Sometimes you may have a really great idea – an idea supported by tens of thousands – and yet circumstances and timing may be so unfavorable that it becomes impossible for that idea to come to fruition. There was nothing wrong with laser-disk or HD-DVD movies, but the timing just wasn’t right. Today we remember our VHS tapes and watch movies on Blu-Ray, and that’s just how it goes. We have a lot of ideas and dreams as gamers. Some of these dreams are wonderful, and can’t become realities soon enough. I can’t imagine any time or circumstance in which an announcement for Half-Life 3 would be met with anything other than glee and hype. Some dreams, though… Some dreams just aren’t meant to be.
Have you heard of “Project Dream?” If you haven’t, they have a really brief mission statement that I’ll just quote right from their official website. “Our aim is simple – help Sega get back into console hardware and revive the Dreamcast.” These people are serious, and they’re methodical. “WIth your support, we are gathering ideas and putting together a proposal to help Sega relaunch the once revered console. This proposal will include a go-to-market strategy, hardware prototypes, and full user interface prototypes, all of which will presented at Sega HQ.” Project Dream has assembled a dream team built from the ground up to make this happen; a team of engineers, developers, and entrepreneurs. They even got a petition on change.org that gathered over 29,000 signatures.
Still sounding a little far-fetched? Get this: Project Dream has made contact with multiple suits at Sega Sammy, and they’ve been told to send in their proposal when it’s ready. Keep in mind, this isn’t a sure thing at all. In fact some of the updates sound a little desperate, celebrating the fact that Sega hasn’t flat out said no. They’re psyched that they’ve received “…a mildly inviting response.” The point is, this thing has a long way to go but it has a lot of momentum. If the Dreamcast is ever going to be revived, Project Dream is going to make it happen in 2016, and I’m afraid that the timing couldn’t be worse.
This doesn’t need to happen right now, and I say that as a huge Dreamcast fan. It’s my favorite console. Heck, my digital signature is on that change.org petition. Does that make me a hypocrite? I couldn’t help myself, I got swept up in the moment. I really would love for this to happen, but think about what’s going on right now. Sony and Microsoft are both working hard to continue expanding their dominance of the console market as their machines reach a healthy mid-point of their respective life-cycles. Meanwhile, Nintendo is disrupting the industry with the imminent announcement (and possible production) of the NX. There are three huge players in the hardware game right now, and they’re playing for keeps. Is there even room for a fourth?
We all know that it’s software that sells consoles, and I’m not sure that Sega has a carrot to hang on a stick right now. There hasn’t been a fantastic Sonic game in a long time, and there aren’t many other IPs that we associate exclusively with Sega anymore. What would we be dying to play that we could only play on a Dreamcast 2? Now if Sega held a surprise conference and just slayed the press with impressive tech demos and gameplay videos for a new Sonic Adventure, Power Stone, Jet Set Radio sequel, Panzer Dragoon remake, and a new Nights , I could see that doing the trick, but that’s a pipe dream.
While I have a feeling that the conditions just aren’t conducive to Sega getting back into the hardware business, Project Dream does have a plan B. “Should SEGA decide not to associate with the project, the team would like to carry on with a spiritual successor to the console.” This sounds more reasonable, and could actually turn out really well. With their team of specialists, I can imagine a pretty sick emulator / console hybrid getting funded on Kickstarter. A sleek Dreamcast tribute console with non-volatile memory and new controllers that can use original Dreamcast VMUs is something I would easily pay 300 bucks for. Secretly, selfishly, I’m hoping that this is what Project Dream amounts to. What about you guys? Do you think a Dreamcast 2 is possible? Would you even want one, or does an emulator / upscaling tribute console sound more appealing?