[Multiplatform] Console Wars!

>=O FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF yours has a blue swirl? Looks much better than the red one. Of course this could just be bias since Blue is my favorite color.

Also Shin I'm really just pointing out that our attempt to gangrail a terrible thread into "LOL DREAMCAST R TEH BEST" territory got sidetracked when you came in with your serious business and stick-in-the-mud attitude. Can we get you to do that a little less?

We all know SEGA bombed and haha oh man their PR department but really though. Someone else follow Q's example now.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Sorry, I didn't realise I was coming across so serious.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Tails

>=O FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF yours has a blue swirl?

Mine has a blue swirl too. And I have Fire Emblem: SD. So there.

(can't take pics yet because I'm at work, will when I get home)

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by OmagnusPrime

So you got to option 2 before you got bored, gave up and voted anyway. Good work.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Elfstar

I assumed all this time it was because nobody ever bought one but GFF has proved me wrong and actually, it looks like I genuinely am in the minority for not owning one which in turn has left me confused as to why it was such a collosal failure and I am now merely seeking enlightenment.

I think part of the truth already came out in this thread, although I can perhaps add something to that. First, lets recap what has already been stated. Regardless of what any biased fool says, the controllers were horrific, basically like rape for your hands. I remember the time I got Metropolis Street Racer and after I played it for a few hours my thumbs were just on fire with pain. Then there was the piracy issue. Most of the DC consoles ever produced were able to play copied CDs right out of the box. You could obtain them from the internet with ease. This led to the casual crowd spending no money on software, which basically is no good. The console isn't what makes the money, we all know that.

Now onto the points that didn't come up yet. It didn't play DVDs, the PS2 did. That made the PS2 a two-for-one deal for many gamers. I know lots of people who bought it because it was a reasonably priced DVD player that also played games. If ya can only afford one, that's a massive black mark against the DC.

Then you have to consider the games. It's not that they sucked, it's that the best ones had to compete against better known examples on other consoles. How is any RPG going to compete with Final Fantasy for the casual market? How is any racing simulator going to complete with Gran Turismo? How is any game going to compete with Grand Theft Auto?

When I say 'the casual market' I don't mean that in the modern, pejoritive sense of 'casual gamers', I mean anyone who doesn't look at their paycheck and think "Hey, what games could I buy with that?"

The casual buyer doesn't buy a lot of games. He doesn't know a lot of games. He buys what is advertised on TV, and what all his friends will be playing. I'd guess he rarely buys more than a dozen games for a system, at least a couple of which will be sports and driving games.

He's not going to choose Skies of Arcadia, Metropolis Street Racer and Shenmue. He's going to choose Final Fantasy, Gran Turismo and Grand Theft Auto. Not because the first three choices aren't worth playing, but because the latter three are safe options. He knows the franchises, he knows his friends will be playing too, he knows it will be familiar and entertaining fare. The first three are just names he doesn't know, and doesn't want to waste money finding out about, just in case they suck.

Incidentally I know perfectly well that Shenmue is a poor comparison for Grand Theft Auto, but really I think it is the closest to a similar 'Open World' game on Dreamcast. I didn't even try to think of an equivalent for Metal Gear Solid, but it is another example of a known series pitted against games of unknown quality and content. It's not that Dreamcast games sucked, it's that the casual buyer always has and always will be the majority of gaming revenue.

tl;dr version:
Dreamcast failed in the eyes of the casual buyer while succeeding with the hardcore. It was a collossal failure in commercial terms, and not entirely perfect in idealistic, technological terms. Had some nice games though. Just not well publicised or well-known enough to penetrate the living room of the average joe.

I own two, one PAL, one NTSC-U/C and a large collection of games, so I'm not really a hater, I just know why it failed.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

This is missing from the list.


I may only have 6 games on my Dreamcast and about 10 demo discs, but those were definitely good times.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

STOP RUINING GOOD THINGS, ASSHOLES.

Everyone who's not funny or posting DC pics up in this joint is now threadbanned.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

TAILS (not unboxing because fuck you)





I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Damn that's some lovely packaging man. Props for SoA of course. And oh man Virtua Tennis. That brings back memories. I think that's like the only reason I bought Sega Superstar Tennis cause it reminds me of the arcade-ish playstyle VT had.

Top Spin can't even touch it.

Also loooool VMUs. Such a good idea. Such terrible, terrible execution.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I wish i could post pics but alas, I only have memories now. Memories of how loud it was that I had to put a pile of clothing on top of the DC in order to filter out the incredibly loud disc spinning in the early mornings. Reaching my thumb across the border in order to reach the flimsy Y button.

Oh and I was one of the few people who actually bought games for it I guess because believe it or not I did not have the internets or a PC until 2002 and therefore I thought burning disc was magic. But I proudly owned all my disc especially granida 2 which came with the awesome OST

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Shenlon

Oh and I was one of the few people who actually bought games for it

Hang on there skippy, since I sense that comment is prompted by the various white-label games you're seeing in my picture. I was, amongst other things, Games Editor for my student paper and all those discs you see are review copies sent to me by Sega themselves. No piracy here thank you very much.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Shenlon

granida 2 which came with the awesome OST

Can we get a proper port of that or what. I'm mad they salvaged Skies of Arcadia for the GC but left G2 in the dust with a shitty PS2 port. I think the PC version sucked too. So sad. ;_;

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by OmagnusPrime

Hang on there skippy, since I sense that comment is prompted by the various white-label games you're seeing in my picture. I was, amongst other things, Games Editor for my student paper and all those discs you see are review copies sent to me by Sega themselves. No piracy here thank you very much.

But you didn't buy the games either way. All my PS3 and PSP promos are doing shit for the software sales.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Qwarky

But you didn't buy the games either way.

No, you're right I didn't. But first of all, I was a student with hardly any money, and that which I did have paying for uni fees, keeping me with food and shelter, etc. I also spent quite a bit of any money I could scrape together for nice things on games, some of which you see pictured. I also bought quite a few accessories, like the DC keyboard and mouse, a few extra controllers, etc (I couldn't be arsed to dig them out for the picture). Quite honestly, had I not been given the review copies I would have only had 2 or 3 of those games probably. Or I would have had to sell or trade many of the others I owned to have any more than that.

I didn't like the implication of piracy, and I still don't. I'm not claiming to have been some sort of sales saviour, I was just saying I liked my DC plenty and was fortunate enough to play quite a lot of games on it thanks to Sega being generous with their review copies (and me being the almost the only gamer with a DC on the student paper).

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I had more fun playing Saturn than Dreamcast. Am I weird?

Seaman was awesome though.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

The DC piracy issue is a double whammy for those of us who bought the retail versions. I bought lots of DC games, but none of them (even the great/rare games) are worth a penny because they can be easily downloaded.

The system would have been ten times cooler if they'd released the twin sticks for Virtual On over here.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by nuttyturnip

The system would have been ten times cooler if they'd released the twin sticks for Virtual On over here.

THIS! MOTHERFUCKYES VIRTUAL ON.

God I need to play that game again.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by nuttyturnip

The system would have been ten times cooler if they'd released the twin sticks for Virtual On over here.

At one point when I was saving up my pocket money to buy a games console I was trying to decide between a Saturn and a PlayStation, and Virtual On almost, almost sold me on the Saturn.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Guru

I had more fun playing Saturn than Dreamcast. Am I weird?

Seaman was awesome though.

The Saturn is another vastly underplayed system. I'm the first to say this is because the system itself is weak as shit. But come on. Shining Force III? Dragon Force? There is gold in them thar hills.

Also, I love my DC copy of Grandia II. Almost as much as I love my copy of SoA.

FELIPE NO

The Saturn cannot be denied as an excellent system simply because of Radiant Silvergun, Panzer Dragoon Saga and Guardian Heroes. It had its limits for 3D graphics but good god did they pull off some beautiful games anyway.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by nuttyturnip

The DC piracy issue is a double whammy for those of us who bought the retail versions. I bought lots of DC games, but none of them (even the great/rare games) are worth a penny because they can be easily downloaded.

How is that then? It's not like the games of any other major console can't be easily downloaded, aside from the PS3 so far (well, they can be downloaded, just not played).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Qwarky

The Saturn cannot be denied as an excellent system simply because of Radiant Silvergun, Panzer Dragoon Saga and Guardian Heroes.

Oh man, I'd love for them to bring Guardian Heroes to the XBLA or PSN, that game was excellent.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Yeah but pirating DC games is fuck shit easy compared to other consoles. Most things you've got to mod the console itself or use some cable gimmickry or so on and so on but the DC is just:

1. Burn .cdi file

2. Play

So there was essentially no motivation at all to not pirate DC games, and essentially an entire tiny industry sprung up around doing so. And now, of course, the DC is considered abandonware so there's not even the moral element to buying legitimate discs.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Aardark

How is that then? It's not like the games of any other major console can't be easily downloaded, aside from the PS3 so far (well, they can be downloaded, just not played).

Yeah, I'm sure you can download Suikoden easily enough but my hardcopy's still worth £80 according to eBay.

I dont think I ever knew anyone with a Saturn. Maybe one guy but he was the guy with a Mega CD and all those other weird plug-in bits for the Megadrive, overly generous parents too...

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?