Sega Dreamcast Getting Hallmark Keepsake Ornament This Year
While the Dreamcast was a commercial flop for Sega, the system has gained a major appreciation in the decades since its original release. This year, fans of the company's last console will be able to decorate their Christmas Tree or gaming shelf with a Hallmark Keepsake ornament modeled after the Dreamcast. Like Hallmark's Sega Genesis ornament, the Dreamcast option will feature lights and sounds. In this case, players can expect music from the original Sonic Adventure, though it's currently unclear which track. The Dreamcast controller's VMU screen even features an image of Sonic!
The controller is currently set to release on October 14th. The placeholder page can be found on Hallmark's website right here, and will retail for $22.99. An image of the ornament can be found below.
Released in 1999, the Dreamcast was the successor to the Sega Saturn. A number of major mistakes caused the Saturn to struggle against the Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation, but the Dreamcast seemed like a major step in the right direction. Sales for the console started strong in North America, and the platform received a number of games that would go on to become classics, including Sonic Adventure 2, Crazy Taxi, and Skies of Arcadia. Unfortunately, Sega could not contend with PlayStation and Nintendo, and the Dreamcast lasted less than two years on the market. Following the Dreamcast, Sega would go on to become a third party publisher, and the company had mixed feelings about seeing characters like Sonic on Nintendo systems at first!
These days, the Dreamcast is considered by many to be one of the greatest video game systems of all-time, and many of its best titles continue to receive new iterations on modern platforms. The idea of the Dreamcast getting a Hallmark holiday ornament would have been unthinkable 20 years ago, but it says a lot about how much perception of the system has changed. While the Dreamcast is long gone, its memory is not forgotten.
Do you plan on snagging this Dreamcast ornament? Were you a fan of Sega's final video game system? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!