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> "plus hardly any good games" Of course this is purely subjective, but in my opinion the Dreamcast had one of the strongest game line ups of any console, espe

> "plus hardly any good games" Of course this is purely subjective, but in my opinion the Dreamcast had one of the strongest game line ups of any console, especially considering that it was only a mainstream platform for a couple of years. Shenmue 1+2, Soul Calibur, Power Stone 1+2, Crazy Taxi 1+2, Jet Set Radio, Virtua Tennis 1+2, Street Fighter 3 (all three versions), Marvel Vs Capcom 2, Phantasy Star Online, Rez, etc... Was a great system, particularly if you enjoyed arcade-style gaming.

nickpsecurity 10y ago
Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Mario, WWF No Mercy/Smackdown, Mortal Kombat, the sports games... What genre defining and blockbuster games did it have? We don't need better-looking versions of a few good ones. It had those but couldn't justify price on that. Playstation and N64 had way more value for money in terms of content, esp original. Plus, did it play all your old games? That was a nice selling point of PS2's although not strictly necessary.
- ZenoArrow 10y ago
  > "What genre defining and blockbuster games did it have?" When you say 'genre defining and blockbuster', are you referring to the quality of the games or how much they sold? If you base quality on how many copies were sold, then you're not going to find what you're looking for. If you base them on the quality of the experience, then you will find what you're looking for. Consider the fighting game genre. What games in the 3D fighting genre were the equal of Soul Calibur at the time of release? The N64 had very limited choices in this regard (I had an N64 too, so I remember this well, best option was probably Fighters Destiny). The PlayStation had some decent 3D fighters, but again nothing I would favourably compare to Soul Calibur. Even the Playstation 2 didn't have anything I'd put above it within its first year (Tekken Tag Tournament was okay, as was Dead or Alive 2, though the Dreamcast had Dead or Alive 2 as well). I could go through a bunch of other high quality games that the Dreamcast had, but unless you've played them I doubt you'll believe me about how good they were.
  - nickpsecurity 10y ago
    "If you base them on the quality of the experience, then you will find what you're looking for." Maybe both given nobody buying it might say something. Spreading like wild fire with people buying the consoles just to play the game... as was common with Nintendo and Playstation... would definitely say something. So, quantity matters. We can focus on quality, though. "What games in the 3D fighting genre were the equal of Soul Calibur at the time of release?" My memory problem is hurting me here as it's a gap. I do recall playing it and even bought strategy guide for artwork. I used to collect them for best games even if I couldn't afford the system/game. I recall really liking it. Tekken, esp Tekken 2, was the genre-definer in that one having come first, done 3D, and versatile style of gameplay. I played the crap out of Tekken 2 but did marvel at Soulcaliber's weapons and extra gameplay. Note: Interesting enough, the same team developed Tekken and Soulcalibur. "I could go through a bunch of other high quality games that the Dreamcast had, but unless you've played them I doubt you'll believe me about how good they were." Less imagination than usual, buddy. It's called YouTube and Google. :P Just list a few in different categories along with their predecessor or mainstream alternative on other consoles. I can see Dreamcast (or just coding) improvements by looking at both. Then, I can assess whether it was barely better, a substantial improvement, or gamechangingly better. To start with, I looked up Tekken 2 and Soulcalibur on Youtube on original, release consoles. Nice nostalgia moment. Tekken 2 looked like it ran on a system with barely any 3D hardware and tiny CPU. ;) Did have strong variety in fighting styles, particle effects, difficult gameplay, and some 3D movement. Now, Dreamcast was 128-bit instead of 32-bit, had almost 10x CPU speed, 15x polygons/sec, 8x RAM, 8x VRAM, and extra dedicated hardware. This was quantum leap in performance. Just the character screen shows the difference. To fight, characters look 3D for real with smooth animations and extra particle effects. Movement, plus cameras, in 3D was better. Use of combinations was smoother. Characters seemed to have less variety but seems to replace it with weapon use variety. Doing comparisons, Soulcaliber looks like a team started with Tekken on way better hardware then improved a few parts of its gameplay. It looks like a Tekken expansion pack rather than a gamechanger. A beautiful expansion that corrects significant deficiencies. Gotta pass on this one, though. Tekken's on PSX were game changers for 3D given style that continued to be imitated, number of original aspects, and sales volume. I'm impressed that Soulcaliber perfecting that style got it perfect scores by reviewers. What else you got? Whether I agree or not on impact it might be fun looking at them. Especially those I never got to play. Like when I watched Nightwarrior videos for the Saturn wishing I had it given all the neat artwork and moves. :)

nickpsecurity 10y ago

Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Mario, WWF No Mercy/Smackdown, Mortal Kombat, the sports games... What genre defining and blockbuster games did it have? We don't need better-looking versions of a few good ones. It had those but couldn't justify price on that. Playstation and N64 had way more value for money in terms of content, esp original. Plus, did it play all your old games? That was a nice selling point of PS2's although not strictly necessary.

ZenoArrow 10y ago
> "What genre defining and blockbuster games did it have?" When you say 'genre defining and blockbuster', are you referring to the quality of the games or how much they sold? If you base quality on how many copies were sold, then you're not going to find what you're looking for. If you base them on the quality of the experience, then you will find what you're looking for. Consider the fighting game genre. What games in the 3D fighting genre were the equal of Soul Calibur at the time of release? The N64 had very limited choices in this regard (I had an N64 too, so I remember this well, best option was probably Fighters Destiny). The PlayStation had some decent 3D fighters, but again nothing I would favourably compare to Soul Calibur. Even the Playstation 2 didn't have anything I'd put above it within its first year (Tekken Tag Tournament was okay, as was Dead or Alive 2, though the Dreamcast had Dead or Alive 2 as well). I could go through a bunch of other high quality games that the Dreamcast had, but unless you've played them I doubt you'll believe me about how good they were.
- nickpsecurity 10y ago
  "If you base them on the quality of the experience, then you will find what you're looking for." Maybe both given nobody buying it might say something. Spreading like wild fire with people buying the consoles just to play the game... as was common with Nintendo and Playstation... would definitely say something. So, quantity matters. We can focus on quality, though. "What games in the 3D fighting genre were the equal of Soul Calibur at the time of release?" My memory problem is hurting me here as it's a gap. I do recall playing it and even bought strategy guide for artwork. I used to collect them for best games even if I couldn't afford the system/game. I recall really liking it. Tekken, esp Tekken 2, was the genre-definer in that one having come first, done 3D, and versatile style of gameplay. I played the crap out of Tekken 2 but did marvel at Soulcaliber's weapons and extra gameplay. Note: Interesting enough, the same team developed Tekken and Soulcalibur. "I could go through a bunch of other high quality games that the Dreamcast had, but unless you've played them I doubt you'll believe me about how good they were." Less imagination than usual, buddy. It's called YouTube and Google. :P Just list a few in different categories along with their predecessor or mainstream alternative on other consoles. I can see Dreamcast (or just coding) improvements by looking at both. Then, I can assess whether it was barely better, a substantial improvement, or gamechangingly better. To start with, I looked up Tekken 2 and Soulcalibur on Youtube on original, release consoles. Nice nostalgia moment. Tekken 2 looked like it ran on a system with barely any 3D hardware and tiny CPU. ;) Did have strong variety in fighting styles, particle effects, difficult gameplay, and some 3D movement. Now, Dreamcast was 128-bit instead of 32-bit, had almost 10x CPU speed, 15x polygons/sec, 8x RAM, 8x VRAM, and extra dedicated hardware. This was quantum leap in performance. Just the character screen shows the difference. To fight, characters look 3D for real with smooth animations and extra particle effects. Movement, plus cameras, in 3D was better. Use of combinations was smoother. Characters seemed to have less variety but seems to replace it with weapon use variety. Doing comparisons, Soulcaliber looks like a team started with Tekken on way better hardware then improved a few parts of its gameplay. It looks like a Tekken expansion pack rather than a gamechanger. A beautiful expansion that corrects significant deficiencies. Gotta pass on this one, though. Tekken's on PSX were game changers for 3D given style that continued to be imitated, number of original aspects, and sales volume. I'm impressed that Soulcaliber perfecting that style got it perfect scores by reviewers. What else you got? Whether I agree or not on impact it might be fun looking at them. Especially those I never got to play. Like when I watched Nightwarrior videos for the Saturn wishing I had it given all the neat artwork and moves. :)