Released in 1998/1999, the Sega Dreamcast is Sega’s final console. Part of the sixth generation of consoles, the Dreamcast competed with the PlayStation 2, GameCube & Xbox. The Sega Dreamcast launched over a year before the PS2 and over 2 years before the GameCube & Xbox.
Following the commercial failure of the Sega Saturn, the Dreamcast was designed to be as cost-effective as possible for Sega to produce. This involved fewer custom chipsets and utilising more off-the-shelf components.
Significantly, Sega had learned their lesson from the Saturn launch and ensured the Dreamcast launched with a number of solid titles. This (almost) includes the next full Sonic the Hedgehog game, Sonic Adventure. This certainly helped with pre-orders of the system, but unfortunately, the game was delayed by several weeks after the system’s release.
System sales targets were hindered by a supply issue of some key components. Another unfortunate turn of events was that Electronic Arts declared they would not develop games for the Dreamcast. EA was very much up and coming in the sports game sector at the time, so was certainly not a positive for the launch.
Sega produced an excellent console in the Dreamcast, pioneering with online functionality, unique controllers and delivering a technically strong system. Unfortunately, previous mistakes, changes in leadership and the hold that Sony established on the market all caught up with Sega. Having sold just over 9 million units, it was announced in January 2001 that Sega would cease production of the Dreamcast. Not only that, but Sega also announced they would be developing games for rival platforms. This ended a proud history of Sega producing consoles.
Sega still operates to this day producing games for a number of platforms. Most notably, for their old rivals, Nintendo.
How To Emulate This System?
Sega Dreamcast emulation is reasonably well catered for, we recommend taking a look at RetroArch if you are seeking an all-in-one solution. RetroArch emulates a large number of systems including the Sega Dreamcast. RetroArch is a front end that utilises emulator ‘cores’, it is reasonably easy to use and has lots of good supporting documentation on how to use it. RetroArch is available across a number of platforms including Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Raspberry Pi and many consoles. Take a look at our quick start guide for RetroArch which can get you up and running in 5 minutes.
Also, check out the other Sega Dreamcast emulators we enjoy using:
| Emulator | Description | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| DEMUL | DEMUL is a well-established Sega Dreamcast emulator for Windows | Windows |
| Reicast | Reicast is an excellent way to play Sega Dreamcast games on your Android device | Android |
A lifelong avid gamer and computing enthusiast, Matt has decades of Retro Gaming experience. Now over 40 years old, Matt now even considers himself retro, but fortunately, nobody has developed a Matt emulator (not yet at least!).
