10 Ways The Sega Dreamcast Was Ahead Of Its Time

8. PAL 60 Resolutions

Sega Dreamcast
SEGA

In 1995, the Schengen Area was introduced allowing freedom of movement across the EU. For gamers, however, Europe remained a land with distinct borders - until the Dreamcast arrived three years later.

The difference between the North American/Japanese NTSC television standard and Europe's PAL format meant that whilst European broadcasts could display in a higher-quality (625 lines of resolution compared with 525, the latter leading to that distinctly 'fuzzy' look for early-'90s American TV), they ran at a lower frame-rate to compensate. This seemed a fair trade-off as far as television was concerned, but for games, it was a different story.

American and Japanese games converted for use on PAL systems rarely took advantage of the additional pixel real estate - often processing power simply did not allow it - and as a result European gamers were stuck with titles that were both slower than their foreign counterparts, and blighted by thick black borders on the frontiers of the screen.

Europeans wondered what all the fuss was about over Sonic the Hedgehog; the supposedly electric erinaceinae was practically plodding. Games of its ilk, sold on a gasconade of superslick celerity, seldom played with any pace on the continent.

Sega redressed the balance, the Dreamcast becoming the first console to allow blighted PAL players to finally experience games in the same way as their NTSC cousins - and sans borders. By giving European gamers a 60 Hz mode, the Dreamcast finally allowed the blue blaze to zip across their screens at his intended velocity

In this post: 
Dreamcast
 
First Posted On: 
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.