Interview: Kerry of Nerdballoon.com Discusses SEGA and The Dreamcast

Consoles, Interviews — By Jeffrey L. Wilson on September 12, 2009 at 1:26 am

nerdballoon Interview: Kerry of Nerdballoon.com Discusses SEGA and The Dreamcast This week has been all about remembering and honoring the Dreamcast with our friends from around the Web. Today, we conclude our 10th anniversary coverage with Kerry, co-host of The Lunchpail Platoon Podcast, which you can find at Nerdballoon (you may also know him as the host of the wonderful Project D). We’re talking Dreamcast, folks!

What does 9.9.99 mean to you?

Honestly, it means nothing to me. I grew up with Nintendo’s series of consoles, and it was the only platform I’d know until I got into PC gaming around 1993 and never looked back.

I take it that you didn’t get a system on launch day.

I did not buy the system on launch day. I was having such a great time playing on my PC that I had no interest in purchasing another platform. It wasn’t until a few years later that a roommate and good friend of mine brought the Dreamcast into our house and before too long we all fell in love…with the console that is.

So what were some of your favorite Dreamcast titles?

Soul Calibur – A graceful fighter years ahead of it’s competition.

Jet Grind Radio - The art style was incredible, the gameplay was tight and innovative, you had multiple paths to your goal, the animation of the characters was very well done. I just had a ton of fun with this one.

Shenmue - I enjoyed the RPG elements of this game as well as the impromptu fighting sequences.

Resident Evil: Codename Veronica – The best in the Resident Evil series up to that point.

Sonic Adventure – Took the speed of the older 2D Sonic games and successfully translated it to 3D.

Virtua Tennis – Still regarded as possibly the greatest tennis simulation ever.

Before SEGA pulled the plug on the Dreamcast, did you get the sense that the company had learned from its past?

I think SEGA learned from their mistakes, but it was too late to recover from them. With their reputation in the industry so badly damaged in the previous years coupled with the looming release of the PS2, XBOX and GC along with the ongoing success of the N64 and PS1, there was simply no reason for someone to take a chance. I do believe they gave it their best effort which is evidenced by fantastic games, an attempt to bring online play to the console and graphics that were ahead of their time. SEGA made the best of a bad situation, and that’s why it regained our love and won our forgiveness in the end.

That said, would you like to see SEGA dabble in hardware again?

The world needs another console as much as Halo needs another sequel. There is an abundance of horrible games right now flooding the market and the last thing gamers need is another platform to play them all on. I would like to see SEGA continue to develop software titles only and hopefully put forth the same level of effort and ingenuity they showed years ago.

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More 2D-X News, Features, and Reviews:

Interview: Terry “Valkor” Lewis of The Other View Talks SEGA and The Dreamcast

From Genesis to Dreamcast: A SEGA Reflection

Interview: Daniel Lloyd and Joshua Shabtai, Hosts of NYC SEGA Dreamcast Birthday Bash

SEGA Dreamcast: 10 Years of Joy and Pain

Virtual Vox Pop: Should SEGA return to hardware?