Dreamcast Collection Oddities - A Gallery as Submitted by Readers

A selection of the many superb collection items submitted by readers for this article.

Back in July we put out a call for readers to submit photos of items from their personal Sega Dreamcast collections that are unusual, unique, custom, weird, odd, obscure, esoteric, rare or overlooked. And of course, the network of international Dreamcast afficionados didn’t let us down. When placed together, all the submissions we received offer a great spread across the Dreamcast-weirdness spectrum that I’m delighted to now present here in this article.

Before we delve in though, a few words on the inspiration for this task. Firstly, exploring the esoteric nooks and crannies of Sega’s swansong console is something that can (occasionally) bring me joy, and, considering that the Junkyard has maintained a readership for two decades now, I guess that is the case for others too. Secondly, given that having more than a passing interest in the Dreamcast is clearly a niche affair, most are unlikely to have ‘real life’ friends or family that genuinely wish to hear about odd collectibles, so sharing with an internet community is where it's at. Lastly, in the context of auction bidding wars and inflationary prices, I thought it would be nice for folks to be able to share with each other, not in a boastful way, but in a spirit of mutual appreciation.

Fed up with this pretentious justification? I hear you. Here are the photos of cool Dreamcast stuff that you’ve come here for…

Not Your Average Console

I imagine most of you reading this know what a Dreamcast looks like (a sleek machine that can perfectly offset the offensive ugliness of the PS2 that it is designed to sit atop). The console wasn't around for long enough for second or third iterations which vary considerably in terms of physical appearance or technical features. Even so, a wide variety of special or limited editions were released (mainly in Japan), and now and then we get glimpses of D.I.Y. customisations that can vary in looks from, uh, shall we say "homely", to professional-grade perfection. The aesthetic variations of the Dreamcast have always interested me, and so I was pleased to see that we received five contributions that scratch that itch.

First of all, we have two official variants of the console, both of which have peculiar origin stories. According to a sketchy internet source, the CSK Dreamcast, a photo of which was kindly sent in by JoeEardley77, was distributed by the health insurance arm of Japanese conglomerate CSK to Sega employees under the impression that they would use it to digitally connect with healthcare providers from home. Whether that actually occurred on a widespread basis is unclear. Using a DreamEye to consult with a doctor is definitely no longer possible (or advisable), but the console itself, whose origins are only given away by a sticker placed atop the console shell and packaging, is a neat artifact nonetheless. 

CSK Dreamcast submitted by JoeEardley77.

The Regulation 7 Dreamcast, a photo of which has been submitted by Rosewood, was supposedly distributed to Japan's pachinko (slot machine) parlours, presumably to be used as either as a demo kiosk or perhaps a cheap internet browsing device. I seem to recall folks explaining that, because gambling for cash is illegal in Japan, this variant was also offered as a prize to parlour customers, although Google is now telling me that it was made available for mail order in 2001 too. Whatever the exact answer may be, the console looks lush.

Regulation 7 Dreamcast submitted by Rosewood.

Next up, we have two variants of the Dreamcast console that definitely aren't official. The custom-painted Illbleed-themed Dreamcast submitted by waynejamesp will undoubtedly appeal to devotees of the quirky horror game which has amassed a bit of a cult following in recent years. With an average NTSC-U copy of Illbleed now costing above $200, painting your console might actually be a more affordable way to demonstrate your love for this particular game. 

Illbleed console submitted by waynejamesp.

The black Treamcast, submitted by le_Pot_de_Mayo, isn't quite as unique, but is still legitimately worthy of the "L@@K RARE" eBay label, and has bizarre origins that are perfect for the scope of this article. First produced in 2002 or 2003 by a Hong Kong-based manufacturer, the Treamcast is essentially a modified Dreamcast, repackaged into a smaller shell with an integrated fold-out screen. Despite arriving after the console's official death, this transportable Dreamcast allegedly sold quite well, even despite the fact that its distribution to Western markets was hamstrung thanks to Sega's disapproval. 

Treamcast submitted by le_Pot_de_Mayo.

The last console that we are to feature is one which, on the face of it, might look pretty ordinary. OK, admittedly the packaging for this first launch variant featuring eight photos of the then-President of Sega Japan, Hidekazu Yukawa, is cool — but those of you that have browsed internet auction websites will know they are fairly common. What makes this particular edition stand out though is that it features stamps confirming it was purchased on the original Japanese release day of November 27, 1998. Thanks go to The SegaHolic of the Sega Guys for submitting these photos. Next you need to track down and interview the person who bought this exact console... How hard could it be?

Launch edition Dreamcast submitted by The SegaHolic.

Esoteric Accessories

Now we move on from consoles into the realm of wacky accessories. Again, given the brief officially-sanctioned lifespan of the Dreamcast, it is strange to consider how extensive its range of accessories was. I also wonder what the heck some of the manufacturers were thinking (or smoking) when they put some of these contraptions out, given how limited their sales were likely to be, but am glad that they proceeded regardless. 

Top of the billing in this section is a gorgeous pair of Mad Catz Panther XL controllers submitted to us by hawkzero, which can bat for North America in this otherwise Japan-heavy article. These weighty flight-controller-type instruments not only featured a joystick with a complicated array of buttons, but had a glowing track ball to boot. Personally I have never wielded one of these muthers, but remember some folks swearing by their use for first person shooters prior to the introduction of methods that allow for contemporary dual-analog controllers to be used on the Dreamcast.

Mad Catz Panther XL controllers submitted by hawkzero.

Moving onto something that I have encountered on many more occasions (usually looking grubby at a windswept car boot sale), we have this pristine set of Electronics Boutique game racks submitted by Mikowski. Granted, those photographed here are looking much fresher than I recall, and the now iconic PAL blue colour undeniably lends them some class. Perhaps I'll have to pick some up myself next time they appear in the wild...

Electronics Boutique PAL game racks submitted by Mikowski.

Third in the accessories section is the Dreamcast Karaoke unit, with an additional officially-licensed microphone, submitted by scene stalwart Chris Nunn. For many years these units were nothing but aesthetically cool yet technically redundant pieces, although in recent years there have been some partially-successful attempts to bring some practical life back into them. The officially-licensed mic rounds things off nicely and is not something I have come across before - maybe the Junkyard team should get a bunch to use for recording the DreamPod (style over sound quality).

Dreamcast Karaoke add on and microphone submitted by Chris Nunn.

Next up is this photo of the lesser-spotted Dreamcast to Neo-Geo Pocket link cable in action submitted by Tom Waterhouse. I have often come across pictures of this bit of kit and its packaging, but hardly ever see it being put to use. Although it is only compatible with around half a dozen games, there is something warm and fuzzy about the concept for this accessory, with two gaming hardware manufacturers cooperating in a way that I can't imagine the likes of Nintendo or Sony would countenance. The fact that both consoles were commercial flops is the icing on the cake.

Dreamcast to Neo-Geo Pocket link cable submitted by Tom Waterhouse.

The fifth item, or more accurately, set of items, to introduce here are this majestic set of Dreammovie VCD/MP3 players submitted by Derek Pascarella. Like the Treamcast, this was another of the unlicensed aftermarket Dreamcast accessories to come out of China. At one time they were ten-a-penny on import websites such as Lik-Sang, but now they are rare as hens' teeth. Derek informs us that the Dreammovie player was released in at least three variations under different company names such as Innovation and BearCity, and has some surprisingly good MPEG-1 video decoding. Apparently the IR dongle must be present for the included software to work though, hence why it hasn't been ripped and widely shared.

Dreammovie VCD/MP3 players submitted by Derek Pascarella.

Last, but by no means least, we have one of the few D.I.Y submissions — a BBA adapter produced from a modified Atomiswave communication cartridge, as submitted by delux. When this modification was first uncovered by Xrider a few years back, there were high hopes that it could offer a cheaper alternative to the official Dreamcast BBA, and some folks even began producing and distributing conversion kits. However, as the presumably extremely small cache of Atomiswave communication cartridges was exhausted, these hopes were pretty much dashed. Still, it's a cool item all the same, and goes to show how close the Dreamcast and Atomiswave were (we were robbed by the lack of any official ports, were we not!?).

Atomiswave/DC BBA adapater submitted by delux.

Retail Games and MIL-CDs

Unsurprisingly, given the scope of the call for submissions, we didn't receive many photos of games. Games are the bread and butter of any collection after all, and the vast majority aren't likely to be particularly unusual (discounting their potentially wacky premises). However, the submissions we did get were doozies, and will be rightfully afforded some column inches here before I tackle the behemoth final section.

Photos of signed copies of Feet of Fury and Ooga Booga were sent in by darksaviour69 and pcwzrd13 respectively. Even without the signatures, both games are special for their own reasons, with Feet of Fury being the first ever commercially released indie game for the console, and Ooga Booga being one of the crop of games to be released with online multiplayer in North America in September/October 2001. The signed copy of Feet of Fury was provided by its developers as a gift in thanks for darksaviour69 sending copies of UK mags that had covered the game stateside, while the copy of Ooga Booga was signed by its dev team at Visual Concepts after pcwzrd13 reached out to them regarding the online revival of the game. 

Signed copy of Feet of Fury submitted by darksaviour69.

Signed copy of Ooga Booga submitted by pcwzrd13.

We also received some photos of one of the most elusive indie releases for the Dreamcast, Dráscula: The Vampire Strikes Back, submitted by Chris Nunn. Understandably, Chris had to be persuaded to submit these, because really, this version of the game is an abomination. As explained by Mike Phelan in his review for the Junkyard, this release is little more than a freeware copy of the game running (badly) via the otherwise well regarded emulator ScummVM, slapped on to a CDR and thrown into a jewel case with some horrifically ugly artwork. For these reasons though, Dráscula perfectly suits the scope of this article. 61 people backed this project for at least €35 a pop, so I would assume there aren't many more copies than that kicking about in the wild.

Dráscula submitted by Chris Nunn.

Last in this section is an interesting photo from Alejandra Santiago exhibiting discs in the one other main format that the Dreamcast supported besides the GD-ROM, the MIL-CD. Doc Eggfan neatly summed up this curiosity back in 2015 so I don't have to: "Sega went to great lengths to ensure that the Dreamcast had as many multimedia capabilities as possible. Their guilty conscience perhaps guided them a step too far by developing and promoting brand new CD formats specifically tailored to the Dreamcast hardware, one of which was the MIL-CD format. Similar to the mysterious CD+G karaoke format mentioned in Mega CD manuals, the MIL-CD was intended to expand the capabilities of Audio CDs to include navigation menus, internet capabilities and video."

MIL-CDs submitted by Alejandra Santiago

Promo Items Galore

I suppose promotional items are inherently peculiar things, whether that be because they are produced for display purposes only, are distributed to limited audiences (the press and industry heads), or are distributed widely with the assumption that they will likely end up in the bin soon after use. Their manufacturers probably didn't expect that some folks would be treasuring these items for years to come, but fortunately for our purposes, they have been. As this final section is a hefty one I'll try to keep my comments short and let the photos do most of the talking for themselves.

Leading the charge here are some sublime promotional standees for Power Stone, Phantasy Star Online, Shenmue II and the Dreamcast console itself, as submitted by collecting supremo Bat, James Brown of the Shenmue Dojo and TraynoCo of Sega Saturn, Shiro! Props to them for keeping these bits of vulnerable cardboard free from creases, tears, stains, and mould for two decades or more. 

Yukawa Senmu & Hideaki Takizawa promotional countertop submitted by Bat.

Shenmue II standee submitted by James Brown.

Power Stone and Phantasy Star Online standees submitted by TraynoCo.

Moving on we have two impressive Seaman promotional items submitted by Mazonemayu and King Monkey. The faux-food can has a delightful wackiness that matches the vibes of the game perfectly. Its contents (some kind of scrumptious biscuit?) are now surely non-edible, but the speaker in its lid is still going strong and plays a wry message upon being activated.

Seaman promo tin submitted by Mazonemayu.

Seaman journal submitted by King Monkey.

The sixth and seventh entries are a yet-to-be-used set of Space Channel 5 magnets and a totally bodacious Crazy Taxi model car kindly sent in by ebolamonkey13 and Uncle Clutch. I actually have no knowledge of the origins of either of these pieces so will say no more - please feel free to enlighten us in the comments if you are reading this and are in the know.

Space Channel 5 magnets submitted by ebolamonkey13.

Crazy Taxi model car submitted by Uncle Clutch.

Coming in close to the end are two submissions that are neat time capsules of the Dreamcast era. The FuncoLand 'Dream Team' card, a photo of which was kindly provided by LivingOnWheels, supposedly entitled holders to special promotional offers on Dreamcast purchases — a nice gesture, but one that likely expired when the retailer was merged into what would be GameStop in December 2000. Conversely, the DVD format would still have many years ahead of it at the time that the Total DVD promotional disc seen below was produced. Featuring trailers of Dreamcast games on a format that could not be played on the console is a weird choice for sure, and we thank MikeRox for bringing it to our attention.

FuncoLand Dream Team card submitted by LivingOnWheels.

 

Total DVD cover disc submitted by MikeRox.

The final entry in this section, and in this lengthy article as a whole, is a Portuguese promotional brochure for the Dreamcast simply titled 'Natal 2000' or 'Christmas 2000' in English. Alongside a narrative which has a combative tone desperately trying to keep the Dreamcast alive in the face of the PS2 launch, the brochure curiously features several games that would go on to be cancelled (such as Heroes of Might and Magic III, Black & White, and Renegade Racers). Perhaps the most interesting detail about this brochure, however, is the fact that it actively promotes Bleemcast, something we're sure Sony would not have been too happy with had they got wind of it back in the day. Ricardo Pinto sent us their copy all the way from Brazil, and so naturally, we had to scan it, and ensure a copy is preserved online (view it here).

I wonder if claiming that DVD, MP3 and Zip Drive add-ons were coming down the line actually led to any more consoles sales?

* * *

We are extremely grateful to all the readers, listeners and friends that took the time to dust off and photograph the oddities of their collections. The Junkyard wouldn't be what it is without folks like you.

As always, comments are welcomed. Did any of the items featured take your fancy? Are we mistaken about the origins of any of them? Let us know below.