September 11, 2003 - 7:30 PM
Wes Ehrlichman

Today marks the anniversary of a very important day in American history. It wasn't but a few years back that an important event happened that we should never forget as long as we live. When our world was shocked by the virtual bomb that was dropped on this fair nation - sent to us by people who, had they not been held back by those brave enough to stand up against them, would have caused an even bigger dent in America's economy and lifestyle.

As Americans we cannot let this day be forgotten. We should pass down its memory to our children, to our children's children, and even to their children and grandchildren. We can not let this occurrence go unremembered, we must bring out our patriotic banners and wave them proudly.

Yes, it was just four years and two days ago that the Sega Dreamcast was released in America.

On September 9, 1999 (9/9/99) Sega released the world's first 128-bit console the Dreamcast in the US. It's hard to believe that it was only four short years ago that I was lined up outside of Software Etc. in the cold evening air for an hour, waiting for them to open their doors and let the flood of Sega fans in to pick up Sega's highly anticipated follow-up to the Saturn. Even after the doors opened at midnight I waited for over two hours for the line of people in front of me to make it through the checkout process and pick up their new systems. That evening no one could have predicted that just a few years later their brand new system would end up gathering dust in the closet. They just wanted to play Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, and NFL 2K, the hit games supporting what was at the time the biggest console launch in history. I personally spent over $500 that night - a feat considering that the system only cost $199.

The 18 games supporting the launch included such classics as Soul Calibur, NFL 2K, Virtua Fighter 3tb, Powerstone, Sonic Adventure, and House of the Dead 2. The system went on to spawn even more classic games like Phantasy Star Online, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Virtua Tennis, Samba de Amigo, Jet Grind Radio, Skies of Arcadia, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Powerstone 2, Mars Matrix, Bangai-O, and Crazy Taxi. Every one of these games is a must-own in my book.

Many would even argue that the Dreamcast had better games on it than the Playstation 2 did for the first few years of its life. It took Sony no time to figure out how to convince people that their games were better, but it took years for them to actually make it true. There is little denying that NFL 2K1 was better than Madden 2001, that Soul Calibur was better than Tekken Tag Tournament, and that Skies of Arcadia was better than Summoner, but because of the Playstation brand name, marketing bucks, and image, the Dreamcast was constantly fighting an uphill battle.

It's easy to forget that the Dreamcast isn't a last-generation system. Although not quite as powerful as the systems currently on the market, if you compare the systems using the method from the Super Nintendo and Genesis era all systems at an equal 128-bit. The new systems may be able to push more polygons, but because of the recent mindset that every game has to be a hit, there hasn't been nearly as much experimentation with new ideas as there was during the Dreamcast's year and a half life. This made the Dreamcast into the type of system we may never see again. One where people have room to experiment.

Not that I blame Sega at all for pulling out of the console race. I think they made the right decision. It was better to can the system and ensure the possibility of Sega's survival than to pour more and more money into the dying system because they were too proud to admit defeat. In the first quarter of 2003 Sega had their first profitable quarter in years, making around $16 million.

So in remembrance of that great day four years ago, I urge you to pull your Dreamcast out of the closet and play a game or two to remember what gaming was like back then. And if you are one of the poor souls who never bought a Dreamcast, spend today playing one of these games on the current big three systems that keep the spirit of the Dreamcast alive.