I have just had the joy of finally playing my beloved Dreamcast online. And yes the year is 2006. It's inspiring to see the Dreamcast still kicking. A new shooter just came out and a few games can still be played online. (I just wish there were more available) My secret dream is that the Dreamcast will outlive the PS2, unfortunately it's not likely, but then again so was the idea of playing Dreamcast online in 2006. This is a welcome break after Oblivion. I just need to get my disk repaired after I pulled the DC off of my entertainment center and scratched up the disk. Alas I'm getting spoiled by wireless controllers. PS My Quake 3 review reflects the fact it is still playable.

I haven't played a game this much (other than Halo 2 online) possibly ever. I put 80 into Final Fantasy Tactics but that tops the list. Here are my stats and misc facts: I have never seen an Oblivion gate. I have not visited Cheydinhal, Kvatch, or Anvil. I am not in the fighters guild and have only had only one invitation to do so. I am not in the Dark Brotherhood. I have never been in the arena. I do not fast travel and I do not wait. I have not bothered to care about the main quest. 62 days have past and 78 Hours slept 16 active quests (2 of them houses I refuse to fill) 34 Quests completed 891 Creatures killed 256 People Killed 1231 Potions Made 4 Houses 157879 gold Wow, it seems like a mixed bag. I have played so much and done so little. Thats what I get for Dungeon Crawling.

Why should companies make new content if they can't make money off of it? You already bought the game. Why take the time when they could be working on your next project? [Obviously patches should be free. This is not what the question concerns.]

I used to be hard core. I played games all the time and read all I could. Then I became a collector I amassed 24 systems and over 500 games. My collection was a sight to be seen. Rare promos, standees, figures, rare titles, collectors editions, all with case/box and instructions. Poy Poy, Snatcher, Gunners Heaven, Jack Brothers, the finest and the fairest. But then I hear the words digital distribution. At first I think no way. It will take to long to download and for computers they are always crashing and you need hardcopies. Now I think 5 years left. 5-7 years until people are plugged into high speed internet. People will download games to their system of choice and play. No case, no instructions, no promos you can hold onto. No materialism in the material. No collection to show off. (See ‘Tips and Tricks’ magazine column Room of Doom for examples) Nothing left to hold on to. And when the system is done it’s over. Just a memory and no dragging out the old system to go down memory lane. All that has been amassed will be a relic of old times not related to the games of the future. Because what is a record to an MP3? No more collecting. Being hard core will soon only be about how much you play and not what you play and where you got it. This will soon be the end of a gaming era.

When was the last good system launch??? Has there ever been one? I can’t remember one and I have 24 systems. Launches used to happen earlier in the year (September) so there were more systems available by Christmas. So lets break it down by system. XBox 360- shortages, no system seller PSP- only sequels of old games, no system seller DS- no system seller, no games GC- hard to find, no games (only Mario) XBox- shortages, bombed in Japan GBA- dark screen, hard to find (best launch on the list and it’s a handheld) PS2- shortages, no good games, 25% defective rate (I sold them. I counted) Dreamcast- shortages at launch, memory card shortages, already in shadow of PS2 N64- hard to find, no games (only Mario) PS1- hard to find, shortage of memory cards Saturn- $400, no games, hard to find SNES- shortages, few launch titles, cartridge shortages Genesis- controller shortage Everything before this I was too young to remember. Searching for the system wasn’t my job. Mind you this is a summary. Yes some systems did have games near launch but were they worth while, memorable, or just plain any good. We now get more launch titles then ever before. But you don’t get a game in the box and it’s not made by Myomoto. This is probably the biggest difference: memories of going home with a new system and playing a great game, something really new that showed off why the new system was so great, right from the start. PS2 had to wait six months for GT3 and nine for GTA 3 but the DVD player is what sold it. I still do not own a stand alone DVD player. I believe people think that at one time there was a golden launch with 4 perfect launch titles, systems in stock for everyone, and they all worked. Sorry to burst the bubble, I even remember game chip shortages. We don’t have those anymore thanks to CDs. If anyone can think of a great launch post and let me know but I can’t recall a launch without a shortage of something, Any ways please stop ripping on 360’s launch, PS2’s sucked worse at their launch and PS3’s isn’t looking good and I am OK with that. But please, for the love, before you hate on how so and so’s launch sucked find me one in Ten years that didn’t. PS: SNES may have had the best launch. Out in late August, you had 4 months to get one before xmas, Super Mario World as a pack in with two controllers. F-Zero, Pilotwings, and Populous were innovative launch titles that you couldn’t conceive doing a generation before. It had a brand new controller that added 4 buttons. The system boasted music that sounded like real instruments and so many more colors than had been seen before at once. This was a great launch to those who experienced it. But people complained of not having enough systems and not enough games at launch and that Genesis was better. People seem to dream up what they expect a launch to be and when it doesn’t happen they flame it.