's MS gotta do to sell some consoles?  They already have the awesome games, why won't people buy the damn thing?

I don't know.  The whole country seems to be against it.  Except for Capcom, most of the Jap developers continue to be apprehensive about giving the 360 their top tier titles.  The Japanese gamers seemingly don't care about games that they usually enjoy on Playstations, such as Dead Rising and Blue Dragon.  Japanese gamers seem really reluctant to embrace new IPS so the 360 will continue to hurt as long as games like MGS/FF stay exclusive to the PS3.  Also, Dcharlie mentioned that games like Dead Rising/Gears of War are treated like porn in Japan and kept in the back while equally violent PS2/PS3 games are sold and marketed in broadview.  It's hard for the 360 to be successful there when it's dealing with bias from all corners.  

[Ichirou]

I'm betting MGS4 and some iteration of FFXIII will eventually come out on 360 as well.

[MrAngryFace]

It depends. I think Japan will be a non-issue unless/until Sony actually gives the Japanese reason to flock to it. Then MAYBE we'll see some devs jump ship from the 360, but the 360 is doing great in America, and America does matter.

[Mr. Gundam]

some iteration of FFXIII will eventually come out on 360 as well.

I think that all depends on Last Remnant sales.

[Ichirou]

It depends. I think Japan will be a non-issue unless/until Sony actually gives the Japanese reason to flock to it. Then MAYBE we'll see some devs jump ship from the 360, but the 360 is doing great in America, and America does matter.

Do you think the Wii will stay number one in the US?  I think the 360 will outpace it eventually.

[Smooth Groove]

I don't even know if it's a good idea for the 360 to get MGS4.  The MGS2 port for Xbox almost seemed like a sabotage attempt to prove that the Xbox was weaker than the PS2.  Based on MGS's anti-America ideologies, it wouldn't surprise me that Kojima intentionally did something like that. 

[MrAngryFace]

I dunno how anyone could predict the sales trends of the DS or Wii, as no one could have predicted the bizzare super-success of these platforms, more specifically, the runaway Wii success with very little actual software support. I think a lot of 'play games once a month when relatives visit' people are picking it up.

[Smooth Groove]

According to EGM, the sucess of the WII is due to the Alpha moms who are only interested in games like Wii Play and Cooking Mama.  The biggest insult of all is that Nintendo is actively catering to that demographic.  Big N actually invited those blogging moms to a party and gave them free systems and games. 

[Ichirou]

The DS has a bunch of cool games, tho...I mean, I can understand that some people might feel its success is due to the two screen/touch screen gimmick but there have been games that have used those features to great effect.

Unlike, say, the Wii... :/

[tiesto]

What the fuck is an "alpha mom"? The only time I've ever heard that term is when hardcore gamer dorks rag on Wii...

[Himu]

I want to break out the ol' dreamcast tonight for a celebration

[Smooth Groove]

What the fuck is an "alpha mom"? The only time I've ever heard that term is when hardcore gamer dorks rag on Wii...

No idea.  Those moms were okay with that term in the EGM podcast so I don't think it's an insult for them.

I want to break out the ol' dreamcast tonight for a celebration

Good idea.  I want to do a fighting game megasession w/ VF3, SC, SF3A, MVC2, Project Justice and then some racing games like F355, Le Mans, Daytona, Crazy Taxi, and Hydro Thunder

[Himu]

Well, we did something like that this past weekend. We didn't have MvC2 dc so I brought my ps2 version. Jesus Christ I haven't played that game in years and I forgot how to play it.

Project Justice

[Robo]

PS2 version is in comparison.  It isn't nearly as crisp and clean looking and it suffers from regular slowdown.  It's one of the few reasons for Capcom fighting game fans to keep a DC around as practically everything else has seen a better iteration on PS2.  If only the Darkstalkers collection had made it to the US. 

I still have the DC hooked up at the parent's house for the occasional Jet Set Radio, Ikaruga, or King of Fighters '98 stint.

[CajoleJuice]

Soul Calibur and Virtua Tennis were probably the most universally-loved multiplayer games I've ever owned. (outside of Goldeneye)

Unlike Goldeneye, you can still play them without getting nauseous.

[bluemax]

What the fuck is an "alpha mom"? The only time I've ever heard that term is when hardcore gamer dorks rag on Wii...

http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2007-03-26-alpha-mom_N.htm

The graphic designer from Eugene, Ore., and millions of mothers like her, are becoming a marketing phenomenon. Alpha Moms are educated, tech-savvy, Type A moms with a common goal: mommy excellence. She is a multitasker. She is kidcentric. She is hands-on. She may or may not work outside the home, but at home, she views motherhood as a job that can be mastered with diligent research.

An Alpha Mom typically has money to spend, and — key for marketers — she is, as the label implies, a leader of the pack who influences how other moms spend.

She's also wired — online 87 minutes a day, estimates ComScore Networks, an Internet market research specialist — and she spends a hefty 7% more than the typical Internet user. The impact of her purchases or what she touts can spread on the Internet far beyond her e-mail list or blog.

2nd search result on Google for Alpha Mom.

[T234]

She's also wired — online 87 minutes a day

HAAHAHAHAHHAHAAAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAAAAAHAHAAHAHA

[tiesto]

Yeah, never heard of "alpha mom" before, I usually just called them "soccer mom". I can't keep up with the trends in typical American suburban motherhood I guess... although I do own a Wii.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

soccer moms != alpha moms

alpha moms are leading indicators and trendsetters
soccer moms are sheeple who follow the alpha moms

[Himu]

PS2 version is in comparison.  It isn't nearly as crisp and clean looking and it suffers from regular slowdown.  It's one of the few reasons for Capcom fighting game fans to keep a DC around as practically everything else has seen a better iteration on PS2.  If only the Darkstalkers collection had made it to the US. 

I still have the DC hooked up at the parent's house for the occasional Jet Set Radio, Ikaruga, or King of Fighters '98 stint.

It's in comparison but it goes for a high price on ebay.

[Mr. Gundam]

PS2 version is in comparison.  It isn't nearly as crisp and clean looking and it suffers from regular slowdown.  It's one of the few reasons for Capcom fighting game fans to keep a DC around as practically everything else has seen a better iteration on PS2.  If only the Darkstalkers collection had made it to the US. 

I still have the DC hooked up at the parent's house for the occasional Jet Set Radio, Ikaruga, or King of Fighters '98 stint.

It's in comparison but it goes for a high price on ebay.

Price does not equate perfection.

[Himu]

It sure as hell doesn't but I can sell it for a penny someday. Plus, I like the ps2 controller a lot more for fighting games than DC's. I'm going to pop in Project Justice after studying tonight. Awwwwwwwwwwww yeah

[Mr. Gundam]

Plus, I like the ps2 controller a lot more for fighting games than DC's.

ASCII FT Pad FTW.

[Himu]

I'm not into sticks.

[Mr. Gundam]

I'm not into sticks.

They're pads, not sticks. I imported two of them from Japan when MvC2 first came out on the Dreamcast. They look a lot like Saturn pads. I'd post a picture, but my Google image search is blocked at work.

[Himu]

Oh shit. I've been curious about 3rd party DC pads.

[Mr. Gundam]

I've got two of these babies in a box somewhere, I'll have to dig them out after the move.

[Himu]

let me buy

let me have

let me fuck