I got one just after launch (for xmas) I went and bought a vmu on launch just so I had something,and the vmus were cool af!
For xmas I got dc with sonic adventure, house of the dead 2 with the gun,soul calibur and Sega rally 2. My mate already had one so i had already played it but still I was so excited I had my own. My dc collection expanded as I had disposable income at the time but like many when the Xbox came out I traded the vast bulk of my pal collection towards one one (bad mistake) as it seemed to me to be like the dc spiritual successor with lots of dc ports etc in its early days.
I remember thinking that dream arena was awesome and browsing the internet for pictures of Kelly brook *ahem*
My gf who was heavily into Sony said to me recently the dc was way ahead of its time and I think she's growing to love it (she loves seaman)
The dc and Saturn represents to me my golden age of gaming where it felt genuinely exciting with the merging of home and arcade hardware and the types of games with the imagination you rarely see these days.
Anyway I'm rambling I will say I was there at the start, and there at the unfortunate end but what a ride!!
