Still yearning for Dreamcast 2? You're retarded.

[Droid party]

There is a large amount of hate for the controller which is surprising to me, I always loved the controller. The analogue stick had just the right amount of resistance and was extremely accurate. The d pad is still one of the best I've ever used and even the triggers were really accurate and responsive. The vmu is a little bit of a gimmick and I don't really recall any games putting it to legitimate use but it was still cool while the novelty lasted nonetheless.

I'm not saying that it was perfect. I kinda wish that it had more buttons and that the grips were spread out a little bit more for my man hands. I also don't get why the cable came out of the bottom of the thing. But it is still one of my favorite controllers. Certainly better than the n64 pad and the xbox (duke) pad.

[weasels]

I definitely think it was a 'had to be there thing' I definitely agree, everybody who I've met that had a Dreamcast from day one absolute adored it. There is something special, almost magical about the machine. I still absolutely love playing my Dreamcast and can't be without it. The games will never become old to me, they are timeless.

you couldn't be more right about the dreamcast. First of all i love the dreamcast. your right in saying there is something magical about it. but for me, while i was aware of it from day one, the most i ever got to play with the system was at an eb games a demo of powerstone. Of course that was enough to convince me that i needed this machine. saddly enough, i didn't get it until maybe 5 or so years after it was released. so i was late to the party anyways. that being said, the dreamcast is my personal favorite as well. it had what i was looking for, games that weren't afraid of being a little different or strange, but still being good enough for me to play through and enjoy.

[irixith]

The Dreamcast was perhaps before your time. The guys (like me) that were there from day one absolutely adore it because the games were amazing at the time. Dreamcast is easily my most played console to date. I must have logged at least 300-400 hours in PSO alone. It has hands down the best good game to crap game ratio of any popular console ever. Given all the titles on the system and choosing at random you'd be hard pushed to find a game that isn't good.

As the person who shat on the Dreamcast first in this thread, I have to say I disagree. I was there. Day one. Over the course of time that I owned the system, I amassed at least 100 or so games. 12 controllers, so there was always a spare when one broke down -- being that there were so many arcade games, it tended to be the go-to party system. However over time, everyone (including me) tired of it. Most of the games are short, and relatively devoid of extra content to help extend their longevity. As I said in my post, many of them have not aged well at all. Crazy Taxi, which was initially very fun, I can barely sit with it for five minutes. Powerstone was initially very fun too for the first little bit, and then no-one wanted to play that either. (Even GameSpot agrees: "Expect to enjoy it immensely for the first week or two, but don't expect to find very much long-term fun.")

That was my main problem with the system. Everything had this initial glow, but only a very small number were able to last only a few months after purchase, let alone now. To me, all the Dreamcast represents is a sum of absolutely everything Sega did so very wrong in the last years of their hardware business. Really, now that I think about it, it's a sum of everything they did wrong with their software too. In the past 10 years, they've only produced a very small handful of worthwhile titles. It's sad.

I wouldn't want to take away from anyone else's love for the system - you like what you like for whatever reason. I just never felt the Dreamcast deserved this bizarre cult status it's attained, because the games are simply not what the fans make them out to be. It's no Neo-Geo, you know?

[MrPopo]

I have to agree with irixith. My brother bought a Dreamcast day one (though I tried to convince him to wait for the PS2). The games were fun, but they don't have this magical quality that a lot of the people here seem to see. There are plenty of titles that are just as fun (or more fun) on the PS2 and Gamecube. And the controller was atrocious (and this is coming from someone who loves the N64 controller).

[AmishSamurai]

I'd have to agree with popo and irixith to some level. The controller is a pain, and I probably wouldn't even bother having one if it weren't for the fact you can burn the games onto CDs. It is a fun system, but only in short bursts.

[brunoafh]

I don't understand the "lack of content and longevity" argument very much. That's kind of the point of arcade-style gameplay. I think people were just "spoiled" (for lack of a better word) by the at the time extremely impressive games on the PS2, and distanced themselves from being able to enjoy the simple nature of most of the good Dreamcast games.

I think it's that the Dreamcast had the feel of a newer system, but gave you the same type of gameplay of that of older systems. Which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the player.

[BoringSupreez]

I have to agree with irixith. My brother bought a Dreamcast day one (though I tried to convince him to wait for the PS2). The games were fun, but they don't have this magical quality that a lot of the people here seem to see. There are plenty of titles that are just as fun (or more fun) on the PS2 and Gamecube. And the controller was atrocious (and this is coming from someone who loves the N64 controller).

Really, even if you didn't think the DC was that great, getting a PS2 before 2001 wasn't worth it. Before MGS2, the PS2 didn't have any real gems or killer apps. Holiday 2001 was when the real party started. On top of that, the PS2 cost more, and was super hard to find, just like the 360 and Wii were for a year or two. At the time, the DC was your best option (outside of the N64, one of my favorites.)

[aaron]

I think it's that the Dreamcast had the feel of a newer system, but gave you the same type of gameplay of that of older systems. Which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the player.

i agree with this wholeheartedly. the problem is, i like the old gameplay to LOOK old, as well as feel old. i like for newer gameplay to look new (like, ps2 on up...). i guess that's why i always forsook my dreamcast library so quickly any time i tried to delve into the system. i doubt i'll ever really get another one.

plus it doesn't help that most of the good games were released on other systems with better ports. i can't think of very many games i'd want to play on the dreamcast that i couldn't play on another system. cosmic smash comes to mind, but that's about it.

[BurningDoom]

There is a large amount of hate for the controller which is surprising to me, I always loved the controller. The analogue stick had just the right amount of resistance and was extremely accurate. The d pad is still one of the best I've ever used and even the triggers were really accurate and responsive. The vmu is a little bit of a gimmick and I don't really recall any games putting it to legitimate use but it was still cool while the novelty lasted nonetheless.

I'm not saying that it was perfect. I kinda wish that it had more buttons and that the grips were spread out a little bit more for my man hands. I also don't get why the cable came out of the bottom of the thing. But it is still one of my favorite controllers. Certainly better than the n64 pad and the xbox (duke) pad.

I don't have a problem with the controller, either. I like the shape and feel of them. However with two VMUs in one controller, or a VMU with a Rumble Pack in one controller they get kinda heavy.

But I know I'm in the minority. I've heard a lot of gamers complain about the Dreamcast's controller. I think the N64 controller is far worse. I hate the contraptions, but bear through it for good N64 exclusives.

[BoringSupreez]

There is a large amount of hate for the controller which is surprising to me, I always loved the controller. The analogue stick had just the right amount of resistance and was extremely accurate. The d pad is still one of the best I've ever used and even the triggers were really accurate and responsive. The vmu is a little bit of a gimmick and I don't really recall any games putting it to legitimate use but it was still cool while the novelty lasted nonetheless.

I'm not saying that it was perfect. I kinda wish that it had more buttons and that the grips were spread out a little bit more for my man hands. I also don't get why the cable came out of the bottom of the thing. But it is still one of my favorite controllers. Certainly better than the n64 pad and the xbox (duke) pad.

I don't have a problem with the controller, either. I like the shape and feel of them. However with two VMUs in one controller, or a VMU with a Rumble Pack in one controller they get kinda heavy.

But I know I'm in the minority. I've heard a lot of gamers complain about the Dreamcast's controller. I think the N64 controller is far worse. I hate the contraptions, but bear through it for good N64 exclusives.

I always liked how heavy and tech'ed out the N64 and DC controllers were. Makes them feel hefty and solid.