So I can use RGB cables on my PVM. But I have to reorganize my systems to fit in the Dreamcast, and I guess I've been too lazy to do that. But also, I have two 5-input switchers, so a total of 9 inputs. I currently have 1 input left open, but I want to also use that when I finally RGB mod my NES. So I'd have to make a hard choice about which consoles to have connected via RGB. Using the Dreamcast over composite or S-Video would solve that problem.
alienjesus wrote:Gotta disagree with you here - at the time the Dreamcast was relevant, the most iconic console FPS games were on N64, which only used one analogue stick. FPS for PS1 mostly were designed to playable with the default controller which had zero. The dual stick control scheme wasn't really standard at this time on console, and really wouldn't be until Halo came out on Xbox, by which point the Dreamcast was already gone. It probably would have been an issue eventually, but we'll never know what could have been.
The N64 controller only had one stick, yes, but the N64 controller was able to get away with it in a way that the DC cannot. The N64's C buttons functioned as a second stick, and made those FPS games extremely playable on a console. And then you still have two face buttons in addition to the shoulder buttons. The Dreamcast couldn't do this, so it made the few FPS it had very hard to play. Even if the DC kept the ABC/XYZ layout with L and R shoulder buttons, the size and spacing of the C buttons on the N64 made it comfortable to use as a second stick.
The PS1 Dual Shock controller came out in 97, so yes, I suppose there were some FPS on the PS1 before then. Like DOOM. But that's the pre-Goldeneye/Turok. After the Dual Shock controller came out, all of the FPS's on PS1 took advantage of that. Not that the PS1 was known for amazing FPS. But Sega really dropped the ball on this one. Sony had a controller with two sticks, the N64's C buttons functioned as a second stick so it essentially had two sticks. Games like Goldeneye and Turok on the N64 and Medal of Honor on the PS1 proved that FPS could do very well on consoles. Sega really should have seen it coming, everyone else seemed to have. Sure, Halo's insane popularity really made console FPS's blow up. But there were still popular console FPS around leading up to Halo, and the Dreamcast ports really suffered because of the controller. Like Quake III and Unreal Tournament.
Let's say the PS2 wasn't also a DVD player, and let's say there was no piracy issue with the Dreamcast. I think the console would have been left in the dust in the post-Halo world. FPS on consoles really took off that generation, and the Dreamcast wouldn't have done well at all with them. Developers wouldn't have wanted to port their FPS's to the DC. But I suppose Sega, if they didn't have other issues with the Dreamcast, could have released an updated controller with two sticks. It worked for the Genesis, and it worked for the original Xbox, it could have worked for the Dreamcast. But it seems like Sega was only interested in the kind of games that they were making themselves, which wasn't FPS.
But even still, 3D games outside of FPS (like platformers) took advantage of two sticks. One to move your character, the other to move the camera. Again, with the N64's C buttons handling this (what they were intended for). I know you can use L and R on the DC controller to swing the camera, but this isn't as good as a 360 degree movement that a stick has. And even still, using L and R for example means two less buttons for other things. Which the N64 or PS DS controller didn't have that problem. It always kind of baffled me that Sega sort of gimped the DC controller with less buttons.