Dreamzone Magazine: First 15 Issues now Digitally Preserved

 

Parles-tu français? No, me neither. Languages weren't a strength of mine at school, and despite some derisory attempts to pick up Spanish during adulthood, I remain a stereotypically monolingual Brit. Nevertheless, last year I took up the task of acquiring and scanning a whole heap of Dreamcast magazines from across the globe that had yet to be digitally preserved. A handful of those missing from the internet are in English, but the vast majority are in the Romance languages of my European neighbours, Japanese and even varieties of Chinese. 

Why on earth would I bother doing this? Well, for one, I'm hopeful that the pages of these mags might contain some information that is useful to hobbyists, journos and potentially even the more rigorous varieties of gaming historians.

Fortunately the Junkyard crew's attitudes towards our French neighbours are much more comradely than that shown in this Dreamarena chat snippet...

Secondly, it seemed a shame that masses of material was only available to those who were fortunate enough to hold private collections. And lastly, given that there is no profit to be made from it, it was unlikely that digital preservation of this sort was going to happen unless I (or other volunteers) took it up. Oh, and the biggest reason of all - I'm a big dork and get a kick out of dorky endeavours.

Ok, enough with the prelude and on to the main event. The primary purpose of this post is to announce that the first 15 issues of the French magazine Dreamzone are now available for your viewing pleasure, hosted by the virtual Aladdin's cave that is Sega Retro. That is, over 2,000 pages of retro gaming journalism, brought back to life kicking and screaming from the dark depths of the turn of the Millennium. 

Feel free to browse the scans for yourself, or, for an introduction to the magazine and a run-down of its contents, read-on.

Dreamzone: Stalwarts of the French Scene (1998-2002)

Launched by the prolific FJM Publications in December of 1998, Dreamzone was the first magazine of its ilk to appear in Europe. Understandably enthused by the Japanese launch, their early start meant that the first few issues of the mag were dominated by salivating previews and reviews of exotic Japanese imports, as well as extensive pondering over what the coming European launch may entail. Once the wait was over in late 1999 a substantial proportion of the page budget was duly turned over to a PAL-specific focus, though coverage of the many, many Japanese releases still remained a mainstay until the bitter end.

The FJM Publication team circa 2000, featuring two chaps who took up the Editor-in-Chief role for Dreamzone: Vincent Maulon (issues 7-15) and Cedric Devoyon (issues 16-29).

Dreamzone featured everything you might expect from a magazine of its genre and age: a copious letters section, interviews with game industry heads, reporting from events, boisterous editorials, competitions, game tips, reviews and previews, and of course, crass slobbering over a digital Lara Croft. What was perhaps a little more odd was their persistent coverage of the Neo Geo Pocket - seemingly adopted as an unofficial companion for the Dreamcast, perhaps in spite of the console war rivals over at Nintendo. Looking at it through the lens of 2024, the haphazard reporting on movies and websites that filled the back end of the mag seems rather twee too, but may well have added some value for readers at a time when internet access was limited.

"I'm not BOY". Vive la Neo Geo Pocket!

Despite lacking the GD-ROM giveaway of its official competitor, Dreamzone still packed a lot of bang for it's buck (or Franc to be more precise), coming in at 132 pages per issue on average. And, from what can be established through some rudimentary internet sleuthing, the mag appears to be fondly remembered by many a French millennial - more so than its other national competitor, Game Dream, which was bizarrely ran by the same publishing house. Whether Dreamzone ever actually made it to the shores of distant Francophone territories mentioned in the small print of its cover (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Quebec) is a question for another day... 

The first 15 issues that have been preserved here exhibit all the optimism and wonder that surrounded the Dreamcast during its gestation and initial months on the European market. Later on, in 2001, when the Dreamcast's brief commercial life was clearly in mortal danger, Dreamzone adopted the tagline “toute l’actualite de la Dreamcast et des autres consoles 128 bits” (all the news about the Dreamcast and other 128-bit consoles) and thereby became a multi-format magazine of sorts. Nevertheless, I think we can forgive the publisher and editorial team for this sinful survival tactic, given that most other Dreamcast magazines chose to simply shut up shop altogether. Instead, Dreamzone soldiered on until January of 2002, thereby bowing out of the game as the longest running Dreamcast magazine in Europe.

From the Pages of Dreamzone Issues 1-15:

Ads, Ads and More Ads

Adverts were (and to a lesser extent, still are) a vital source of revenue for magazines. Therefore, I can only assume the period surrounding the first five issues, in which virtually none appeared, must have been a lean time for the Dreamzone crew. Fortunately though, from issue six onwards, the adverts for Dreamcast games and hardware began to appear. Many of these were placed by Sega of Europe themselves and were consistent in displaying the distinctive style and messaging of the company at that time, not least in encouraging (friendly?) inter-European national rivalries.

Cancelled, Rumoured and Unreleased Games Galore

Due in part to its premature commercial decline, there were a plethora of games in the works for the Dreamcast that were culled prior to being released, ranging from those that had barely made it into development (a la The Simpsons Bug Squad!) all the way to fully finished titles (like Dee Dee Planet). With a page budget to fill, and readers to entice, Dreamzone understandably covered many of these games. Of course, they also reported on plenty of rumoured titles whose basis in reality likely never progressed beyond a publisher hinting that a DC release could be on the cards. Real or not, it's interesting to see what was being touted for the Dreamcast at the time.

Reviews: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The first 15 issues of Dreamzone featured a whopping 175 reviews. Of course, reviews are ultimately very subjective affairs, and the usefulness of slapping a score on a game is a little dubious. Nevertheless, it's interesting to see how the Dreamzone reviewers perceived the front-end of the Dreamcast's release schedule - particularly so given that commonly held perceptions of games can shift over time. The top scoring titles from this era of the magazine are tough to argue with and align pretty closely with those at the zenith of Junkyard's own Top 200 list - all barring The Nomad Soul that is. Likewise, I have little truck with the assigning of dismal scores to the likes of Roadsters, The Ring and ECW Hardcore Revolution. Others here have clearly been shafted though. The bizarre premise of Roommania deserves more than 3 points on its own, and stamping the lovable Sengoku Turb with a 35 just seems mean.

 

Captivating Cover Art

Securing a front cover magazine splash used to be a big deal for the creators of a game. Occasionally an Editor's decision about which title to feature could be swayed by the degree of access that was afforded by developers to a newsroom hungry for exclusive material. No doubt decisions were also influenced by the need to flog copies, hence the presence of games that were generating a hype (as with Shenmue). Whatever their reasonings though, the Dreamzone team adorned their covers with some gorgeous wrap-around artwork dedicated to a wide array of titles, including a handful of gems that didn't make it big back then but have since gained appreciation in the contemporary scene, like Elemental Gimmick Gear.

 * * *

So, what's next on this preservation journey?

Issues 16-29 of Dreamzone are in progress and I'm hoping to make them available later in 2024. Once I've had a bloody good kip and a strong cuppa, I'll then turn my attention to the dozens of copies of other Dreamcast magazines that are cluttering my shelves and need to be cleaned, guillotined and scanned. Next up will most likely be the only unofficial mag emanating from the United States, Ziff Davis Publishing's DCM.

 

 

If you're feeling generous and would like to help cover the costs involved, then please do take a gander at my GoFundMe page. Likewise, should you wish to see the Junkyard keep on keeping on, then do consider chucking us a few quid to help us to cover our operating costs. If you can't spare any change in these tough times though then don't worry, just drop us a comment below instead!