Happy Birthday, Dreamcast

**StriderKyo** · 12 Sep 2010, 07:46 PM

Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater

Development costs were probably too expensive then, too. But that's what was so awesome about console-making era Sega: they risked doing new stuff all the time. Sure, it was often at the expense of business sense but gamers benefited for the several years it lasted.

In the DC era it seemed different to me though; like they were reaching further to find that one game that would go right outside the box, change everything and save them. For the most part they seemed to adhere more closely to established genres & themes before that.

**JefmcC** · 12 Sep 2010, 07:50 PM

Shenmue was a great tech demo.

**Razor Ramon** · 12 Sep 2010, 08:51 PM

Open every drawer to find nothing.

**mollipen** · 12 Sep 2010, 09:15 PM

Originally Posted by Geen

Where would we have stored those downloadable games, Yoshi? On the incredible storage of the VMU?

The Dreamcast ZIP drive accessory, obviously.

**Geen** · 12 Sep 2010, 09:25 PM

Originally Posted by shidoshi

The Dreamcast ZIP drive accessory, obviously.

Ha - I forgot that thing was being developed. Yeah, that would've been mind blowing if Sega had real downloadable content a good three or four years before anyone else.

**NeoZeedeater** · 12 Sep 2010, 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by StriderKyo

In the DC era it seemed different to me though; like they were reaching further to find that one game that would go right outside the box, change everything and save them. For the most part they seemed to adhere more closely to established genres & themes before that.

I don't know, going "outside the box" was common to Sega before the DC. It's easy to forget how different games like Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone were compared to other games on the market. Right before the DC, there was stuff like Panzer Dragoon Saga, NiGHTS, and Burning Rangers. Even now, they still stand as unique.

**Frogacuda** · 13 Sep 2010, 03:35 PM

But they did give their studios more autonomy during the DC era and I think that showed through in the products. They always had a lot of original ideas, but it seems like they took more risks as a whole during the DC era.

**NeoZeedeater** · 13 Sep 2010, 06:59 PM

Aside from taking a big gamble on giving Suzuki an insane budget for Shenmue, I don't see how their DC games were more risky than previous gens overall. If anything, one could argue Sega's riskiest move software-wise was in the previous gen by not having a proper Sonic sequel on Saturn.