Launched at the very end of the 20th Century, the Sega Dreamcast saw many 21st Century innovations and concepts. Being the first 128-bit console when it hit the market which showed a tremendous improvement in 3D graphics over the previous 32-bit and 64-bit home consoles of the mid-1990s. The Dreamcast also was the first console to attempt a dual-screen setup with its memory card, the aptly-named 'Visual Memory Unit' which boosted a small, monochromatic LCD screen for dual-screen play. The Dreamcast especially pioneered in the field of online gaming, a novelty back in the 1990s. It came with a 33.6 or 56 kbits/s modem right out of the box and online capabilities were available starting from September of 2000 in the West.
Sega Dreamcast Specs
Probably one of, if not, the most unique idea for a memory card, the Visual Memory Unit had a small screen displaying information during gameplay while it was inside the front slot of the Dreamcast controller, it was capable of playing little minigames on the go (despite the abysmal battery life of the VMU) and of course, it saved your game data!
Visual Memory Unit (VMU) Specs
The Sega Dreamcast controller, with its futuristic spaceship design is at first glance is incredibly odd, the cord coming out from the bottom instead of the top, the lone analog stick in 1998 (the console was capable of supporting dual-analog) and the large cut-out for the VMU. It is actually possible to distinguish from North American and Japanese Dreamcast controllers from their European counterparts by the color of the swirl, red is the color for North America and Japan while blue was the color for Europe!