What is it with the Internet's Love of the Dreamcast over the Saturn?

I just don't get the internet's love affair with the Dreamcast. Espcally when it's older brother has everything the Dreamcast had and More of it Plus a more comfortable controller and to me anyway a more stacked library of games. Granted not many people online say bad things about the Saturn, they just act like the Dreamcast is the Jesuscast. The Saturn wasn't a Great 3d system no, but The games Sega did put out on it I think are more memorible than most of the Dreamcast fare.

It didn't do internet gaming on consoles first, we had X-Band before that. It's Controller was nothing special I find the Saturn 3d Pad much more comfortable to hold and it's analog stick less cheap feeling. The VMU never had enough space for a huge amount of saves and in 1999 cost quite a bit plus it's battery life sucked. Some of the ports were questionable (Notably Virtua Fighter 3tb and Sega Rally 2 the latter I don't think is that bad) It had alot of great games but for me the only one I keep going back to is Jet Set/Grind Radio. Not Shenmue, or Skies of Arcadia, or Ecco I do play sonic adventure 1 and 2 quite a bit though and I'm always going back to Border down (Hoping I can finally clear Stage 2)

Not saying I hate the Dreamcast now, I love it I have 3 of them I still collect for it I just wonder what exactly it is that makes people look at it and post on every Dreamcast video on You Tube "BEST SYSTEM EVER"

 

Here are some of my thoughts:

-DC had 3d sonic games and sonic is even still, a popular franchise
-although DC had some dodgy ports, Saturn had loads of those too
-screen in the controller was a cool and unique seeming concept (although the vmu wasn't that fun or exciting in practice imo)
-the DC and its controller look aesthetically unusual, while the saturn looks like a big box with a more typical looking game controller
-the major one: the saturn faded into obscurity in the US early and many casual gamers did not think of it as having a particularly interesting library of games, while the DC didn't fade, but rather, was cut off around its commercial prime while it was still pushing lots of units and was popular in the USA - I think of this as akin to the old music group The Beatles. They dissolved before large chunks of their audience got fed up with them, and as a result, they are treated with legendary status and their entire catologue is cherished to a ridiculous degree.

I like the Saturn and I like the Dreamcast as well, but my opinion is the opposite

 

Personally I love both the DC and the Saturn, but the DC has a special place in my mind because of Shenmue. It's worth it to own 2 or 3 Dreamcasts just because of Shenmue, imo. There are several other good games for it, too. I agree that the Saturn has a much bigger and diverse library, so it's cool for that reason. One thing that I like about the Saturn compared to the PS1 is that it suffers much less from polygon bending - that's something I don't hear people mention very often. I agree that the Saturn doesn't get enough attention, though.

Yeah... but The Beatles deserve their legendary status. I wouldn't call it "ridiculous" in any sense.

 

I personally think the Saturn is an well overlooked console. I don't own one myself, but would love to and it's an incredible 2D machine. I have a Dreamcast, and even though I like it, the controller IMO could have been better, and I feel like I've played most of it's best stuff, but I probably overlooked some games.

 

And that's fine and yes we all love Shenmue, but I never actually go back to play it.

If I could use the Saturn 3d Pad on the Dreamcast, I would be VERY VERY happy to my knowledge it's not compatible with the total control 3

 

simple: the saturn is the powerhouse for the 2D gamer, but...the dreamcast envisioned (with the whole onlineplay/community,DLC, motion & voice thing) & stands for gaming as it is today, & this over a decade ago. it is the only true grandaddy of this generation. it added so much extra to the regular 2D/3D gaming that consoles could do up to that point; personally I think its the console that contributed the most of all in terms of console evolution.
before the dreamcast companies simply made their consoles twice as powerful (more colours/better sound/better graphics) than their predecessors. then the dreamcast did something completely different. when it died, the other companies implemented all that the dreamcast stood for in their own machines & simply upgraded em again colour/sound/graphics wise. there is no innovation in this gen, thats why I still haven't got a ps3 or 360 and chances are it will be the same for next gen: the innovation part is gone...

 

I play Shenmue all the time. I probably play it at least 2-3 times a year.

 

The Sega Channel did DLC LONG before the Dreamcast did (and Dreamcast DLC was On disc DLC... so I CURSE THEM FOR THAT) Like I said before X-Band was doing online before the Dreamcast and even the Saturn had network gaming. So alot of the Dreamcast's "INNOVATIONS" were done else where, still by Sega on it's earlier hardware but before the Dreamcast none the less.

You can't go wrong owning either or both. The Games on both are so original and different from what tries to pass as games now.

I can't deny that Shenmue was innovative, every sandbox game now owes everything to Shenmue. I can't think of any other supposed flop that more people demand a sequel for than Shenmue.

 

True. But the console has the distinction of being online ready right out the gate. Xband, Saturn Link, those were all add-ons that were added later. With Dreamcast, you had hardware that allowed you to surf the web and at only fraction of the price Desktop PC's were asking for.

Saturn had WAY more questionably bad arcade ports (Virtua Fighter, UMK3, Marvel Super Heroes, House of the Dead etc.) than the Dreamcast! Nearly every NAOMI conversion on the dreamcast was near perfect or better than.

By the way... I love Saturn!!! But these day its prohibitably expensive to invest in most of its awesome software. Maybe that's a contributing factor to why the Dreamcast is popular today. The hardware is dirt cheap and its great software lineup is still rather affordable compared to other retro console prices.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta back to my Hydro Thunder runthough

 

Not sure about anything i could add to this topic, its food for thought for me.
I love all of Sega's systems.
However there is one thing i am sure of; Imo the saturn has the best gamepad EVER.

 

IMO:

You can played copied games on a Dreamcast from stock. You do not require 3 different mods that can cost a fair amount like you do for the Saturn.

Similar reason to why the PS1 was popular in its day (EVERYONE I knew had theirs chipped).


(To point out, I am not promoting piracy - just telling it how I see it).

 

No, you make a very valid point there! Like I said the system is dirt cheap and its software is easily attainable, especially when compared to the Saturn.

 

The Dreamcast still has it's Pricey games. last I knew Boarder down was going up and up and Up. I bought it for around $80 in 2004. Now some copies are nearing $200.

 

Well for every Border Down "pricey" on the Dreamcast I'll one up it on the Saturn with incredibly expensive titles like Panzer Dragoon Saga, Burning Rangers, Saturn Bomberman, Shinning Force, Radiant Silvergun, Alberts Oddessy, Alpha 3 and so on. A lot of these games are even more costly than expensive Dreamcast games

 

I love them both (Dreamcast and Saturn) so much! That typical question of, if stranded on an island and you could only have one, which would you choose...I wouldn't know where to begin!

 

And also since it died so quickly, it's probably easy to feel a bit sad for it. It's fun to root for the underdog, and that applies here, except the underdog already left the game.

I don't actually have one yet, so without playing it I can say that the name surely helps. Dreamcast... sounds so good, and is so fitting for the medium. Man is it cool.

 

Yeah, they are both amazing Consoles in their own right. I can't imagine how someone who likes the Saturn wouldn't be able share the same feeling towards Dreamcast or vice versa.

 

There are also a ton of dirt-cheap games for the Saturn.

 

True. But nothing on the saturn can compete in value with dirt cheap amazing titles like Soul Calibur, Jet Set Radio, Chu chu, Outtrigger, Dead Or Alive 2, Test Drive Lemans, MSR etc.

I just wish the saturn had a bit more variety when it comes to cheaply priced games like dreamcast does.

 

Some great Saturn games that can be had very cheaply: Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop, Sega Rally, Fighting Vipers, Fighters Megamix, Street Fighter Zero 2, Daytona USA, Nights into Dreams, etc. Also, Japanese Saturn games are often (though not always) cheaper than US games.