Year of Release: 1998 in Japan, 1999 in the US; New consoles discontinued in 2001, Refurbished consoles discontinued in 2006
Quick Overview: Widely acknowledged as ahead of its time, the Sega Dreamcast was the first console to be able to plug into the internet with a built-in modem. It took CDs instead of cartridges like the standard today, and it’s still possible to find new games, albeit they’re typically fan-programed freeware releases. It also marked Sega’s sixth and final home gaming console release, as they have no plans to follow up their failed system.
Best Game on the System: Crazy Taxi
The popular arcade game, featuring music from punk bands like The Offspring and Pennywise, was first released for the Sega Dreamcast and has subsequently been re-released for other gaming consoles due to it’s popularity. In addition to the original driving game where you play a taxi driver who gains money for picking up as many customers as you can and dropping them off before your time runs out, the console version had mini-games added in as well to spice up the title.
Reason for Downfall: Company wanted to focus on software
Although they had an advantage on the market, Sega decided to turn their efforts elsewhere when sales took a nosedive because of newer consoles that were being released by other companies. It actually was ahead of sales of the Nintendo 64 during part of its time, but when Sony released the Playstation 2 it was all downhill for the Dreamcast.
More on Techland:
Microsoft Unveils Launch List for Kinect, Upcoming Oprah Appearance