On November 27th 1998 Sega began the Sixth Generation home console era with the launch of the Dreamcast in Japan.  A state of the art machine that was in every way a huge leap in gaming. Four controller ports as standard, a new higher capacity GD-ROM format and the ability to allow users to play together online it were just some of the reasons to get excited. Released in North America on September 9th 1999 with Europe following shortly afterwards on October 14th it was designed to deliver true arcade quality gaming in the home for an ultra competitive price. 

 

Unfortunately it failed and in doing so forced Sega to cut it's losses and retire from the hardware scene. Thankfully it managed to deliver a ton of incredible games.