The previous edition, which released back in 2018 as a free downloadable PDF, proved to be quite popular, racking up more than 10,000 downloads to date. It was an attempt to catalogue every single retail Dreamcast release from all regions (including independent releases), give a brief review of each title, and give collectors, or just the curious, a handy companion on their journey through the Dreamcast library.
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| A two-page spread showcasing a mixture of officially licensed Japanese releases, indies, and a boxout about fishing titles on the Dreamcast. |
What's new compared to the 2018 release?
- Updated and corrected release listings, including all new indie releases up to (at least) July 24th 2023. Now covering nearly 700 individual games, and around 1,900 different versions.
- Cover art images included for each and every variant release around the world.
- Revised collecting guides for each region and indie games.
- Various 'boxout' sections throughout the guide, dealing with different areas of the wider Dreamcast collecting world, from regional oddities and budget releases, to homebrew games and translation projects.
Just click the button below to download the updated PDF edition for free!
And you know what? It was quite popular really. Not exactly topping the New York Times Best Sellers list, you understand, but quite a few copies were sold and there was a fair bit of talk about it going around. We even had some of Sega’s official social channels give it a shout out. And that, it was to transpire, was to be the catalyst for the next stage in this saga. Apparently putting out a really amateurish, glorified list as a printed book was a big no-no for Japanese gaming giants, and before long both myself and Tom were slapped with cease and desist orders. Was it an overreaction? Possibly. But it wasn't a venture we were really making any money on, and in retrospect the news of Sega being a bit too ‘lawyery’ did more good for us and harm to them. Suddenly it became this ‘banned’ book -something that has been mentioned in at least a trio of eBay listings- and got more attention than it probably deserved. Even now as I attempt to sell off my Dreamcast collection, I’m asked near monthly if I have any of the original ‘forbidden’ books left (I don’t by the way!)
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| The ‘Sega, don't sue us!’ edition with added caveats in yellow. |
That was all a bit more dramatic than I ever expected it to be. But whilst I sat at my desk staring at my framed cease and desist order (cheers, Sega), work was already underway for the next ‘version’ of the guide, which this time would include reviews and (shock horror) pictures! It was always my plan to expand on what I had done so far, turning it into something of a ‘pocket guide’ - ultimately, something that I myself would have wanted when embarking on the collecting journey. The unwarranted attention just made me more determined to go ahead and finish it. It was a bit of a tall order, and the prospect of wading through the numerous barely decipherable Japanese titles (long before our current golden age of translations) was daunting, but… well, we all need a hobby.
And this is where things get a bit more personal. Unfortunately, not long after this, my dad passed away. He was a big supporter of me printing the original Ultimate Collectors Guide and it was somewhat of a private honour to have him hold a physical copy of it in his hands before he passed. Whilst his sight was somewhat fading by that time, he still told everyone that I was some sort of author. This coupled with my impending marriage made me determined to get that final vision I had out there - The A to Z of Dreamcast Games: A Collector's Guide. For a couple of years I beavered away at it and, with changing personal circumstances, finally got a vaguely finished version online in 2018, dedicated as it was to my dad and bringing together all the bits I wanted. We put it up on the blog and it was quite popular again. It was still hideously amateurish of course (I proudly have a DIY punk mentality to how I do things, and won’t apologise for that!) but it was the sort of guide I wanted to put out there.
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| The original version of the A to Z guide. |
Then of course we went through COVID-19 and in the post-pandemic world I wanted to try and improve the guide somewhat. More pictures (of every release), with all the variants that I had missed, and updated to cover all indie games. I bought a house and my personal circumstances were improving somewhat, so as I prepared to start a family I had a grand idea in my head that my silly little guide could be published as a physical piece, something to finally give back to the Dreamcast community and to be somewhat of a ‘statement’ from myself. Dear reader, I’m afraid that didn’t quite work out. Unfortunately my marriage ended and with it my dreams of a family, and despite me getting the guide progressed into a solid draft state, and even printing a few test copies, I fell out of love with the Dreamcast and didn’t have the heart to continue writing a guide that held so many memories. Editing a guide that my ex-wife had proofread for me and had been both a major believer in and patient witness to didn’t feel right and I didn’t have the passion to go on with it.
It’s a shame, but all things happen for a reason. Whilst I’ve moved on from the Dreamcast I hope this guide lives on as some sort of ‘legacy’ even if it is more ‘what could have been’. Thanks to Lewis and the Junkyard who have now put out the ‘final’ version of this guide in an ‘as is’ state. You can now see the guide in what would have been its first printed form, warts and all. It’s exactly as it was when I left it, with the same credits and dedication included, and with the frankly awesome cover art that Lewis designed for it intact. It’s obviously still a little quirky and a little rough (I used a tedious word processor to make the guide that made things ten times harder to update!) but it’s here and to be honest, I’m quite proud of it.
Until we meet again Dreamcast fans - keep Dreaming.
The guide remains dedicated to my Dad and Leanne, Lucifer and Lilith.
A note from Lewis about the future of the A to Z of Dreamcast Games:
As Mike details above, he'd been working on updating The A to Z of Dreamcast Games from its 2018 edition for a long time, with the ultimate goal of releasing it in a physical form. We came incredibly close to making that happen, and a handful of test copies were even printed, complete with the cover I designed, which I'm incredibly proud of. I’m honoured to be one of the very few people to own a physical copy of the guide, it's so big it could be used to hold a door open.
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| You'll get your hands on one of these one day... |
As time went on, however, more indie games continued to be released (not that we were complaining, of course!), meaning the guide constantly needed further updates to keep pace. There was some discussion about removing the indie titles altogether, allowing the guide to be released physically without the risk of it becoming outdated the moment a new game came along. However, for many of us, the guide's inclusion of so many fantastic indie releases was what set it apart from other "complete game library for X system" type books. Ultimately, though, the final nail in the coffin was the soaring cost of printing in the wake of the pandemic.
Fast-forward to 2026, and Lozz and I felt it was important to finally get the guide out into the world in whatever form we could, ensuring all of Mike's hard work wouldn't go to waste. We'd spent some time discussing the possibility of myself and other members of the Junkyard filling in the missing indie titles and bringing the guide up to date, but alas, we'd rather preserve our sanity than attempt to wrestle with OpenOffice, the software Mike used to create this 500+ page guide!
For that reason, we've decided to release the last version of the guide Mike sent me, with his blessing, dated September 2023.
While certain aspects of the guide are inevitably out of date by 2026, including game values, missing indie releases, and some "upcoming releases" that have since come out, Mike’s guide remains the best Dreamcast collecting handbook out there, bar none, and even while some indie titles are missing, as far as documenting all the official releases, it's definitive. It’s far better for it to be available for everyone to utilise and enjoy, rather than sitting on my Google Drive collecting digital dust!
That said, hopefully, this isn’t the end of the A to Z guide. I’ve been discussing the possibility of reworking its layout with a friend of the Junkyard, which would make future updates and revisions much easier (something Mike is okay with, of course). As already mentioned, Mike originally put the guide together using OpenOffice, and I’ve tried my hand at updating it myself, only to fail miserably! The software is incredibly frustrating to work with, although perhaps the sheer size of the guide is also to blame. Adding or removing content seems to have a knack for throwing off the book's entire layout.
The plan is for myself and other members of the Junkyard to work together to fill in the gaps, add the missing indie releases and bring the guide up to date. Once that’s done, we can finally make a physical release a reality.
There’s still plenty of work to do, but hopefully, the A to Z guide has a bright future ahead of it. Until then, enjoy the free updated edition!
