how good are sega dreamcast consoles?

DARK-KNIGHT

hi any thoughts here im considering buying one!!!

Dozen Wicked Words

They are great, and very easy to play back up copies (of games you legally own of course). I think there is even a semblance of online gaming community with them too, although I can't vouch for that as my internet connection isn't up to it!!!

Soul Calibur is still a classic even 10 years later.

Retr0gamer

For a console that was on the shelves for such a short time it managed to rack up a collection of absolutely brilliant games that are considered classics. A lot of them offer very unique gameplay experiences. It's got the quirky japanese stuff mixed with quality sega first party titles and arcade titles. It died well before it's time and was beat by the inferior at the time of it's death PS2.

corcaigh07

its awesome

DARK-KNIGHT

ok so you guys reckon it would be a sound investment?

im looking for something retro, i had a gamecube and didnt like it really:(

corcaigh07

depends on your tastes. most of the console's releases are quite arcade based like daytona, crazy taxi, soul calibur, any of the 2d fighters, any of the 2d shooters, outtrigger etc. of course, other genres are well covered too except for sports, badly misses all of EA's francises and konami's pro evo.

one excellent reason to own a DC is for homebrew projects and emulation. the console is relatively simple to get stuff. even though the console has a GD-rom drive (dead format), normal cd-r discs work perfectly. and no modding required, how sega let this happen was one of many reasons why the console was cut short.

all in all, its an excellent console, does an awful lot for not a lot of cash.

dlofnep

Never had the dreamcast, had the Sega Saturn though. Dreamcast can't be that expensive now anyways - I say go for it

DARK-KNIGHT

ok thanks guys.

whats a reasonable price to pay for one? also how difficult are they to find? and how difficult is it to find games for sale?

thanks:)

CCCP^

eBay + do some research?

Roar

something I've always wondered

how big a contributing factor in the Dreamcast's demise was the lack of a DVD drive?

DVD playback on the PS2 was a huge selling point, and a huge factor in me buying one back in the day. I bought the PS2 initially for Code Veronica, which I could have gotten on the Dreamcast, but the DVD swung me in the direction of Sony.

I seem to remember Dreamcasts being flogged with a free DVD player at one point as well?

BLITZ_Molloy

There were a few aspects to why it died on its arse. I'd say the main reason is it launched, waaaay, waaay too early. The very expectation of the PS2 coming out was alot more descructive than it actually being out (because the PS2 had very few really big games for the first 12 or 18 months).

The DVD drive was definitely the other factor. But the Gamecube didn't have one and nobody made much of a fuss. Standalone DVD players had got quite cheap by then.

Last thing I'd say is the system was all about arcade games. Frankly, they are the only games I actually care about so it doesn't matter. But the lack of EA Sports games and something new and mainstream like Grand Theft Auto didn't help.

My main recommendation would be Daytona USA 2001 (twitchy steering but you get the hang of it) and Bangai-O (PAL ver with the Engrish). I could play those two all day and they're exclusive. Lots of other great arcade titles that didn't get ported to other systems too.

Crowman

I'm a big fan of the Dreamcast.
Had mine for 10 years and it's never let me down. After many years of PC gaming this was the first console I owned! I played my first console RPG on this system, Skies of Arcadia, great game.
There's a great crop of games on this system no matter what you're interested in, most are fairly cheap on Ebay, also another plus, most of the PAL games can be played in 60hz and you can even hook it up through a VGA port.
Just buy one, you wont regret it!
Oh one las thing, if your after something good to play on your Gamecube can I recommend Killer 7?

CiDeRmAn

Well, regarding the OP, you were hardly likely to get an objective opinion here on this forum, in fact the only place with slightly more DC fanboys is the Sega forum itself!

The DC is a great console sure but not without it's shortcomings.
The machine does break down, and it's not terribly easy to repair, I have one with a busted controller board.
Also the memory cards are a pain, batteries have to be replaced too often.
Most of the standout titles have been converted onto other formats, like the PS2 and Xbox. Some, like Samba De Amigo, onto the Wii.

There are plenty of good games but they are, inevitably hard to find now, 10 years on.
Most are playable as readily downloadable iso's but then you are indulging in something many, including Sega find distasteful!

Also, as Retro has often pointed out, many of the game have Next-Gen visuals, at least next gen for '99, as a result there are many games lack a polish that even many PS2 titles reach, and things can look quite dated, it's different for those of us that were there, we still love our MSR, Powerstone, Shenmu etc. but others may find them less than satisfying.

That said, there is plenty of fun to be had with on, plenty of games, morals notwithstanding, to be downloaded and had fun with, Rez, Tokyo Bus Guide, Virtua Tennis, Resident Evil Code Veronica and loads more.

I must say, I enjoyed the PS2 more, not because it's necessarily better but because it's a console that got to mature, developers had more opportunities to come to grips with the machine and squeeze the very most from it, not so the poor DC that was only getting into it's stride before Sega pulled the plug (no pun intended).

animaX

I can't believe nobody has mentioned street fighter third strike!! Any console that has third strike and ikaruga is worth it imo

appleidog

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Well, regarding the OP, you were hardly likely to get an objective opinion here on this forum, in fact the only place with slightly more DC fanboys is the Sega forum itself!

The DC is a great console sure but not without it's shortcomings.
The machine does break down, and it's not terribly easy to repair, I have one with a busted controller board.
Also the memory cards are a pain, batteries have to be replaced too often.
Most of the standout titles have been converted onto other formats, like the PS2 and Xbox. Some, like Samba De Amigo, onto the Wii.

There are plenty of good games but they are, inevitably hard to find now, 10 years on.
Most are playable as readily downloadable iso's but then you are indulging in something many, including Sega find distasteful!

Also, as Retro has often pointed out, many of the game have Next-Gen visuals, at least next gen for '99, as a result there are many games lack a polish that even many PS2 titles reach, and things can look quite dated, it's different for those of us that were there, we still love our MSR, Powerstone, Shenmu etc. but others may find them less than satisfying.

That said, there is plenty of fun to be had with on, plenty of games, morals notwithstanding, to be downloaded and had fun with, Rez, Tokyo Bus Guide, Virtua Tennis, Resident Evil Code Veronica and loads more.

I must say, I enjoyed the PS2 more, not because it's necessarily better but because it's a console that got to mature, developers had more opportunities to come to grips with the machine and squeeze the very most from it, not so the poor DC that was only getting into it's stride before Sega pulled the plug (no pun intended).

This is the best Response to the Dreamcast, it is actually looking at the question in general and not just, buy it.

now for my two cents, The dreamcast looks beautiful, is beautiful, With the best Bootup screen ever.:D

Btw has anyone got a dreamcast for sale........ I have a Jo jo bizzare adventure and bangoi sitting on the shelf waiting to get played.

CiDeRmAn

I have that one with the busted controller board, not sure how it can be repaired, it otherwise boots up just fine, everything else is working, just the controllers don't work.
If you can locate a donor machine around these parts I'm sure we can come to some, arrangement?

Red Sleeping Beauty

Roar wrote: »

something I've always wondered

how big a contributing factor in the Dreamcast's demise was the lack of a DVD drive?

DVD playback on the PS2 was a huge selling point, and a huge factor in me buying one back in the day. I bought the PS2 initially for Code Veronica, which I could have gotten on the Dreamcast, but the DVD swung me in the direction of Sony.

I seem to remember Dreamcasts being flogged with a free DVD player at one point as well?

I'd imagine it was that (Sony) the Playstation had already beaten (Sega) the Saturn here in Europe so they were a shoe in to win the next "console war". Also , the PS2 had a load of exlusive titles - GTA III, Gran Turismo 3, Smackdown, Metal Gear Solid 2. I'm sure there were others.

Retr0gamer

What happened with the DC was that Sega had burned their fans one to many times by messing up with the 32X and Mega CD and then pulling the plug on the Saturn too early. Playstation had also become synomymous with videogames after 7 years uncontested just like Nintendo did in Amerca in the 80's. Despite the DC having quite possibly the best launch line up for a console ever and a slew of quality games coming out for it, people still waited for the PS2 which when it came out had one good game for it. Sega did everything right with the DC (except for the awful advertising campaign). Unfortunately when the PS2 finally started getting games worth playing it was game over for the DC. DVD playback was a big feature of the PS2 but I also find this funny because the PS2 has quite possibly the worst DVD playback I've seen and didn't even output in scart until the slimline model.

koHd

I wish I never sold on my Dreamcast.

Powerstone alone was worth having it around.

But Crazy Taxi, MSR, Virtua Tennis and Shenmue were all brilliant too.

Really gagging to play some Powerstone right now thinking about it though! heh

EDIT: Forgot to mention Jet Set Radio. Much much better than the follow up that was on the Xbox.

CiDeRmAn

Nope, not right there, the Xbox version took the DC edition and made it better in every single way.
And as for the public reaction to the DC, everything that Retro said, a combination of hype surrounding the PS2 plus the fact that Sony never let anyone down with the PS1, and the way that Sega launched format after format, each time completely reading the market wrong. Consoles that were too expensive, poorly supported and even on a cosmetic level, poor.
It took some work to take a brand as sucessful as Sega and put it in the toilet, a feat Nintendo had also done, with regard to home consoles at least, until the release of the Wii.
It's almost impossible to overstate the genius with which Sony adapted to the gaming market, creating a mainstream business out of a niche hobby, a feat Nintendo repeated with the Wii.
And now it's Sonys turn to misread the market, with the PS3's early years and with the entire PSP concept, hopefully the PSP Go! will change that, although for me it's not a big enough step forward to warrant purchase, I'll wait til it's firmware is broken and I can play MAME, Megadrive and Snes roms on it!

o1s1n

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

hopefully the PSP Go! will change that, although for me it's not a big enough step forward to warrant purchase, I'll wait til it's firmware is broken and I can play MAME, Megadrive and Snes roms on it!

Modding the firmware on the PSP is very easy to do. You just need a pandora battery from dealextreme (Which is less than a tenner) and a duopro loaded with a few files. All you have to do is pop the pandora & the duo pro in, boot it up, press X and away it goes.

I wouldn't suggest buying a new one for this. However with the new versions of the psp out now, the old one goes for fairly cheap. 100 euro (or less even) for a portable emulation machine with a huge screen is a great deal if you ask me :pac:

CiDeRmAn

Already done it, I use chickHen instead as the PSP is v 5.03, I can play all the homebrew and Emus now, happy days! Saves taking my Snes and Megadrive out for walks, slightly less bulky too!

nix

I still have my DC collecting dust in a cupboard in my room, im on the hunt for code veronica to replay it. I have no idea where my copy is gone, i can only seem to find shen mue, soul cal2 and jet set radio.

Anybody know where i can get a copy? pm meh ! ;P

But yeah i loved the DC, its is a beautiful machine and im still sad that it was the end of sega console wise

Only nintendo are creative these days but i dont really care much for the wii

koHd

nix wrote: »

I still have my DC collecting dust in a cupboard in my room, im on the hunt for code veronica to replay it. I have no idea where my copy is gone, i can only seem to find shen mue, soul cal2 and jet set radio.

Anybody know where i can get a copy? pm meh ! ;P

But yeah i loved the DC, its is a beautiful machine and im still sad that it was the end of sega console wise

Only nintendo are creative these days but i dont really care much for the wii

You can get a backup copy on t'internet. Just search "Code Veronica Torrent". Lads in this thread have said you don't even need the Dreamcast to be modded to play backup games on CDr's.

Atavan-Halen

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Well, regarding the OP, you were hardly likely to get an objective opinion here on this forum, in fact the only place with slightly more DC fanboys is the Sega forum itself!

Well, seeing as everyones for the Dreamcast i'll say don't get one. It's a terrible machine, terrible controller and terrible games /lie (Well, the controller isn't my favourite TBH, not that great at all)

Nah, go for it. Get one, you really won't be dissapointed.

marko91

raycaulwell wrote: »

hi any thoughts here im considering buying one!!!

u do realise it is the year 2009 and ps3s and xbox 360s exist right?

Grayditch

Yeah but this is the same lad who pretty much spammed this board with anti-PS3 threads with.. well pretty much lies, so dont go mentioning Sony.

I got a Dreamcast for nothing a few years back. My friend owned it but the GD-ROM's motor had burned out. I replaced it and it worked perfectly again. Never really had many games to try on it though, just got Crazy Taxi 2 as a test to see if it worked.

Atavan-Halen

marko91 wrote: »

u do realise it is the year 2009 and ps3s and xbox 360s exist right?

You do realise it's the arcade and RETRO forum right?

mdwexford

Wasnt sure where to post this but here seems as good as any place.

I just bought a Dreamcast from ebay and when i turned it on it makes a buzzing noise for a few seconds, it seems to play games fine. Just wondering is this noise normal??

MontgomeryClift

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

I have that one with the busted controller board, not sure how it can be repaired, it otherwise boots up just fine, everything else is working, just the controllers don't work.
If you can locate a donor machine around these parts I'm sure we can come to some, arrangement?

I think you can replace a fuse to make the controller board work again. Try searching the web, maybe.

And to avoid blowing the controller board again, don't use dodgy third party controllers, don't plug in controllers with the power on, and don't use controllers with damaged cables.

CiDeRmAn

Must have a look, then sell it for...... Billions!!!
Mwa ha ha ha!

MrVestek

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Must have a look, then sell it for...... Billions!!!
Mwa ha ha ha!

Yeah it's actually quite a simple repair job. Had to do it to one of my Dreamcasts just over a year ago (used to have 3... one had a busted motor. Smashed it up when I was drunk one night on my birthday... don't ask).

http://everything2.com/title/Sega%2520Dreamcast%2520controller%2520port%2520repair

CiDeRmAn

Achilles wrote: »

Smashed it up when I was drunk one night on my birthday... don't ask).

Sorry mate, have to ask, what on earth were you doing?

You didn't try to express your undying love for all things Sega,

In,
some sort of,
well.....

How do I put this....

A physical way?:eek:

Did it prove difficult to clean it afterwards?:eek::eek:


Just a quiet "I know I thought it wouldn't change us, but I was wrong"

Then, into the bin, broken hearted.:eek::eek::eek:

Then to heal the pain you bought a PS2?

I mean, who could love a Sony?

MrVestek

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Sorry mate, have to ask, what on earth were you doing?

You didn't try to express your undying love for all things Sega,

In,
some sort of,
well.....

How do I put this....

A physical way?:eek:

Did it prove difficult to clean it afterwards?:eek::eek:


Just a quiet "I know I thought it wouldn't change us, but I was wrong"

Then, into the bin, broken hearted.:eek::eek::eek:

Then to heal the pain you bought a PS2?

I mean, who could love a Sony?

Nah the GD ROM motor was busted in it. Picked it up from an old repair shop for a tenner thinking I could repair it myself but couldn't find a suitable motor. I already had another one for spares and one that I used as my regular gaming machine.

Let's just say that JD and "good ideas" definitely don't mix when it's your 21st birthday...

We played pass the dreamcast by smashing it off the ground. Now that I think about it I really could have used a spare controller board *sigh* ohh well...

97i9y3941

yes,dont plug in the controllers into the dreamcast when its turned on,thats why alot of them get the blown fuse,theres loads of fixes on the net for the common dreamcast problems...

97i9y3941

BLITZ_Molloy wrote: »

Last thing I'd say is the system was all about arcade games. Frankly, they are the only games I actually care about so it doesn't matter. But the lack of EA Sports games and something new and mainstream like Grand Theft Auto didn't help/QUOTE]

they made an error with the saturn that costed them the E.A support,sega killed off the saturn early *well it was dead in europe in 1998 anyway but big in japan* which shocked e.a into not supporting the dreamcast,sega killed the dreamcast early too as it nearly bankrupted the company like the saturn did..

mediafreak

we didn't have a dreamcast back in the day - just a megadrive. Sonic was just too nostalgic that I downloaded an emulator

97i9y3941

mediafreak wrote: »

we didn't have a dreamcast back in the day - just a megadrive. Sonic was just too nostalgic that I downloaded an emulator

belive it or not the dreamcast itself is a brillant machine for emulation,theres been loads of emulators made for it oddly enough

appleidog

Fred83 wrote: »

BLITZ_Molloy wrote: »

Last thing I'd say is the system was all about arcade games. Frankly, they are the only games I actually care about so it doesn't matter. But the lack of EA Sports games and something new and mainstream like Grand Theft Auto didn't help/QUOTE]

they made an error with the saturn that costed them the E.A support,sega killed off the saturn early *well it was dead in europe in 1998 anyway but big in japan* which shocked e.a into not supporting the dreamcast,sega killed the dreamcast early too as it nearly bankrupted the company like the saturn did..

They had Grand theft auto allright!. and Why have EA when you have the much better 2k series.

CiDeRmAn

Lets face it, the writing was on the wall when Colin McCrae 2 got cancelled on DC, something like that could have really made the machine, and as said before the lack of FIFA, Madden, NHL and even Need for Speed really hurt the console, they were the big sellers from EA on the PS1,
I mean, the version of Half Life on DC is outstanding, it took the PS2 to bring that series to consoles later on, and it was finished as well! It's out there if you know where to look and it includes the Blue Shift scenario as well, where you play Barney the guard.

NeoKubrick

Bought this for £15 the other day. Hopefully when I receive it next week, it works. Any advice on what not to do, like plug in a controller while the power is on?

Red Sleeping Beauty

Ebay I presume ? :rolleyes:

NeoKubrick

Alan Rouge wrote: »

Ebay I presume ? :rolleyes:

Er, no.

vangoz

I remember playing Phantasy Star Online (but not online) three times through... a slight change in the boss each time at the end and obviously harder enemies and weapon upgrades etc... Something about that game i that really liked!!!!.... not sure what doh.

Red Sleeping Beauty

Cool cause ebay's evil

CCCP^

Alan Rouge wrote: »

Cool cause ebay's evil

Ah dont knock fleabay, I bought alot of good stuff for a fair price off it.

Atavan-Halen

Have to agree. It's not all that bad, you can get some great bargains on it but yes unfortunately there are scammers and the like on it.

invincibleirish

+1 to the DC love-in can i just tell my story. When CVG covered the Jap launch of this and i saw VF3 and the tech demos i instantly fell in love. Bought a DC on euro launch day should have known then the signs were ominous for the machine as although i pre-ordered one when i arrived into Game they had a stack of them left. Sonic Adventure despite its buggy flaws was amazing to play, not quite Mario 64 but still. Power Stone, Shenmue, JSR, Crazy taxi, 18 wheeler, Code Veronica, HOTD 2, Virtua Tennis & Striker and the beast that was Soul Calibur, i loved them all. Even though EA didn't commit the Sega sports games were as good imo.

As for the DCs demise, i remember how gutted i was but not surprised when i heard it was being discontinued, in my year in school i was the only one who had a DC. Sadly not longer after that my house got burgled and my DC was taken amongst lots of other stuff. Got a whack of insurance money but invested elsewhere instead. I deeply regret now not snapping up cheap DC hardware & games in its dying days.

97i9y3941

from a business view,they had no choice to kill it,it nearly bankrupted sega belive it or not

CiDeRmAn

I imported my DC from Japan, it came in a lovely orange box, with the dude in the specs in a big picture on one side, I got Pen Pen Tri Icelon, Incoming and VF3 with it, and was very happy, even with the running, swiming sliding penguins!
I loved Incoming though, a conversion of the PC game it was smashing, for it's time, although it may have had something to do with the fact that there wasn't a whole lot else to play!

I remember going on my first trip to London, we had just spent the previous day at the British F1GP and we decided to head down to London for a but of craic.
I seemed to find my way to Computer Exchange and there picked up Buggy Heat, which I then had to carry around for the rest of the night as we didn't go back to the hotel, so ended up getting very drunk in an irish bar, listening to a dance mix of the old Late Late Show theme whilst a DC disk case was squashing a kidney.

All that effort for a DC game!




A sh1te DC game!