iVMU


Via Kotaku comes this rather cool VMU mod. Looks like the new iPod Nano has the exact same screen size as the Dreamcast's VMU, so somebody was smart enough to put two and two together! It's a pretty cool mod, however it would be extra cool if the VMU still functioned. The buttons seen above are merely aesthetic now. I'll bet some genius could jail break the Nano and add a VMU emulator then find some magical way for the Nano to talk to the Dreamcast. If only that was made a reality...


Check out more photos here!

Airbrushed Dreamcasts

Have we already seen these before?

Well if so they are worth another look.





Very nice work.

Chu Chu Rocket has got to be my favorite.

A few more in the artist's gallery -

http://www.topairbrush.com/Dreamcast.html

Dreamcast Cosplayer. Yep.


 We've seen it all now folks. Spotted this Tokyo game Show photo over at Tiny Cartridge. Nuff said.

Gagaman crazy DC splash out ...again.

So yeah, I've spent rather a big chunk of money on this large bundle of Dreamcast stuff you see above you. For reference there is 70 games amongst it (68 American, 1 PAL and 1 Japanese), two controllers, two VMUs, two rumble packs, a VGA box, two microphones (bundled with Seaman and Alien Front), a fishing controller and Samba De Amigo Maracas. To be fair I'm not keeping everything you see here: whenever I buy bundles I end up selling whatever I don't want out of it to make some of (or if I'm lucky sometimes all) the money back Obviously there are plenty of games here I already own, and in some cases I will be replacing my chunky PAL games with these much slimmer-on-the-shelf American versions.


Now I'm pretty aware that this black Sega Sports Dreamcast isn't mega rare over in America but not many of these pop up here in the UK for sale and I must say it's much nicer than I was expecting.The fact that even all the buttons and areas that are normally grey on a standard Dreamcast are all black too makes it look very slick, and the matching controller is a nice compliment to it as well. The system even had two black VMUs to blend in with it, though a shame there was never any black rumble packs. I now own PAL, American and Japanese Dreamcast consoles. Why? Why not?


The one lone Japanese game that featured with this bundle was also a highlight for me, that of the rather pricey 2.5D platformer Napple tale. Separately this would have cost me quite a bit, much like that time when I got a bundle that had Gigawing 2, Trizeal and Radilgy in it: it's the only way I'll ever afford to buy some of these rarer games, even if it does mean I end up with a ton of other games I already have lol.

Highlights amongst the huge array of American titles include Shenmue, Skies of Arcadia, Jet Grind Radio (now own all three regions of this game lol), all three Sonic games, both Tony Hawks, every Sega Sports 2K2 game (including the odd renaming of Virtua Tennis 2, changed in the US to Sega Sports Tennis 2K2), both Power Stones, Seaman, Alien Front Online, both Phantasy Star Onlines, both Crazy Taxis, Daytona USA, both Sega Bass and Marine Fishing, both Tokyo Extreme Racers, both Reday 2 Rumbles, and lots and lots more. Phew!

After sorting out what I want from the lot I have a total of around 200 games for my Dreamcast: roughly 50 PAL, 50 American and 100 Japanese, plus the indie releases, and I'm still not done! I must be nuts.

A wonderful image for Dreamcast fans

Dreamcast fans shed a tear, the legend has returned. Only platfrom mentioned thus far is PC, but a console port is not out of the question yet. More details and a trailer (no footage, just the logo) can be seen at SEGAbits.


 Update: Unrelated to the PSO2 announcement, but cool nonetheless is the official Japanese website for the Dreamcast rereleases. Very retro! Almost reminds me of the old Dreamcast Direct web pages. Check out the site here!

Dreamcast Collection - Sonic Adventure Trailer


Sonic Adventure is out today for the XBOX Live Arcade, check out the snazzy trailer SEGA put together! Bonus points for including the swirl logo. PlayStation users will have to wait a week for the game to hit PSN. While the delay is a shame for Sony fans, perhaps it was SEGA's choice to make them wait a week as a repercussion for supporting the PS2. I'm joking, I'm joking!


I've downloaded the game and played a good 15 minutes of Sonic's story and I have to say that I'm quite impressed! The game plays just as the Dreamcast version did, so yes there are the occasional glitches. Then again, just as an old car has its problems (you have to jiggle the keys to turn on the ignition!), if you're are accostomed to the flaws as one who played the Dreamcast game for years would be, you'll know how to avoid them. Basically what I'm trying to say is, if you played the game last week on the Dreamcast and enjoyed it, you'll enjoy it here.

There are also a number of cool features such as online leaderboards, a solid 60 fps framerate, achievements and the promise of DLC which is to include missions from the Gamecube's Sonic Adventure: DX as well as 360 avatar awards and items for use in the PS3's Home. Its also possible that the DLC will include the Game Gear games found in DX.

Obviously try it before you buy, but as a fan of the game I say pick it up! It has a helluva lot more content than most XBLA titles.

Dreamcast News Roundup

9/9 is a magnet for Dreamcast news. Within one week there are more stories of interest to Dreamcast fans than there is in a typical month! As such, I've rounded up some stories and news tips rather than stagger them over a series of posts (hence the term "roundup"). Let's get a long lil' doggies!


First up is a ALERT for those who subscribed to GOAT Store Publishings newsletter in an attempt to recieve their super special coupon, which is said to be all five of their indie titles for $50 (that's $36 savings!). Due to a glitch in their system on 9/9, many requests for their newsletter were lost. If you did not receive an email notification after signing up, you are not signed up. If you aren't subscribed, head on over to this link and do so. They've extended the coupon application time to Friday due to the glitch.


Next up is are two cool interviews with indie developers Senile Team and NG:Dev.Team courtesty of SEGAbits and brought to my attention by forum member cube_b3. These are the teams that brought us Rush Rush Rally Racing and the upcoming Fast Striker. Give the Senile Team interview a read here and also check out the NG:Dev.Team interview here!


This third piece of news is all about the rereleases of Dreamcast classics! Tomorrow Sonic Adventure will hit XBLA and PSN for $10, making it the first of the many promised Dreamcast releases from SEGA. The game will feature achievements/tropies and is said to feature DLC, though this feature has only been seen in very early leaks and could be cut for all I know. Check out the video above  and make sure to download the demo tomorrow if you can. Always try before you buy.


Another Dreamcast game being resurrected, this time on the iPod Touch and iPhone, is the awesome Chu Chu Rocket. Impressions of the game have been very positive, such as those found in this preview from Touch Arcade. Highlights from the preview include:

Multiplayer is 1-4 players, and you can either join up in teams of two or play free for all style. The goal here is to get as many mice to your own rocket as possible, while using arrows to direct cats into players rockets in order to prevent them from gaining any mice. This mode can be played over WiFi, 3G, or Bluetooth, and if you can't find any friends to play with you can add bots to the game and play against the AI. There are 25 levels to battle on, and the game will be the first from Sega to utilize Apple's new Game Center social network.

...

ChuChu Rocket! was a total blast when I had a chance to play it today, and it makes me sad that I never tried out this title almost a decade ago. It seems like a perfect fit for the iPhone, with all of the original levels reworked to be touch screen friendly. Gamers have been begging Sega to bring ChuChu Rocket! out on a current platform for years, and finally they will get their wish on the iPhone and iPad. Both versions will be exactly the same except for the iPad version which will contain a same-device 4 player multiplayer mode. Expect to see ChuChu Rocket! sometime in late October.

So there you have it for the Dreamcast news roundup! It seems every aspect of the undead console is thriving: the fan community, the developers and the games of old. All hail the undead console!

SegaShiro goes Soul Calibur Fishing!

When I was a guest on the SegaShiro podcast a few weeks back (if you didn't hear it, go download it now) I recommended (or should I say demanded) that the Shiro guys should try playing Soul Calibur with the Fishing controller at least once, and sure enough DJ Fob Fresh took up to the challenge and he uploaded a 20-odd minute video of his playthrough! I can't seem to find a way to embed the video here so you'll just have to head over to their site to see it. It also sounds like DarrenIndeed will be next on the site to do the same, wahaha!

Dreamroom 2010 Postgame Show

 For those who missed the action yesterday, check out all ten hours of my stream available to view for another week as well as Gagaman's stream which currently has his four hours of gameplay on loop.

Another year, another loop added to the Dreamcast's swirl. As I stepped outside this morning, after a day of Dreamcast gaming, I realized that I hadn't stepped outside the entire previous day! Still, it was all worth it and I'd gladly do it all again next year. In fact, I will do it all again next year! Until then, let's reminisce on something that happened 24 hours ago...

The fun began when the always awesome Gagaman made a wise last minute decision to begin the party early with Dreamroom 2010 UK. He even made a cool version of my logo to go with it, blue swirl and all! Gagaman played a variety of games, from Japanese oddities to SEGA Marine Fishing.

A real man's game.
After a good four hours of fun (which you can still watch) things switched over to my feed (which you can also still watch). During the ten plus hours that I played, a good number of visitors popped in including Junkyard favorites Gagaman, Stacey (who is actually the inspiration for the game 18 Wheeler!), Caleb, Tom (he stopped into Gagaman's stream), BIGMercenary, A Moomintroll and SEGAbits regulars Crackdude, Fluffy and Cube. The first portion of the day saw Sonic Adventure, a good number of demos, Rent-A-Hero, Rayman 2, a complete auto playthrough of Space Channel 5 (best ending ever), Cool Cool Toon, 18 Wheeler, Zombie Revenge, Sonic Adventure 2,  Tokyo Bus Guide, Ecco, Super Magnetic Neo (ARGH!) and Tech Romancer.

Words to live by.
A Dreamcast rug in Rent-A-Hero!
The second half saw a visit from my good IRL friend and Dreamcast fan Jason. Those on the chat were in awe that two Dreamcast fans could exist in the same city and know each other. To prove Jason's cred, I'll let you all know that he brought his own Dreamcast controller (red) with VMU, cable extender, maracas and games. We played a good number of 2 player games including Capcom vs. SNK, Last Blade 2, SEGA Rally 2, Star Wars Demolition, Rush Rush Rally Racing and an hour and a half of Samba de Amigo. Best. Game. Ever.

Tougher than it looks.
After 90 minutes of maraca shaking, I was beat and so I called it a night. The Dreamcast was shut off and yet it still retained a warmth that surly was due to the love it felt for all the fans who remembered its birthday. Okay, so it was actually hot due to ten hours of use, but I still think love played a small part.

Until 9/9/2011!

Dreamroom USA is LIVE!

Watch live video from Dreamroom on Justin.tv

LIVE from: 12am-11pm EST (US), 6pm-5am GMT (UK)

Some photos of the room:
The man of the hour
The guests of honor
Behind the scenes, very technical stuff
The VIPs

Dreamroom UK with the Gagaman starts now!

Oh hey, it's the 11th anniversary of the Dreamcast's American launch! Don't think i'm going to let Barry have all the livestreaming fun because in about an hour or so (so UK time 1pm) I'm going to be doing some livestreaming of direct-feed Dreamcast games on Gagatelly below!

 
gagaman on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Click on the link and you also be able to chat to me while I'm playing. Games I'm going to be having a crack at include Rush Rush Rally Racing,  hanagumi taisen Columns 2, Gigawing 2, Mars Matrix, Sega Marine Fishing and more (I may also take requests for games). I will stop streaming about 4 or 5pm, just in time for when Barry's much more well prepared livestream will be kicking off!

EDIT: Kicking off a bit early, why not?

Elusive 'My Wife And Kids' Dreamcast Image!


Well here's that picture I alluded to at the end of the last post. I found it here. Obviously they weren't that keen on saving their progress as you'll note there are no VMUs in the controllers.
It kind of ' gladdens' and 'saddens' me at the same time, to see the Dreamcsat showcased as THE cutting edge console in turn of the millenium films and TV shows. How short that particular meteoric blaze of glory was...

Here's a very poor youtube video to illustrate the point further.

Haarlem Globe-trotter

This is actually a REAL shop in Haarlem!!

Hey Up M'Dears!

'Tis I, your pimpernel-like, least prolific, and yet curiously most admired team member, Father Krishna!

"Who?" I hear you ask, -well a quick glance at the old side-bar should reveal my DCJY credentials, whilst a dip into the DCJY archives should reveal why I don't post here very often. The last time my DC received a play session, was a blast through Shenmue last October, to see if it still stood the test of time (it does!). This was inspired by my purchase of Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing which I dearly love, and play on the Xbox and DS.

However, as usual, I digress. I recently returned from the Astral Plane where I reside with those ethereal beings the 'Ascended Masters', in order to take a short visit to the wonderful cities of Amsterdam and Haarlem, in that most tolerant and easy going of territories, the Netherlands!

Apart from getting thoroughly off my twat on pipe fulls of (absolutely legal) Haarlem Haze and Ice-olator Resin, I also stumbled upon this little shop which proudly displayed an image of the Hallowed Hedgehog, with the 'crap and unimaginative/post modern and ironic' shop name: Game Shop.


Once inside, there was a great selection of all things aSega including cartridges for the Game Gear, Master System and Megadrive, games for the 32X and Mega CD and this tidy little collection of Dreamcast and Saturn games. The games were an exorbitant 15+ Euros, and were not particularly rare or exciting. Thus nothing got bought for my Dreamcast or Saturn collections.


What I did buy was this rather lovely little nugget for the Gameboy Advance - Sonic Pinball Party.


Chock full of Sega goodness, this basic pinball sim features both the Saturn's 'NiGHTS' and the Dreamcast's favourite primate, 'Samba'. In fact in 2003, (in contrast to the glut of ports heading from the Dreamcast to the Xbox, Gamecube and PS2), Sonic Pinball and Jet Set Radio for the Gameboy Advance were among the only original games using Dreamcast IP game characters that were still being produced!

It's always good to stumble across a tiny independent gameshop that still sells Dreamcast merchandise, even better when said discovery comes after a particularly potent strain of bubble hash on a beautiful day in the coolest country in Europe.

(On a 'Tomleecee DC spotting' related note, the Kyle family in My Wife And Kids are always playing the Dreamcast, I just don't know how how to capture the image and print it here!)

Take care peeps!
FK :)