What’s 10 in Hedgehog years? What’s 20? This year we were fortunate enough to witness two massively important SEGA console milestones: the anniversaries of the Genesis (20!) and Dreamcast (10!) consoles.

There’s something entirely awesome about a beloved console celebrating its 20th anniversary, and having gamers who were there during those early days look back with fond remembrance. Staying power is the real measure of success, and SEGA is still a household name (at least in the gaming circles).

Classically trained in the 8 bit era, I was fortunate enough to see many of the greats in their original states, including SEGA’s first claim to fame, the Genesis, which sold more then 29 million world wide. With games like Altered Beast, Castlevania: Bloodlines, Streets of Rage, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I was sold.

SEGA and its mascot Sonic the Hedgehog offered gamers a cooler, edgier alternative to Nintendo and Mario. SEGA continued with moderate success upon the releases of both the Saturn and eventually the Dreamcast. Unfortunately, they eventually lost the console wars. Still, Sega wasn’t down for the count; the company persevered and smoothly transitioned into a third party publisher and developer, but we must not forget it’s kickass hardware legacy.

Starting today, we’re toasting SEGA and the Dreamcast as we countdown the days to 9.9.99, the American launch data of SEGA’s final console. Join us and several of our friends as we celebrate the Dreamcast.