Showing posts with label Crowd Funding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crowd Funding. Show all posts

Next-gen Dreamcast VMU 'VM2' campaign is now live on Indiegogo

A few months ago we brought you the news that Dreamconn creator Chris Daioglou had turned his attention to the humble Dreamcast VMU. In a scene not too dissimilar to that bit in that documentary where Steve Rogers is enrolled in the Super Soldier program, Chris has embarked on a full-fledged project to completely upgrade and overhaul Sega's diminutive little handheld-cum-memory card and turn it into a device befitting the 21st century.

Titled VM2, the newly redesigned Dreamcast memory card will boast such features as:

  • A new monochrome backlit LCD screen
  • Higher screen resolution
  • Micro-SD storage
  • Internal storage of 128KB (200 blocks)
  • Embedded High-capacity battery
  • USB-C connection
  • Original audio support
  • DreamEye support
  • The ability to stream LCD game images to a PC
Originally, VM2 looked like it would come in a slightly altered, chunkier bespoke form factor. However, with a little bit of internal jiggery-pokery it appears that Chris has managed to shoehorn all the internal gubbins into an original VMU case. Lovely stuff.
Source: VM2 Indiegogo campaign

So far, so good then. A new iteration of the VMU to sit alongside your GDEMU-enabled, DCHDMI-capable, Noctua fan-bequeathed Dreamcast console. But what of the price of such a device? Chris initially hinted that the price would come in around the £100 mark...and that's exactly where the newly launched Indiegogo campaign has landed.

It's a hefty sum for a VMU, but for the additional features and sheer novelty value, I'm pretty sure many Dreamcast nuts around the globe will have little issue with the asking price. The predicted delivery date is August 2023 and the flexible goal is currently set at a smidge over £78,000; but time will tell if VM2 hits these targets.

We took a few moments to ask Chris some questions about the VM2 Project, and he kindly supplied us with the answers!

DCJY: Hi Chris - I suppose the burning question is...why choose to update the VMU?

Chris Diaoglou: As a modder, I've been working with VMUs for the past 6 years offering services like the backlit LCD and rechargeable battery. Although the modded VMUs have been very popular across the community, lately I realised that the Dreamcast scene needed something more.

Getting original VMUs, new-in-box, is growing more and more expensive, and finding VMUs in specific colours is getting harder. As a developer, and being a perfectionist, I also wanted something 'cleaner' than simply modifying VMU shells and adding electronics. Finally, as a huge Dreamcast fan, I was aware of the original VMU design flaws, and always wished for them to somehow be corrected.

For all of the above reasons, the possibility of re-making the VMU started to take shape in my mind over the last couple of years. As an outcome, last February I decided to get on with this project and went straight through to designing a new PCB, external shell, and firmware. The result of this was the VM2.

DCJY: What was the reasoning behind starting a crowdfunding campaign?

Chris Diaoglou: Originally, I thought the VM2 was going to be a fairly simple project, that would interest only a few around the globe. When the project info released and the first prototype was shown, it turned out that actually a lot of Dreamcast users were very interested in the project.

Also, the cost for reproducing specific parts - like the external shell (with accurate molding, not cheap 3D printing), or the VMU special connector - was huge and required to be manufactured in large quantities. So, it turned out that for making the VM2 a reality, a crowdfunding campaign was actually a necessity.
Update (17/09/22): After listening to community feedback, Chris is now upgrading the VM2 to use USB-C instead of the initial micro-USB port. He has updated the packing list accordingly, as there is now no need for an additional micro-USB to USB-C adapter to ship with units. He has also updated the campaign page to list the updated specs and design.
***

So there we go. Thanks to Chris for answering our questions and also for heeding the requests of the community to include a USB Type-C adapter. Will you be investing in this next generation reimagining of the humble Dreamcast VMU? Let us know in the comments.

Book Review: Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works

Full disclosure before I delve betwixt the pages of this Dreamcast-flavoured slab of goodness: I - along with several other members of the Junkyard team - backed Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works on Kickstarter. Now that's out of the way, let's begin.
320 pages of Dreamcast loveliness
Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works is the latest book release from Read-Only Memory, the outfit responsible for such highly regarded tomes as 2014's Sega Megadrive/Genesis: Collected Works and 2016's The Bitmap Brothers: Universe. The Dreamcast-themed wad of paper we have here was originally funded on Kickstarter back in 2017, and was slated to be delivered to backers in November 2018, but for various reasons was delayed for the best part of a year. If you'd rather watch a video and listen to my horrendous voice instead of read my words, you can do so here:


Regardless, Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works has started shipping to backers across the globe (as of December 2019), and we decided it was only right and proper that we cast a critical eye over what those cool dudes Darren Wall and Simon Parkin have delivered for Dreamcast fans who love a good read/like to gawp at pictures.
The cover has a real air of quality
The version being looked at in this article is the standard backer's edition of Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works, but there are some fancier iterations, such as the Jet Set Radio, Phantasy Star Online and Shenmue themed ones; along with copies signed by Sega and Dreamcast visionaries such as Naoto Ohshima (Sonic), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez) and Yu Suzuki (the kitchen sink). These were available at higher tiers than I could realistically afford to spend, but I'm sure whoever got them will be very happy with their purchases. That's not to say that the standard backer's edition is anything other than top drawer in terms of quality and content though - far from it, in fact.
Naturally, Shenmue features heavily
This standard edition comes with a solid, white hardback cover, complete with embossed lettering and a fantastic Dreamcast swirl hidden beneath a rather nice holofoil sleeve (emblazoned with a Dreamcast console, naturally). The book just oozes quality, and from the moment you peel off the shrink wrap you know you're holding a premium product. The book weighs in at 320 pages, and the hard cover and thick, glossy sheets of papyrus contained within are hallmarks of Read-Only Memory's consistently top notch offerings...