A Look Back at the Sixth Generation
Published Thursday, January 10, 2008 by T-Man | E-mail this post
It’s happenning. The sixth generation is having its last hurrah. Dreamcast was done in years ago, PS2 isn’t getting many games anymore in favor of the PS3, the Xbox is getting only as many as the PS2, and I don’t know if the GameCube is getting any support at all. The sixth generation was very important to me. I began my gaming life with the Dreamcast, and it has ultimately ruined me for life. Still, I owe it to games for bringing me much joy throughout the years, and why not reflect on the last generation for just a sec?
Name: Dreamcast
Release Date: Semptember 9, 1999
Manufacturer: SEGA
Predecessor(s): SEGA Saturn, SEGA 32X, SEGA CD, SEGA Genesis, SEGA Master System
Successor: None
Current State: Alive, but barely
This console is how I began my life as a gamer. I remember that day. It came with a demo disc, and it had several games on it. One of them, of course, was Sonic Adventure. I asked to play it and was granted permission. What followed was countless hours and days of playing that golden first level, Emerald Coast, eventually getting the real game for Christmas, and allowing it to ruin me for life. (I was only three years old, by the way) Thus, I owe it all to SEGA and Sonic for getting me into games. Maybe that’s why I like Sonic 360…
The system was a bit advanced for the time. It was released so early, and, while advanced, was technologically inferior to the PS2 and, thus, I rarely consider it a sixth-generation console, but it is, and that’s why it’s on this list. For one thing, it had many features that were the first of its time: 128-bit graphical processors, skipping ahead in expected specs of the next generation (72-bit or something around there was more likely), a GD-ROM (giga disc drive) drive rather than a normal CD-ROM drive for additional things like voice acting in almost every game, if not every, Memory Cards with screens, a feature that hasn’t returned to the gaming community yet, and out-of-the-box online that allowed you to download new content, a feature that has only recently returned to online consoles. These specs were the only things keeping the system from being a total flop, as the hype behind the PS2 was so great that the system would have otherwise flopped completely.
Please note that I said it would have flopped completely. While the system wasn’t a total backfire, it wasn’t a smash success either. When it came out, these features made it the most popular console at the time, but an improper release (in the middle of the PS2’s hype rather than waiting for it to come out and letting the fever die down), graphical inferiority, smaller discs (the GD-ROMS were not as big as the DVD-ROMS used by later systems), and inability to play DVDs (movies, not games) caused it to be left in the PS2’s dust. With the system’s failure in the same light as the SEGA Saturn, SEGA 32X, and SEGA CD before it, SEGA made the smart, but surprising decision to quit the console business altogether and rather develop for other peoples’ consoles, NFL2K2 being its last game.
And please note that I said that it was still barely alive. Some people still hack Dreamcasts and homebrew games, and it is a popular retro topic and is still widely regarded as ahead of its time.
Big Top Games:
I haven’t played nearly enough Dreamcast games, but I’ve played most of the ones that matter, I guess…
Sonic Adventure
I’m 99.9% sure that you expected this. How could I help it? It WAS the first game I played after all. Many today regard it to be extremely flawed, some even thinking it’s bad. Well, wake up and smell the burnt rubber, cause this is the best Sonic game ever released. So what if it’s flawed? It’s what brought me into games and is at least 120383789237892723 times better than Sonic Next-Gen, whether that game is good or not.
Shenmue
I’ve really only recently been introduced to this game, and when I was, I had fun, but there were still problems. I didn’t like using the D-Pad, and fights were once in a blue moon. In fact, I haven’t even played a single Virtua Fighter-esque one. Still, no one can deny that it’s a cool game.
Soul Caliber
An awesome fighter, indeed. It was apparently the sequel to Soul Edge, and, despite being first generation, had graphics almost up to snuff with its sequel!
Psychic Force 2021
The lost game of my childhood. I remember those days. I was so good at the game. While I remained stationary most of the time, since I wasn’t used to using the D-Pad to move, I had great fun noobishly fighting people with that blue-haired wonder, Emilio, who was my favorite character. Had only the game had English voice acting… I highly regard this game when I remember it, because it seems to be less prominent in my mind than almost any other game I’ve ever played.
Name: PlayStation 2
Release Date: March 10, 2000
Manufacterer: Sony
Predecessor(s): PlayStation
Successor: PlayStation 3
Current State: Still Gamin’
As soon as it came out, the Dreamcast was dead. Done. Finished. But in return, we got some REALLY awesome games and more powerful hardware. While the PS2 isn’t as popular anymore, I don’t have a PS3 due to that pesky high price tag. Well, whatever. Still, we have to admit that at least this was an awesome system.
Let’s face it. With a 1999 release, a year before the PS2, which was already getting a massive amount of hype, the Dreamcast basically only existed to whet gamers’ appetites for Sony’s new console. I mean, the PS1 was a big hit! With Squaresoft (now Square Enix) switching their Final Fantasy series to Sony consoles, and more of a focus on adult gamers (yeesh), they had it made, and getting a new console five years later with twenty times more power, bigger discs, and a built-in DVD player (which was a first at the time) was just MORE icing on the already very delicious cake. And thus, the Dreamcast, with its less powerful hardware, smaller discs, and inability to play DVDs was thrust into a vortex of failure. I mean, in stores, they were marketing the PS2 by having it play The Matrix! And this was all backed up by a myriad of great games, described below.
Big Top Games:
Keep in mind that the PS2 had several big top, awesome games!!
Final Fantasy X
By now this series had reached ten installments, and four of them were on Sony consoles. Since Square still hadn’t switched consoles, it was pretty much clear that all, or apparently most (because of Crystal Chronicles and a few others) would be on Sony consoles. This game was the first Final Fantasy with voice acting and the first without pre-rendered backgrounds, so…what more couldja want?
Kingdom Hearts
Not only did it successfully (some how) bring together Disney and Square characters, but it also had a great story and an even better sequel.
Jak and Daxter
I feel seriously guilty for never playing this game. I mean, it’s not like it wasn’t unbelievably awesome!
Ratchet and Clank
Same case here… I DID beat Ratchet Deadlocked, though…
Sly Cooper and the Thievious Raccoonus
While its two sequels were at least 20 times better, this marked the beginning of the series and thus appears on this list in their places.
Name: Xbox
Release Date: November 11, 2001
Manufacturer: Microsoft
Predecessor(s): None
Successor: Xbox 360
Current State: Still-a Goin’...I think
The Xbox was the rookie console of the sixth generation. Sony was the rookie of the fifth, and Microsoft was the rookie of the sixth. While the Xbox didn’t manage to reach the PS2’s threshold of popularity, it did manage to become quite popular, mainly due to games such as Halo and a Sony-esque focus on adults (GOSH, does ANYONE care about kids anymore?!!), and its successor, the Xbox 360, is the most popular console in America right now, while the Wii is the leading console worldwide (it’s because of Japan’s intense Nintendo obsession).
Big Top Games:
I haven’t really played any notable Xbox games, and I mean ANY, so the one I can’t play will have to appear.
Halo
While the M-rating prevents me from playing it, it’s a really notable game for the Xbox, as just about everyone plays it…
Name: GameCube
Release Date: November 15, 2001
Manufacterer: Nintendo
Predecessor(s): Nintendo 64DD, Nintendo 64, Virtual Boy, Super NES, NES
Successor: Wii
Current State: Unknown
Nintendo had released their new console in the beginning of the Xbox-Halo craze, and I’m sure that slowed down sales at first. Yet, unlike SEGA, Nintendo was too big to have a bomb on their hands (aside from Nintendo 64DD and Virtual Boy, but that’s a different story), and the GameCube, though not being as much of a success as its two competitors, managed to be very successful, and there was only one game that had saved it, described later.
While the Dreamcast was still producing games and the new millennia had begun, Dad took me to an Electronics Boutique and decided to buy me a Nintendo 64--the console I had off and on heard about, but never owned--and Super Mario 64 for seemingly know reason, and for himself Ogre Battle 64. I LOVED it, and as soon as I heard that Nintendo was making a new console, I had to have it! Thus, “Santa” (yeah, right) got me a GameCube and a couple of games.
The state is unknown because I am unsure whether some people are still supporting it or what.
Big Top Games:
Ooh, there’s a lot of ‘em, to be sure.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Wanna know the game that saved the GameCube if you didn’t already know? Well, here it is--the one game that made the GameCube the success it was.
Pikmin
While I’ve never beaten it, I really do like the game and think it was a great launch game.
Luigi’s Mansion
While we had to wait another year for Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi’s Mansion was enough to whet our appetites until then. It was short and easy, but an awesome game, nonetheless.
Super Mario Sunshine
While this was just essentially Super Mario 64 with a waterpack and tighter controls, it was an awesome game, still.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
I didn’t really find much fault with sailing. In fact, I liked it a lot. It was only a pain when you had to sail a really long way, like from Outset to Windfall, but whatever. And other than that, it was pretty much the same as Ocarina, so, anything goes.
There you have it! A look back at all four sixth generation systems, from Dreamcast to GameCube! I hope you enjoyed remembering this special generation--the generation during which I began my life as a gamer and a myriad of awesome systems and games came out. So, goodbye, and remember this word to live bye:
Don’t put old consoles in the past. Keep them in your memory.
Name: Dreamcast
Release Date: Semptember 9, 1999
Manufacturer: SEGA
Predecessor(s): SEGA Saturn, SEGA 32X, SEGA CD, SEGA Genesis, SEGA Master System
Successor: None
Current State: Alive, but barely
This console is how I began my life as a gamer. I remember that day. It came with a demo disc, and it had several games on it. One of them, of course, was Sonic Adventure. I asked to play it and was granted permission. What followed was countless hours and days of playing that golden first level, Emerald Coast, eventually getting the real game for Christmas, and allowing it to ruin me for life. (I was only three years old, by the way) Thus, I owe it all to SEGA and Sonic for getting me into games. Maybe that’s why I like Sonic 360…
The system was a bit advanced for the time. It was released so early, and, while advanced, was technologically inferior to the PS2 and, thus, I rarely consider it a sixth-generation console, but it is, and that’s why it’s on this list. For one thing, it had many features that were the first of its time: 128-bit graphical processors, skipping ahead in expected specs of the next generation (72-bit or something around there was more likely), a GD-ROM (giga disc drive) drive rather than a normal CD-ROM drive for additional things like voice acting in almost every game, if not every, Memory Cards with screens, a feature that hasn’t returned to the gaming community yet, and out-of-the-box online that allowed you to download new content, a feature that has only recently returned to online consoles. These specs were the only things keeping the system from being a total flop, as the hype behind the PS2 was so great that the system would have otherwise flopped completely.
Please note that I said it would have flopped completely. While the system wasn’t a total backfire, it wasn’t a smash success either. When it came out, these features made it the most popular console at the time, but an improper release (in the middle of the PS2’s hype rather than waiting for it to come out and letting the fever die down), graphical inferiority, smaller discs (the GD-ROMS were not as big as the DVD-ROMS used by later systems), and inability to play DVDs (movies, not games) caused it to be left in the PS2’s dust. With the system’s failure in the same light as the SEGA Saturn, SEGA 32X, and SEGA CD before it, SEGA made the smart, but surprising decision to quit the console business altogether and rather develop for other peoples’ consoles, NFL2K2 being its last game.
And please note that I said that it was still barely alive. Some people still hack Dreamcasts and homebrew games, and it is a popular retro topic and is still widely regarded as ahead of its time.
Big Top Games:
I haven’t played nearly enough Dreamcast games, but I’ve played most of the ones that matter, I guess…
Sonic Adventure
I’m 99.9% sure that you expected this. How could I help it? It WAS the first game I played after all. Many today regard it to be extremely flawed, some even thinking it’s bad. Well, wake up and smell the burnt rubber, cause this is the best Sonic game ever released. So what if it’s flawed? It’s what brought me into games and is at least 120383789237892723 times better than Sonic Next-Gen, whether that game is good or not.
Shenmue
I’ve really only recently been introduced to this game, and when I was, I had fun, but there were still problems. I didn’t like using the D-Pad, and fights were once in a blue moon. In fact, I haven’t even played a single Virtua Fighter-esque one. Still, no one can deny that it’s a cool game.
Soul Caliber
An awesome fighter, indeed. It was apparently the sequel to Soul Edge, and, despite being first generation, had graphics almost up to snuff with its sequel!
Psychic Force 2021
The lost game of my childhood. I remember those days. I was so good at the game. While I remained stationary most of the time, since I wasn’t used to using the D-Pad to move, I had great fun noobishly fighting people with that blue-haired wonder, Emilio, who was my favorite character. Had only the game had English voice acting… I highly regard this game when I remember it, because it seems to be less prominent in my mind than almost any other game I’ve ever played.
Name: PlayStation 2
Release Date: March 10, 2000
Manufacterer: Sony
Predecessor(s): PlayStation
Successor: PlayStation 3
Current State: Still Gamin’
As soon as it came out, the Dreamcast was dead. Done. Finished. But in return, we got some REALLY awesome games and more powerful hardware. While the PS2 isn’t as popular anymore, I don’t have a PS3 due to that pesky high price tag. Well, whatever. Still, we have to admit that at least this was an awesome system.
Let’s face it. With a 1999 release, a year before the PS2, which was already getting a massive amount of hype, the Dreamcast basically only existed to whet gamers’ appetites for Sony’s new console. I mean, the PS1 was a big hit! With Squaresoft (now Square Enix) switching their Final Fantasy series to Sony consoles, and more of a focus on adult gamers (yeesh), they had it made, and getting a new console five years later with twenty times more power, bigger discs, and a built-in DVD player (which was a first at the time) was just MORE icing on the already very delicious cake. And thus, the Dreamcast, with its less powerful hardware, smaller discs, and inability to play DVDs was thrust into a vortex of failure. I mean, in stores, they were marketing the PS2 by having it play The Matrix! And this was all backed up by a myriad of great games, described below.
Big Top Games:
Keep in mind that the PS2 had several big top, awesome games!!
Final Fantasy X
By now this series had reached ten installments, and four of them were on Sony consoles. Since Square still hadn’t switched consoles, it was pretty much clear that all, or apparently most (because of Crystal Chronicles and a few others) would be on Sony consoles. This game was the first Final Fantasy with voice acting and the first without pre-rendered backgrounds, so…what more couldja want?
Kingdom Hearts
Not only did it successfully (some how) bring together Disney and Square characters, but it also had a great story and an even better sequel.
Jak and Daxter
I feel seriously guilty for never playing this game. I mean, it’s not like it wasn’t unbelievably awesome!
Ratchet and Clank
Same case here… I DID beat Ratchet Deadlocked, though…
Sly Cooper and the Thievious Raccoonus
While its two sequels were at least 20 times better, this marked the beginning of the series and thus appears on this list in their places.
Name: Xbox
Release Date: November 11, 2001
Manufacturer: Microsoft
Predecessor(s): None
Successor: Xbox 360
Current State: Still-a Goin’...I think
The Xbox was the rookie console of the sixth generation. Sony was the rookie of the fifth, and Microsoft was the rookie of the sixth. While the Xbox didn’t manage to reach the PS2’s threshold of popularity, it did manage to become quite popular, mainly due to games such as Halo and a Sony-esque focus on adults (GOSH, does ANYONE care about kids anymore?!!), and its successor, the Xbox 360, is the most popular console in America right now, while the Wii is the leading console worldwide (it’s because of Japan’s intense Nintendo obsession).
Big Top Games:
I haven’t really played any notable Xbox games, and I mean ANY, so the one I can’t play will have to appear.
Halo
While the M-rating prevents me from playing it, it’s a really notable game for the Xbox, as just about everyone plays it…
Name: GameCube
Release Date: November 15, 2001
Manufacterer: Nintendo
Predecessor(s): Nintendo 64DD, Nintendo 64, Virtual Boy, Super NES, NES
Successor: Wii
Current State: Unknown
Nintendo had released their new console in the beginning of the Xbox-Halo craze, and I’m sure that slowed down sales at first. Yet, unlike SEGA, Nintendo was too big to have a bomb on their hands (aside from Nintendo 64DD and Virtual Boy, but that’s a different story), and the GameCube, though not being as much of a success as its two competitors, managed to be very successful, and there was only one game that had saved it, described later.
While the Dreamcast was still producing games and the new millennia had begun, Dad took me to an Electronics Boutique and decided to buy me a Nintendo 64--the console I had off and on heard about, but never owned--and Super Mario 64 for seemingly know reason, and for himself Ogre Battle 64. I LOVED it, and as soon as I heard that Nintendo was making a new console, I had to have it! Thus, “Santa” (yeah, right) got me a GameCube and a couple of games.
The state is unknown because I am unsure whether some people are still supporting it or what.
Big Top Games:
Ooh, there’s a lot of ‘em, to be sure.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Wanna know the game that saved the GameCube if you didn’t already know? Well, here it is--the one game that made the GameCube the success it was.
Pikmin
While I’ve never beaten it, I really do like the game and think it was a great launch game.
Luigi’s Mansion
While we had to wait another year for Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi’s Mansion was enough to whet our appetites until then. It was short and easy, but an awesome game, nonetheless.
Super Mario Sunshine
While this was just essentially Super Mario 64 with a waterpack and tighter controls, it was an awesome game, still.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
I didn’t really find much fault with sailing. In fact, I liked it a lot. It was only a pain when you had to sail a really long way, like from Outset to Windfall, but whatever. And other than that, it was pretty much the same as Ocarina, so, anything goes.
There you have it! A look back at all four sixth generation systems, from Dreamcast to GameCube! I hope you enjoyed remembering this special generation--the generation during which I began my life as a gamer and a myriad of awesome systems and games came out. So, goodbye, and remember this word to live bye:
Don’t put old consoles in the past. Keep them in your memory.
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