SEGA fans celebrate the Dreamcast's 20th anniversary by sharing their favorite memories of the console from their childhood on social media.
SEGA made headlines when it finally debuted the much-awaited Dreamcast on Sept. 9, 1999, an event which went down in history as "9.9.99."
The Japanese video game maker had been looking to the console's release as its last-ditch effort to revive its hardware business after flubbing the SEGA Saturn nearly five years ago.
While the Dreamcast was certainly a technological marvel at the time and drew significant interest from fans when it was launched, it failed to sustain its momentum due to several issues including stiff competition from Sony's PlayStation 2.
In 2001, SEGA announced the discontinuance of the Dreamcast, ultimately ending the company's foray into video game consoles and forcing it to switch exclusively to software development.
Despite its relatively brief run at the turn of the century, the SEGA Dreamcast still enjoys a small but dedicated fan base today. Many of these gamers went online on Monday to reminisce about the console in time for its anniversary.
Looking Back On The SEGA Dreamcast (#Dreamcast20)
Peter Moore, CEO of the Liverpool Football Club and former President of SEGA of America, remembered the Dreamcast for ushering in online gaming. He said the console somehow allowed gamers to play video games via a 56K dial-up modem.
Moore also praised the line up of game titles that launched alongside the Dreamcast, which he said helped endear the console to people's hearts.
@Wario64 chimed in on #Dreamcast20 with his experience using the SEGA Dreamcast. He said the console was the first non-Nintendo unit he owned and that he enjoyed playing Phantasy Star Online on it for hours.
Twitter user @Oldskoolbball1 looked back on the SEGA Sports-published NBA2K, which is the first installment in the video game franchise that's still going strong today. He said anyone who played the game on the Dreamcast back in the day was a "true basketball fanatic."
Meanwhile, @TwainOnGames shared his reasons for loving the Dreamcast. He said the console had an amazing roster of role-playing games, 2K sports games, shooters, and fighting games. He also lauded SEGA for experimenting on offbeat titles such as Seaman, Typing of the Dead, and Samba de Amigo.
Other fans honored their beloved Dreamcast by sharing old photographs and artwork featuring the console.
The Dreamcast's Legacy Lives On
Gaming website Nintendo Life recently polled its readers regarding SEGA's supposedly plan to bring Dreamcast games to the Nintendo Switch. It asked fans whether they want to see a Dreamcast Collection released, or for the SEGA AGES line to include a choice number of Dreamcast games instead.
More than half (55 percent) of survey respondents said they prefer SEGA to come out with a limited number of Dreamcast games that have been reworked for the Switch, while 45 percent said they want to get as many games for the Nintendo console as possible.
