was with the Dreamcast. This cutting edge 3-D system sold 500,000 units in the first two months of production (Sega.com). Beyond amazing graphics, the Dreamcast also offered something no other system did at the time–interactive online gaming capabilities. While the Dreamcast was extremely successful in its first two years of production, Sega announced that the company will cease to produce the system due to intense competition from Sony’s Playstation 2 and the forthcoming X-Box from Microsoft. While the Dreamcast may not have continued its success as long as Sega wished, it did represent a major victory for Sega. After so many failures following the peak of the Genesis, the Dreamcast demonstrated that Sega could still be successful in the console video game market when managed correctly.

The Games

In theis credited with the “Total Design.” Together these two are largely responsible for the two areas in which Phantasy Star excelled: technological advances and storyline (Click here to see a full list of credits).

The technological advances in Phantasy Star are numerous. To start, it should be noted that it was the first console turn-based RPG. While the concept was not new, the game design was new to consoles. Adapting to this style of game play would have made Phantasy Star a notable game, but Yuji Naka took that further. Three separate views, each representing different situations, were added to Phantasy Star. There was an overhead view for traveling, a wide rear view for fighting enemies, and a first person view for navigating tunnels and caves. The graphics for