To paraphrase what somebody else said, the Dreamcast was a console that did everything right and STILL failed.  It's heartbreaking.  It didn't succeed because Sony promised (and I admit, it took a while but they delivered) a bettter experience.  I'll always love my Dreamcast.  It's like a child that died before its potential was reached (sorry, I just read Maus) and because of that, it's elevated to incredible status.

It also helped that Sony had trailers of CG graphics and then told everyone that it was actual gameplay. A trick they tried to do in 2005 with PS3 but failed miserably at.

It also helped that Sony had trailers of CG graphics and then told everyone that it was actual gameplay. A trick they tried to do in 2005 with PS3 but failed miserably at.

Have you played Soul Calibur on the XBLA or Soul Calibur 2 on the PS2,GC, or Xbox?  Well, the original was released right when the Dreamcast launched (within a few weeks, anyway) and it looked as good as the sequel.  Hell, some of the exact same animations were used.  Now, this was in 1999 when the graphical standard was the N64 and PS1.  It was the first glimpse into the future.  But I'll go on......

-The Controller:  Felt great and worked like a dream.  Those Analog Triggers that we love the 360 for were on the Dreamcast controller, first.  There was also two slots built into it.  You could plug in a "rumble pak" for force feedback, a microphone for voice control (and even communication!), and the VMU--it allowed you to take your saves with you and play mini games based on full games.  Plus, you could look at your controller and get stats, call football plays, etc. 

-The Console:  Featured a built in clock that tracked the date and everything.  A game like Seaman would tell you what day it was, who's birthday it was, how old you were, and everything.  It was used very well.  Before that, systems like the PS1 and N64 didn't include those in their design.  There was also the built in modem.  People could play games like Quake 3 vs PC owners.  That's rare, even today.  The Dreamcast was doing it way back when.

-Some even say that the Dreamcast had the first mass market motion controls.  I've never owned Sega Bass Fishing (I think that's the game) or Samba De' Amigo but these were the culprits.  Look them up if you're interested.

-And most importantly, The Library:  Video games are always evolving and improving so the games that were good then aren't impressive now.  Plus, pretty much every single Dreamcast game that was worth a damn got ported to the PS2, Gamecube, PSP, and Xbox (and the few that didn't got sequels that made the original game forgettable).  But when the PS2--possibly the greatest system ever--was released, the Dreamcast's library was leagues better.  While PS2 owners (myself included) only had games like Tekken Tag and Onimusha (good but not great), Dreamcast gamers were feasting on back-to-back fresh, amazing experiences that were ahead of their time.  My PS2 hardly got any play until the very end of 2001.  

-Basically, it was my first foray into Sega territory and the only time I feel that Sega did everything right.

• Shenmue (a game so detailed that you could go into any house and look in the drawers in the dresser)
• Crazy Taxi
• Grandia 2 and Skies of Arcadia--two of the best RPG's you could hope to find at the time
• Jet Grind Radio (Jet Set Radio) one of the first cell-shaded games, ever
• Quake 3-online vs PC gamers
• Space Channel 5 -one of the best music games ever, at the time
• Seaman -a game that let you talk to a virtual creature that would talk back
• Soul Calibur -considered for a long time as possibly the best fighting game ever
• Phantasy Star Online -an online RPG--ON CONSOLES?
• Resident Evil -Was still a big deal and every game in the series was released for the console (Code Veronica was exclusive for a long time--this was the REAL RE3
• Street Fighter Alpha 3/Marvel vs. Capcom 2/Street Fighter 3/ Mortal Kombat/ Virtua Fighter/ Powerstone/etc.  Made this THE console of choice for fighting game fans (was the best--sometimes the ONLY console for these games for quite a while)
• Perfect or better than perfect ports of Arcade games at a time when Arcades were still somewhat important
• Graphics that were so far beyond the competition that it was scary.

It was an exciting time and it was great to be a part of it.  A lot of the games have lost there luster but like someone said, you had to be there.  A lot of the things you take for granted now were brand new, then.  And for a couple of years, the Dreamcast was the best place to be if you were a gamer.