Dreamcast and Xbox: Brothers from Different Mothers?

Written by Marc DeAngelis

Wednesday, 16 September 2009 15:00

It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the Dreamcast was the last system with a soul. Yet I can't help but see some correlations between Sega's final console and Microsoft's two powerhouses. That's right - there are quite a few similarities between one of the most Japanese consoles and two of the most successful American systems. Hit the link for my blasphemous comparison.

The most obvious similarity between the Dreamcast and the original Xbox is the fact that the controllers are almost mirror images of one another. The first time I saw the "Duke" controller, I though, "...uh...Dreamcast?" The layout is practically the same: An analog stick on the top left and a D-pad underneath, four face buttons and two triggers. The Duke even has a big Xbox jewel where the DC's VMU would go. The only things that the Xbox controller has that the DC pad doesn't are the black and white mini-buttons, the Back button, and the second analog stick.

One of the Dreamcast's coolest features was its ability to jump on the Internet right out of the box. Microsoft was definitely impressed by this, since they were the only other console manufacturer to implement built-in Internet connectivity. This is of course opposed to Sony and Nintendo, who sold their modems separately and barely supported the technology. The Xbox was clearly the continuation of the Dreamcast's Net legacy.

Remember that little logo on the front left of the Dreamcast? It said "Compatible with (or Designed for depending on the system) Microsoft Windows CE." Officially known as Windows Embedded Compact, this minimalistic operating system is designed for hardware with very little storage capacity, such as Palm Pilots (ah, the '90s) and, well, game consoles. While WinCE wasn't a constitutive element of the Dreamcast's architecture, it was a foot in the console market's water for Microsoft. Most games that were built on WinCE and it's DirectX6 technology were glitchy or had framerate issues, but more PC-like apps, such as the DC modem dialer and web browser were quite solid.

Ignoring the fact that the Xbox makes for a fantastic Linux box, its custom operating system is based on Windows NT. This made the process of porting PC games to the Xbox a nearly painless process - a good strategy on Microsoft's part. Ever wonder how the Xbox got such faithful ports of Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 (which looks un-freakin'-believable for a 128-bit game)? It's probably because the Xbox was pretty much a Pentium III gaming rig disguised as a console.

So while the Dreamcast and the Xbox do have very different hardware architectures, they sure do share some aspects, including DirectX technology and and a Windows backbone for their more PC-like functions like Internet play.

The Dreamcast even has some similarities with with Xbox's big brother, the 360. As I've pointed out many times before, the Dreamcast is a treasure trove of excellent shoot 'em ups and 2D fighters. While physical releases are far less frequent these days, the 360 is home to many great games of the same genres. Import lovers can download DC classics like Ikaruga, Triggerheart Exellica, and Mark of the Wolves as well as some originals such as Omega 5. Shoot 'em up support is even more impressive in Japan, where the legendary development team, Cave have licensed many of their arcade shooters to be ported to the 360. The 360 is definitely the importer's console of choice of this generation, just like the Dreamcast was the weapon of choice during the 128-bit days.

So as you can see, the Dreamcast and the Xbox and 360 actually have quite a bit in common, despite their blatant differences in heritage and style. So next time you're about to write off the Xbox or 360 as evil old Microsoft's attempt at taking over the world of videogames, remember - there's a little bit of Dreamcast in there.