The online retro gaming community has been sharing memories of SEGA’s last console as it hits its milestone 25th anniversary.
On September 9th, 1999, the SEGA Dreamcast was officially launched in North America. Though ultimately it failed to win the fight against the mighty Sony PlayStation, the Dreamcast has since gained a cult following who regard the ill-fated console as ‘too ahead of its time’.
Former president of SEGA of America, Peter Moore, spoke about his memories of the Dreamcast launch on Twitter/X, including an extract of his upcoming autobiography where he said of the launch: “It was clear that this was the chance for Sega to transcend all the bad publicity around the demise of the Saturn. In addition to the launch of the Dreamcast, we also boasted an unprecedented lineup of games.”
A quarter of a century ago tomorrow, on 9/9/99, we launched the @SEGA Dreamcast here in North America. While the journey did not end the way we wished it had, we remain proud of the path we paved in online gaming, and it remains a console that is beloved by so many.Here is an… pic.twitter.com/GTdc9gcJvc
— Peter Moore (@PeterMooreLFC) September 8, 2024
Fans responded to the post by sharing their own memories of the console. Some showed off vintage photographs of their Dreamcast, while others revealed the consoles they’d kept as part of their collections, including some rare variants like the Hello Kitty edition.
Fans such as Twinwar replied to the Tweet with their own memories, saying: “Still, one of my favorite consoles of all time. I still remember the first time I launched Phantasy Star Online. It was one of those moments where it blew my mind that I was actually playing online with other people and an RPG. Then, of course, my favorite game of all time on the Dreamcast. Shenmue. What a groundbreaking game that was.”
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Others got into the Dreamcast scene late, such as Watfen64, but quickly learned to appreciate its finer qualities, as they explained on Twitter: “I got a DC as late as last year, but my experience with it instantly revealed to me just how groundbreaking the console proved to be back then.”
I got a DC as late as last year, but my experience with it instantly revealed to me just how groundbreaking the console proved to be back then.Despite its short life, Sega’s swan song in the hardware business remains an impressive achievement and treasure trove of arcade games.
— Mitch Sabbagh is Looking for Game Narrative Work (@Watfen64) September 8, 2024
Despite its premature end, the SEGA Dreamcast lives on in people’s hearts. We’re still hoping that a Dreamcast Mini will come along someday.
Until then, perhaps we can enjoy a Nintendo Wii that fits on a keyring, or a NES cartridge turned into a working console.