10 Ways The Sega Dreamcast Was Ahead Of Its Time

1. Online Play

Sega Dreamcast
Sonic Team/SEGA

We might consider online gaming as a relatively modern phenomenon, but it's been around almost as long as the internet has been a thing - and it's been a thing about as long as games have been around.

University students were sharing games on local networks as far back as the '70s, as college dorms swapped the sickness of alcohol-fuelled shindigs for The Oregon Trail's frequent dysentery. As the name implies, Multi-User Dungeon (more commonly known as MUD1) took things a step further, allowing a whole group of players to adventure and die together without the need for a six-sided die.

The N64 was the first machine to allow four players to compete straight out of the box, but in 1996 anything more than that seemed a long, long way off. Widespread net play might as well have been a hover-car. Then, suddenly, the Dreamcast made it a reality.

Consoles had been able to connect to the internet before - the NES had its own modem, designed by Atari guru Nolan Bushnell - but none had ever allowed it on purchase before Sega's beautiful white box.

With a modem already in place under the hood, users could hook the Dreamcast up to a phone-line and start enjoying the bounteous pleasures of online gaming from day one (provided it was Chu Chu Rocket!).

Endearing as Sonic Team's mouse-shepherding puzzler was, it wasn't exactly the greatest advert for the exciting possibilities of online multiplayer. Phantasy Star Online, on the other hand, was - a game so far ahead of schedule in terms of industry expectations that it was ridiculous.

It's impossible to imagine the console scene without online gaming now; it's so ubiquitous that many games have abandoned the tradition of local multiplayer altogether. Apparently bringing people together means keeping them apart. The Dreamcast can claim responsibility for confining a whole generation of gamers firmly in their bedrooms.

Maybe it's for the best.

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Eyes open and minds blown? Let us know in the comments what you make of the time-travelling Dreamcast!

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.