The Best Dreamcast Merchandise: a Post-Christmas Breakdown

As a group of proudly obsessed Dreamcast fans here at the Junkyard, we don't simply leave our admiration for Sega's 128-bit box of wonders at talking endlessly about the games, hardware or accessories that most people associate with the console. For us, the Dreamcast is life, and we need little encouragement to escalate our borderline obsessive behaviour by purchasing as much plastic tat merchandise associated with the console as our little wallets can handle. Genuinely, we would buy a bin full of sick if Sega printed a swirl on the side and called it the “DreamBin” (Lewis, copyright that shit right now).

But of course, we don't actually need to stock up on vomit-filled metal containers, because Sega, and the various publishers of Dreamcast games, have seen fit to release or provide their license to a whole assortment of items related to the console and the games that made it great. Some of these are awesome… so awesome in fact that this article will mark the start of what will become a long-running series of “Mike's Random Dreamcast Top Tens”, with this first one looking at some of my favourite pieces of merchandise that you too can buy and put on a shelf, and admire from a distance with a tear in your eye as you realise you'll never have enough time to play all those games you've bought, but purchasing mass-produced nonsense for display like your 80 year old grandmother’s collection of porcelain dolls is now your life. 

Enough waffle. Let’s get on to today's random list, and too late for you to be able to get these in your stocking for Christmas! A pre-emptive warning - I may have my tongue firmly in my cheek for much of this article.

Dreamcast Socks

I write this as the full charade of Christmas is upon us. There are the sounds of happy little children outside, seasonal songs fill the airwaves and I can catch a glimpse of a tinsel and fairy light bedecked tree from my games room. I hate it. The children are little arseholes, the songs are shit and that tree is a fire hazard. No one remembers the true meaning of Christmas anymore - no, not Jesus (hail Satan), but family members you see for one day a year giving you shitty socks because they are bereft of ideas and refuse to indulge you in your childish love of gaming. 

But here's an idea - get those family members to buy these snappy little numbers and everyone's a winner! When Sega remember they have licenses they haven't used for decades they release some cool stuff, and this selection of two different Dreamcast sock designs fulfils both our collective need to keep buying Dreamcast stuff while also allowing us to be all grown up and shit at the same time. 

You can get these in traditional festive sock grey with a swirl on them or in a slightly wrong coloured approximation of the controller. They obviously missed a trick by not putting some kind of hilarious message in the VMU window, such as “I wanted a new Skies of Arcadia game but all I got were these socks”, but who cares when you can proudly display your love of the 128-bit wonder to your significant other every night with these?

The fetching grey of the socks on the right doesn't quite embody the blue-sky aesthetics.

A pile of socks! Christ - what a time to be alive.

Dreamcast-Themed Ale Spotted!

Credit to Anthony DeCenzo on Untappd

A post from T-Rodge on Twitter yesterday showcased the existence of a Dreamcast-themed ale from the Maine, USA brewery “Odd By Nature”. 

While I’m not an alcohol drinker, I do appreciate some of the fun pop culture themed ales I see from time to time on social media, and Odd By Nature’s output is no exception. Their designs cover everything from video games like Contra, Super Mario Bros. and Grand Theft Auto V, to the music of rapper Mac Miller (R.I.P.), Sublime and Limp Bizkit.

But the reason why you’re here: back in May, Odd By Nature released a cream ale themed after the Dreamcast. Its name? Creamcast.

Credit to Eric Latulippe on Untappd

Presumably not a reference to the parody console from Rent-A-Hero No. 1, but a comment on the type of ale it is, Creamcast has 4.3% units and is described as a “light and refreshing cream ale, with a smooth creamy taste and a slightly sweet finish”.

If you want to try Creamcast for yourself, it unfortunately appears to just be something that locals can get hold of. The Brewery itself is located in Cape Neddick, Maine. We did find this place to purchase it online but they don't ship alcohol 'cause laws, so that'd be a pickup in Portland or Gorham, Maine.

Update: GGDreamcast went to the brewery yesterday to track down this ale and said it was nowhere to be found, so it must have sold out! Who knows if it’ll be reproduced again?

The Creamcast's full label/wrap. Again, credit to Untappd.

Maybe we Brits can't get our hands on a can, but it's always good fun to take a look at some Dreamcast novelty items. For more drunken Dreamcast shenanigans, check out Tom's post from 2015 about the person who made a Dreamcast controller beer tap. Matter of fact, that could be the perfect tap to dispense Creamcast from... Odd By Nature should track one down...

A Dreamcast Christmas Tree Ornament from Hallmark has been Revealed!

They say that Christmas comes earlier each year. Well, Hallmark (America) seem to be determined to move it to as early as April, because they just announced their upcoming 2023 Keepsake tree ornaments range today, and... what’s that?! A Dreamcast ornament?!

Previously, Hallmark have released high-quality ornaments of the Sega Genesis (model 1) and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, both with cool sound functions that play the theme songs of Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario World respectively. You can see the Genesis one demonstrated by our pal Derek Pascarella below: 

It’s going to be a very @SEGA Christmas this year! Hats off to @Hallmark for putting out this awesome Genesis model 1 ornament this year 🎄 pic.twitter.com/cTrpbE2IEJ

— Derek Pascarella (ateam) (@DerekPascarella) October 14, 2022

We never thought we’d see it, but the next Sega console to receive the Hallmark treatment is the Dreamcast! I guess they believe the nostalgia market is there for Sega's ill-fated swan song. I can't help but notice that they skipped right past the Saturn, though, but maybe we’ll get one next year. Your day will come, comrades.

Keeping in with the same high-level of quality Hallmark demonstrated with their previous game console ornaments, this Dreamcast version is looking fantastic. Measuring 4.71" in height, it certainly looks the part. Pressing the power button not only lights up the power light, but the VMU screen too, revealing a sprite of Sonic previously seen in the VMU game Chao Adventure. The music that plays is none other than the theme from Sonic Adventure's iconic Emerald Coast level. You can see this demonstrated in the video below.

On sale in October! https://t.co/ReIYfERCPZ pic.twitter.com/AvpbHh6YOv

— The Dreamcast Junkyard (@TheDCJunkyard) April 15, 2023

There's one problem, though, and perhaps we should have sensed it the moment we saw that orange swirl. Hallmark America doesn't ship outside of the States, and this ornament isn't available to purchase from Hallmark's UK equivalent store. So non-American folk may have a considerable amount of trouble getting hold of one outside of the UK... I guess we'll have to see when October 14th rolls around and the ornament finally goes on sale. User perkin_warbeck in our Discord community did point out that the Sega Genesis ornament was previously sold on Amazon US, who allow overseas shipping, so we’ll have to see if the Dreamcast ornament gets sold on there too. In the meantime, you can go to its store page on Hallmark's website and stare at it longingly.

Would you hang this ornament on your Christmas tree? Maybe hang it up in your game room somewhere? Are you going to try and get hold of one? Let us know in the comments below, or on one of our many social media channels!

There's gold in them there Dreamcasts (apparently)!

Did you know that every Dreamcast's CPU contains about 50 milligrams of gold? I didn't, but apparently that's true...not that I can find a source to back it up. Turns out there is also a community of people in this big old world who extract gold from CPUs for the purpose of making money. Although, according to this website: "there is very little profit from extracting the gold content found in most computer chips and electronic components yourself unless you have significant quantities of recyclable material to be processed." So fret not my fellow Dreamcast fans, if you are lucky enough to own multiple Dreamcasts, you could extract enough gold from them to afford some fries at McDonalds or something.

If you fancy some of that Dreamcast gold goodness for yourself, and can't be bothered retrieving it from your own console, 'Retroldtech' has just the product for you: an engraved gold bar of Dreamcast gold - or a 'lingot' - as it is listed, for the bargain price of €75.00 (£65.68/$77.19)! It is apparently the "finest gold on earth," has a purity of "9.9.99" and comes in at a mighty 128 karats.

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, this product is completely in jest. If you take a quick glance at the product's page, you will soon realise this is not actual gold, and is merely a joke/novelty product.

In recent years, there has been a surge of independently-crafted joke toys. Most likely inspired by parody artists such as Obvious Plant, creators across the internet have took to making and selling their own ironic homemade toys, all presented rather smartly with cardboard backings, just how the old Star Wars 3.75 inch figures were presented. 

Probably the best way to demonstrate the lengths of absurdity this trend has reached to, check out Ben Gore's 'Saturn's Son' figure. Inspired by  Francis Goya's infamous painting of Saturn Devouring His Son, you receive his son, devoured, presented as if you could've walked into Toys 'R' Us back in the day and found it amongst the action figures. Products like this aren't really meant to be taken out of their packaging and are intended as a novelty, the kind of thing you'd display in your house to make your friends chuckle when they visit, provided they have a very specific sense of humour.

Retroldtech has some intriguing products on their website, including cool miniature replicas of Sega consoles and some awesome (but very pricey) Nintendo 64 fairy lights. It appears they have now moved into gag/novelty gifts with their recent Dreamcast 'gold lingot,' and it appears there potentially may be more to come, as the product is marked as '#001' of 'RetroLOLTech'.

Now you know this isn't real gold, perhaps the price seems a bit on the steep side, but I guess you just have to remember that this won't be a mass produced product, and is most likely made in someone's home just for the fun of it. Still, 75 euros though…

Will you be purchasing a novelty Dreamcast lingot? Let us know in the comments below!

Gauntlet Giveaway! An investigation into the Gauntlet Legends limited edition pewter miniatures

Back in 2015 we looked fleetingly at the Gauntlet Legends pewter miniature giveaway. If you're not familiar and can't be bothered clicking this link to refresh your memory, allow me to offer a quick recap on the situation. Gauntlet Legends is a 3D polygonal sequel to the original 2D Gauntlet and Gauntlet II titles released by Atari in the mid 1980s. Gauntlet Legends was subsequently released into arcades in 1998 and then ported to a range of home systems in 1999 and 2000 - one of which was the Sega Dreamcast.

The game received a fairly positive reception on release for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation and finally Dreamcast, offering a solid - if somewhat repetitive - romp through various fantasy stages, with the player (accompanied by up to 3 friends on N64 and Dreamcast) being required to knock the ever-loving crap out of hordes of mindless enemies as they progressed through the adventure. The Dreamcast version of Gauntlet Legends was the final home port to be released and featured several aspects of Gauntlet Dark Legacy, the follow up title released in arcades in 1999. 

This post really isn't about the actual game Gauntlet Legends though. It's about something a little bit more interesting and esoteric - the fabled Gauntlet Legends pewter miniatures that were given away for free to anybody who purchased the NTSC-U version of the game for either Dreamcast or PlayStation.

Gauntlet Legends NTSC-U box art showing the Gauntlet Giveaway! (source)

As detailed in that 2015 post, the covers of the NTSC-U edition of Gauntlet Legends offered the opportunity to claim a free set of these pewter figures based on characters from the game, and all that was required in order to own them was to send in a supplied mailing slip and proof of purchase to publisher Midway Home Entertainment. 

This 'Gauntlet Giveaway!' was advertised both on the front of the manual (which doubled up as the front cover in most NTSC-U and NTSC-J Dreamcast games), and on the rear cover; while the mail order slip could be found inside the manual. As the Dreamcast port of Gauntlet Legends was launched in early June 2000, and the giveaway only ran until the end of December 2000, gamers only had 7 months to stake a claim to their birthrights (well, their little metal models).

The Gauntlet Giveaway mail order slip

Close-up of the offer advert - details inside!

Until getting my hands on an American copy of Gauntlet Legends for Dreamcast, I had never heard of this promotion, but I later discovered that a similar scheme had previously been run in connection with the Nintendo 64 version of the game. The difference being that in the case of the N64, a single miniature came bundled in the box as part of an exclusive Walmart promotion, and they are now some of the rarest Nintendo 64 special editions available.

Back in 2015, I lamented about the mysterious nature of these minature models (well, mysterious from a European perspective), and the seemingly nonexistent nature of any information surrounding them; namely how many variants had been manufactured and how many sets had been claimed. Back then there was precious little info available about the promotion, and even now, if you do a cursory Google search you'll invariably end up looking at the same 2015 blog post hosted here on the Junkyard, the Gauntlet Wiki, or some forum posts from the early 2000s. 

What we do know though, is that the Gauntlet Legends pewter miniatures were manufactured by Reaper - one of the biggest names in the miniatures and model manufacturing sector. Why then, do I bring up this relic from the mists of time? Because we only went and got our hands on a set of the fabled Gauntlet Legends miniatures, that's why!

The Legends of Gauntlet in miniature form

The way these things came into my possession is actually pretty bizarre in its own right, so indulge me while I explain the whole sordid sequence of events before we take a closer look at the miniatures themselves, and also an extra nugget of interesting detail contained therein.

Demo Discs, Indie Releases, Translations, Bed Covers and Mega Ducks? - Dreamcast news round-up April 2022

A lot has happened recently. Twitter is considering adding an edit button, NFTs seem to have retreated back into obscurity (phew), Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, and of course, the Dreamcast scene continues to keep our beloved (supposedly dead) console relevant. As the team are busy counting the votes for the The Dreamcast Junkyard Top 200 Dreamcast Games 2022, I thought I'd give y'all a Dreamcast news round up. Hold on to your VMUs, because I'm rounding up a lot of things today.

A tidal WAVE of Dreamcast indie activity

You should all know WAVE Game Studios by now, but if you don't, check out our interview with them to get the scoop on why they're the one to watch in the Dreamcast indie release scene! Then, if reading all about all their previous endeavours wasn't evidence enough, here's all the stuff they've just done recently:

- The first Dreamcast demo disc in 21 Years!

This one's really damn cool. If you're not in the know, SEGA Powered is a cracking Sega-focused magazine that launched earlier this year off the back of a successful Kickstarter campaign. Helmed by Sega gaming mag veterans, every issue that has been released so far have been widely praised by Sega fans everywhere. We had a look at the first issue on the blog a while back, so check that out if you want to learn more.

So we've got a cool new Sega magazine to sink our teeth into, but you know something about the old gaming magazines that we really wish would come back? Cover discs filled to the brim with exciting demos! Well, seeing as the Dreamcast is getting so many new games released for it these days (making it a modern gen console - will box anyone who disagrees), it's only right that an issue of this modern Sega mag would eventually come bundled with some kind of free demo disc featuring tasters of the latest and greatest Dreamcast indie games! The disc will exclusively feature demos of WAVE titles, and will be released with issue 5 of SEGA Powered, due June 2022. It will be be the first Dreamcast demo disc to be released in 21 years! We recommend following the magazine's Twitter account to learn more details as the release gets closer.

- Shadow Gangs is getting a WAVE release!

After a somewhat rocky Kickstarter campaign (that involved the original campaign being cancelled to make way for another with a more reasonable goal), JKM Corp's Shadow Gangs was eventually fully funded. As the game was known to be pretty much near completion, many scratched their heads and asked why Shadow Gangs couldn't just work out a deal with a distributor like WAVE or JoshProd, and skip the Kickstarter all together, but the developers stuck by their campaign.

Well, looks like WAVE are now going to be distributing the game anyway, as announced in a Twitter post posted by WAVE on the 4th of April. This means WAVE will be manufacturing the Kickstarter copies and any future copies that will be sold through WAVE's web store. They've also confirmed that backers will be getting some "super cool extras" with their games, so that's something to look forward to!

- Postal will have local co-op!

WAVE are still on track to release the officially-sanctioned Dreamcast port of Postal on the 2nd of June, and you can still pre-order a copy on their web store. Dan Redfield, the gent responsible for porting the game, revealed at the end of March that he's successfully implemented a 4-player co-op mode into the game's campaign. It's only right that a port of Postal to a console known for its excellent party games would have such a mode!

Translations

Other than the bustling indie scene, another reason for the second wind the Dreamcast is experiencing (at least for us English speakers) are the many translations of Japanese games that have previously been inaccessible to us due to the language barrier. Here's some more! 

- Former Managing Director Yukawa's Treasure Hunt has been translated into English!

The Dreamcast game we never knew needed an English translation has finally been translated, thanks to the talents of SnowyAria (who previously translated Seven Mansions: Ghastly Smile). This simple promotional game has you play as former Sega of Japan head Yukawa Hidekazu as he digs up various pieces of Dreamcast-related memorabilia, with the idea being that for a month in 1999, you could submit your victory online to be entered into a raffle to win said memorabilia in real life. Obviously, you can no longer win any prizes, but you can at least experience this odd morsel of Dreamcast history in English now. Go here to get the translation patch, and for some further reading, check out Tom's article on the game here.

Me after playing Spirit of Speed 1937 for five minutes 

- New gameplay footage of the Nakoruru translation!

Derek Pascarella's project to translate the visual novel Nakoruru: The Gift She Gave Me into English started in August of last year. I am working as an editor on the project and all I'll say is that it has been a blast to work on so far! Anyway, Derek has put together a great preview video showcasing a test-build of the translation, which you can find here. You can find out more about everything Derek does by visiting DreamcastForever.com. Watch this space!

The odd stuff!

This is the part of our news round-up where we take a look at some things that verge on the side of kooky or obscure. These are the Dreamcast equivalent of those lighthearted cutaway reports on the real news that show you a Pug that can do a pop shove-it on a skateboard or something. Anyhow...

- The Mega Duck is now playable on the Dreamcast..?

Mega Duck... that's like Rubberduckzilla from that old Oasis advert, right? Nope. It was actually a Game Boy rip off from Hong Kong. It was also released in South America with the equally ludicrous name "Cougar Boy"... You can't make this shit up.

Anyway, the Mega Duck had a not-so-mega library of games (quantity-wise) and the majority of them were developed by Taiwanese company Sachen. When the Mega Duck could no longer be kept afloat (geddit?), Sachen ported a load of its Mega Duck games onto the Game Boy in the form of unlicensed multicarts, presumably to recoup some of their losses. Well, veteran Dreamcast homebrew coder Ian Michael has stripped each individual game from their respective multicarts and packed them all together as a bootable ISO (you need to use DreamShell to boot it) that uses a Game Boy emulator Gnuboy to emulate them. The package contains a total of 21 playable titles. Sadly, Snake Roy is not one of them... Maybe one day.

That is game art only a Mother could love...

Go to this Dreamcast-Talk forum thread for more information and a link to download the Mega Duck ISO. Edit: since I published this article, Derek Pascarella has converted the ISO into a .cdi image, meaning it can now be booted up on ODEs like GDEMU and MODE. The link for this is also in the Dreamcast-Talk forum thread. Thanks Derek! 

Now, go fourth and play some Mega Duck on your Dreamcast! Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd say...

- You can now cast dreams from the comfort of your very own Dreamcast bed...

Yeah, some company called "MoonLambo" is selling Dreamcast-themed bedding. The company predominately sells clothing featuring a lot of cyberpunk and vaporwave designs, but it looks like they've also branched out into selling home goods. Their trademark infringement-avoiding "Dreams Last" range includes a console duvet cover, VMU pillow cases, and a controller cushion. It's all a bit pricey, with the duvet cover ranging from £73 all the way up to £113 depending on the size you want. I also have no idea if it would even be good quality, as the site looks worryingly similar to one of those dropshipping clothing stores you'd get advertised to you through Instagram-ads, who steal people's designs and print them on crap shirts that shrink after one wash. But if you're a bachelor with a lot of disposable income who thinks a Dreamcast bed would look cool in your pad, then purchase at your own risk.

That's all for now, folks! Which of these news items excites you the most? It's the Mega Duck on Dreamcast, isn't it? Fair enough. Anyway, let us know your second favourite in the comments below!

Dreamcast Console Shells in 2021

As recently as 2018 we debated why, or more accurately if; there would be a market for third-party shells. And it would seem that finally there is 'a market' of sorts, in the sense that there are now at least 3 areas of purchase available should you want a shell in the great old year of 2021. 

With this I am obviously talking about various sellers on eBay rather than the retro section of your local Jimmy Games Emporium R Us or whatever stores are left these days, but there are now options out there if you want a new shell for your trusted Dreamcast and you aren't Kayne enough for the Dreamcase Metal shell.

Some Cool Dreamcast Pin Badges From Dreamcast Collectiv

I recently received a package in the mail. Not an uncommon experience for most of you reading this - getting mail (or 'post' as we call it here in the UK) is an everyday phenomenon. Sometimes our mail is a demand for an unpaid bill, the thinly-veiled threat of bailiffs being sent round to our humble abode to confiscate our collection of 1920s beer bottle caps contained therein. Said hypothetical bottle caps will be sold at an equally hypothetical auction, and the funds 'acquired' subsequently forwarded on the creditor. This scenario is purely hypothetical. It was actually my collection of Ford Mondeo sump plugs that they took...but I digress.

A recent mail drop into my heavily guarded compound contained some rather lovely items: a trio of Dreamcast-related pin badges created by Dreamcast Collectiv to mark the 20th anniversary of our beloved console. Point your eyes at them:

One is a rather lovely smiling VMU, one is an Arcade Stick, and the other a lozenge emblazoned with '20th Anniversary,' which of course, is 2019 if you live anywhere that isn't Japan. Or any country that doesn't follow the Gregorian calendar. They are really rather nice, and are so well produced you'd be forgiven for thinking they were actually made by Sega.

I must thank the gentleman who sent them to me, at no cost and completely out of the blue. A man named Rene whom I salute and thank. Rene, if you're reading this, check your letterbox (erm...mail thing on a stick?) for a reciprocating gesture of goodwill and love of the Dreamcast in due course.

You can check out the Dreamcast Collectiv (and find out when their next awesome live event will be) by following them on Twitter here, or by looking at all their other social links here. Cheers Rene :)

SEGA Launches UK & European Online Stores

The SEGA Shop has been online for a while now in the United States, but now the United Kingdom and Europe both have their own dedicated web stores from which a range of SEGA-branded official merchandise can be purchased.

Naturally, the stuff we're interested in mainly features swirls and if you're in the market for PAL-branded Dreamcast tee shirts, socks, hats and mugs then you're in for a treat. All of the apparel looks to be of decent quality and - as stated - is officially licensed. Personally, I'd like one of the beanie hats complete with a light blue bobble on top and a nice clean Dreamcast logo across the front - that'd top off any outfit this winter.

The prices too seem to be perfectly reasonable, and if you sign up to the SEGA Shop newsletter you can also get 15% off your first order. Can't say fairer than that! Of course, there are other SEGA-branded items on offer too, with Yakuza and Mega Drive classics all represented. Check out the respective SEGA Shops at the links below, and let us know what you think and whether you'll be making a purchase this autumn/winter season.

Choose your region below:

• United Kingdom SEGA Shop
• Rest of Europe SEGA Shop
• USA SEGA Shop

A Quick Look At Data Discs' Shenmue Vinyl LP

Retro seems to be the in thing at the moment - be it games, movies, clothes or even music formats. While you could argue that vinyl never really went out of fashion, for a good while it was only the most dedicated of music aficionados who would go to the lengths of seeking out that elusive LP for their collection. That said, the recent mainstream resurgence of vinyl as a viable format on which to purchase your music comes with the caveat that a large proportion of people buying vinyl don't play them, and some don't even own a record player; instead opting to buy records to put up on the wall, or simply for the sake of collecting because they look cool.

Of course, I know that doesn't account for everyone but it's an interesting topic of discussion. And with that we move our focus to the Venn diagram which blooms when you correlate the allure of vinyl with the retro gaming scene. Data Discs have wasted no time in capitalising on the cross over of these two areas of collecting/nostalgic amour and created a whole range of officially licensed SNK, Capcom and Sega-inspired original soundtrack vinyl LPs; most of which feature the timeless bleeps and bloops of arcade and Mega Drive titles from years past.

One edition that bucks this trend is the Shenmue soundtrack, and seeing as I recently bought a record player (after inheriting my late mother's huge collection of soul and Motown vinyl); I decided that it was about time that I tried out one of these game-flavoured musical offerings...

Dreamcast Themed Scented Candles On The Way?

I've checked the date and no, it's not April 1st. That said, I'm still not sure if this is a cruel joke or not...so take this with a bucket of salt. Recently, the Sega Forever Facebook account shared these images of an 'in development' Dreamcast-themed scented candle (along with a Mega Drive one, too) and asked for suggestions on what they should smell of. My formative years with the Dreamcast mainly smelled of teen spirit, cheap lager and Pot Noodles; but I'm not sure anybody wants a candle that smells of a student's bedroom.

The design looks really cool and if these are real, surely it means that Sega still has the ability to create new aftermarket Dreamcast shells to replace our yellowing/cracked originals? That said, there's no indication of scale in the images so lets not get our hopes up.

So what do you think? Would you be down for a Dreamcast/Mega Drive candle to illuminate your summer evenings or dark winter nights while you huddle around a flickering CRT playing Spirit of Speed 1937? Let us know in the comments. Oh, oh - I've just thought of another: Smells Like Teen Spirit of Speed 1937. Guffaw. I'm wasted here, I tell you.

Source: Sega Forever Facebook

Some Interesting Items Of Dreamcast Merchandise...And The Stories Behind Them

We do like a bit of obscure merchandise here at the Junkyard, and even more so when it pertains to the good old Dreamcast. Merchandise has come a long way in the 300 years that I've been alive, and these days you youngsters have all sorts of phone cases and wallets to keeps your 'plastic' in that give hints as to the way in which your nerdy bread is buttered. Back when I was a wee lad in the early 1700s we had nought but a flash of treated ox hide with our workhouse name pressed into it to remember our opulent upbringings. Eh, they don't make merch like they used to.

Anyway, for fear of losing literally everybody who actually bothered to click the social media links to read this, let me fast forward to the present, and the fine pieces of Dreamcast-related (and in some cases, lesser spotted) Dreamcast merchandise recently acquired by the Vvcollectiv (which stands for Valley Vintage Collectiv).

The Vvcollectiv is a two man operation made up of Rene Guard and Eddie Bogard, and these fine gentlemen are also behind the annual Dreamcast event held in Burbank, CA. When not hosting events, they collect and display more interesting items of Dreamcast paraphernalia (one being the Dreamcast Control Unit we featured a few years ago). Here are the latest acquisitions made by Vvcollectiv - at least one of which I have never previously seen (the Hawaiian shirt). These items were acquired from a former Sega of America employee and while some of them are fairly common, it's the stories behind the items that I find most interesting...

A Dreamcast branded Hawaiian shirt:

"The Hawaiian shirt we had to wear along with the Dreamcast fishing hat for the Weinie Roast concert event where we had kiosks of Dreamcast games set up. Nothing too memorable happened there. We were near the front of the event far away from the concert stages so not that many people were ever at our booth. It was a two day event and I was exhausted by the end of it!"

Dreamcast Hunting in Akihabara

A couple months back, during Japan's Silver Week national holiday, I took a short trip to Tokyo to meet up with a few old friends. Seeing as I was already in the area, I took a day to check out how the gaming scene was doing in the world famous Akihabara (it would have been rude not to really). I focused specifically on the Dreamcast for this article, but it's a similar story for most other consoles. Read on to see my findings...

New Sega & Dreamcast Themed Clothing Lines From Insert Coin

Insert Coin have just unveiled their latest line of games related apparel, and Sega fans will no doubt be pretty excited to see that a few different well-known Dreamcast games are represented, as well as the iconic Dreamcast swirl itself (although only in PAL blue).

Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio and Space Channel 5 are all reflected in the officially licensed designs, along with some others from the Mega Drive era and the famous swirl. The t-shirts and hoodies are available to pre-order now, and prices start at £22. No word on when they'll be shipping just yet, but they look pretty decent, don't you think?

Find out more at Insert Coin here. Will you be purchasing any of these? Let us know in the comments.

Get Festive With These Dreamcast Christmas Jumpers

Looking for something to wear to the office Christmas party that belies your affection for the greatest console ever created? Want to effortlessly exude a level of festive swagger and style that transcends all cultures and language barriers? Want a garment so decadent in design that you'll still look like the coolest mofo on the block while you sit there unable to move after stuffing your disgusting bloated face with a metric tonne of chocolate and turkey on Christmas Day? Then look no further than this Dreamcast-themed Christmas jumper design from Coto7.

Available in a range of colours (and also several different garment types, including hoodies and varsity jackets), the 'All I want for Christmas...is a Sega Dreamcast' apparel is perfect for showing the rest of the world which way your gaming bread is buttered. The design is screen printed rather than embroidered (and appears to be the standard Dreamcast stock image ripped from Google), but the £20 price tag isn't overly extortionate and Coto7 offers free shipping on all UK orders and reasonable shipping to other arts of the world.

These are available in a range of sizes, and in mens, womens and childrens styles. Check out the 'All I want for Christmas...is a Sega Dreamcast' at Coto7 or on Amazon.

Will you be sporting one of these at festive events over the annual period of commercial greed and overindulgence? Let us know in the comments, in our Facebook group or on Twitter.

The Awesome Dreamcast Kiosks & Display Cases We Never Saw

Kiosks were - and still are - a major part of any console's armoury when trying to woo potential buyers. Go into any game store these days and you'll undoubtedly see a PlayStation 4 or an Xbox One set up and running demos. The same was true back in the days of the Dreamcast, and I have fond memories of playing Virtua Striker 2 in HMV one afternoon back in 2000.

Dreamcast Kiosks come in a number of guises, and they vary wildly from region to region. The ones I'm most familar with though, are the UK PAL-styled ones that adorned branches of Electronics Boutique and GAME, drawing me in with their glowing CRT screens and untold promise of 128-bit gaming, the likes of which I'd never seen before. Obviously they worked a treat on me (hence this place existing), but now we have something pretty special to share with you.

Here are some exclusive, never-before-seen computer generated images of the kiosks and in-store display cases that Sega Europe was intending to deploy across the continent with the aim of enticing the average gamer to part with cold, hard cash for a Dreamcast.

Some of them look pretty familiar, but others are new even to me...