Happy 21st Anniversary, Sega Dreamcast!

21 years ago today in North America, Sega launched their 128-bit console in the "Dreamcast" - a gaming system that was clearly ahead of its time trying to cut costs while maintaining a strong presentation and library of games. It was SEGA's final console in the video game console market, aiming to release and produce games instead as a third party developer instead of making hardware.

Sega Dreamcast Commercials (1999)
Despite facing big competition on the Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox, and Nintendo Gamecube, the Dreamcast was the machine to call home for a number of exclusives and games that became cult favorites. There's SEGA staples like Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 and Crazy Taxi to name a few, but it was also the system that gave us Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Soul Calibur, Phantasy Star Online, and Yu Suzuki's Shenmue. This really was a console that did big things and had big ideas, and the commercials from 1999 above showed that in full force.

Happy 21 years Sega Dreamcast in the US. Soon this November, you turn 22 in Japan!

"9/9/99" The Sega Dreamcast Twenty Years Later

A beloved platform from the sixth generation of video game consoles is officially remembered this day, as the North American release of the "Sega Dreamcast" officially happened twenty years ago. This unique gaming system was fondly remembered for being the first 128-bit console out in the market before the release of the Playstation 2, Gamecube, and Xbox, and had stellar titles in its library such as Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi, Skies of Arcadia, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, and of course the first two Shenmue games by legendary developer Yu Suzuki.

The legacy of the Dreamcast still remains among gamers who were very dedicated to its selection of games and the ambitions the system had which helped pave the way for many conventions enjoyed in today's gaming world. Despite having a huge controller - it was sufficient and also featured a VMU or Visual Memory Unit that could act as a separate device you could play minigames with besides storing memory and acting as a visual aid to a specific game. At the time of its US launch which was months before the PS2, it enjoyed a good run and success in the market - before ultimately losing to its competition and eventually being discontinued in March of 2001.

The Sega Dreamcast 20 years later 9-9-99 | MVG
Here's a pretty awesome retrospective on the Dreamcast by Modern Vintage Gamer - just in time for the anniversary celebration.

Happy 20 years, Sega Dreamcast!