John Zeitler

This has been a very interesting day, folks… obviously I want to talk about The Beatles: Rock Band, but I’m still working my way through the story mode (and getting blown away by the visuals for each song… gah, saving that for a later date). But, most of the gaming world (that hasn’t been playing TBRB) has been noting with some bittersweet memories the tenth anniversary release of the Dreamcast. On September 9th, 1999, the machine that was heralded with cries of “It’s Thinking” was released in North America, ringing in the beginning of the Sixth Generation of Gaming. While some people today scoff at the console– and with good reason, as it had the legs cut out from it when Sega departed the consumer hardware business– it still holds a dear place in many gamers’ hearts. For me, two things make the machine notable. The first is that it’s the first piece of Sega hardware that I owned, and the first console I purchased with my own job wages. The second is due to the commercial for one of the more notable games on the machine, whose Japanese commercial is below.

I think I paid $30 for Chu Chu Rocket when I first bought the Dreamcast in June of 2000. I went into a pawn shop on the way home tonight and reclaimed a copy of the game, in nearly-perfect condition, for $2.50.

I don’t regret either purchase.