Sega Dreamcast - Greatest Retro Console

[Wreckless Gamer]

Yes it's a friendly rivalry to the Jaguar thread! But of course being friendly, this thread isn't to bash any other console but to elevate the amazing technological advances made by the Sega Dreamcast and to celebrate the amazing games that were released.

Now, some of these will be EU specific but even if you aren't from the EU, you will hopefully agree they were game changing:

• First EU console to include a 60hz (and therefore full screen) toggle as pretty much standard
• First console to really push online in a big way (Phantasy Star Online - Chu Chu Rocket - Quake 3 Arena)
• First console to allow mouse and keyboard control (again, Quake 3 Arena)
• Use of VMU (Visual Memory Unit) allowed you to (sort of) continue gaming while away from the console
• Powerstone (nuff said)

I played more Phantasy Star Online V2 than I care to admit, blessed by the 36k modem that was inside the EU Dreamcast (I think the US got a 56k modem). Dial up connection was the order of the day, a penny a minute (or free at evenings and weekends).

So, am I right or am I right?

[Blue Stinger]

I'm currently downloading 45 Go of Dreamcast games which are ALL complete (so, more than 700Mb), the folder actually contains around 100 games and it's just from one source. See, I told you it was just a matter of time before the complete game will come. The list of available games has DOUBLED in less than a month !!!
So optical drive emulation is a the best alternative and the best way available to preserve games.

[Blue Stinger]

"You can't find intact ISO's ANYWHERE as far as i can tell, only ones that have been cut down to fit on 700MB CDs."
Why ? Because people use to use 700MB CDs, now they use SD cards, USB devices, SSD or HDD, so plenty of people have complete versions of the games, it's just a matter of time before they are all uploaded on the internet.

And people who play on emulators are willing to make sacrifices anyway, if they wanted the real deal, they would have bought a console, so playing a 700MB version, registering on a website or waiting a couple of years to get the complete versions on a good emulator won't bother them. And if it does, then you'd have a real case of entitlement ! People who want everything, now and for free...

[The Crazed One]

Honestly, longevity depends on the owner not the hardware itself (no offense to your friends). Once a year, I open up all my consoles and clean them thoroughly, you don't have to do it as often as I do but that's the key for longevity. Make sure to clean the fan, to put some new grease on the shaft of the fan (there are some tutos out there, it's not complicated) and if needed change the thermal pad (put some thermal paste instead if you feel like it). Clean up the contacts between the PSU and the motherboard and you're go to go for at least 5 or 10 years (you'll have to clean it every other year again). Then, start to save some money to buy a GDemu to replace the weakest part of the console : the GDrom drive.

If you want to have a DC for the next 5 to 10 years, a $60 DC off of Ebay that you take good care of will do the trick.
If you want a DC for the next 50 years, consider buying a GDemu, get a new fan (bigger, quieter, cooler) and a PicoPSU or something like that (so your PSU doesn't add heat)

The Dreamcast is one of those consoles that starts to get pretty expensive, if you think about buying one for a long time, the sooner the better because it will be cheaper (prices won't go down...)

If you have a good computer and you don't mind emulation, a new emulator came out lately and it is pretty good from what I've heard. It is called " Redream "

Honestly, most consoles that people consider "dead", I can fix them with a google search and 2 hours of spare time and I'm not even that good. So, I would say GO FOR IT and if the console "dies", it will be a great opportunity for you to open it up and start learning how to take care of them ! Again, it's scary, but it's not that hard, most issues can be fixed pretty easily.

Sorry for the long post but this example came to me so I'm going to add a few more sentences : Take the OG Xbox for instance, everyone sells OG Xbox cheaper because the DVD drive doesn't open anymore. Do you know how I fix this ? I put some water in a kettle, I make it boil, put the drive belt (it's just a rubber band) in a glass and pour boiling water in the glass. That's it, the rubber band will restore its mechanical properties and you're good to go ! Worst case scenario : I get a new one for 99 cents on Aliexpress... And people sell their console 10 to $20 cheaper because of that !

Most dead consoles, you change a 50 cents part, it take an hour top and you're good to go !

I can't stress this enough : I'M NOT THAT GOOD ! I bet I used some terms you didn't know and you told yourself that you can't do it, but really, start watching some Youtube videos and that's it. Most of what I do is extremely basic, no need to be impressed. 95% of issues you'll encounter can be fixed by a rookie. I can't stress this enough : THIS IS EASY and you don't need a to be an engineer.

3 things about Dreamcast emulation:1. You can't find intact ISO's ANYWHERE as far as i can tell, only ones that have been cut down to fit on 700MB CDs.

2.The only Dreamcast emulators I know of being worked on seem to be that Redream (the damn shits require you to REGISTER an account in order to down even the free version) and reicast which lists as working on Windows but the devs only seem to be working on the Andriod version.

3.SEGA is actually working on a Dreamcast emulator but it seems pretty much exclusive to the Switch.

[Errant_Error]

I had a dreamcast the year it came out and I enjoyed the shit out it although i did end up trading it in after a year i think. Played a ton of Zombie Revenge and Sonic Adventure but man Marvel vs Capcom 2, ill never get gonna take you for a ride out of my head. I remember some dungeon crawling rpg that had the dude from landstalker the genesis game in it that didnt keep level progress each time you left a dungeon. I absolutely loved the concept of the vmu and taking parts of my game with me, i still wish stuff like that existed on phones or something. When it's all said and done though I have no interest in going back to play any of those games.

[Blue Stinger]

The future is optical drive emulators ! Like the PS-io for the PS1, the GDemu for the Dreamcast etc. We won't need to worry about discs AND disc drives ! All games are already backed up, so we're already future-proof. What I would worry about is recent consoles with internet connection, I bet that 70% of the games released in the past 10 years won't be playable in 20 years for a reason or another. Up until the 5th gen, we're already future-proof.

[Merlin]

That console was really cool. I remember a friend had it and it was sooooo advanced to me at the time. Also yeah as Blue Stinger said, usually consoles aren't so bad to fix up. I find fixing things to be fun personally. Sometimes things are unfixable because parts aren't available.

My long term concern comes less from the consoles and more from game discs honestly. Those puppies will all be dead. I wonder about the future, and I suspect someone will step up, buy the rights, and print brand new discs like the old ones. After seeing what happened with Polaroids, this problem seems like a cake walk, and I'm sure someone will do it. Of course the games are fine for now. I think if you keep the disc in a temperature and humidity controlled environment and out of light, they might last upwards of 50 years. Hard to say since my knowledge of disc tech is rusty and I forgot a lot. Though I believe UV disc tech is really good, so maybe future consoles might use that if we don't get eaten by the digital download trend first.

Anyhow great console. I remember seeing sonic adventure and jet set radio and being floored.

[Blue Stinger]

Honestly, longevity depends on the owner not the hardware itself (no offense to your friends). Once a year, I open up all my consoles and clean them thoroughly, you don't have to do it as often as I do but that's the key for longevity. Make sure to clean the fan, to put some new grease on the shaft of the fan (there are some tutos out there, it's not complicated) and if needed change the thermal pad (put some thermal paste instead if you feel like it). Clean up the contacts between the PSU and the motherboard and you're go to go for at least 5 or 10 years (you'll have to clean it every other year again). Then, start to save some money to buy a GDemu to replace the weakest part of the console : the GDrom drive.

If you want to have a DC for the next 5 to 10 years, a $60 DC off of Ebay that you take good care of will do the trick.
If you want a DC for the next 50 years, consider buying a GDemu, get a new fan (bigger, quieter, cooler) and a PicoPSU or something like that (so your PSU doesn't add heat)

The Dreamcast is one of those consoles that starts to get pretty expensive, if you think about buying one for a long time, the sooner the better because it will be cheaper (prices won't go down...)

If you have a good computer and you don't mind emulation, a new emulator came out lately and it is pretty good from what I've heard. It is called " Redream "

Honestly, most consoles that people consider "dead", I can fix them with a google search and 2 hours of spare time and I'm not even that good. So, I would say GO FOR IT and if the console "dies", it will be a great opportunity for you to open it up and start learning how to take care of them ! Again, it's scary, but it's not that hard, most issues can be fixed pretty easily.

Sorry for the long post but this example came to me so I'm going to add a few more sentences : Take the OG Xbox for instance, everyone sells OG Xbox cheaper because the DVD drive doesn't open anymore. Do you know how I fix this ? I put some water in a kettle, I make it boil, put the drive belt (it's just a rubber band) in a glass and pour boiling water in the glass. That's it, the rubber band will restore its mechanical properties and you're good to go ! Worst case scenario : I get a new one for 99 cents on Aliexpress... And people sell their console 10 to $20 cheaper because of that !

Most dead consoles, you change a 50 cents part, it take an hour top and you're good to go !

I can't stress this enough : I'M NOT THAT GOOD ! I bet I used some terms you didn't know and you told yourself that you can't do it, but really, start watching some Youtube videos and that's it. Most of what I do is extremely basic, no need to be impressed. 95% of issues you'll encounter can be fixed by a rookie. I can't stress this enough : THIS IS EASY and you don't need a to be an engineer.

[L3F20XX]

One question for DC owners, would you recommend buying a DC in this day an age?
I've been wanting to buy one for a few years but I'm scared it may not last long since mine and 2 of friend's all broke up after a few years of use.

[grayfox313]

Here here!

[Blue Stinger]

My Dreamcast tips :

No beeping sound from your VMU when booting the console : Open your VMU with a Philips head screwdriver and cut or de-solder the speaker. It's the easiest mod on the planet and you can get rid of this annoying sound.

Better joystick : If you cut about a millimeter of the joystick shaft, you can fit a PS4-style joystick. And PS4 joysticks can be shaped like Xbox one joystick too ! My favorite : Aluminium joystick, no need to worry about your joystick ever again !

Center the image : If your picture is shifted to the right or the left, simply turn your TV off and back on again, the picture will be centered.

Here you go, nothing groundbreaking but it will slightly improve your experience.

[L3F20XX]

Such a great system the DC. Truly the last great console in my opinion. Wouldn't call it the greatest because I love it as much as the NES SNES and PSX. But certainly one of the best.

Excluding portables, after the DC I've owned Wii PS2 3 and 4 but while I've enjoyed their games I never felt attached to the consoles themselves.
It's come to a point that for the first time I will not buy a new console come next gen since they have become the complete opposite of what a consoles's supposed to be.

[R.U.S.E]

I have always wanted to own a real Dreamcast. It's an awesome looking console with some very creative and entertaining games.

I did play Phantasy Star and SA1 on an emulator a while back. Both are great games. Was also what convinced me to buy SA2 from Steam.

[Matias]

Maybe not the greatest console considering the reliability issues but definitely a good one.
And it still gets multiple new games released each year if you are into that

[Justince]

At the time I remember thinking this system could finally give PC gaming a run for it's money. You had these great peripherals, a modem, keyboard, mouse, and even an online service. Way ahead of it's time in the console market, which is usually what you get with Sega anyway. Not to mention the near perfect arcade ports. You couldn't help but stare at the demo of Sonic Adventure playing in the kiosk, it looked awesome.

Really too bad about the rampant pirating. I had coworkers who all owned the console but always pirated games. I wonder if things would have been different if they'd caught that CD-ROM exploit earlier.