Showing posts with label Dreamcast VMU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dreamcast VMU. Show all posts

An Interview with Kenji Tosaki: How the SEGA Dreamcast and its Beloved Peripherals Came to Be

One day we realised that The Dreamcast Junkyard account on Twitter (or X, as it is now known...) was followed by none other than Kenji Tosaki, the peripheral development manager at SEGA of Japan from the 1990s until 2001, when he retired. He led the design process for classic SEGA Saturn peripherals like the 3D Control Pad and the Virtua Gun, but perhaps most importantly to us here at the Junkyard, he was heavily involved with the design of the Dreamcast console hardware, its controller, the Visual Memory Unit (VMU), and even the Samba de Amigo Maracas Controller, to name a few. To have such an important figure from SEGA's heyday follow usof all peoplewas truly an honour. We knew we had to reach out and try and arrange some sort of opportunity to speak with him.

What followed was a whole lot of machine-translated correspondence, and we must thank Tosaki-san for answering all our questions, as well as his time and patience throughout this process. Another thank you also goes out to Brian Vines and Laurence Goodchild for assisting me with the decision on which questions to ask, as well as Derek Pascarella for some technical explanations.

Of course, we couldn't just let the resulting interview you see below remain machine-translated, so this is where I must extend a huge thanks to translation extraordinaire (and my former Nakoruru fan translation comrade-in-arms) Duralumin, who graciously translated Tosaki-san's original Japanese answers into English.

What was revealed from our conversation with Tosaki-san is a whole lot of great insight into how the Dreamcast hardware and many beloved peripherals came to be. We also thought it was important to use this opportunity to try and dig deeper into some of the more esoteric Dreamcast-related lore, to try and get some light shone on topics that have fuelled debates within SEGA fan communities for decades. Why was a second analog stick a no show on the Dreamcast controller? What was SEGA's view on adopting the almighty DVD format that would've supposedly helped the Dreamcast go toe-to-toe with Sony's PlayStation 2? We also made sure to pick Tosaki-san's brain about some cancelled Dreamcast peripherals, such as the VMU MP3 player, with the hopes of unearthing new information about them.

While our interview does touch on the SEGA Saturn somewhat, it is mainly referenced to assist the explanation of points relating to the Dreamcast's own design. If you'd like to hear Tosaki-san get more in-depth about the Saturn, I highly recommend you go check out his interview with our friends over at SEGA SATURN, SHIRO!

Credit: SEGA Retro

DCJY: Thank you for agreeing to talk with us about your career at SEGA, Tosaki-san. We have read that you were involved with the design of the Dreamcast console. The design was definitely more compact than its predecessor, the Saturn, and very futuristic-looking for the time. When you and your team set out to design the console, what inspired the design?

Kenji Tosaki: The lead director and producer on the design of the Dreamcast was actually Mr. Oikawa [Akitoshi Oikawa], who also handled the design of the SEGA Saturn. For the Dreamcast, the design of the console itself was contracted out, but Mr. Oikawa personally handled the controllers and other peripherals.

Now, when the Saturn was still in development, we ended up drawing up the design ahead of finalizing how much space all the internals would need. Stuff like the main board, the CD drive, power supply unit, all of that. The original design was quite a bit smaller than what the Saturn finally became. As development progressed, we added more components, and the footprint grew larger.

The preliminary designs for the console couldn't accommodate all the changes, so we had to go back to the drawing board, and it ended up quite a bit different from what we had originally envisioned. It had to be made larger, so we also had to redesign some of the finer details of its appearance to match.

With the Saturn, the technical development —the main board, the drive unit, etc.— and the product design had been sort of progressing on different fronts, and that disconnect caused us a lot of issues. Plus, the technical design turned out to be more complex than expected, so the production and assembly was more complicated. We learned from all of that when we were working on the Dreamcast. 

Our top priorities in designing the Dreamcast were to optimize the internal layout and heat dissipation. I think the internal design turned out really nice and clean. Of course, keeping it simple also helped with assembly. We also waited to plan out the console design until the technical design had been locked in to a certain extent, so we didn’t have to go back and rework a lot of things.

Regarding the design itself, we shopped the job around to a wide variety of outside agencies for proposals;  not just Japanese companies, but even American design houses. Mr. Oikawa reviewed a ton of ideas. 

Ultimately, Mr. Oikawa went with a relatively minor Japanese company’s proposal. They did a very good job of taking Mr. Oikawa’s asks into account when building their approach.

On the conceptual approach, I’ll quote Mr. Oikawa himself:

"The Dreamcast design is made up of simple shapes; squares, triangles, and circles. The point of the triangle points toward the player, representing how the games and online content were to be player-focused. From the console, straight to the player. But then the start button on the controller points towards the Dreamcast. That represents how, in response, the players reach out and connect with the console."

Credit: SEGA Retro

When you and your team were designing the Dreamcast's controller, what were the most important features or aspects that you knew it had to include? It is well known that the Dreamcast controller shares some design similarities to the Saturn's 3D Control Pad, which you also worked on. How much did that controller inspire the Dreamcast's controller?

When we were developing the Saturn 3D Controller, that was the first time we had ever tried to design an analog-input controller. We looked at how we could best make an analog controller, and spent a lot of time working on the basic design, control methods, layouts, and all the associated design questions.

We also looked into all kinds of additional features; stuff like integrated displays, paddle wheel controls, mouse input, motion sensing, infrared, rumble, haptics, voice recognition... many different things. Most of these features proved too costly to have natively on the Saturn 3D pad, but we made sure to design the controller to include an expansion port so those features could be added later.

We had actually planned out a motion sensor and vibration pack, and even made a prototype. We made sure that the controller's cord ran out of the back, since anything to do with motion sensors that you would have to tilt or shake around would be harder to use with the cord coming out of the front of the controller. 

For the analog inputs, we felt it was essential to use a sensor that wouldn't experience any change in the analog signal from drift or wear. To accomplish that, we used "Hall" elements. We knew we definitely didn’t want resistive sensors. We didn’t add them for the sake of having a selling point, we just saw it as the obvious choice. It wasn’t until 2020 that we saw other companies start making controllers with those same Hall elements. I guess the market finally caught up to the SEGA 3D Control Pad, and it only took 25 years.

When it came to the Dreamcast controller, we applied a lot of what we had learned from the Saturn 3D pad.

As I mentioned, the idea behind the Dreamcast ecosystem was “play and communication.” The console could go online, but the concept extended beyond just that. There were also four controller ports, so you could have four people at once all playing together. Then, we decided we would try putting an individual display on each controller. We had originally conceived it as something like a personal monitor for each player for sports games, with individual displays. The VMU was our solution.

Connecting the VMUs directly to the console would have meant we would have to add four pretty big ports for four players’ VMUs, which wasn’t a great solution from either a cost or design standpoint. So, we decided to explore plugging the VMUs into the controllers instead. Every VMU would be like a memory pack, but with an LCD screen and control buttons; it could have its own independent apps, and when it was plugged into the controller, the screen would serve as an additional display.

Away from the controller, you could connect VMUs together to swap data with your friends, or play games against each other. That was another facet of the “communication” concept. For us on the peripherals team, we figured it wasn’t likely that every kid would have an internet connection they could use to play online, so we focused on ways we could build “play and communication” through controllers and accessories.

We also planned out a built-in gyro sensor, so you could control games by moving the controller, as well as built-in vibration, and a built-in light gun pointing device. It turned out to be too expensive to implement those features natively, so we decided to build two expansion slots into the controller. That would leave room for us to release expansion units after the fact. We expected one slot would usually be occupied by the VMU, so we needed to have one more for other expansions.

The most important decision made regarding the controller was to have memory units connect to it instead of the console. We designed the VMUs for that purpose.

The controllers themselves were developed to work with an interface device [MapleBus] that could also support VMUs and any expansion packs. MapleBus proved essential, as it had the kind of scalability we needed.

For the expansion slots, we had to think about what sort of functionality we would need in the future. For instance, if we put out a rumble pack, the vibrations from that accessory would travel down to the slot and the connector. That’s not necessarily healthy for the components, and we expected these to be used long-term. So, we had to come up with a design for the connectors that would be durable and reliable.

The analog input was also much more advanced than the 3D Control Pad. We improved the precision, and allowed wider strokes. At the same time, the units could be made smaller, and needed less space to install internally.

I really would have liked to have seen the gyros, vibration, and wireless pointing built-in on the controller, but it just would’ve been too expensive.

The original US patent for the VMU. Credit: SEGA Retro

Sturmwind Reissue coming from VGNYsoft - Includes Sturmwind VMU Shell!

 

Duranik's shooter Sturmwind is renowned by Dreamcast fans the world over, often seen as the best indie game on the console - whilst it held onto second place in both our 2016 and 2024 Top Dreamcast Indie Games votes, it also ranked at 35 in our 2023 Top 200 Dreamcast Games poll, becoming the highest-ranked indie game on the list, and beating out many beloved contemporary releases on the console. Just shows how much love the game has.

Of course, with such acclaim comes demand, and unless you look to eBay, the last proper re-release of this title (from PixelHeart) is now sold out. Step in, US-based outfit VGNYsoft, who have a brand new reissue of the game now up for pre-order, and most exciting of all, there is also a limited edition available which comes with a Sturmwind-branded VMU shell!
No CD-Rs! 😉
VGNYsoft recently went to Kickstarter with their brand new injection-moulded VMU replacement shells. We chatted to Dan from VGNYsoft when the Kickstarter launched, and he made us aware that they were planning to include indie game-branded VMU shells as part of future indie releases. Well, they are certainly starting this new wave of limited releases off with a bang by starting with Sturmwind!

The regular edition of the game will cost $39.99, while the VMU edition, which is limited to 500, retails for $59.99. This limited edition will include the regular game in a box with the Sturmwind VMU shell. The parts included are a black silicone pad, the D-pad and the outer shell itself. YGNYsoft previously sent us some of their shells to look at it, and they are really high quality, built as tough as official VMU shells. You'll of course need to supply your own donor VMU, but it'll thank you for it when it looks cool as hell. 

The pre-orders launch at 10am EST (that's 3pm UK time) on the 15th of May, and are available from VGNYsoft themselves. For those outside the US, you can order from Video Games Plus. VGNYsoft have also told us that they may have some available to order from suppliers based in Spain and Japan, along with Play-Asia at some point in the future.
Looks legit.
Are you going to grab this reissue of Sturmwind? Are you excited for more indie-branded VMU shells? Let us know in the comments below or via one of our many social media pages!

Let's Take a Look at Replacement Dreamcast VMU Shells - Kickstarter from VGNYsoft

 

Back on the 14th of March, VGNYsoft (aka Videogamesnewyork) launched their Kickstarter for replacement Dreamcast VMU (Visual Memory Unit) shells. These new VMU shells are formed of five parts, will be injection moulded, and available in a variety of colours. For more information, including a talk with Dan of VGNYsoft, check out our previous article about the campaign. The campaign has already reached its funding goal, and at time of writing has five days left to go.

VGNYsoft were kind enough to send us some samples of the upcoming VMU shells; a clear one and a silver one. It took me about 10 minutes to put the shells on two of my grubby old VMUs, and, well, the result is amazing. The build quality of the new parts is frankly rock solid, and held up during the replacement process. If it wasn't for the lack of Dreamcast logo and text above the buttons, these could easily be mistaken for the original Sega VMU shells. 

For a more detailed overview, check out the video below that I slapped together, where I um and ah a lot.


A big thanks goes out to VGNYsoft for sending us these shells. Are you excited for these replacement VMU shells? Have you backed the Kickstarter? Let us know in the comments below, or via one of our many social media pages.

Replacement VMU Shells head to Kickstarter - VGNYsoft give us the Lowdown!

 

Based out of New York video game boutique Videogamesnewyork, publisher VGNYsoft have been well known in the Dreamcast scene for a long time now for publishing a whole load of indie games stateside for our beloved Sega console. For a list of what they have released in the past, check out Mike's Complete Guide to Commercially Released Dreamcast Indie Games.

I was particularly excited last year to see them venture into releasing custom VMUs, starting with a limited edition of Hermes featuring a Hermes-branded VMU, which I showcased on the blog back when it came out. This was then followed by a Blockbuster-branded VMU (actually authorised by the Blockbuster's owner Dish) which was offered as a prize for the fourth World Video Game Championship at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo. I rightly presumed these two VMUs were a sign of more to come, and today at 12pm EST VGNYsoft will launch their campaign for replacement VMU shells in a variety of unique colours.

We got a chance to talk with Daniel Mastin of VGNYsoft and get the scoop on this brand new Kickstarter campaign, along with some teases about upcoming indie releases.

Credit: Adam Koralik

DCJY: Hi Dan! Thanks for chatting to us about your Kickstarter. I think we can speak for a lot of Dreamcast fans when we say that we are excited for the prospect of replacement VMU shells. What can people expect from the Kickstarter? And what was your reasoning for going to Kickstarter as opposed to just selling them via your normal store?

Dan: The Kickstarter is a way to connect with the community before all of the production numbers become finalized. The initial production is set to include six colors, with stretch goals and a community vote to help add additional colors. Each VMU shell includes five injection-molded parts: the front, back, cap, battery door, and the D-Pad, and will have an MSRP of $16. In future productions, we will continue to introduce new colors as we produce more. 

Where did the inspiration come from to produce replacement VMU shells?

The idea came to light as a culmination of circumstances. Our retail store handles a considerable number of repairs and shell swaps for customers. Additionally, our publishing company (VGNYsoft) continues to produce and release numerous indie games for the Dreamcast, and our warehouse happened to have an abundance of new, sealed clear green VMUs. With some creativity, we pieced together the concept of elevating Dreamcast indie releases to the next level! 

So were the Hermes and Blockbuster VMUs early tests for this idea?

Hermes was our proof of concept, we used new [official] VMUs for that production. The Blockbuster VMUs were a very small batch built using some of our early production samples.

You are based in the USA, will fans overseas be able to get hold of these VMU shells?

The Kickstarter will ship to most international countries, and we will also collaborate with international retailers to offer additional overseas solutions once the production is complete. 

You previously released a Hermes-branded VMU. Can we expect to see more custom VMUs to tie in with other Dreamcast indie releases?  

Custom VMUs are the secret sauce behind the entire production and the foundation for funding the very expensive injection molding process. We have a lineup of future limited edition releases that will feature custom-printed VMU shells. The first one will be announced in just a few weeks before the VMU shell Kickstarter is finished! 

That's exciting to hear! Finally, is there anything else that Dreamcast fans can expect from VGNYsoft in 2024?

VGNYsoft recently released North American versions of Ploid and Reknum from Nape Games (who also has a new game currently on Kickstarter). We have a few titles in the works for 2024 as well, which will be announced soon. In general, we are always looking to build deeper engagement with Dreamcast indie developers. Our goal is to help uplift their projects and bring them to a wider audience through high-quality physical productions.

***

Thanks to Dan for giving us the lowdown on the Kickstarter campaign. Click here to go check it out for yourself, and be sure to let us know in the comments below which colours you'd like to see VGYNSoft produce next.

Photos and Video Footage of the VM2 Revealed!

In 2022, Dreamcast fans the world over were buzzing at the announcement of a “next-gen” Visual Memory Unit - the VM2. The news even reached the likes of Yahoo! Japan. Created by Chris Diaoglou, who brought us the very impressive DreamConn Bluetooth controller back in 2016, the VM2 blasted past its goal on IndieGoGo. Congratulations, Chris! 

Including a backlit LCD screen with higher resolution, along with Micro-SD storage internal storage of 128KB (200 blocks), and a rechargeable high-capacity internal battery with USB-C charging; the VM2 looks to be the VMU to end all VMUs. No more having to swap VMUs around when you run out of space, or running through CR2032 batteries every two seconds. Woo!

Anyhow, our friend Derek Pascarella shared some photos on our Discord (as well as his Twitter), courtesy of Chris, of the first test production run of the VM2, and it's looking damn good. Note the larger screen that includes icons for the battery and the SD card, along with a power button (instead of a sleep button).

If you still want to get your hands on a VM2, all hope is not lost despite the campaign having ended. The project has moved to "InDemand", meaning you can still order yourself one. Just head on over to the campaign page and select the VM2 perk you want! It will also be available on Chris’ website DreamMods at some point.

Update: Since putting this article up, Chris has returned to wow us yet again, this time with video footage of the early production units in action. Donning surgical gloves, Chris shows off the many bells and whistles of the VM2. He starts off showing the VM2's many settings options, before diving into some games, all presented on the beautiful backlit display. Some of the options that stood out to me the most included the ability to turn the backlight on and off, view the files contained on the SD card, increase VMU game speed, and change the system's region/language. One of the most notable options that grabbed my attention is one that allows you to turn off the VMUs sound (including toggling the famous startup beep on/off!), which is interesting as it wasn't really made clear if the VM2 was going to include a speaker. While I'm sure many wouldn't miss the VMU's death knell of drained CR2032 batteries, games like Skies of Arcadia use the speaker as a sonar, so good to know one is included on the VM2. Check the footage out below!


Anyway, thanks again to Derek and Chris for the photos and videos. Have you ordered or are planning to order a VM2? Let us know in the comments below!

Let's take a look at Hermes: Limited Edition - the first indie-branded VMU!

If you have dabbled in anything Sega Dreamcast in the last so many years, you'll most likely be aware that the modern indie game scene for the console is bustling, with no signs of slowing down any time soon. Despite the abundance of new indie software releases for the Dreamcast, there was one physical indie release in particular that seemed to peak my interest recently for an entirely different reason unrelated to the game itself, that being Hermes: Limited Edition, and its included Hermes-branded Visual Memory Unit (VMU). 

Hermes is a fun indie platformer developed by Retroguru with a glorious chiptune soundtrack where you play as a chef chasing after a chicken. Mike has already reviewed it on the blog a long while back, and you can check out his review here. In this post, though, I wanted to focus on that special VMU, because it is pretty much the first of its kind: the first indie-branded Dreamcast VMU. The only thing that would have come remotely close to something like this was the VMU lamp for Alice Dreams Tournament, which seems to have have been a Kickstarter-exclusive backer reward, as Adam Koralik and James from Shenmue Dojo both told us they own one.

Released by Video Games New York (aka VGNYSoft), Dreamcast diehards across the globe were understandably eager to get their hands on one of these cool VMUs. Unfortunately, dwellers of the United Kingdom like myself couldn't order from Video Games New York's website as they don't ship here. Luckily, Wave Game studios put a very small batch (ten, I think) of the limited edition up for sale on their website, so I snatched up one of those. Thanks, dudes!

The transparent green VMU is printed with the Hermes logo, as well as the chicken you play as, and the chef's meat cleaver. It actually comes packaged in an official American VMU box, which is stored inside the larger Hermes: Limited Edition box. It is pretty obvious that the VMUs used for this release are leftover brand new official VMU stock, but the printing on the VMU is such high-quality, you'd be mistaken for thinking it could have actually been an official release from Sega back in the day. Also, VGNY made a great choice in using the transparent green VMU!

Because I was so excited to receive my Hermes VMU, I actually mustered up some courage and decided to record a short clip showcasing the VMU, so check that out below! Apologies if I say “erm” a lot, I was ad-libbing!

If you want to get yourself one of these VMUs, there is currently stock available on VGNYSoft's website and Canadian site Video Games Plus. As for whether or not either will ship to your country, I'm not quite sure. Either way, let's hope this is the first of many indie-themed Dreamcast peripheral releases to come!

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.

Next-gen Dreamcast VMU 'VM2' coming soon from DreamMods (updated)

We've seen various mods for the humble Dreamcast VMU over the years, with modders the world over going to great lengths to add extra functionality, or repurpose the thing altogether. From the implementation of illuminated screens, to full-on Raspberry Pi-powered gaming systems crammed inside the unit's diminutive shell; it seems people from across the Dreamcast community have found myriad inventive ways to milk even more out of the little memory card that could. 

It looks like the VMU is about to embark on its greatest transformative journey yet though, as the VM2 nears completion. Coming from Chris Diaoglou, the same genius who brought us the DreamConn Bluetooth controller back in 2016 (and, incidentally the rechargeable backlit VMU linked above), VM2 is a complete technological overhaul for the VMU, and adds such awesome new features as:

  • New monochrome LCD with backlight: Which can also be turned off to save battery
  • Higher screen resolution: Switchable between original (48x32), or scaled (96x64)
  • MicroSD slot: Gives the VM2 almost unlimited capacity
  • 4x VMU memory capacity: If a microSD is not present, a combination of the Sega 4x Memory and a standard VMU will be accessible. The user will be able to cycle through 4 128Kb pages, while keeping the LCD functionality that the official 4x Memory lacked
  • Embedded high-capacity LiPo battery: This will replace the batteries and provide longer operation time (sadly this will eliminate the beeeeeeep 🙃)
  • External charging: VM2 will charge either from its micro-USB connector, or from the controller while playing
  • PC connectivity: VM2 will be able to connect to a PC via micro-USB
  • Memory management: Connecting to a PC and using a custom GUI, the user will be able to backup/restore/manage both the main (4x) and the additional (mini-game) storage

VM2 will benefit from a new injection molded shell

We reached out to Chris for comment on this highly intriguing project and asked just what the hell was going on in his Dreamcast-powered laboratory:

"The VM2 aims at being a total reproduction of the original - the connector, outer shell, electronics, everything will be manufactured from scratch. For this reason, and depending on the community interest, I plan to start a campaign so I can raise the funds to put it into production.

"This means no cheap 3D printing or anything - everything will be made with quality injection molds, etc. and this is the main reason that a campaign is needed.

"Also, instead of the initial plan of 4x VMUs (main) plus 50+ minigame (additional) memory, I implemented the integration of a microSD card slot. This will allow for literally infinite space and virtual VMUs / minigames.

"The user will be able to create/copy/restore VMU files, either at the root of the SD, or organized in folders (i.e. per game). In addition, in case that a user doesn't want to use a microSD card, the VM2 will also support a default 1x(or 3x)VMU internal memory; and the selection of the current VMU file/memory to use, will be selected from the VM2 user menu."

- Chris Diaoglou, DreamMods

The VM2 has been in development for some time now, and you can find details on the various stages of its creation over at the DreamMods website (where you can also register your interest). 

There's no concrete information on when the VM2 will be available for purchase as yet, but as Chris says, a crowdfunding campaign may well be on the horizon in the near future. The projected price will be around the $100 mark - which may sound steep - but when adjusted for inflation the original VMU would have cost you $75 in 2022 money. Do the math. On that note an Atari Jaguar would have cost you less than £40 in 1999. Swings and roundabouts, innit.

Protoype showing the new hi-res, backlit screen

Judging from the exceptional quality of Chris's previous Dreamcast-related creations in the DreamConn and the DreamPort PSU (which adds full Bluetooth support to the Dreamcast without the need for an adapter), the the VM2 is a very exciting prospect indeed. That, and the small matter that VM2 looks set to offer a riposte to many of the main gripes aimed at the original VMU - namely the piss-poor battery life and the limited space on the card. The added bonus of a backlit, higher resolution screen make the VM2 an even more enticing project and one we'll be keeping a very close eye on.

Watch this space...and while you're doing that go to DreamMods and register your interest!

Oh, and thanks to Derek Pascarella for alerting my colleague Lewis to this. Who then alerted me and made me get my arse in gear and reach out to Chris.


Update

Since we posted this article, Chris has released some images of the redesigned prototype. Sexy, eh?!

We'll be sure to fill you in on whether this is a worthy purchase as soon as we can!