Category:Sega Dreamcast

The Sega Dreamcast (code-named "Blackbelt", "Dural" and "Katana" during development) was Sega's last video game console, released on November 27, 1998 in Japan, on September 9, 1999 in the United States and on October 14, 1999 in Europe. Based on a similar hardware structure as Sega's NAOMI arcade machine, it was designed to supersede Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo's Nintendo 64.

Although generally considered to be "ahead of its time" - it was the first console with online gaming out of the box and high-definition output (at 480p via the VGA adaptor) - and a strong debut in the American market, the Dreamcast failed to gather enough momentum before the release of the PlayStation 2 a year later.

After the Dreamcast was discontinued, Sega withdrew from the console hardware business, becoming a third-party developer. In this position, Sega have released numerous games for Microsoft's Xbox, Sony's PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo GameCube, with reasonable success.

Notable features[edit | edit source]

• Four controller ports
• Up to 8 memory card slots in controllers
• Built-in 56k modem for online play and internet browsing
• Modified version of Microsoft Windows CE to port existing PC games to Dreamcast
• Hi-def VGA output via an adaptor