Welcome to r/Dreamcast!

I dont completly know what region locked means so tell me if I'm right in the comments and answer my question about the dreamcast so basically what I'm asking is if I buy a Japanese version is SA2 will it work on an American dreamcast and if the diolauge is in Japanese is it possible to change it to American

Hey everyone,

I recently purchased a GDEMU clone (V5.20.5) from AliExpress, and I’m trying to figure out if it’s compatible with my Dreamcast. I haven’t opened up the console yet, but I’m happy to do so and take photos if it helps.

Before I crack it open, I was wondering if anyone can tell the compatibility based on the model number or any other external details.

If opening it is necessary, could someone let me know what specific details I should look for on the motherboard to determine compatibility? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I have a vga cable that I use with my monitor, but finally decided to get an S-Video cable for my 27 inch JVC CRT. Man it looks sweet!

I think I got mine for $200 I got the VMU for $40 sonic adventure 1 was also $40 the console and the controller together was around $120 was this a good deal?

I bought a Dreamcast from a local game store. I'm happy with my purchase. But it had some issues. It has a broken Screw well, light rust on the modem shell, inner rust on what looks to be a shell on either the mother board or disc reader. The lid also is missing a guide pin so it doesnt close/open the smoothest. It works good. So im now on the market of getting a new shell. I have been looking at some listing's on Amazon. I know im def not interested in any that have the "Cool" branding.

For the second half of my questions. I'm really interested in connecting my Dreamcast to the internet. And was going to attempt it with the "Dream-Pi" kit you can buy for 110 bucks. But it's been out of stock for a little bit. (Anyone with experience with buying the Dream-Pi kit, id appreciate if you'd know how long it usually takes for a restock. Cause that would server as an answer for my dream pi concerns).

I have one SCART socket on the back of my TV so I use an adaptor that turns that one socket into four. I currently have my Saturn, VHS Player and now Dreamcast connected to it.

I turned on my Saturn to listen to some music CDs and the fan in the Dreamcast powered on, I unplugged the power cable and it kept going. Only when unplugging the video cable did it stop. Connect the cable again and the fan started up.

Could this be because the GDEMU doesn't draw as much power as the GDROM drive and so the Saturn's video output is enough to power the fan in the Dreamcast?

Hey everyone so anyways i was using xbmc4xbox to listen to internet radio via pls radio streams. But then It got me thinking, what if the Dreamcast could do it? So I ask, how do I listen to internet radio streams on Dreamcast?

Hey gang,

Is there a different process for burning GDI versus CDI. A lot of the videos I have watched are using CDI but my roms are GDI.

Does the file format make a difference?

Are there any specific disk drives and discs anyone would recommend?

TIA

New owner of a Dreamcast. Bought it as a self present for Christmas but I obviously had to test it after buying it.

Any games that you consider a must own or try? I am planning on using it for arcade gaming mostly, that’s why I got a Japanese version.

The Sega Dreamcast, despite being innovative and ahead of its time, ultimately failed due to a combination of factors. Here’s a breakdown of the key reasons for its downfall:

1. Poor Timing and Competition

• PlayStation 2’s Hype: The Dreamcast launched in 1999, a year before Sony released the PlayStation 2. The PS2’s promised features, like backward compatibility with PS1 games and its ability to play DVDs, overshadowed the Dreamcast. Many gamers held off buying the Dreamcast, waiting instead for Sony’s system.

• Competition from Other Consoles: The Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation (PS1) were still popular when the Dreamcast launched. Later, Microsoft announced the Xbox, further complicating Sega’s position in the market.

2. Sega’s Tarnished Reputation

• Failures of Previous Consoles: Sega had a history of poorly received consoles before the Dreamcast, such as the Sega CD, 32X, and Sega Saturn. These failed to attract a large audience and caused gamers and retailers to lose confidence in Sega as a reliable brand.

• Saturn’s Botched Launch: The Sega Saturn’s surprise early launch and poor game library alienated developers and customers. Sega’s relationship with third-party developers suffered, which carried over to the Dreamcast era.

3. Lack of Third-Party Developer Support

• Limited Game Library: Many major game publishers, like Square Enix and EA, were hesitant or unwilling to develop games for the Dreamcast. EA’s absence was particularly damaging, as it left the console without popular sports titles like Madden NFL.

• Focus on In-House Games: While Sega’s in-house games (e.g., Sonic Adventure, Shenmue, and Jet Set Radio) were innovative and critically acclaimed, they weren’t enough to compete with Sony’s vast third-party library.

4. Financial Issues at Sega

• Declining Resources: Sega had already suffered heavy financial losses from the failures of the Sega Saturn and other ventures. By the time the Dreamcast launched, the company lacked the financial strength to compete with industry giants like Sony and Nintendo.

• Expensive Marketing Campaigns: Sega spent heavily to market the Dreamcast, but it couldn’t sustain the same level of marketing as Sony, especially leading up to the PlayStation 2’s launch.

5. Lack of DVD Support

• The DVD Revolution: The PlayStation 2 doubled as a DVD player, making it an attractive and cost-effective purchase for many consumers. The Dreamcast only supported CD-ROMs and GD-ROMs, which put it at a significant disadvantage as DVDs became the dominant media format.

6. Piracy Issues

• Easy Game Piracy: The Dreamcast was notorious for being vulnerable to piracy. Hackers quickly found ways to bypass the system’s copy protection, allowing users to burn and play pirated games. This not only hurt software sales but also discouraged third-party developers from investing in the platform.

7. Online Features Ahead of Their Time

• Innovative but Early: The Dreamcast was the first console to include a built-in modem for online gaming. While this was groundbreaking, internet connectivity was not yet widespread or fast enough in many regions to make the feature a major selling point.

•	Cost of Online Services: Sega struggled to maintain its online infrastructure and couldn’t monetize it effectively, unlike Microsoft’s later success with Xbox Live.

8. Limited Lifespan and Market Presence

   • Short Lifecycle: Sega discontinued the Dreamcast in 2001, just two years after its release, due to poor sales and mounting financial losses. This short lifespan meant the console never had a chance to build a large audience or an extensive game library.

   • Overtaken by Competitors: By the time Sega pulled the Dreamcast from the market, Sony’s PS2 was dominating, and Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s GameCube were on the horizon.

9. Internal Corporate Struggles

   • Leadership Changes: Sega faced frequent leadership changes and conflicting strategies within its management. Poor decision-making at the executive level contributed to the company’s inability to effectively support the Dreamcast.

   • Japanese Market Weakness: Sega historically struggled in its home market of Japan, where the Dreamcast failed to gain traction against Sony and Nintendo.

10. Changing Industry Landscape

    • Rising Development Costs: As game development became more complex and expensive, developers preferred platforms with a larger install base, such as the PS2. The Dreamcast, with its smaller audience, was less appealing for developers.

    • Shift to Multimedia Consoles: The Dreamcast focused primarily on gaming, while competitors like the PS2 marketed themselves as entertainment hubs, offering DVD playback and broader appeal.

Conclusion

The Sega Dreamcast was a bold and innovative console, but it faced overwhelming challenges from both external competition and internal mismanagement. Despite its failure, the Dreamcast remains beloved by fans for its groundbreaking features, unique games, and its role in shaping the future of console gaming. Unfortunately, it marked Sega’s exit from the hardware market, forcing the company to focus solely on game development.

For me personally, one of my gripes is the controller. I actually like the Rocketship design and find it to be quite comfortable, but having gotten a saturn a few months ago, I wish the the controller kept that D-pad as it makes fighting games play as well as they do with an arcade stick, and I also wish the controller had dual analogue as that would have improved many games I feel.

Hi all,

I recently purchased a 'junk' Japanese Dreamcast off of eBay with the intent of sticking a cloned GDEMU in it. The console safely arrived a few days ago, but two issues have cropped up;

1. My GDEMU is stuck in transit since my local post company's been on strike for the past 2 weeks, so I'm considering recapping my GDROM drive to see if that fixes anything.

I know how to read capacitor values, but I was wondering if all SMD caps of a certain capacitance and voltage have the same diameter/size. I don't have anything precise enough to measure them out myself.

2. I didn't do enough research beforehand and wound up with a VA0 DC, which I hear can kill the GDEMU due to the drive being supplied 5V rather than 3.3V. I've come across three different solutions for this issue; the resistor mod, a power mod involving the GDEMU itself, or just sticking the GDEMU in the Dreamcast and using it as-is.

My solder skills are rather crap, so the third solution sounds the most appealing, but how long will it last? Most folks who choose that route seem to have modded their consoles with an external PSU, which I'm not at all interested in doing.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

First, I have very little experience with mods and getting them working. I am tired of worrying about scratching my discs or the laser giving out. I am looking in to the GDEMU and I know I need to find roms that are in GDI or CDI format. I am confused because I keep finding ROMS with a 1KB GDI file and then bin files that are the actual size of the game. Even when I randomly grab a few games from what I think is the TOSEC dump, it is still is in this format of bin files with a small GDI file. Am I missing a step here? I have also checked on sites like Vimm and CDRomance. They seem to be the same.

TOSEC Link I Was Using: https://archive.org/details/tosecdcus20190822

Can I like… kill the beep speaker in my VMUs?? I’m open to suggestions lol.

I am talking about this bag which you can open like a book and you can store say 30 cd to travel around?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/CD-Bag-96-Capacity-CD-DVD-Bag-Oxford-Cloth-CD-Bags-Storage-Protective-Cover-DVD-Storage-CD-Bag-for-Kids-Car/265308523

I played this one as a kid and it just stuck with me forever. Not to mention the Crave logo literally stuck on my memory card forever - I guess that was some kind of unlockable.

It’s a Crash Bandicoot style linear 3d platformer revolving around this magnetic gimmick where you can reverse your magnetic polarity to repel (or attract) enemies and platformers. It’s honestly a pretty unique game, but is infamous for its crushing difficulty (which is apparently even more crushing in the Japan version).

I appreciate the game’s distinctly Japanese and Dreamcast-era visual and audio style. The pink toy bears wearing nooses and the antagonist evil genius baby are pretty hard to forget.

Anyone used 4 StrikerDC controllers at the same time before, when playing 4 player games I get disconnection issues on controller 3 and 4, I think the receivers are getting confused????

Hello everyone I'm picking up a second dream cast unfortunately again the prior owner messed with the laser
What is the optimum setting for a Samsung drive in ohms? and are the PSUS generally reliable?

I've had my Dreamcast for a few years now, but there's been something bothering me. I heard that there is a fuse on the Dreamcast, that if you unplug your controller, can explode. And from what I've heard it's kind of likely it will. This makes me feel really nervous whenever I'm playing since I don't wanna yank the controller out and then blow it up. And with my clock battery dying, I'm starting to wonder if I should replace it. How likely is it for it to explode? And should I change it?

Hi,

So, this great game, one of the Dreamcast classics that never got released for the PC.

I read somewhere that the studio was actually in the process of making a PC port but then got shut down. Does someone have the code that was made until that point and/or is willing to leak it?

I guess if the process was mostly finish one might be able to get it to compile, fix a few things with some friends and release a more or less finished product.

Thank you!

Update: obviously the thing would get released for free, source code of the final product on Github or something if the leaker approves. There's no commercial objective here, just trying to port an old game that seem to be almost ready to keep it alive. Either way if any of the original developers is still around and thinks he can do it and sell it, go for it, I would gladly buy it. :)