They finally did something! |
New Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi Games Announced by Sega!
Blue Stinger: On a Hello Market Slay Ride
"And when those
blue snowflakes start falling
That's when those
blue memories start calling
You'll be doing
all right
With your
Dreamcast of white
But I'll have a
blue, blue, blue, Blue Stinger"
- Elvis Presley, or a Vegas impersonator thereof
Every year, I must indulge in a series of holiday rituals
before I can even think about getting into the Christmas spirit. First, I’ll string up multicolor lights around my living room. Then I’ll help bring cheer to the
folks of Twin Seeds City with a couple runs through Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams. Inevitably, I’ll watch
Clark Griswold be an asswart to his neighbor Julia Louise-Dreyfus
in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. It’s a process.
With those nostalgic boxes checked, I’ll then turn to more
subtle, personal ways of rediscovering the holiday magic. I'll take a simple reprieve
from the stressful work season with my puppy. And stuff my gullet with my
mom and aunt’s dueling cookie platters. My girlfriend and I also tried hate-watching Lifetime holiday movies until we realized we were just normal-watching
them. Shout out to the one about the family's struggling fruitcake company and the
one with Reba McEntire, btw. By this point, I’m really starting to feel the
Christmas spirit.
Then – when the time is just right – I’ll pop the star atop the proverbial
tree: Climax Graphics’ Christmas-adjacent
Dreamcast classic, Blue Stinger.
Whether the Dreamcast fan community regards it as a brilliant cult classic or a survival horror(ible) jankfest, Blue Stinger doesn’t much give a fuck what we think of it. All told, it's an absurd and campy holiday action game that makes my cup runneth over with Yuletide joy.
Shenmusings of Dobuita, Community, and the Friends We Stalked Along the Way
Sakura Wars Returns with Flying Colours (PS4 Review)
Despite the series' massive success, Sakura Wars was probably deemed too culturally-different for Western gamers, probably due to its heavy use of unfamilar (at least, back in the late '90s and early 00's), visual novel/dating simulation-style gameplay. The only Sakura Wars game from the original batch to be localised into English was the fifth game in the franchise, Sakura Wars V: So Long, My Love (released on the Wii and PS2). Most would probably agree that it wasn't the best entry the series had to offer, but hey, at least it was something. The series would then remain untouched for many years.
But Sakura Wars has stepped back onto the stage and into the limelight once again. Sega have blessed us with a worldwide (albeit, staggered) release of a flashy modern-gen reboot of Sakura Wars, exclusively for PlayStation 4. Developed by Sega's CS2 R&D department, Sakura Wars saw involvement from new and returning staff; including veteran Sega producer Tetsu Katano, director Tetsuya Otsubo and music composer Kohei Tanaka. Tite Kubo, the creator of manga ultra-hit Bleach was responsible for the designs of the main cast of characters. Guest artists BUNBUN (Sword Art Online), Ken Sugimori (Pokémon) and Shigenori Soejima (Persona) contributed their talents towards the designs of various supporting characters. It's clear from such star studded pedigree that Sega really pulled out all the stops for this one, and as an owner of a pre-order copy that turned up three days early, I'm happy to confirm that it resulted in a big success. If you're a fan of Sakura Wars, you'll be happy to know Sega have done the franchise the justice it deserves. If you're new to Sakura Wars, this is the perfect entry point.
Dreamcast Fishing Games: The Ultimate Guide
Expanding the Dreamcast Collection: Part 2 - The Hikaru Seven
Back now? OK, great - let’s get started.
Part 2: The Hikaru Seven
The Sega Hikaru was released into the arcades in the year 1999 becoming the third system in the Dreamcast family (the first and second being the Naomi and Dreamcast respectively). Development of the Hikaru was born out of the necessity to convincingly recreate fire, water and the subsequent lighting and particle effects required for such a task in the game 'Shouboushi Brave Firefighters.' Rendering such effects in a semi realistic manner was cutting edge at the time and beyond the capabilities of the original Naomi hardware, so a beefed up version of the system was hastily developed at the request of the game's development team.
The specs of the Hikaru differ from the Naomi in that it utilises a custom Sega GPU and doubles-up on many components; 2 x Hitachi SH-4 CPUs and double the amount of RAM and VRAM. Furthermore, Hikari units are standalone systems not designed for games to be easily interchangeable like the carts seen on the Naomi. Each unit comes with a ROM board containing a specific game fixed in-place inside a heavy duty metal case, much like the House of the Dead 2 board and the predecessors to the Naomi, the Sega Model 2 and 3.
Left: Model 2. Right: Hikaru |
Sega 1999 Annual Report Surfaces On eBay
Sadly, this asteroid is now hurtling away from the Earth at such a rate that the ethernet cable connecting it to my laptop is getting worryingly taught. No matter though, as it has come up with the goods once again - this time discovering an eBay UK auction for a rather interesting article of Dreamcast paraphernalia. I say 'Dreamcast,' but it's actually more 'Sega' - a copy of the Annual Report from 1999. The images shown in the listing hint at revealing financial figures and the introduction has an upbeat and forward thinking tone.
Throwing Sticks In Rivers
Indeed, I think you can argue that the Dreamcast's failure and Sega's demise haunts the industry today. That idea that a company so fundamental to the business and culture of an industry can, with one infamous phone call, suddenly cease to be, end in such a messy and brutal way, hovers now like a grim spectre over all of gaming.
More DC fan service from Sega themselves!
Sega Game Archive Room
That's pretty impressive.
It's sad that nobody remembers why such a room was created but it's nice that they are going to let people play the games. Hopefully this will lead people to create some cool games based on past greats. I mean they are making Mega Man 9 in retro format. Why not make some old retro Sega games?
I hope someone is smart enough to look through all those Dreamcast CD-Rs for unreleased games. With all those CD spindles there you KNOW there are some playable releases for titles we never saw.
I would have such a good time in that room. (Then I would try to sneak out with twin sticks under my jacket when I left)
Pulled from Kotaku.
Top Dreamcast Moments of 2007
But that's all right because 2007 was a year stuffed with awesome Dreamcast occurrences!
Join me, will you, as I blog about some of my personal favorites...
New Dreamcast games!
Karous, Trigger Heart Exelica and Last Hope. Remember these? What a great year for classic shumps!
Proving once again that the Dreamcast IS the undead console, new games were announced for 2008 as well. This was AFTER the GD-Rom was discontinued!
Redspotgames doesn't want to leave the Dreamcast.
Interview.
Website.
They are coming out with Dalforce and Wind And Water Puzzle Battle this year!
And lets not forget about Dynamite Dreams!
4 players with VMU mode!
http://alicedreams.com/NewsANG.htm
And of course we cannot forget the many homebrew releases and ports from the Dreamcast Evolution site!
http://www.dcevolution.net/
My Favorite?
http://www.dcevolution.net/game_bass.php
Beneath a Steel Sky! If you have a Dreamcast mouse and keyboard you will be all set!
Nick Perry gets a new copy of Resident Evil 2 for the Dreamcast
Just a random youtube video. But I liked it and the Resident Evil 2 Dreamcast version is the best one out there!
The Dreamcast 2 rumour.
Is it possible to crush the Dreams of Sega fans anymore? Yes, yes it is.
Getting a copy of Powerstone 2!
Ok, this was just a personal thing. I have wanted a copy of this game for a long time. I was so lucky to get this game and many other Dreamcast gems in 2007. I made the effort to rearrange my collection this year as well so I got to get some new pics up.
And my personal favorite for 2007?
The Dreamcast guitar.
I don't know why this masterpiece (originally blogged here by Gagaman(n)) caught my attention but it did. Perhaps it's just a nice symbol of how cool the Dreamcast and the Dreamcast community is.
Thank you Flooky from Destructoid.
Here is hoping for an awesome 2008.
Some cool Dreamcast review videos from The Classic Game Room
Before the dot-com bubble burst this show reviewed the latest and greatest video games. You can learn more about the show at their website.
Anyways, they reviewed video games in a minimalist style that was sometimes insane, but always fun to watch. Here are a selection of some of their reviews of Dreamcast titles. You can learn something about the games, but please take these with a grain of salt. They were meant to be for entertainment. For Gods sakes they gave "Gundam" a higher rating than "Virtual On"!!! But still, enjoy...
...Did I also post these because I am too busy to make my own review video? Yes.
Dreamcast Hangover.
You see I was celebrating the Dreamcast's birthday last night with a few rounds on the off-white box.
Yep. In North America 9-9-99 only meant one thing...the Dreamcast (and stocking up on canned goods and bottled water for no good reason *Y2K*). And now so many years later the Dreamcast is still a wonderful gaming device enjoyed by many.
Yet this auspicious occasion was marred by this article that reminds us of of the sad truth that soon Sega will no longer support it's greatest creation. You should still read that Kotaku article though, the comments people listed below it are a testament to how great the Dreamcast truly is.
So go to Sega's website while you can if you need to grab a manual for the Dreamcast or a Sega Dreamcast game (Scroll down to the bottom of the manual's page). Or consider sending in your Dreamcast in to Sega to be fixed if it's a limited edition one.
I currently have 4 Dreamcast's in the house. One mint condition one hooked up to my VGA adaptor at my computer desk. My Sega Sports limited edition is in secure storage in my closet. Down cellar I have Dreamcast that has been professional repaired and a beater Dreamcast that I use the most. The only thing that has ever gone wrong with any of them was the control board blowing up the F1 fuse in my beater model. But a quick fix and that Dreamcast is still going strong. If you make sure that they are on a cool hard none-carpeted surface Dreamcast consoles can keep working for a long time... But it would be nice if I could send in my Dreamcasts to Sega to get professionally repaired after this month is over. Too bad.
Still it's not all bad news. While I was at a game store recently a young gamer who looked about 14 years old was buying Dreamcast games. I heard him tell the store clerk that he had only recently got a Dreamcast and that it was his favorite console. It's nice to know that the system keeps getting new fans even as Sega keeps trying to pull the plug on it.
But Sega can't end the Dreamcast. It has a life of it's own and it will never die.
All hail the undead console. All hail the Dreamcast.
Awesome art and video - Shenmue - I'm still waiting
What a cool mural! And the music was from the "Beats of Rage" Dreamcast homebrew game.
Dreamcast fans are the coolest.
Long live the undead console.
The Dreamcast Will Rise!
There are a million links to click on, but put together I think they suggest that the Dreamcast as a console is far from dead!What I didn't mention in the original post, was the love for the DC on a large amount of websites like this one, the homebrew, emu and mod scene and I don't think I emphasized how huge the retro gaming scene both in terms of popularity and as a profitable industry in its own right! At a time when next gen consoles are battling out in the market place, its significant that a selling point for the Wii is the opportunity to play twenty year old games on the Virtual Console.Have a look at this and please let me know what you think.. my guess is that opinion will pretty much be evenly divided, especially since the demise of the GD Rom and the announcement that Sega will be withdrawing technical support for the Dreamcast on September 27th of this year, still...
Wouldn't you like one of
and here:Play Asia
and here:Game Set Watch
and here:Amazon
and here:Gamestation
and here:Online Consoles
and here: The BBC
If there is one fact of which we can be certain its that Sega as a company NEVER miss an opportunity to whore out (or 'recycle for cash' to put it more delicately...) its back catalogue! So who knows? The Dreamcast, like the Game Gear before it, could one day rise from the grave...My opinion? Well lets just say I'm living in hope!!!