The Dreamcast launched in Japan in November 1998 and reached North America on September 9, 1999. Europe followed that October. Sega was already building internet connectivity in…

The Dreamcast launched in Japan in November 1998 and reached North America on September 9, 1999. Europe followed that October. Sega was already building internet connectivity into the console with a modem, at a time when getting a game system online was still unusual. It also had the VMU, that little memory unit with its own screen that plugged into the controller. Depending on the game, it could show extra information, and it could run little games away from the console too. Even the memory card had something else going on with it. There was a lot of variety in what Sega was putting out. Sonic Adventure took Sonic into a much larger 3D adventure. Crazy Taxi brought that frantic arcade driving home, while Jet Set Radio had its cel-shaded look, skating, and graffiti. Shenmue went much further into everyday detail, with a town to explore and people going about their routines. Phantasy Star Online was another important part of it. Getting a group together online to fight through areas and find equipment was something console players were going to see a lot more of in the years afterward. The difficult part of the Dreamcast's history is how short Sega's hardware run with it was. In 2001, Sega decided to stop manufacturing it and leave the home-console hardware business. That meant a system pushing connected play and unusual ideas became Sega's last home console. Its games and ideas carried on elsewhere, but the Dreamcast itself represents a very specific period when Sega was trying a lot of different things at once. There is plenty to talk about in that library beyond just how the system ended.