And so it has come and
gone. September 9, 1999 has passed us by and become a defining date in video
gaming history. Long from now, people will ask "where were you on 9/9/99?" and
eyes will gloss over as sweet memories of the Sega Dreamcast come flooding back
to mind. Well… okay... maybe that's taking things a bit too far, but it will
definitely NOT be a day or experience that this gamer will soon forget.
The strangest thing about the Sega launch is the hype that surrounded the machine. No doubt the name Dreamcast was on everyone lips, and the comparisons between it and its immediate and future competition kept many on edge. But despite all the talk and all the hoopla I never once saw an official Sega advertisement. Not a one. Not on TV. Not on the radio. Even in magazines the ads were few and far between. About the largest advertisement I witnessed was the appearance of the Sega Dreamcast name on the Arsenal football club's kits (English Premiere League Soccer for those who don't know).
But let's back up a bit, and look at how I came to the September 9, 1999.
When I first heard about Sega's new machine, I was a little wary but still interested. I am a video game fanatic and the announcement of a new Sonic game had me intrigued. So, when Electronics Boutique began to pre-sell the units I put my money down. No price was set yet, and the game list was miniscule. Now, as I usually do, I set a limit on what I planned to spend on day one. I figured that about $500 would be enough. (remember, this is in Canadian money… so multiply it by .65)
I didn't count on what
was to happen next. Magazines began to report on the Dreamcast games under
development and being enjoyed in Japan. My mouth began to water. How was I was
going to stick to my limit? 1 Dreamcast, 1 controller and VMU, and maybe 2
games? It seems an impossible task. To make matters worse, my EB brought in a
Japanese Dreamcast. Enter Power Stone. What a fantastic game! I played and
played, and soon I had found that I had pre-purchased my second game. I was
still nearly 2 months from launch and I had reached my limit. Clearly, I was in
trouble. Luckily I had begun to pay off the system in May by placing $200 down
the system. I figured that it was better to pay it off over the summer instead
of paying for it all at once. About a week after reserving and paying for Power
Stone, I saw a demo for Ready to Rumble, and began to see a lot of screens for
Blue Stinger. What was I to do?
I figured that $200 a month hadn't hurt that much, so I'd just keep doing it. Add Blue Stinger and Ready to Rumble. It was about this time that I also added the keyboard. Unlike the US release, the Canadian Dreamcast modem wasn't confirmed until only 6 weeks before launch. As soon as it was confirmed, I reserved the keyboard. I was sitting at about $600 and feeling good. I hadn't gone all that far over budget.
Next, enter Soul Calibur. One look at this title and you can understand my dilemma. As I did not have a "traditional" fighting game yet, I added it to the list. Yes, I know Power Stone is a fighting game, but it just isn't the same as say Soul Calibur, or VirtuaFighter 3tb, or even the old Fighting Vipers. Yikes… this was starting to get expensive. My friends at Electronics Boutique would smile whenever the looked at my "per-purchase" list asking me if I planned to "surface" for the weekend after the launch.
Horror struck… what if I have to work? I work shift work, so it was quite possible that I might not have to. As it turned out, I had to work the night of the 8th… 7 at night to 7 in the morning. That wouldn't do. So a quick request to the proper authorities and my night off was secured. *whew*
Next of my list of games was TNN Hardcore Heat. I had gone into my EB to pick up "Ape Escape" and played a demo of Sega Rally 2. I was very disappointed. Luckily, I recalled that there was another off road game coming out on the system, so I pre-purchased TNN Hardcore Heat. I had originally though to reserve Tokyo Xtreme Racing, but the sand and the buggies won me over.
Hydro Thunder was the next title I added to my list. Game #7. I added this game to the list for no other reasons than it looked damn sharp and because I had read two reviews where the reviewers stated that the game was just too much to believe (they were right!). With the added cost of this title, I canceled my pre-purchased of Final Fantasy VIII. I just thought "who am I kidding? like I'd have time to play it AND 7 Dreamcast titles." Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to playing FFVIII one day, but I figure I'll pick it up used. We are now a mere two weeks away from the release of the system.
Was the madness over? NO! 3
days, YES, 3 days before launch I visit my local EB to pick up some prizes for a
contest we ran when I saw Sega Sports NFL 2K playing in the background. After an
hour of playing, I was sold. I couldn't help myself! I have NEVER seen such
quality in a home football title. I mean, if you aren't paying total attention
to the TV it actually looks like a real game! The announcing was next to
flawless (at the time) and the play was phenomenal! I mean, the players were of
different heights, you could see their breath in the cold Denver air, their
clothes became muddy! People were sitting watching the game and yelling at the
TV! "Man! He should've had that! I could have caught that!" HELLO! IT IS A
GAME! But you know! I was doing it to! I was watching the plays, and
rooting, yes ROOTING for the Lions! I was sold. Game #8, the final
game for day 1 for me, was purchased.
Now there was nothing left to do but wait. I had been told by my friends at EB that they'd be open at 8am on Thursday, and that the store manager planned to be there at 7 to set up. I joked that I'd be there to help, and he said only if I had coffees. I went to bed 9.8.99 with the feel of Christmas eve. I knew tomorrow was going to be an interesting day!
On the morning of 9.9.99 I awoke to heavy drumming on my windowsill. Rain poured from the heavens as thunder rolled across the sky and lightning forked its way into the very heart of mother earth. Somehow, it was very fitting.
I jumped out of bed at 6am, had a quick shower and made my way to my EB. I visited the local Coffee Shop where I purchased coffees for the 3 EB employees and an ice tea for myself (never enjoyed coffee… great smell, but the taste... blech!). I then made my way to the mall. I'm sure that as I sat on the floor waiting for the store to open all the mall-walkers were wondering what this guy was doing holding a try of coffees staring into a video game store just as a puppy would look at a prospective buyer. Ten after seven… the manager was late!
Finally. he showed, and as he took the coffee he invited me into the store early. It was finally happening! We set up the store and talked, and then he began to put together my order! I added a carrying case, and a hint guide to Sonic Adventure (just in case!). As they were ringing me through though, I began to look at the back on NFL 2K. There I saw something that made my mind boggle. It required 191 BLOCKS of VMU memory! THE VMUs ONLY HAVE 200 BLOCKS!! So I quickly added 2 more VMUs to my list. The trauma wasn't over yet. I was told that due to border problems, Power Stone, Hydro Thunder and Ready to Rumble wouldn't be in until noon! ARGH!!! Why did I get up at 6am? Oh well… even if I had known they were to be late I still would have been there at 7.
There was only a small line up outside the store come 8am, but when everyone was in the store we were all abuzz. For everyone there (save the staff) it was a time of joy and requited hopes. I walked out of the store with two huge bundles in my hands. Yes, financially the damage had been done, to the tune of $950, but I never really saw the money go as I had been saving for 5 months. When I think about it though, I spent just over $800 on my Saturn day one, and that only came with 2 games and an extra controller. For only $150 more I ended up with all the above. So much more!
You all can imagine what the rest of the day was like. Yes, I did go back at noon, and I did retrieve my final games. The store was still packed and there was 7 more people standing around NFL2K watching the another game. I even overheard one man asking his friend if he could keep the system at his house so as to avoid a possible confrontation with his wife!
An now, it is the 10th. A day after the BIG day. I still have yet to play Power Stone or Blue Stinger, but have the Buffalo Bills sitting 8-0, have unlocked the Medium tracks in Hydro Thunder, have my AI trained in Hardcore Heat, learned my first moves with Ivy, and am on my way with Sonic Adventure. Was it all worth it? Hell yes. But you know, it has nothing to do with what you buy or how much you buy, as long as you enjoy what you have. As an example, There was a person at my EB who bought the system ONLY as they planned to rent games for awhile. And you know? He was just as ecstatic as we all were. There was a sense of belonging, and of a new era.
But am I crazy for spending so much? You might think so. But I'll let you in on something. About a month ago when I saw how much money the Dreamcast was pulling from me alone, and when people began to talk about 200,000 units possibly being sold, I began to think about Sega's position. The future looked mighty bright. Who'd have thought that they'd clear 300,000 pre-sold units! That is when I invested in Sega Stock on the NASDAQ (SEGNY).
Crazy you say? Let's just say…. the system paid for itself :).
For now I sit back, relax, and play the future, knowing full well that in only about a year from now I'll be going through all this again, only this time, it'll be Sony's turn.
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