#dreamcast

#dreamcast

Surely Google could afford to let Dreamcast users keep checking the weather on their 27-year-old consoles? Why are games still launching without difficulty settings, only to add them in later when enough people don't play at launch? And what new sex jokes will Fortnite stumble into in 2026? It's the latest edition of Morning Checkpoint, Kotaku 's daily roundup of smaller gaming news and culture.

The internet was a very different place in 2000. That's true in countless ways, but one of the biggest is how much the feeling of connecting with other people online was one of hope, rather than tiresome and frustrating as it so often is now. Even if your view was less utopian, the internet was something so new that the possibilities felt endless, and that was as true in online games as it was anywhere else.

Sega's last home console system was released in America 26 years ago. The Dreamcast was the first console to include a built-in modular modem for internet access and online play, beating Sony's PlayStation 2 to the punch by a whole year. Despite its shortened lifespan, some of the Dreamcast's games, such as Shenmue, Jet Set Radio, and Crazy Taxi, are still revered for their innovation.