When I think of a person that’s truly a fan of SEGA’s body of work, no one comes to mind before Terry “Valkor” Lewis, editor-in-chief of The Other View.  From the Genesis’ time to the present day, he’s stuck faithfully by SEGA’s side. Today, he’s here to talk Dreamcast as our week-long reflection continues.

What does 9.9.99 mean to you?

SEGA lost a lot of fans after the debacle with the 32X and the Saturn, though for me the SEGA Saturn was a hardware hit, and I loved it for what it was worth. But to me, 9.9.99 was the day that I thought Sega would rise above their past mistakes and regain their hold on the gaming world. To me it meant a world of games that I couldn’t get if I bought a Sony PlayStation 2 or even an N64 or GameCube. I didn’t wanna play the cutesy Mario type games popular with Nintendo, and I didn’t wanna deal with the mediocrity of PS games. I wanted a unique gaming experience that only the guys at SEGA could give me. And here’s how true to the course I stayed; I didn’t buy a PS2 until 2004! I simply wasn’t excited about PlayStation as I was for my Dreamcast.

Same here. The Dreamcast was the last system that truly captured me, but I didn’t purchase it on launch day. Did you?

I didn’t buy the Dreamcast on launch day. I’ll admit I was a bit apprehensive about picking it up, but not because of their past mistakes. I just wanted to see what was coming down the pike when it came to software. Sonic Adventure was everyone’s first choice as was mine. I enjoyed it, Hydro Thunder, and Power Stone.

What were some of your favorite Dreamcast games?

Well, Sonic Adventure, had its moments, but my favorite game was Sword of Berserk, and  the most unique and strangest game: Seaman. Remember the bad jokes related to that game? Crazy Taxi 1, 2 and the grand daddy of racing games Daytona 2001. If I’m not mistaken that was the first game to tout online play over 56k modem.  However, to name just a few more titles: Dynamite Cop 1 and 2 (aka Die Hard the Arcade), Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Jet Grind Radio, Space Channel 5, and Skies of Arcadia.

Some critics say that the reason that the Dreamcast is so beloved is that it died before SEGA had a chance to drop the ball, but SEGA appeared to have  learned from the mistakes of past consoles.

When it came to the Dreamcast, yeah, I believed SEGA learned from the past as well. First and foremost, the system was easier to develop on. Secondly, it had strong and unique first party titles famous for what SEGA was known for. This was their time, but sadly the old SEGA fans jumped ship into Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft waters. Those who have been burned by the Sega CD, 32X, and Sega Saturn didn’t want to return because they felt cheated in the past.

But if you ask me, the only piece of hardware Sega screwed up was the 32X. I loved the Sega CD. And in turn came the bad word of mouth from said gamers such as “Don’t buy Sega’s Dreamcast, it sucks and it has no games. Get Sony, they have tons of games.” Which was true, but most were mediocre to down right awful.

Now the tough question: would you like to see SEGA get back into hardware game where, chances are, many of its titles would be console specific, or do you like the idea of SEGA games being cross console?

Let me answer the second question first. First party games – - and I might receive some flack on this – - help move the system because they’re titles that are specific to that system. Thus, first party games really do help move a console more because you’re getting something the other consoles aren’t getting. Third party games like Madden, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and the most recent game I’ve purchased, Batman Arkham Asylum, are games you can find on any system you (except the Wii), so to make your console better than the other guys you need strong first party games.

But that’s not to say you shouldn’t have strong third party games because it’s the 3rd parties that will push the console further. And this is where SEGA rocked, because they have a long list of quality first party games, a lot which came from successful arcade games. I don’t see why they can’t utilize that power once again to push a great console.

Now to answer your first question, SEGA should in fact return to the console market because I believe the market can sustain them. The Wii has a lock on the market because the system offers a wide variety of games, not just more of the same like Xbox, and is definitely doing better than the PS3 which is now starting to get its legs in gaming. To me, the PS3 is a multimedia device first and and game system second. The SEGA Genesis and the Dreamcast were SEGA’s best systems simply because they offered a wider variety of games that would make any and all gamers, from the casual to the hardcore, happy.

Some of my happiest times as a gamer were during the SEGA/Nintendo wars. Yes the SNES was better in terms of graphics and audio, but the Genesis had the better lineup when it came to variety especially first party games. Beyond Oasis, Gunstar Heroes, Dick Tracy, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Ecco the Dolphin, E-Swat, Strider, Altered Beast, Streets of Rage (1 and 2), and Golden Axe are games either Sega developed or published – - and they were great. If I could stack my SEGA Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast games compared to the PS1, 2 and 3, SEGA would win hands down.

Am I a fanboy? Yes, but I know where to find great gaming and SEGA knows how to produce great games. If SEGA did re-enter the console market, I’d like to believe, nay HOPE, they would bring back the days of the Genesis and just put out some great and unique titles.