The Tragic Fate of DC-UK Magazine and Its Unreleased Issue 21 — Four Lost Reviews Found!

These days, typing "DC-UK" into your search engine of choice will lead you to the UK web stores for an American comic giant, a classic skate shoe brand, or even a company that makes delightful wooden duck sculptures. But for British Dreamcast fans of a certain age, those four letters still spark memories of one of the best unofficial magazines to ever cover Sega's final console. DC-UK was Future Publishing's cheeky, offbeat stab at covering the Dreamcast, and it struck the perfect balance between solid game coverage and creative features, without ever taking itself too seriously.

In 2026, Future stands as one of the few remaining large-scale UK magazine publishers, having gobbled up many of its competitors over the past decade. But back at the turn of the millennium, many more publishing houses were vying for a slice of the magazine market, and for a time, a magazine dedicated to Sega's exciting new Dreamcast console seemed like a fair punt. We previously had the pleasure of chatting about the creation of DC-UK with its first editor, Caspar Field, on our podcast, but today we're fast-forwarding to the end of its run.

How DC-UK introduced itself in its debut issue.

Echoing the fate of the console it was created to celebrate, DC-UK would end not with a bang, but with a whimper. Just like Dennis Publishing's Official Dreamcast Magazine, DC-UK would be killed off seemingly overnight — no final farewell within its pages, and a promised next issue that would never materialise. 

If you, like me, believe a magazine as great as DC-UK deserved a more dignified send off, then read on, because I've found out why it didn't get one. I even spoke with three former members of the DC-UK editorial team, whose insights help shed light on the circumstances behind the mag's untimely end. And, as you may have noticed from the title of this article, I've also managed to recover and preserve four unreleased reviews that were originally intended to appear in DC-UK's cancelled issue 21... Pretty exciting, right? It only took 25 years for them to see the light of day!

But before we get into all that, let's first see how DC-UK bowed out. The magazine's final issue, issue 20, hit shelves on the 15th of February 2001...

All scans in this article were sourced from Sega Retro.

The front cover of what would turn out to be DC-UK’s final issue would certainly look good, but the game featured so prominently was an unremarkable one: Fighting Vipers 2, the often-forgotten sequel to a Sega Saturn fighting staple. Considering the online multiplayer-RPG phenomenon that was Phantasy Star Online was also getting a review inside, you'd think that might have gotten pride of place over fiery helmet guy (or whatever he's called) from Fighting Vipers, but it was instead demoted to a secondary coverline just below it. With Official Dreamcast Magazine running a big PSO cover that same month (issue 17) and promoting its own review as "the first in the UK", it appeared that DC-UK's response was to counter by securing a UK-first review for Fighting Vipers 2 instead.

The editor for the issue was Lee Hart, as long-time editor Keith Stuart —who'd been in the role since issue seven— had moved on to greener pastures (although he did provide some freelance writing for this issue). And greener pastures they were, as Lee's first port of call as the new editor of DC-UK was to announce that Sega was to become a third-party developer.

Despite the change of editor, and a reduced page count (100 pages, down from around 130 pages at the magazine's peak), issue 20 of DC-UK was still a decent read, although the kind of off-the-wall features and cutaways the mag had become known for were largely absent. Where were Nostradamus' Dreamcast predictions? The hungover fishing trips? Instead, readers got four pages at the front of the issue dedicated to Toy Commander developer No Cliché's then-upcoming Agartha — and that game didn't even release! Surely that space would've been better filled with a spread showcasing photos of the DC-UK team's body parts? (That was actually a genuine reoccurring DC-UK feature. I'm not being weird!)

All jokes aside, the Agartha feature is certainly interesting, and offered a staggering amount of behind-the-scenes content considering the piece's short page count, including screenshots, concept sketches, work-in-progress renders, and a conversation with former head of No Cliché, Frédérick Raynal. Reading it in 2026 feels somewhat surreal, knowing what ultimately would (or wouldn't) become of the game.

Being that the issue released in February of 2001, there were still enough upcoming releases on the horizon to give worried Dreamcast fans reason to keep the faith. Previews this month included Sega heavy-hitters Daytona USA 2001 and Skies of Arcadia, alongside a number of titles that would ultimately end up as Japanese and US imports for us here in old Blighty. The Last Blade 2 and Giga Wing 2 promised niche thrills for arcade connoisseurs, while The Typing of the Dead and Illbleed lay in wait to deliver their own uniquely quirky brands of horror.

Launching the Dreamcast on 9/9/99 - An Interview with Electronics Boutique's Alexander Danielian

Dreamcast launch night on 9/9/99 at Electronics Boutique, Las Vegas.
(Image credit: Next Gen Magazine, November 1999)

Serendipity is a thoroughly wondrous phenomenon. I'm happy and confident to make this statement, as the parameters which lead to the following could quite easily be laid firmly at the door of said concept. See, a couple of weeks ago, I happened upon a fabulous interview conducted by The Retro Hour with one Alexander Danielian. Alexander was the store manager of the Electronics Boutique store at Sunset Galleria, Henderson, Las Vegas - the store which was selected by Sega of America as the flagship location for the launch of the Dreamcast on 9/9/99.

In that interview, Alexander explained how he was a pivotal cog in the Sega machine unleashing the Dreamcast on the expectant American public, and it was a truly fascinating glimpse behind the scenes. A few days after hearing the episode, a mutual friend, Jordan Freeman of Zoom Platform fame, reached out to me and asked if we here at the Junkyard would also like to speak to Alexander...and naturally I enthusiastically accepted.

Who even are you if you don't listen to The Retro Hour?

I want to make it clear that you should absolutley also listen to or watch The Retro Hour's fantastic interview with Alexander (think of this interview as a supplementary piece), but I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to really drill down into some specific Dreamcast-related insider info on that hallowed launch night, and pick Alexander's brain about some of the more esoteric aspects of the Dreamcast's brief tenure as the hottest new games console around.

Alexander was featured in Business Week for his outstanding Dreamcast sales performance.

The following interview is pretty in-depth and therefore quite lengthy, but naturally all of it is exquistely interesting, so I encourage you to read every word. You might even learn something about one of the enduring urban legends about special edition Dreamcast consoles and Electronics Boutique...

DCJY: Hi Alexander. It’s a pleasure to be able to speak with you. Could you give a brief introduction as to who you are and how you are linked to the story of the Dreamcast?

Alexander Danielian: Sure, it’s great to speak to you Tom. My name is Alexander Danielian, and I was the district trainer and store manager at Electronics Boutique at Sunset Galleria, Henderson, a suburb of Las Levas, Nevada - which was the flagship location for the official North American launch of Sega's Dreamcast console, back on 9/9/99.

The Final Days of Official Dreamcast Magazine (UK) and What Happened to Issue 22

As I bid 2025 farewell to the tune of the traditional New Year's Eve song Auld Lang Syne, I contemplated the lyrics and their theme about leaving things in the past. I promptly disregarded that message and continued to write for a blog about a console that was discontinued 24 years ago. 

But that idea of "farewells" sparked an idea — one that taps into a new collecting obsession I fell into in 2025. You see, I developed a bit of a bug for tracking down old Dreamcast magazines, specifically ones that were published in the UK. Although I was able to frequently play the Sega Dreamcast during its commercial heyday round a friend's house, I was probably too young for the magazines of the time to cross my radar, and even if they had, I probably would've been too busy reading the Beano and Dandy to care.

Anyhow, last year I managed to pick up several bundles of assorted issues of Official Dreamcast Magazine, Dreamcast Magazine (the unofficial one), and DC-UK. I quickly noticed a common thread with these lots, however. While I did manage to acquire some earlier issues in them, the majority consisted of each magazine's final entries. It seemed that the sellers were particularly keen to offload these last issues — and upon reading them, it was easy to see why.

As the death knell rang for the Dreamcast with Sega’s announcement of its discontinuation and their intentions to develop games for rival systems, there was a clear scramble from these magazines to reassure their readers that the console still had plenty of epic games on the horizon. As the issues wore on, however, the cracks began to show. The number of games reviewed in each issue dwindled, features became steadily less inspired, and page counts shrank. In the most egregious cases, past reviews were simply reprinted in a desperate attempt to pad out pages.

Of course, this strange editorial limbo couldn't last forever, and eventually each of these magazines would come to accept that the Dreamcast’s fate was a doomed one, and sail off into the sunset — most of them rather unceremoniously. Next issues were promised, but never came. Only one publication, Paragon Publishing's unofficial Dreamcast Magazine, managed to last long enough to earn itself the privilege of a proper send-off.

In what I hope to be an ongoing series, I will be taking a look at how each of the UK's Dreamcast magazines said their farewells —or didn’t— with an additional goal of uncovering what went wrong behind the scenes for those that ended prematurely. You know we love solving a mystery here at the Junkyard.

To start off, I'll be taking a look at Dennis Publishing's officially licensed offering, Official Dreamcast Magazine. Its final issue, issue 21, was released in June 2001.

My scan!

The issue hit newsstands sporting a rather fitting PAL-blue cover featuring Sega’s iconic spiky mascot. Like the rest of the magazine, the cover is clean as hell — and perfectly timed to coincide with the mag’s review of Sonic Adventure 2. Readers would have also found Volume 22 of the Dream On demo disc adorning this issue's cover, which was responsible for its premium £4.99 price tag.

Depending on where you were in your Dreamcast journey, this demo disc may have proved to be either a blessing, or slightly disappointing. Rather than including playable previews of the latest upcoming titles, the 22nd instalment of Dream On served as a "best-of" compilation, packing in demos for nine Dreamcast bangers. These included Jet Set Radio, Metropolis Street Racer, Sonic Adventure, Virtua Tennis, Space Channel 5, Toy Commander, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, Ready 2 Rumble, and Ultimate Fighting Championship. Seeing as all nine of these games were voted into our Top 200 Dreamcast games list, with the majority of them ranking inside the top 30, it was a well-curated selection, and maybe even well timed for any new Dreamcast adopters who had picked up the console following its price drop to £99.99 earlier that year. If you were a long-time ODM reader, though, you may well have played a fair few of these titles already thanks to the magazine’s high review scores, and were perhaps instead expecting demos for the brand-new Sonic Adventure 2 or Crazy Taxi 2. If that were the case, you might have been left feeling a bit miffed.

Credit: Chromagi

The magazine's editor, Warren Chrismas, made the reasoning for this demo selection clear in his note at the front of the issue. While he began by calling out the "gloom merchants" for insisting the Dreamcast was dead and buried months before —citing the high quality of both Sonic Adventure 2 and Crazy Taxi 2 as a reason for fans of the console to remain excited— this positive tone was soon contradicted by the sobering reality of Sega's situation.

Inside the Machine: The Making of NBA 2K and NFL 2K for Sega Dreamcast

I sat down with two original NBA 2K and NFL 2K engineers to learn how they helped build the two iconic sports games and I ask: can 2K Sports make a return to NFL greatness?

Moore’s Law, as described by scientist Michio Kaku in his 2023 book Quantum Supremacy, speaks to the concept that “computer power doubles every eighteen months.” But perhaps with an exception — the Sega Dreamcast seemingly defied Moore’s Law when it debuted in 1999. Game titles NBA 2K and NFL 2K for the Sega Dreamcast by studio Visual Concepts looked and played like sports gaming in a new medium.

Based on Sega’s NAOMI architecture, the Dreamcast would offer a glimpse of what advanced computational processing and graphics processors are capable of today. The Dreamcast offered buttery smooth frame rates, and was one of the first machines to offer competitive online sports gaming. Even more, Sega Sports, with its slow-motion instant replay systems and its patented 2K-camera bokeh, created the illusion that the 2K Sports world was alive — and I wanted to learn more about how these games were made.

I spoke with two different tools engineers on the original NBA 2K and NFL 2K development teams to learn about the technical, translational nature to their work on what was the new Sega Dreamcast hardware. What follows is a rare, unexpected, and deeply technical look inside the original 2K Sports, exploring how Sega and Visual Concepts created the foundation of NBA 2K and NFL 2K.

Custom Tools Engineering and Maya

The first topic of conversation was custom tools engineering. What are custom tools in game development and why are they important? Visual Concept’s tools engineers built custom solutions to smooth out animations, lighting, and graphics when those assets were built in the Maya software suite and ultimately migrated to the final game engine environment. I discuss those topics first with 2K Engineer One.

DCJY: May I ask if you worked on gameplay or designed tools for the games?

2K Engineer (One): I was a tools engineer, mainly writing exporters and customizations for Maya. As far as I can recall, at the time VC did not have dedicated design staff. Design was done primarily by engineers and artists. Greg and Scott, the founders, also contributed to design.

Excellent. What kind of exporters and customizations for Maya? Anything gameplay oriented or for ratings, or for visuals? Player ratings are usually very mysterious for sports games players.

2K Engineer (One): Exporters were mainly about modeling and animation. Modeling includes level design, e.g. stadiums, lighting, and character design. Character animation started as mocap data, which always needs a lot of cleanup. For example, mocap will typically clamp rotations to +/-180 degrees; that can result in a discontinuity when the source data crosses the threshold. Things like the peak of a sinusoidal wave that crossed the limit will be snapped 360 degrees to the other side. Mathematically they are equivalent, but it’s confusing to see, and can introduce sampling errors along the discontinuities.

So I’d create Maya plugins that would automate curve clean-up, or to apply various lighting tricks, or other things to automate tedious work that artists and animators would encounter. Sometimes I might add custom user data to the elements in Maya; these would tend to be more design oriented. Ultimately it would all get exported in formats that could be consumed by the game engine.

Things like player stats were tabular, maybe done in Excel. I don’t remember specifically, but that would make sense.

Thanks for this breakdown. I think this explains a lot of things that come up in games, like clipping, and various quirky animations that need those custom solutions.

Editor’s Note:

The turn of the millennium gave way to the rise of 3D sports gaming and powerful hardware. With better hardware technology, new software was developed to take advantage of the new capabilities that the Dreamcast now offered. With new software came new programming languages, new disciplines, and the demand for cross-disciplinary skilled workers to make sense of it all.

Tools engineers and technical artists would prove to be a key for Sega Sports and Visual Concepts in maximizing the Dreamcast’s capabilities from launch.

20 Years of The Dreamcast Junkyard

I was just going to ask ChatGPT to write me a post about this and add some fuel to the ever-churning AI slop engine that now both powers the internet and pushes RAM prices to cataclysmic levels; but as I was about to click 'generate,' I was visited by a ghastly apparition. The spectre that appeared before my very eyes was a scruffy, hungover urchin uttering barely coherent gibberish about GD-Rom drive emulation, hi-tech VMUs with colour screens, countless new independently developed games, wireless Dreamcast controllers and revitalised online servers. Disgusted by its unkempt appearance, I tried to waft the unspeakable phantom's form away with a swipe of my hand. It was then that I realised that I was actually seeing my own image reflected in my monitor.

Shocked and appalled by what I had witnessed, I promptly closed ChatGPT (other shite slop generators are available) and came to my senses. The 'this' I mention in the opening sentence of this post — and alluded to by the title — is the realisation that yes, we have indeed been here for twenty years. Two decades of Dreamcast-related nonsense here at The Dreamcast Junkyard. And lo, I thought that was worth waffling on about for a bit. Well, waffling in text form. You get the idea.

Before I continue though, just for shits and gigs, I did actually ask a popular AI thing what it knew about this very blog. I know this is super cringe, and the modern day equivalent of Googling yourself or putting yourself on Hot or Not to see if your face does indeed look like a three week old jack-o'-lantern that's been left in the sun...but let's just have a bit of fun here. So, what does...er...Gemini think The Dreamcast Junkyard is? 

Here's what it projectile vomited:

That's a great question! The Dreamcast Junkyard is a well-known, independent, and passionate online collective dedicated to the Sega Dreamcast console.

Here is a breakdown of what they do:

• Online Hub for Fans: It's considered a leading source for news, reviews, retrospectives, and everything else related to Sega's final console, which was discontinued in 2001 but still enjoys a dedicated fan base.
• Content Focus: They produce a variety of content, including:
• Reviews and Articles: Deep dives into both classic Dreamcast games and new, commercially released indie/homebrew titles.
• The DreamPod Podcast: A podcast that focuses on Dreamcast culture, collecting, the community, and general retro gaming topics.
• Hardware Coverage: They often look into Dreamcast peripherals, different console variations, and preservation efforts.
• Passion Project: The site started as a personal blog in 2005 by a fan named Tom Charnock and has grown into a collaborative, not-for-profit effort run by a team of dedicated enthusiasts.

In short, it's a thriving online community that keeps the spirit and excitement for the Sega Dreamcast alive and well!

As if to demonstrate how utterly unhinged these AI models are, and to further illustrate why we absolutely do not need this bullshit, the gushing nature of this response actually makes me feel a bit embarrassed. Also, I'm aware that copying and pasting that garbage back into this blog is only going to add to the ever-decreasing circle of content scraping depravity that these LLMs engage in...but at this point the internet is so far removed from the one that existsed back in 2005 when I started this blog, that its a bit of a moot point.

You can probably tell from this opening gambit that I'm no fan of AI, and I apologise for even using it to try and be funny (I'm not). Interesting that the whole 'It's Thinking' US Dreamcast campaign leaned so hard into the whole 'Dreamcast is so advanced it knows what you're going to do' thing. But I've digressed again...so let's get back on track. It's been twenty years since my first post here at the 'Yard — a blog I started because I was insufferably bored. I'd recently got back into the Dreamcast, and I'd been engrossed by resources such as Dreamcast Scene et al and thought I might take a stab at just making a personal blog about buying all the Dreamcast games I could find now (then) that had become super cheap.

2005 was a very different time in the world of Dreamcast. The console was essentially in the bin; the Xbox and PS2 and GameCube were the stars of the show and Dreamcast games, consoles and peripherals were on sale —at least here in the UK— for literal pence. Nobody wanted or gave a shit about the Dreamcast, outside of those spaces on the internet such as the aforementioned DCS and similar hotspots of the fandom. When I first started this blog, I never intended it to be any more than a personal diary where I recounted buying up all the old games I'd previously owned, while casting an eye over the ones I'd never had the opportunity to experience the first time around. I didn't set out for anyone to read it, I had no expectations at all. It was simply a thing for me to exercise my limited creativity, try to replicate the actual games journalists I'd grown up reading in magazines, and just have a bit of fun. I never for one moment thought I'd be here, twenty years hence, writing this drivel on a blog that has — as surprised as I am to realise it — become something of a cornerstone of the very community I looked up to in the first place. For that, I am truly grateful.

But it was not, and never has been a solo endeavour (well, apart from those first few months where I simply amused myself by writing slightly unhinged posts about stuff only tangentially related to the Dreamcast). Many talented individuals have graced the pages of this blog and not only served the memory of the Dreamcast, but have gone on to be highly successful in other fields. There have been events held in person, I've somehow been invited to write for esteemed magazines and books and launched a podcast (and been a guest on other podcasts) even though I can barely string a coherent sentence together.

What I guess I'm trying to say here, is that this whole thing isn't about me. It's about you — the ones here reading this right now. You, the people with the skills and knowledge and knowhow and enduring curiosity and love for the Dreamcast. The hardware, the software, the endless possibilities when it comes to engineering new limitless solutions which keep this platform alive. The ones who buy the indie games, post online, make YouTube videos, chat about recently discovering the Dreamcast and asking which games you should buy. To you I take my hat off — you keep the dream alive. I have done nothing really, but report on what you do while simultaneously being a spectator and a commentator on what awesome people can achieve with awesome ideas and awesome hardware. I'm just a fan, as it were. 

I've not been alone in keeping The Dreamcast Junkyard going for the last couple of decades; there have been many people who have exhibited their talents on the pages of this blog, on the podcast, on the YouTube channel and on our social media accounts. I'm not going to list them all, but they know who they are. So yeah, here we are, in 2025 still keeping the fires burning and below are some nice comments from people who have either consumed the content produced by the team here over the years, produced the content themselves, or are friends we met along the way. And I might add, if you want to skip the following messages, you might want to scroll down to the bottom to see what we have planned to celebrate this milestone outside of this simple blog post.

Some nice words from real people who are definitely not AI

James Harvey (DCJY): "As someone who read the Junkyard from the very beginning, it was a surreal honour to finally meet Tom and become a part of this wonderful team. Twenty years covering the greatest console ever, and we still have new things to talk about every month!"

Laurence Goodchild (DCJY): "The fact that the Junkyard has been kicking out articles for two decades on a strictly independent and non-profit basis is a huge achievement. No grifting, no clickbait, no shilling, and a messy website that actually maintains some character in a sea of monotony. I bloody love it. Hopefully the DIY ethos and community spirit can be sustained by future generations of volunteers."

Lewis Cox (DCJY): "The Junkyard is a pillar of the Dreamcast community, and I think I speak for many fans when I say it's a pivotal stop on anyone's Dreamcast fanboy journey. I was absolutely stoked when Tom asked me to join the site in 2018. Fast-forward a few years and I’m deep into writing deep dives and recording the podcast — and loving every minute of it. I’m honoured to be one of the people helping to keep this wonderful website alive, and grateful to Tom for allowing me to take on more of an administrative role as he roams the rain-soaked country roads of the United Kingdom on his motorbike. I can’t believe it’s been 20 years, let's make it 20 more!"

Mike Phelan (DCJY Alumni): "Longevity is a rare commodity nowadays. Fads rise and fall, what is ‘hot’ and indeed what is ‘not’ changes on a near daily basis in a world where information bounces around at light speed and ‘trending’ and ‘viral’ have become bywords for our collective inability for things to keep our interest. Against that, a little blog started 20 years ago has stood the test of time. Outlasting Sega’s own time in the home console market, one site has kept the fires burning for a machine that has proven to be a true gaming underdog. What started as one man’s Dreamcast journey has morphed into a hub of information, a community of like-minded nostalgic gamers passionate both about the past and shining a light on a niche, underground scene still brimming with life. In doing so, it differentiated itself from ‘other’ gaming sites — a very British sense of humour, never afraid to tell it how it is and a self-deprecating ability to never take itself too seriously.

"There’s been ups and downs; a podcast listened to by thousands, panels at gaming conventions, exclusive, exciting ‘breaking news’, interviews with DC legends; many have passed through the hallowed halls of the Junkyard, some continue the fight for recognition of the swirl, others now content with the occasional re-emergence and more still faded into the midsts of time. Friends have been made, enemies too I’m sure (the Wild West days of the DCJY Facebook Group certainly were interesting!) but the Junkyard perseveres.

"My own favourite memories of the Junkyard start before I even came on board. It was a site that I discovered not long after getting back into the machine (2007-ish? My memory, unlike the DCJY, has faded with the years); Tom and the early apostles of the DCJY scripture were beacons of a shared love for the little machine of dreams. I watched as it morphed into something bigger than Tom surely ever imagined. I remember recording a podcast dockside in Bristol, interrupted intermittently by the sounds of a train; representing the ‘Yard in the Vegas of the North, myself and Tom sharing a panel with Dreamcast luminaries in a moment that still feels slightly surreal. The chaos of podcast recording, the joy of reading articles ranging from ultra informative to downright anarchic, and of course the infamous Dreamcast Junkyard Ultimate Collectors Guide. I will forever be grateful to Tom for helping to get the first version of the guide out into a physical form; it started with a random email to a site I held as the epitome of the Dreamcast scene and ended with a cease and desist from SEGA.

"Today the Junkyard remains as strong as ever. The captain may have changed — now steered through treacherous waters by Lewis with a fresh crew of Dreamcast zealots (Lewis and the Dreamcastanauts? Would make a great name for a pop-punk band), it continues to present insightful commentary and news in its own way. Here's to 20 years more —and beyond— of The Dreamcast Junkyard!”

Aaron 'Animated AF!' Foster (DCJY Alumni): "Surely it's not been 20 years, right? Now I think about it, it does feel like quite a while ago since I was walking down to my nearest GameStation to nab a few more two for a fiver Dreamcast games! My memory is pretty fuzzy about how exactly I stumbled upon the Dreamcast Junkyard back then, but when I did I was enamoured to find Tom doing the same GameStation trek and documenting it, so much so that I wanted to join in! This was in a point of my life where I was really starting to find my voice online and the wonders of tech like YouTube meant I could start even showing people silly stuff like playing Virtua Tennis with a fishing controller and talking about how blowy-shitty-uppy Bangai-O was! The Dreamcast console still holds a special place in my heart and most of that is due of the wonderful community that grew from this at-the-time humble little blog! Cheers! *clink*"

James Brown (Shenmue Dojo): "The Dreamcast Junkyard has been my go to retro gaming website and podcast for as long as I can remember now, consistently keeping me connected to the wonderful world that was SEGA’s swan song console. It’s been my main source of news and allows me to keep in touch with all of the inner workings of the Dreamcast community, who are all as passionate (and just as mad) as myself. The Dreamcast has literally shaped my life, and continues to do so, with Shenmue my biggest inspiration. The Junkyard has stood by our side through thick and thin and ‘I await whilst praying’ for many more moons to come!"

Patrick Traynor (Sega Saturn, SHIRO!): "I first encountered the Junkyard back in the Spring of 2015. I just started getting back into Dreamcast collecting after a couple year break, and followed a few retro podcasts prior. Looking for Dreamcast content, I found the DreamPod and fell in love. The podcast had everything I was looking for: an early 2000s aesthetic, an amazing knowledgeable staff, great guests, and recommendations for Dreamcast titles I've missed or overlooked. 

"The podcast was so amazing, it eventually inspired me to start my own about the SEGA Saturn with a few friends, which became SEGA Saturn, SHIRO! Years later, I've gotten to collaborate with the Junkyard, and proud to call many of you involved with the Junkyard friends. Just saying thanks would not even be close to what I owe the Junkyard. Congratulations on 20 years everyone, definitely looking forward to the next 20!"

Derek Pascarella (Hacker/Fan Translator): "Wow... 20 years of The Dreamcast Junkyard! It's hard to put into words just how significant the Junkyard is, and has been, for the Dreamcast scene. For me personally, the DreamPod remains one of my biggest comfort listens. Whenever I hear that "This is a Dreamcast disc, and is for use only in a Dreamcast unit" soundbite play, a warm blanket of SEGA goodness envelopes me from head to toe. I must also say that I adore how strongly The Junkyard supports so many personas in the Dreamcast scene: indie developers, content creators, and even romhackers (like me). 

"The finger is truly on the pulse, and you can always count on The Junkyard being at the forefront of posting about new games, new devices/mods, as well as new patches and hacks. Hell, you can even find amazing retrospective posts on Dreamcast games we've all been playing for over two decades, full of details and insights that somehow manage to make those old games feel like green fields with so much to discover and enjoy. We love you, Junkyard. Thank you for two incredible decades! My life is, without a doubt, better because of Tom's little pick-ups blog that grew into the world's best one-stop-shop for Dreamcast fans.”

KC (The Sega Lounge): "It’s crazy when everyone’s celebrating these big milestone anniversaries and you’re forced to face the fact that you, yourself, are getting older. However, as much as it’s weird that The Dreamcast Junkyard is already 20, it’s also strange that it isn’t older. To me, it feels like it has always been a part of my online life, if that makes sense. The Dreamcast is still, to this day, a big part of my life, and whether I want to be informed or entertained, I know DCJY is the place to be for all my (blue) swirl needs. I can always count on the Junkyard team to stay on top of the happenings around the Dreamcast scene, share their love for a new and promising indie darling coming to SEGA’s box of dreams, or even just find a barber!

"The DreamPod is also a permanent part of my podcast listening rotation and a very enjoyable show that never fails to leave me smiling after each episode. I’ve been fortunate enough to be on the show and privileged to have some of the guys on my own podcast. A delight. 

"When the topic of relevant websites comes up in conversations with friends, DCJY is always mentioned. Frankly, it’s not just a relevant SEGA or video game resource, but also a prime example of how to keep a community alive and well. So here’s to the Junkyard’s 20th anniversary! May you keep us all dreaming for many more years."

Freakdave (Developer): "I’d come across DCJY before, but things really took off when Luke Benstead (Kazade) and I (Freakdave) released our Tunnels demo into the wild. We ended up with a mention on the DCJY site and a nod in one of their countless Dreampod episodes. Now here we are in 2025, and I’m raising a mug of coffee in my Dreamcast Junkyard cup to wish you a very Happy 20th Anniversary!"

Ross Kilgariff (Developer): "I was contacted by Tom from The Dreamcast Junkyard 8 years ago (!) for an interview on my work-in-progress game project, at the time called "Dungeon Ross". I had no previous experience promoting my games and getting a message from "the press" was a really big deal to me. I told my family members and proudly shared the link to the article and video. The interest that DCJY showed back then gave me confidence and made me want to stick around on the platform. So thanks DCJY for 20 years of service, and here's to 20 more :)"

Dreamcast Enjoyer (YouTube): "Raising a Hassy to celebrate 20 years of the Dreamcast Junkyard — a wonderful community and still my internet homepage to this day. Thanks for keeping the dream alive, lads!"

Adam Koralik (YouTube): "20 years of talking about the Dreamcast, at least you still make me look like the young one. Next year, come to the US for a bit and you'll be old enough for me to get you a beer, that I guess by my own logic I'm not old enough for. Keep dreaming!"

Video Game Esoterica (YouTube): "DCJY is turning 20? One more year and it can legally drink High Life! But seriously...how has it been 20 years? I still remember finding the site forever ago looking up some Dreamcast info and it's been a part of my "Sega Life" since then! I love that a console that had approximately a three year lifespan can make 20 years of engaging content and still not feel old! Here's to another 20 years so we can buy DCJY a '40th birthday' balloon like I got this year!"

Daniel Ibbertson aka DJ Slope (YouTube): "The Dreamcast Junkyard has not only been one of the most valuable sources for all things Dreamcast (and beyond) but the team behind it have personally helped the channel multiple times too with their invaluable knowledge. It's always a pleasure to remember to open up a browser and binge on what the site offers and as a hardcore Sega fan. I'm chuffed that the site is still going strong 20 years later."

PC Wizard (YouTube): "A 20-year accumulation of Dreamcast-related words and phrases that come together in a wonderful tapestry of articles to celebrate the world's best video game console. It brings tears to my eyes! Or maybe that's just the onion I'm cutting as I write this... Either way, happy 20th to the greatest junkyard on the web!"

Adrian O’Neil (DCJY Superfan): "Congratulations on the 20th anniversary of the Junkyard! Genuinely the Junkyard/DreamPod is my favourite Blog site and podcast. All contributors to the Junkyard are amazing. A special thanks has to be reserved for Tom.. Here’s to another 20 years!"

Uncle Clutch (also a DCJY Superfan): "I got caught in the Dreamcast spiral back in ’99, and the Junkyard has kept it spinning in my head ever since. Nostalgia pulled me in at first, but new games, projects, and the friendly community have kept me in its orbit. Congratulations on 20 years!"

What a lovely collection of messages, I'm sure you'll agree. Brings a tear to th'eye, I tell thi.

But wait, there's more!

It would be rather remiss of us to simply post a blog about reaching such a milestone. Back when we reached our 10th anniversary in 2015 we ran a competition in collaboration with SEGA Europe where they gave us a load of Dreamcast Collection limited edition vinyl records to give away. Hands up if you remember that? But I digress (again). This year we have something equally as cool, and we'll be announcing the details in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out!

Look up to see Aaron (Animated AF!)'s amazing tribute to the Junkyard's earliest header design!

For now though, I just wanted to once again thank everyone who comes here to read our articles, listens to our podcast and who just generally has a passion for keeping the Dream alive. To the people who continue to churn out the podcasts and the articles and the social media content. Without all of you out there keeping the Dreamcast relevant, there'd be no point in any of this. So thank you.

With that, I'm off to watch some AI-generated videos of Will Smith eating a Pot Noodle through a fence. Ciao for now!

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.

The Dreamcast Games We Want Back Online the Most

In the late 1990s, with the bitter taste of the Saturn's commercial flop lingering in their mouth, and the looming presence of a gargantuan new competitor on the scene, the folks at Sega rallied round the idea that they could revive their financial fortunes by getting a new home console onto the market. In that moment, high-stakes decisions needed to be made about the characteristics that would define what came to be known as the Dreamcast. What would the technical architecture of the hardware be? How would developers be brought on board? What direction would the branding take? How comically loud could the operation of the disc drive possibly be?

One concept that Sega firmly hung their hat on was online gameplay. The Dreamcast was to be the first home console to be online out of the box, a distinction which Sega hoped would have punters flooding forth with a much-needed cash injection into the company's coffers. Online gameplay was a central pillar of the Dreamcast brand, featuring front and centre in the console's marketing campaigns. In the States, Sega called on nu-metal titan Fred Durst to push SegaNet. Here in Europe, a range of tongue-in-cheek adverts were published that played to nationalistic jockeying (think harmless English-French banter, rather than the disintegration of Yugoslavia). Japan didn't miss the memo either, although a big chunk of their marketing eschewed the macho competitive aspect in favour of pushing the Dreamcast's internet capabilities to a female demographic. 

A selection of advertising materials focusing on the Dreamcast's online functionalities,
from left to right: USA, France, Japan.

Of course, during it's official lifetime, the Dreamcast never got close to fulfilling the upper limit of its "up to 6 billion players" tagline. However, Sega did erect a superb online architecture that allowed hundreds of thousands to experience online competitive and cooperative gameplay for the first time. Compared to the lifespan of the official servers of some contemporary games, many titles in the Dreamcast's online library had a damn good innings too. The official PAL and Japanese servers for the OG grandaddy of online RPGs, Phantasy Star Online, were maintained well into 2007, with hundreds of players logging on to say emotional goodbyes in the final couple of days (I'm not crying, you're crying). Others lasted even longer. The official servers for Starlancer, hosted by GameSpy, held on all the way to 2014, although we cannot be sure whether that was a deliberate stay of execution or some admins simply forgetting that the things still existed.

Source for dates: Online Consoles (dreamcast.onlineconsoles.com); DreamCast Online Gaming (dcog.netfirms.com, available via Wayback Machine); dreamcastlive.net; Sega press releases; sleuthing around old forums; and a smidge of informed guesswork.

However, regardless of the staying power of some, eventually every single online Dreamcast game had its official servers switched off. Luckily for us though, the scene has persistently had a cohort of skilled and generous technicians working in the shadows to revive these online functions through unofficial measures (shout out to the likes of bluecrab, Flyinghead, ioncannon, petter3k, and Shuouma). More recently, they have even been bolstered by developers bringing brand new titles online, such as the indie smash-hit Driving Strikers, or freely distributed homebrew projects like ClassiCube, NuQuake and even Counter Strike. 

'There's an interesting story behind this Dreamcast game. In 1999 I remember it was. I got up in the morning and made myself a piece of toast. I set the toaster to three - medium brown...'

Alas, despite all this wizardry, there are still 64 games with online functions which have not been used since the day their official servers closed, 55 of which had fully fledged online multiplayer modes. Some of these titles, such as Unreal Tournament, are highly recognised and the status of their online multiplayer modes are asked after time and time again. Yet, I would contend that there are others which are actually worthy of more attention, and that is exactly what I hope to achieve with this article. So, with the customary rambling introduction over, let's get into it. Here are the Dreamcast games whose online revival I am anticipating the most...

Dream Disc '24 Dreamcast Game Jam - A Showcase of All 24 Entries!

The entry period for the first ever Dream Disc game jam —a homebrew jam for the Sega Dreamcast— came to an end on January 3rd. Organised by Cypress of PsyOp Studios, and Ross Kilgariff of Orc Face Games, the jam was created with the aim of uniting the talented developers of the Dreamcast homebrew scene behind the shared challenge of developing new software for the console in a short space of time — and boy, did they deliver! 

Although judging is still yet to take place, each entry is already available to download from the Dream Disc '24 itch.io page for free. While the majority of submissions take the form of bitesize game demos for play on the console itself, there are also VMU games and some other miscellaneous pieces of software to check out too.

As detailed in Lozz's article from October (check it out for more details on the jam), the top ten entries chosen by the judges will go on to be featured on a physical compilation disc from Orc Face Games. While we intend to talk in more detail about those chosen games on an upcoming episode of our DreamPod podcast, for now I wanted to showcase every submission here so you can learn more about them and choose your own personal favourites from the bunch! 

Update (08 March 25): the judges have made their decisions! Click here to see the top ten.

Junkyarder Mike Rogers also took the time to record some footage of all the Dreamcast software entries, which we have uploaded as a nice compilation to YouTube, which you can watch below. I also recommend checking out The Sega Guru's great coverage on each entry as well.

So without further ado, let's get into the entries — all 24 of them. 24 entries for Dream Disc ‘24. How fitting!

Game Entries

Each of the 20 games submitted to Dream Disc '24 is unique, with an eclectic mixture of gameplay, graphical styles, and game engines on offer — there's something here for everyone to enjoy. 

While compatibility can vary, you should be able to burn all of these games onto a CD-R, stick them on an ODE (i.e. GDEMU, MODE), or play them on an emulator like Flycast.

A-Blaster by PrOfUnD Darkness

Mashing up ideas from classic space shooters Astro Blaster (Gremlin/Sega) and Megamania (Activision), A-Blaster is the first of many entries that will be challenging your dexterity. You get a single life to shoot down nine single-screen levels’ worth of alien invaders, as they move quickly across the top of the screen. To help overcome their barrage and be within a chance of staying in the game, you have a “warp” ability at your disposal (a feature made famous by Astro Blaster), which slows down enemy movements and lasers for a few seconds.

Download A-Blaster

Beach Box by PsyOp Studios

A complete remake of a Summer Jam 2024 entry, Beach Box is the first of two submissions to Dream Disc '24 by jam organiser Cypress, aka PsyOp Studios. This summery romp may be made up of simple shapes, but its gameplay is addictive. Taking control of a little square, the aim is to dodge larger rectangles by jumping or shifting dimensions, collecting coins as you go. It's sort of like Flappy Bird, except if Flappy Bird was actually fun. You also don’t have to give yourself carpal tunnel to play it.

It's a nice touch to see such a simple game have such a surprising range of unlockable power-ups and characters. I'm still trying to collect enough coins to get the little sock dude, Murph.

Download Beach Box

Big Drill by captkuso

Big Drill is what trendy internet pundits would call an "idle" game (wait, does that make me one of them?), in which you are in charge of a... big drill. It does what it says on the tin, really. 

Basically, the 3D blocks on screen are mined away automatically, with your resource numbers —which are listed on the right-side of the screen— increasing as you go. When your resources total specific amounts, it's time to take charge and buy upgrades for your drill. Upgrades include speeding up the drill, making it more durable, and increasing the amount of resources it collects. Pick the correct upgrades at the best time to see how deep you can drill.

For those looking to challenge themselves further, there is also a "prestige mode" to unlock, which resets any current progress and starts you again at a higher difficulty. 

Keep your eye out for a video detailing Big Drill's development coming to captkuso's YouTube channel in the next couple of weeks.

Download Big Drill

Preview: Sovietborgs

Nearly three years on since the release of the fabulous Xenocider, Spanish indie development studio Retro Sumus have released more tantalising details about their follow-up Dreamcast and Mega Drive/Genesis offering, Sovietborgs. Retro Sumus have taken something of a diversion with Sovietborgs though - as you can probably tell from the screenshots dotted throughout this article - moving away from the polygonal splendour of Xara's 2021 Sin & Punishment homage, and instead channelled the likes of The Chaos Engine (and possibly early Saturn/PlayStation shooter Loaded) with this latest project.

For the record, the images here are taken from a very early demo of the Mega Drive version of Sovietborgs (releases for both Sega platforms were announced simultaneously), and the Dreamcast version promises visual and audio enhancements, more of which you can read about in the short interview below. But first, you may well be asking yourself: what the hell is a Sovietborg and why should I give a damn?!

According the official lore of Sovietborgs (um...Retro Sumus' Twitter account), the story goes a little something like this:

On November 9, 1989, 11:14 pm, the KGB's glorious electronic brain, Tovarishch-Prime, became self-aware, and immediately managed to take control of Arpanet, triggering the detonation of all capitalist thermo-nuclear devices inside their own silos. 

25 years later, the West remains a nuclear wasteland. But like cockroaches, there are still pockets of resistance and free-thinking threatening our workers' paradise. In these forsaken locations, new mutant races emerged due to radiation and their sickening capitalist mind. Fortunately, the Soviet People have developed a new unit of the illustrious Red Army, the Sovietborgs. 

Half man, half machine, all proletarian, they can go where no one else can, inmune to radiation, and liberate all new capitalist races from their pitiful existence. Join the Sovietborgs. Become a part of their prestigious present and future, travel the world pacifying all hotbeds of belligerence. Let the dream world of our venerable Tovarishch-Prime finally become a reality for all.

So yeah, something about capitalists and cyborgs. And guns. Lots of guns. We've played the limited demo of Sovietborgs and found it to be a rather enjoyable explore-and-shoot-stuff style romp, where you control the lead 'borg (designated by a little hat, naturally), while two AI controlled 'borgs follow you around and do your bidding. And by 'bidding' I mean shoot stuff. 

The demo is really only a single level, but it gives a good idea of what we can expect in the final game, with you controlling the squad as you move through ruined landscapes wiping out hordes of zombies which burst through randomly appearing portals with a taste for human brains; spider things that erupt from puddles of green ooze; and...er...mutant chickens which cluck forth from eggs that descend from the heavens. You need to destroy the delivery methods from which these unspeakable bastards all spring too, otherwise they'll just keep coming. This can be a bit problematic on a technical level as the demo does suffer a little with slow down when the hordes get a bit big, but we have no doubt this will be sorted in the final game and opens up the Dreamcast version for some absolutely enormous crowds of enemies streaming towards your squad. Nice.

Dream Disc '24 Game Jam - More Details and an Interview with the Organisers

On the 23rd of October, the organisers of the Dream Disc ‘24 Game Jam revealed their forthcoming event to the world, and, in the days that have since passed, their announcement has produced quite a buzz, not only within our niche scene, but across the wider gaming world too.

For some, the title of this hotly anticipated 'jam' may be confusing though, so let me break it down in lay terms. A game jam is a time-restricted event at which developers of various kinds will conceptualise and begin creating games. Much like a musical jam, the idea is that people with complementary skills will band together, sometimes with total strangers, and experiment in an open-minded environment. The hope is that the focused attention these conditions produce will result in some innovative results. Alas, it’s always a possibility that some of the outputs will be hideous abominations, but the learning and networking experience can be useful in and of itself nonetheless. 

In the case of the Dream Disc’ 24 Game Jam, developers are being encouraged to congregate online around itch.io and the Simulant Discord between Friday 20 December and Friday 3 January to “collaborate, build, tinker and show off” their projects. That being said, projects that were begun prior to these dates can be submitted, and entrants are welcome to drop by and introduce themselves whenever they may wish. In another wise move from the organisers, it’s also the case that, in addition to games, software utilities and even hardware can be accommodated for too.

So, that clears up the sticky issue of what ‘jam’ means. What about the ‘Dream Disc ‘24’ part? Well,  thanks to one of the event’s main sponsors, Orc Face Games, the top ten entries (as judged by expert panel) shall subsequently be featured on a physical CD-ROM to be made available to the public for the cost of shipping alone. If that wasn’t enough incentive, there is also a cash prize pool to be shared by the top three entrants. This currently stands at close to $900 USD, and in a peculiar twist of fate has been buoyed by advertising income that had been set aside for a contest to be hosted by the website DCEmu 15 years ago that never materialised. Those funds are now finally being put to good use thanks to one of the administrators of that OG website, darksaviour, digging them out all these years later. Of course, the pot is likely to grow further too as news spreads and additional donations are received.