Some Cool Dreamcast Pin Badges From Dreamcast Collectiv

I recently received a package in the mail. Not an uncommon experience for most of you reading this - getting mail (or 'post' as we call it here in the UK) is an everyday phenomenon. Sometimes our mail is a demand for an unpaid bill, the thinly-veiled threat of bailiffs being sent round to our humble abode to confiscate our collection of 1920s beer bottle caps contained therein. Said hypothetical bottle caps will be sold at an equally hypothetical auction, and the funds 'acquired' subsequently forwarded on the creditor. This scenario is purely hypothetical. It was actually my collection of Ford Mondeo sump plugs that they took...but I digress.

A recent mail drop into my heavily guarded compound contained some rather lovely items: a trio of Dreamcast-related pin badges created by Dreamcast Collectiv to mark the 20th anniversary of our beloved console. Point your eyes at them:
One is a rather lovely smiling VMU, one is an Arcade Stick, and the other a lozenge emblazoned with '20th Anniversary,' which of course, is 2019 if you live anywhere that isn't Japan. Or any country that doesn't follow the Gregorian calendar. They are really rather nice, and are so well produced you'd be forgiven for thinking they were actually made by Sega.

I must thank the gentleman who sent them to me, at no cost and completely out of the blue. A man named Rene whom I salute and thank. Rene, if you're reading this, check your letterbox (erm...mail thing on a stick?) for a reciprocating gesture of goodwill and love of the Dreamcast in due course.
You can check out the Dreamcast Collectiv (and find out when their next awesome live event will be) by following them on Twitter here, or by looking at all their other social links here. Cheers Rene :)

The Dreamcast Cocktail


For a limited time (Oct 15 to Nov 14, 2018), there was a Dreamcast inspired cocktail available from Japanese Karaoke Bar chain JOYSOUND.
Classy
It was only available on the secret "back menu" - items that were unlisted and not advertised in store. You could only order one if you were "in the know" and hence forth impress all your Japanese salarymen and careerwomen buddies. It would set you back a princely 680 Yen.

And just what goes into a Dreamcast cocktail, you might ask? Let me impress you with my elite on screen character recognition software and google translate skills:

(....drum roll....)


Dreamcast: Year One Smashes Kickstarter Target

Hello. It's me, Tom. Been a while hasn't it? Enough about me though (sort of) - there's a new book all about the Dreamcast coming very soon! Full disclosure: I was actually interviewed for this book, so I do have a special interest; however it's still nice to see yet another physical tome dedicated to Sega's final console assume a physical - albeit not yet final - form. Yes, Andrew Dickinson's Dreamcast: Year One recently hit its Kickstarter goal of £6,000 and will now join the recent, similarly Kickstarted PS Vita: Year One as part of 2 Old 4 Gaming's stable of niche publications.

As stated, I was interviewed for Dreamcast: Year One and Andrew sent me a list of probing questions about my affinity with the console, my favourite games, and where I think the future of the system and its faithful community lie. To be honest, most of the stuff I wax lyrical about can probably be found in the archives of this very blog, such has my life been completely ingrained and documented here over the past decade and a half. That said, it was an honour to take part, and due to the success of the Kickstarter, the book looks set to be sent out to backers in October 2019.

Naturally, it's not all about me (weak McFly reference - check), as several other much more important people are also interviewed, with editor of DC-UK magazine Caspar Field,  editor of Official UK Dreamcast Magazine Ed Lomas, and former SEGA America chief Bernie Stolar amongst that number. There are also a bunch of mini reviews and deep dives on certain Dreamcast games. As the name suggests, it will primarily focus on the first year of the Dreamcast's meagre lifespan, and have a very distinct UK flavour which will make this book pretty unique in comparison to the mainly Japan and US focused stuff we're used to. There's a glut of original artwork by artist Erik Pavik that accompanies the words too. Overall it looks to be a very nice addition to the 2 Old 4 Gaming library.

The previous release from 2 Old 4 Gaming was the aforementioned PS Vita: Year One, and again - full disclosure - I was a backer and recipient of that book. As something of a PS Vita fanboy, I was very impressed with the accuracy and quality of the information contained between the covers of that particular text, so I have high hopes for Dreamcast: Year One.
You can find out more about Andrew Dickinson's Dreamcast: Year One by visiting the Kickstarter page here, and the upcoming PS Vita: Year One and PS Vita: Year Two books from 2 Old 4 Gaming here.

It's worth noting that there is also the other Dreamcast Kickstarter book coming in 2019 from Darren Wall (you can read about that one here), but we think there's enough of a difference in approach to both of these projects that they can easily live side by side on anyone's bookshelf, coffee table or stall at an overpriced games convention.
Finally, some more full disclosure. You may have noted a recent drop off in terms of articles from myself here at The Dreamcast Junkyard. That's because I was totally fed up with the internet, gaming, the way everyone screams at each other on social media these days and, well, life in general. So I checked out of the internet and took a well-deserved hiatus.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, and continue to do so. To this end, I doubt very much that I'll be back to updating this place as regularly as I used to, but I'll be checking in with the odd update every now and then to help the other writers keep it all ticking over. I won't be going back on social media though. Oh no. That dumpster fire can burn itself to the ground, and through to the very core of the planet.