HAPPY SEGA DREAMCAST ANNIVERSARY 2011
The Dreamcast may be a long dead game console of the past, but it will never be forgotten. And although a little over a decade has passed, since the last SEGA game console launched on the market in 9.9.99, many fans including myself continue to reminisce and celebrate SEGA's final console.
And you have to understand, I was in high school at the time of the Dreamcast. An eager kid who soaked up gaming like a sponge. I wanted to be an artist after high school, and while most kids (would-be artists) were watching anime, and reading comics in their spare time as their way of absorbing art, I was playing videogames, and was exposed to many SEGA titles that inspired me in their design, and art style.
Though, before there was a Dreamcast in the house, my brother had a SEGA Saturn. Games like Panzer Dragoon, NiGHTS, Virtua Fighter, Guardian Heroes, and Astal opened my eyes, to the creative side of games out there.
The Dreamcast, was a big influence on me wanting to become an artist. If the SEGA Saturn was the gateway drug, the Dreamcast would be the hard stuff.
For me the Dreamcast started out strong, which got better over time, before SEGA decided to pull the plug. Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxi, Q3A, Power Stone, Virtual On, Virtua Fighter 3TB, Soul Calibur, Chu Chu Rocket, Sea Man, Shenmue, Phantasy Star Online, Skies of Arcadia to name a few. I spent hours with the wide variety of games, some more than others, Quickly the games collection grew. Including a collection of Dreamcast magazines.
I became hooked to the bizarre Seaman creature featuring narration by Leonard Nimoy. I trained hard with Virtua Fighter 3, racked up the score in Crazy Taxi, became immersed in the world of PSO, and Skies of Arcadia. I played Unreal Tournament and Quake III Arena with the DC mouse and keyboard, and even the Twin Sticks for Virtual On: OT. Jet Set Radio blew my mind with the urban art, and animation. Shenmue showed me the beginnings of a martial arts, sandbox epic. My gaming life revolved around the Dreamcast, and only the Dreamcast.
And you can't talk about the Dreamcast without talking about Rez, the epileptic, music driven rail-shooter game, which will forever be one of my all-time favourites. The flashing lights, and sci-fi theme was the epitome of SEGA's push to create unique gaming experiences.
And then there was Samba De Amigo...
This year, I'm doing things a little differently to celebrate the Dreamcast Day.
With a custom toy SEGA wishes they had made. ALBERT ART CUSTOM MAD*L SEGA DREAMCAST ANNIVERSARY TOY - 'SAMBA DE AMIGO,' stands 10inches tall without the hat, and took several weeks to paint. The toy I got earlier in the year from http://www.madtoydesign.com/. I waited months just to tie in the toy with the 2011 Dreamcast Anniversary. I'm so glad I have a chance to show it to all the Dreamcast fans.
This is a hand-painted, one of a kind piece of art that captures the mascot of Samba De Amigo. A game that was pre-Rock Band, pre-Wii, pre-Kinect, which utilized it's own unique peripheral SEGA Dreamcast MARACAS.
SAMBA DE AMIGO would be my 6th videogame theme custom vinyl toy, following Bonk, Bomberman, Megaman, M. Bison, and Ness. I do take commissions, so if you have a design in mind, just shoot me a message on http://www.facebook.com/pages/Albert-Art/45649548740 or http://albertart.net
And so, the sun sets on the Dreamcast, to some it was a failure, to others it was the best thing ever, but the games and gaming memories will live on.
Thanks for the memories Dreamcast.
AS SEEN ON:
DESTRUCTOID
TOYSREVIL
GO NINTENDO
GAMESETWATCH
SEGABITS
Plastic and Plush
