The History of Dreamcast

IGN is offering up an extensive eleven-page history of Sega’s Dreamcast console, with a few select paragraphs covering some of the defunct system’s most popular RPGs.

When Bernie Stolar pushed to have a modem included with the Dreamcast, he envisioned a market where massively multiplayer online RPGs ruled the market. The DC never had a true MMO, but Sonic Team delivered the next best thing. Phantasy Star Online was a radical re-imagining of the classic series built around a social online experience. The MMO portion was limited to lobbies, and actual levels were four-player hack and slash, not unlike Diablo, but it was something new for console gamers, especially in Japan.

PSO was big enough to spawn a second DC version, and further revisions on the GameCube, Xbox, and PC. Sonic Team had successfully breathed a second life into two series teetering on death during the 32-bit generation. All that was left was the follow through.