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| The Future of Dreamcast,
Dreamcast consoles now £99! |
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| Games,
Richard Young,
19 February 2001 |
Rating: F5
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I am sure that by now most readers will be familiar with the recent announcement from Sega that they are planning to cease production of their Dreamcast console in favour of concentrating on the software market. As well as Dreamcast, Sega are planning to release titles for other platforms too, notably Sony’s PlayStation 2 and the soon to be released Gameboy Advance from Nintendo. Sadly, Sega has made a loss for the fourth year running. This is primarily due to the fact that the actual cost of a Dreamcast unit is a lot more than it’s selling price. This is quite normal for the video game market: The real revenue comes from software sales, which, due to Sega being somewhat selfish with its licensing policies, have never managed to grow to the popularity of the original Playstation’s.
So the question is: Is this it? Is it truly game over for Sonic the Hedgehog? Has the Crazy Taxi finally run out of petrol? Is that the cast of Shenmue I see, standing in queue at the dole office? Not bloody likely! The ironic truth is that now is the best time to buy a Dreamcast. Lets look at the reasons why: Firstly, a stonking back catalogue of games that will, inevitably become A LOT cheaper over the coming months. Also, there are actually dozens of games due to be released between now and some time in 2002, many of which are rumoured to be the best yet. At this point in time, the Dreamcast boasts the best visuals on any home console: The PS2 currently has nothing to touch the graphics or gameplay of Jet Set Radio or Shenmue (and yes, Dead or Alive 2 and Rayman 2 DO look better on the DC than on PS2). Another reason? The ability to surf the net straight out of the box (No waiting for expensive peripherals here, Mr Sony). True, real-time online gameplay with titles including Quake III: Arena, Phantasy Star Online and the hotly anticipated Daytona USA. I could also bang on about the compact design, the FOUR controller ports and those neat little Visual Memory Units, but you get my point. Oh, and one more thing: The retail price is now officially just £99
.a third of the price of the troublesome PlayStation 2.
Don’t get me wrong, I love that old black monolith too, but to be honest, the first wave of titles have done nothing to back up Sony’s promise of a groundbreaking home entertainment system. Yes the DVD option is great, and I am sure that by this time next year the PS2 will be home to some truly remarkable software. What is sad is that the mass media and even the gaming industry itself appears intent on stating “Dreamcast is Dead!” in big, tabloid style lettering, as if suddenly all the Dreamcasts around the world will suddenly stop working simultaneously. Not so! Even after the current supply of machines has dried up, newcomers will still be able to sample the delights of Segas games via a new hybrid machine from Pace Technologies that will have, in addition to its digital TV and internet functions, the ability to download and play Dreamcast titles. Existing owners needn’t worry about their machines malfunctioning either, as Sega have said that spares will always be available. (There are even Sega Saturn users who exist today – so you can be sure that groups of DC enthusiasts will be around for a long time yet).
So there you have it, Virtua Fighter 4 may be destined for PlayStation 2 and the next incarnation of Sonic may only appear on the Gameboy Advance, but the Dreamcast still has plenty of mileage left. Sony has got some breathing space before next year and the release of the Microsoft X-Box and the Nintendo Game Cube, but in the meantime, Dreamcast owners of the world, play on! And for those who have yet to partake, come on now, £99 ain’t that much!
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