Should I buy a Dreamcast?

[Neku]

So I'm thinking of buying one but alot of people have turned me off it simply because the system is old and they say the games wont be good. What do you guys think?

[Jenkins]

The SNES is even older and the games are even worse... -_-"

Buy a Dreamcast and try it out. You will find games that you will love! What is your favorite genre?

[Neohound]

There's no reason, just because a system is old, why it shouldn't provide plenty of entertainment. Great literature, centuries old, is still appreciated today. Seventy yr old movies can still stand up as can music from the last five decades. Why not apply that logic to games ?

The likes of Shenmue, Sonic Adventure 2, Quake 3 Arena, Headhunter, Unreal Tournament, Phantasy Star Online, Skies Of Arcadia, F355, Le Mans 24hr, 2K sports series etc etc are all on Dreamcast and still look and play like modern games.

You should be able to get a Dreamcast with a controller, memory card(VMU) and a rumble pack for around £35 0r $50. Games can be had for only a few dollars each. Or see the Download Section here for available games.

All in all it's a great system that you would be proud of. Ignore those people ignorant enough to put you off. They are fools.

[Maturion]

Those people who have turned you off don't know the Dreamcast. It's one of the best consoles ever released, and has some of the best games ever made (Shenmue I/II, Sonic Adventure 1+2, Soul Calibur...). Also, the community is just awesome. I mean, the console is about 13 years old, has been discontinued since over 10 years and new games are still in development, people still play online and our Dreamcast forums are very much alive.

The graphic may not be up-to-date, but well, you can't judge 10 year old games by their graphic. Super Mario World is still a lot of fun, and it's over 20 years old.

Buy a Dreamcast, and you'll be happy. It's just a great console.

[Neku]

This is exactly what I wanted to hear! As for favourite genres, I'm not really sure but I pretty much enjoy everything. You guys have convinced me to buy one.

A few things I would like to ask though -

1. How do you guys connect online? I was pretty sure SegaNet was down.

2. I found one on Amazon for $150 brand new, is it legit? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000 ... VF8NLQVVFB

Thanks for your help.

[pcwzrd13]

What I love about the Dreamcast is the sheer amount of unique games. A lot of DC games have never been released on other consoles. Here are just a few exclusive Dreamcast titles:

Alien Front Online
Shenmue 1 & 2 (It's worth picking up a DC just for these!)
Jet Grind Radio
Caution Seaman (Doesn't get more unique than this)
Ooga Booga
Dynamite Cop
Toy Commander

There are a ton more but those are some of my favorites. It's really not a big investment if you want to give it a go. The system can be found for around $20 and games are usually about $5 a piece. I recommend you get one, I guarantee you won't regret it.

[pcwzrd13]

This is exactly what I wanted to hear! As for favourite genres, I'm not really sure but I pretty much enjoy everything. You guys have convinced me to buy one.

A few things I would like to ask though -

1. How do you guys connect online? I was pretty sure SegaNet was down.

2. I found one on Amazon for $150 brand new, is it legit? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000 ... VF8NLQVVFB

Thanks for your help.

The easiest way to get online is with dial-up (you will obviously need a landline phone though) or by getting the Broadband Adapter but it's rare and expensive ($100 - $150). The other way is by setting up a PC-DC server, instructions for that are here:

http://www.maturion.de/dreamcast/mterlouw/

I never could get it to work but maybe you can. Only the games listed here still work online:

Phantasy Star Online
Quake 3 Arena
Maximum Pool
4x4 Evolution

As for the new Dreamcast you found, it's probably legit but there are better deals out there.

Here is one on eBay for $99:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SEGA-DREAMCAST-SYST ... 311wt_1139

I recommend just getting a used one but do what you want.

Edit:
I was mistaken. The DC you found isn't PAL. That's just what it shows in the first picture.

[Neku]

This is exactly what I wanted to hear! As for favourite genres, I'm not really sure but I pretty much enjoy everything. You guys have convinced me to buy one.

A few things I would like to ask though -

1. How do you guys connect online? I was pretty sure SegaNet was down.

2. I found one on Amazon for $150 brand new, is it legit? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000 ... VF8NLQVVFB

Thanks for your help.

The easiest way to get online is with dial-up (you will obviously need a landline phone though) or by getting the Broadband Adapter but it's rare and expensive ($100 - $150). The other way is by setting up a PC-DC server, instructions for that are here:

http://www.maturion.de/dreamcast/mterlouw/

I never could get it to work but maybe you can. Only the games listed here still work online:

Phantasy Star Online
Quake 3 Arena
Maximum Pool
4x4 Evolution

As for the new Dreamcast you found, it's probably legit but there are better deals out there. It's also a PAL version, is that what you are looking for?

Here is a US version on eBay for $99:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SEGA-DREAMCAST-SYST ... 311wt_1139

I recommend just getting a used one but do what you want.

First of all, how did you tell it was a used one? I live in Australia so PAL would be best but I didn't even know that was PAL.

And the reason it would be a better deal for me there is because the shipping to Australia from the US is quite a bit and for some reason Amazon does it cheaper, so it works out at roughly the same price.

[Neku]

So a NTSC console would work on a PAL TV, right?

[pcwzrd13]

First of all, how did you tell it was a used one? I live in Australia so PAL would be best but I didn't even know that was PAL.

And the reason it would be a better deal for me there is because the shipping to Australia from the US is quite a bit and for some reason Amazon does it cheaper, so it works out at roughly the same price.

I didn't say it was used. I just said I recommend getting a used one. It would be a lot cheaper but that's up to you.

You can tell the difference between PAL and US by the logo. The PAL version has a blue swirl and the US has a red swirl. I edited my previous post, the one you found is US, I though it was PAL because the first picture is of a PAL version.