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Sega Dreamcast

The Dreamcast is SEGA's swan song system that launched on September 9th, 1999. Over 10 years old the Dreamcast, as its name implies, represented SEGA's dream to take back the console crown. Unfortunately, for SEGA and its fans, the Dreamcast was totally overshadowed due to the hype of the PS2 and saw middling sales. Just over two years after the launch of the white console SEGA pulled the plug on manufacturing the hardware and became a 3rd party publisher to develop software for Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo consoles. The Dreamcast was the first console to come with online functionality out of the box featuring a 56K modem. It also had other unique properties such as a native connection to VGA output, and a memory card system where the cards themselves were actually small handheld game devices.

Sega Dreamcast
MSRP $100.00
Release date September, 1999
Brand SEGA
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Pros & Cons16
Reviews17
Details
Buy It
Competitors3
Comments9
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Pros & Cons

ProSCORE
17 reviews
84
negative
mixed
positive
17 positive
0 mixed
0 negative

[i] How is the ProSCORE calculated?

show me!

Pros:
Do you agree?
•
Can play burned games without a modchip
+13agreedisagree

•
A wealth of homebrew software is available
+11agreedisagree

•
One of the first systems to offer online gameplay
+11agreedisagree

•
Built-in 4-player support
+9agreedisagree

•
Excellent graphics well ahead of its time
+6agreedisagree

•
unique and relatively expansive game library
+4agreedisagree

•
Had a great personality
+2agreedisagree

•
Led the way with online connected consoles
+2agreedisagree

•
Keyboard & Mouse Combo using standard Controller port
+1agreedisagree

•
great game catalog
+1agreedisagree

Cons:
Do you agree?
•
Died too early
+2agreedisagree

•
Overshadowed by the hype of the PS2
+2agreedisagree

•
Controller has an awkward design
+1agreedisagree

•
Memory unit system is horrible
+1agreedisagree

•
Limited game library
0agreedisagree

•
Came out on the market too soon
-1agreedisagree


17 people added to this review by submitting or voting on pros and cons. Add your say!
See individual votes »

Details

Features

  • 4 controller ports
  • memory units that plug into the controller (2 per controller)
  • proprietary 1GB GD-ROM system
  • built-in 56K modem
  • processing power capable of outputting 7 million polygons/second
  • 24MB of RAM plus 2MB for sound RAM

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This report was started August 14, 2006 at 12:13 pm by Jan
with the last edit occurring October 22, 2009 at 6:41 pm by Phil Ya
This page has been viewed 1352 times, with 126 edits by 20 contributors.
See the full report history »

Buy It

Competitors

Sega Dreamcast is ranked 4th among it's competitors.  See the top picks in Game Consoles »
Sony Playstation 2

Sony Playstation 2

MSRP  $99.00    Released  October, 2000
Pros
  • Backwards compatible with original Playstation (PSX) games
  • Built-in DVD movie player
  • Still supported by Sony even though the PS3 is out.
Cons
  • No 4-player out of the box
  • The dual-shock controller layout has the analog stick thrown in as an afterthought; a redesign of the controller would have helped
  • Underpowered compared to the the Xbox and the GameCube
ProSCORE
28 reviews
78
Vote! (13 votes)
vote Sega Dreamcast 31% vs. vote Sony Playstation 2 69%
Microsoft Xbox

Microsoft Xbox

MSRP  $149.00    Released  November, 2001
Pros
  • Can be easily softmodded to run XBMC.
  • Significantly cheaper than current generation of consoles.
  • Xbox Live trumped the competition's alternative online systems.
Cons
  • Outdated and unsupported in favour of Xbox 360.
  • Never going to be a new game made
  • Prone to hardware malfunctions
ProSCORE
26 reviews
74
Vote! (5 votes)
vote Sega Dreamcast 40% vs. vote Microsoft Xbox 60%
Nintendo Gamecube

Nintendo Gamecube

MSRP  $99.00    Released  November, 2001
Pros
  • Very short loading times
  • Easy and cheap to mod
  • Top notch Nintendo games
Cons
  • No longer supported by Nintendo
  • Only two online games
  • Some versions have unreliable optics and will die after several months.
ProSCORE
19 reviews
67
Vote! (8 votes)
vote Sega Dreamcast 50% vs. vote Nintendo Gamecube 50%

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Comments

12 taps
1.  avatar starbuck93 said:

This thing was really nice untill the PS and Xbox came out. I still have one in working condition!
Oct 05, 2006 6:09pm
2.  avatar Omar said:

So do I! I love all the amazing 2D fighting games that were released, and crazy games like Rez and Space Channel 5, even if they were ultimately released for the PS2.
Oct 05, 2006 10:31pm
3.  avatar starbuck93 said:

My favorite games are: Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Crazy Taxi and Loony Toons Space Race. Sonic will always be my most favorite game! :-)
Oct 06, 2006 10:04am
4.  avatar Omar said:

Crazy Taxi is a wicked game. Sonic Adventure is awesome too. I never beat it though, I wonder how the later levels were. Maybe I should try it again.
Oct 06, 2006 2:24pm
5.  avatar silence omo7 said:

Crazy Taxi Rocks!!! I never owned the system though =(
Nov 02, 2006 9:56am
6.  avatar dialupinternetuser said:

The dreamcast can easily run burnt games. They are all over bitTorrent. I have one and love it. I also never be Sonic either. The big fishing guy was obnoxious.
Apr 02, 2007 4:08pm
7.  avatar Jebus said:

Easily one of the slickest consoles ever, but unfortunately it fell victim to a terrible marketing campaign and failed to capitalize on the head-start it had in the next-gen console market wars. Soul Calibur remained the best-looking console game (on any system) long after its release and arguably until the second generation of PS2 and Xbox games. *sigh* getting nostalgic...so many hours invested =)
Nov 21, 2007 6:59pm
8.  avatar dialupinternetuser said:

I should get take it out and download some ROMs... Power Stone is really fun too.
Feb 07, 2008 9:14pm
9.  avatar shadowtech said:

Still one of my favorite consoles ever. Dreamcast had an amazing library of games, was ahead of its time in a multitude of ways and is still actively developed for by the homebrew community. Great system.
Apr 01, 2009 2:18pm
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Reviews

Sort by: Most helpful  •  Newest  •  Most positive

Omar

avatar
September 10, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
64
negative
mixed
positive
7 pros
4 cons
love itlove it
have ithave it
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • A wealth of homebrew software is available
  • One of the first systems to offer online gameplay
  • Built-in 4-player support
  • Excellent graphics well ahead of its time
  • unique and relatively expansive game library
  • Had a great personality
  • Led the way with online connected consoles

Cons

  • Died too early
  • Overshadowed by the hype of the PS2
  • Controller has an awkward design
  • Memory unit system is horrible

Comments

"So do I! I love all the amazing 2D fighting games that were released, and crazy games like Rez and Space Channel 5, even if they were ultimately released for the PS2."
"Crazy Taxi is a wicked game. Sonic Adventure is awesome too. I never beat it though, I wonder how the later levels were. Maybe I should try it again."
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

shadowtech

avatar
September 10, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
80
negative
mixed
positive
8 pros
2 cons
love itlove it
have ithave it
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Can play burned games without a modchip
  • A wealth of homebrew software is available
  • One of the first systems to offer online gameplay
  • Built-in 4-player support
  • Excellent graphics well ahead of its time
  • unique and relatively expansive game library
  • Had a great personality
  • Led the way with online connected consoles

Cons

  • Died too early
  • Overshadowed by the hype of the PS2

Comments

"Still one of my favorite consoles ever. Dreamcast had an amazing library of games, was ahead of its time in a multitude of ways and is still actively developed for by the homebrew community. Great system."

Competitors

shadowtech prefers Sega Dreamcast over Sony Playstation 2
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

fractalhorizon

avatar
January 8, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
83
negative
mixed
positive
5 pros
1 con
love itlove it
have ithave it
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Can play burned games without a modchip
  • A wealth of homebrew software is available
  • One of the first systems to offer online gameplay
  • Built-in 4-player support
  • Excellent graphics well ahead of its time

Cons

  • Limited game library

Competitors

fractalhorizon prefers Sony Playstation 2 over Sega Dreamcast
fractalhorizon prefers Sega Dreamcast over Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Gamecube
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

dialupinternetuser

avatar
February 21, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
100
negative
mixed
positive
5 pros
0 cons
love itlove it
have ithave it
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Can play burned games without a modchip
  • A wealth of homebrew software is available
  • One of the first systems to offer online gameplay
  • Built-in 4-player support
  • Excellent graphics well ahead of its time

Cons

Did not agree with any cons

Comments

"The dreamcast can easily run burnt games. They are all over bitTorrent. I have one and love it. I also never be Sonic either. The big fishing guy was obnoxious."
"I should get take it out and download some ROMs... Power Stone is really fun too."

Competitors

dialupinternetuser prefers Microsoft Xbox over Sega Dreamcast
dialupinternetuser prefers Sega Dreamcast over Sony Playstation 2, Nintendo Gamecube
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

justafire

avatar
March 3, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
75
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
1 con
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Can play burned games without a modchip
  • A wealth of homebrew software is available
  • Built-in 4-player support

Cons

  • Limited game library

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Plasmarobo

avatar
September 6, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
75
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
1 con
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Can play burned games without a modchip
  • A wealth of homebrew software is available
  • One of the first systems to offer online gameplay

Cons

  • Limited game library

Competitors

Plasmarobo prefers Nintendo Gamecube over Sega Dreamcast
Plasmarobo prefers Sega Dreamcast over Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Kerii

avatar
May 19, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
75
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
1 con
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Can play burned games without a modchip
  • A wealth of homebrew software is available
  • One of the first systems to offer online gameplay

Cons

  • Limited game library

Competitors

Kerii prefers Microsoft Xbox over Sega Dreamcast
Kerii prefers Sega Dreamcast over Sony Playstation 2, Nintendo Gamecube
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

meNNis

avatar
September 6, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
67
negative
mixed
positive
2 pros
1 con
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Can play burned games without a modchip
  • One of the first systems to offer online gameplay

Cons

  • Limited game library

Competitors

meNNis prefers Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation 2 over Sega Dreamcast
meNNis prefers Sega Dreamcast over Nintendo Gamecube
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

darkNiGHTS

avatar
October 7, 2007
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
100
negative
mixed
positive
2 pros
0 cons
have ithave it
love itlove it
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Can play burned games without a modchip
  • One of the first systems to offer online gameplay

Cons

Did not agree with any cons

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

EightBitHero

avatar
September 9, 2007
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
100
negative
mixed
positive
2 pros
0 cons
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • A wealth of homebrew software is available
  • One of the first systems to offer online gameplay

Cons

Did not agree with any cons

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No
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