An Interview with Midnight Scribe — Retro Game Collecting in Portrait

I learned recently that social media platform TikTok has nearly 2 billion users. That's more people than ever bought the Sega Dreamcast, not that that's exactly a high bar. It also turns out that it's not just all dancing videos on TikTok either. In fact, from a purely algorithmic standpoint, the TikTok gremlins' ability to present me with snappy videos in portrait that match my interests to a tee definitely outshines similar services provided by Instagram and YouTube. My "For You" feed is frequently filled with a generous helping of great short-form retro game collecting coverage, and one creator who caught my attention in particular was Midnight Scribe.

Midnight Scribe creates chilled, uplifting videos covering their many game-collecting adventures. I first discovered their account through a video documenting their mission to collect the entire PAL PlayStation 3 library, and from there it wasn't long until I'd watched everything else too, from videos on the Wii U and Nintendo 64 to the original Xbox and PlayStation, and, of course, the Dreamcast — a system Scribe is particularly fond of.

DCJY: Hello! Thanks for joining us here at the Junkyard, Midnight Scribe. For starters, how would you describe the videos you make for those who haven't seen them?

Midnight Scribe: I’m a Scottish retro gamer and collector, yakking away about all the fun and wonderful things gaming has to offer. I talk about a bunch of different consoles including the N64, original Xbox and Dreamcast. I'm probably mostly being watched for my videos tracking my efforts to complete the UK PS3 game library and a PS1 challenge I'm doing, where I try to build a PS1 collection without going to CEX or eBay, to show there are still deals to be found.

When did you start making videos, and what made you gravitate to TikTok specifically?

I only started making videos in January 2026, I’m very much a baby creator right now! Between the dark nights and some very stressful days at work, I needed something to perk me up after the work day was done, and I thought it would be fun to film a video about a Sega Saturn game I’d bought recently, Pebble Beach Golf Links. I have a lot of fondness for the game, even if I’m very bad at playing it! I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a birdie in that game yet.

I've had TikTok for a few years but I was very much a lurker, and never really did any videos or commented much. I had the itch to do something creative to raise my mood and give me something to focus on and I loved the immediacy of being able to record and publish a video and the community aspect that exists on TikTok. I didn’t have any expectations of how it would go or the reception I'd get, but a couple videos blew up about my attempts to collect the full UK PS3 library very quickly and everything snowballed from there!

It was actually your PS3 videos that brought me to your TikTok. It always felt like a bit of an underdog system to me, despite finishing second place that generation!

I feel the same about the PS3 too. When it was first announced and the first few years it was around, I really wasn't a fan of it and definitely felt Sony were taking their fans for granted, while the 360 was offering great online play and the Wii was bringing gaming to everyone and their gran! I did eventually pick one up in late 2009 and I come around on it. Despite it selling more than the 360, it does feel like it was really stuck in third place, but it’s an amazing machine to play and collect for. It’s been the most fun console to explore for me since the original Xbox.

So how did you feel when your videos starting to gain traction?

Shock, and a fair bit of confusion! It was the third video I did that blew up, getting around 8000 views. I went to bed with a couple hundred views and had answered a few questions, but overnight I woke up to dozens of comments asking about if I had certain PS3 games, how cool it was to see a collection like this, if I could curate a PS3 collection list for them, just lots and lots of positive feedback. Amazing way to wake up while having a morning coffee!

About a week later, another PS3 collection video shot past 20000 views and everything went into overdrive from there. I was having fun making videos and it really quickly became apparent that people were actually enjoying hearing me ramble on about games and my collection! I didn’t expect anything close to this to happen; I had no expectations at all, so it’s really been a joyride for the last three months. It definitely encouraged me to keep going and it’s made my evenings so much more fun. I get to chat with all sorts of gamers around the world about the games we like, show love for systems like the Wii U and PS3 and just have a really chill and positive chat together!

Considering I started doing these videos to basically help get me out of a rut, it honestly makes me so happy knowing that my little videos and chats with fellow gamers is being received so well and bringing them a little bit of joy too. I can’t honestly ask for any more than that, I’m extremely grateful for how kind and nice everyone has been, it means a heck of a lot.

Watching your videos, I can see that you have a very impressive collection. How long have you been collecting games for?

I used to collect a lot in the late 2000s and early 2010s, especially during my university days! That’s when I got the Dreamcast games and a good chunk of my N64 library. However, I sold off most of my collection to fund moving in with my partner and to get funds for a house. The majority of my current collection though has been built up in the last 3 and a half years, so I’ve been very busy… or obsessive, there’s a very thin line there! The Wii U ignited my passion for retro games again in a big way, I feel it’s a very under-appreciated console. I do have a thing for underdog systems, something the Wii U and Dreamcast have in common for sure. 

So let's talk Dreamcast! In a recent video, you spoke very fondly about the all-important moment you first got yours.

I never knew of the Dreamcast growing up. None of my friends had one, so it completely passed me by. In the summer of 2004, I went on holiday to Scarborough with my family and we visited the local Gamestation branch while we were there. I remember seeing a boxed Dreamcast and a shelf of games and I knew I was leaving there with it. I’d got an N64 the Halloween previous so I was just beginning to explore consoles I’d missed out on.

I left with the Dreamcast and two games, Sonic Adventure and Tomb Raider: the Last Revelation. However, I remember not liking Tomb Raider when I first played it so we went back and swapped it for Sega GT, which I definitely preferred. I remember commandeering the hotel room TV, hooking up the Dreamcast and playing the first couple stages in Sonic Adventure, the summer vibes of Station Square and the beach level mirroring the lovely weather and sandy beaches outside the window in Scarborough. That was basically all my money I saved for the holiday gone, but worth every penny. I think I carried the console in my arms in-between train stops on the way back home, it was my baby!

The Sega Dreamcast Controller is Getting a Second Analog Stick — Dream Color Plus Mod Update

The Sega Dreamcast was the only console of the sixth generation to have a controller with a single analog stick. (Yes, the GameCube did technically have a second analog stick, you’ve just got to squint a bit.) This lack of a second stick is a criticism often directed at the Dreamcast’s controller, and is even sometimes erroneously cited as a reason for the console’s downfall. Sure, having two sticks might have greatly improved a few first-person shooter games for those without Sega’s own mouse and keyboard, but the dual-analog control scheme that is now standard in modern gaming wasn’t really popularised until Halo: Combat Evolved came out on the Xbox (I know it came earlier with Alien Resurrection, but have you seen how much reviewers hated the way that game controlled upon release?)

Quake III Arena. Credit: Dreamcast Live

For those who want to play games like Quake III Arena with a regular pad the modern way, methods have existed for years to connect and remap dual-analog controllers —like those of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One— to the Sega Dreamcast. But what about a standard Dreamcast controller with dual sticks? A few months back, we reported on an upcoming mod for the Dreamcast’s controller called Dream Color Plus, which not only makes it wireless but also allows it to display Visual Memory Unit graphics in colour, simply by replacing the existing PCB with a new one. While chatting with one of the fine gents involved in the project, Nai Adventure, he gave us a full rundown of the features the DC+ would include, so check out that interview to learn more about the specifics of all these. One thing he did mention during that conversation was the possibility of the DC+ accommodating dual sticks. Well, the developers revealed their prototype build demonstrating exactly that. Thanks to Rapaz in our Discord for bringing it to our attention.

The Dream Color Plus prototype controller board with a second stick. 

During a livestream last night, Angelo Pontes, designer of the DC+ PCB, showed off a revised prototype version that includes a second analog stick. Of course, to accommodate this brand new (ahem) appendage, a new front shell for the controller would need to be created, and so this was 3D printed. You can see the 3D printed shell below. From what I understand, the print model will be open-source, meaning it will be available to the masses to print themselves, although backers of this project’s upcoming crowdfunding campaign will get the option to request one.

Dream Color Plus plus second stick plus 3D printed shell (plus, plus)

Most importantly, the team confirmed they’ve got the second stick working. The Dreamcast's maple protocol actually supported two analog sticks officially, it's just that the console never had a controller that had them! Believe it or not, both Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament were actually programmed to natively support two analog sticks, and will reportedly work with the DC+'s dual-stick setup straight out of the box. For games that don't have this compatibility, some button remapping will need to be done by the player in-game, or changed on the Dream Color Plus’ VMU display. The DC+'s dual sticks will also work with games that support the Dreamcast Twin Stick peripheral, like Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram, and even indies like Xeno Crisis and Postal.

I did wonder if the placement of the stick so close to the face buttons could pose a usability issue, but Nai Adventure has said the final version won’t have the analog stick so close (Update 23/03: a much improved stick position can be seen here). He also confirmed that for those just wanting to get a Dream Color Plus with a single analog stick, the option will also be available. Additionally, he let me know that the final version will include a built-in microphone, so the list of features just keeps on growing.

Here's a great clip Nai Adventure put on Twitter of the prototype Dream Color Plus' dual-analog control in action, being used with the Dreamcast port of Grand Theft Auto III. Two things we thought would never be possible on Dreamcast!

GTA 3 on DreamColor Plus!

• Color screen
• Rumble
• Microphone
• 2 real analog sticks
• Wireless
• Save data on SD card

The DreamColor Plus campaign goes live this weekend:
https://t.co/s9OfCEHHBf

If you're at DevGame Show, come try it firsthand! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/r4u3umUuuT

— Nai Adventure (@YTNaiAdventure) March 12, 2026

It really seems like the Dream Color Plus is looking to course-correct some of the limitations of the original Dreamcast controller. Dual-analog controls, colour VMU graphics, wireless connectivity, on-board memory, built-in rumble, a microphone, and with no soldering? That all sounds great on paper. It’ll be interesting to see how everything works once we get our hands on it. Nai Adventure has confirmed a crowdfunding campaign will launch for Dream Color Plus this Saturday.

Show Report — Bristol Video Games Expo 2026

This past weekend I once again attended Bristol Video Games Expo; a gaming event hosted by friend of the Junkyard, Alex "The Sega Guru". Alex and his team have been hosting retro gaming events for a while now (you might remember our report of Nottingham Video Games Expo back in 2022) and every show just seems to get bigger and better.

If you've never attended an expo like this before, you can expect to enjoy a whole load of retro gaming goodness all crammed into one place. You've got retro game sellers (some independent, some bigger resellers), cosplay areas, retro game machines to play, new indie releases being demonstrated, and some really great talks and panels from different industry people.

Bristol Video Games Expo in full flow.

The Bristol show didn't disappoint. There was far too much goodness amongst the various tables in the hall for me to mention everything, but outside of the many traders, it was great to see John Riggs from Rigg'd Games there with Dreamcast copies of the excellent Chew Chew Mimic up for grabs. Debug were also in attendance, with a bounty of magazines and Dreamcast indie titles for sale. There was a great selection of brand new indie games from different systems being shown off, with Crisis Island —a twin-stick shooter that takes inspiration from Time Crisis— being my personal "best indie game of the show" winner.

One of my particular highlights of the entire event was seeing Duncan Gutteridge —the original artist of Sonic the Hedgehog— onsite to not only sell some brilliant signed Sonic artwork prints, but also give a live talk about how he got into the industry and ended up working for Sega; all whilst live illustrating Sonic on stage. Fantastic.

 Duncan Gutteridge, the original Sonic artist, during his live illustration.

As well as Duncan, the VGE team had lined up talks on the main stage from the likes of James Hannigan (BAFTA award winning game composer who worked on the likes of Runescape, Harry Potter, and Command and Conquer), Frank Gasking (author of the Games That Weren't book) and The Oliver Twins, who need no introduction! An eclectic mix of gaming personalities, all offering some great insight into the industry.

As for me, I picked up a few things; some retro reading material from The Gaming Newsagent, a few racing games on various consoles that I didn't already own, and two Dreamcast games for the collection; a PAL copy of Incoming and the Japanese version of Sega GT. 

My personal pickup haul from Bristol VGE.

As an aside, I'm constantly amazed at how well the Japanese seem to look after their games. Most I've picked up are always in incredible condition and when I popped open Sega GT, I was very happy to find some really cool stickers amongst the many original inserts as well!

Free car stickers with Sega GT!

All in all, I had a great day at Bristol VGE and I'm looking forward to the next one. VGE have events planned in Norfolk and Nottingham in the coming months, and it's worth checking out their website as they often add new events as the year rolls on.

If you're a retro gaming fan and you've yet to experience an expo like this, I'd wholeheartedly recommend attending one. Entry tickets are around the cost of a couple of cups of coffee, and you'll have a blast playing some games, adding a few trinkets to your collection and, perhaps the best thing: meeting a whole load of likeminded people.

Marc, The Gaming Newsagent, with a selection of magazines and books.

The Oliver Twins take centre stage.

Indie developers showing off their latest releases to the public.

Segagaga has Finally Been Translated into English — Here's How to Play It (and How it was Achieved!)

The headline you see above is not some form of freaky clickbait, nor is it a two-month-early April Fool’s prank. It is, however, signalling one of the biggest pieces of Sega Dreamcast news that we will probably ever report here on this website. Some thought it would never happen, but the day has finally arrived: Segagaga is now playable in English, thanks to the work of a team of dedicated fans led by Exxistance. If you just want to know how to play the translation, skip to the end of this article, where you will find a link to a download and instructions on how to apply the patch to your existing disc image of Segagaga. But we felt it was important to document the technical feats which made this holy-grail translation possible — and to ensure that those responsible receive the recognition they deserve. So read on if you want to learn more!

If you’ve spent more than ten minutes in Dreamcast fan circles, you’ll undoubtedly be aware of Segagaga, a 2001 Japan-exclusive RPG that tasks players with running Sega as it tries to regain market share against its main competitor, DOGMA (Sony, basically). Developed by Hitmaker and published by Sega, the game is well known for its wacky humour (much of it at Sega’s own expense) as well as its abundance of references to the company’s past IPs. Because of this, Segagaga has retained an almost mythical quality among Western Dreamcast fans, and from the moment it became clear the game wouldn’t be released outside of Japan, it has without a doubt been the most anticipated English translation of any game in the console’s library.

But as I'm sure you're aware, Segagaga's translation journey has been wrought with roadblocks. Many projects have started up over the years, only to inevitably fizzle out. But as we previously mentioned at the top of our interview with Segagaga’s creator, Tez Okano, the reason for the game’s multiple-decade stint in translation hell wasn’t due to a shortage of skilled translators capable of handling its distinctly Japanese humour, but rather a series of daunting technical hurdles.

The primary challenge stemmed from Segagaga's use of the Dreamcast’s BIOS font, as editing it was thought to be impossible for the longest time. What's more, the game only supported Shift-JIS encoding for text, a common two-byte format for Japanese language that was widely used in video games of the era (and still is today, though typically alongside ASCII or UTF support). Without changing the game to retrieve narrower Latin alphabet characters from the BIOS instead, the original Shift-JIS would leave the in-game text looking horrible, and too big to fit in numerous places.

Demonstration of Shift-JIS encoding, provided by Derek Pascarella.

By contrast, many other Japanese Dreamcast titles rely on their own internal font sheets, unique to each game, meaning that savvy hackers can go in and swap a Japanese font sheet for an English one, adjusting spacing between characters, along with other necessary tweaks. Because of this, these games were able to see successful translations much sooner, and form the majority of past fan translations we've seen for the console over the years. 

After two decades of unsuccessful attempts at translating Segagaga, it was time to bring in the big guns. Cracking a technical nut this tough required a meeting of some of the most talented minds the Dreamcast scene has to offer, including megavolt85, mr.nobody, VincentNL, Derek Pascarella, and madsheep. If it weren’t for them, I can only imagine how much longer it would have taken for us to see this translation become a reality… perhaps another decade?

In steps megavolt85, hacker extraordinaire, who was one of two previously responsible for making it possible for Atomiswave games to be ported to Dreamcast. On megavolt's input, Derek Pascarella explains:

"megavolt85 modified Segagaga to interpret ASCII, the single-byte encoding commonly used for the Latin alphabet. Not only that, but he modified the game to read from the ASCII section of the BIOS font, rather than the Shift-JIS section."

The next step was to make it so that ASCII from the BIOS could be edited. This was where Derek worked his magic, and shares how he made it happen:

"Segagaga speaks directly to the Dreamcast’s BIOS when it comes time to render text on screen. After megavolt85 did all of the assembly hacking to force the game to interpret ASCII-encoded text and then pull from the ASCII section of the BIOS font (rather than Shift-JIS), I started poking around a bit to see how it all worked. What I discovered is that the game actually copies the entirety of the BIOS font into RAM pretty near the location where the game executable ends! So, I disabled the assembly code that performed this copy, then also disabled the code that null’d out that portion of RAM before doing the copy. I then appended the BIOS font to the end of the game executable, and just like that, the font data was precisely where the game expected it to be, and it could be modified! This came in handy a number of times as font glyphs needed tweaking for optimal appearance."

See how much better ASCII looks in comparison:

Demonstration of ASCII encoding, provided by Derek Pascarella.

It appeared that the first-documented Segagaga translation patch project —which began in 2006— did manage to make progress in this regard, but unfortunately wouldn't see an update past 2013. While nothing technical from that previous project would make it into this one, project lead and texture artist Exxistance reveals that he was still able to utilise a wealth of other archived community resources.

"What was helpful [...] were the various artefacts people left on the internet, including the FAQs on GameFAQs that were created back in the mid-00s. Those were especially useful in helping me get my bearings as I initially worked through the game. Other helpful resources included The1Ross’ Open Source Translation Project, as well as various YouTube videos like Korone’s full playthrough of the game."

It was actually on a Dreamcast-Talk forum thread initially created to share The1Ross' project, where Exxistance would post his English-translated edits of Segagaga's textures. From there, mr.nobody —who previously worked on the English fan translation of Dreamcast horror title Seven Mansions— would get in contact with Exxistance.

This Peter Moore interview from E3 2000 features some intriguing background details

As I was trawling YouTube t'other day, an interesting video appeared on my feed. Amongst the usual walkthroughs on how to check motorcycle valve clearances and (totally warranted) rants about the rising price of PC hardware, an intriguing compilation of interviews from E3 popped up. Titled simply 'E3 2000 Los Angeles,' the video is a collection of interviews and rushes shot at the Electronic Entertainment Expo which took place between the 11th and 13th May 2000 at the Los Angeles Convention Centre. The video was uploaded by a channel named The RAW Footage, which seems to publish unedited 'behind the scenes' clips from a range of media events, conventions, movie promotions and the like.

Where the magic happened. Image credit: SEGA Retro 

The thing that makes this video particularly interesting to me, apart from it being shot at E3 in the early, hope-filled days of the Dreamcast's natural lifespan, is a segment which begins at 20:25 and features an interview with Sega of America head honcho (and one-time DreamPod special guest) Peter Moore. The video doesn't say which outlet conducted the interview, and there is no watermark or any other identifying information - as the name of the channel suggests, this really is raw footage. In the segment, which you can view below, Peter talks candidly about the threat of the PlayStation 2 and the importance of online gaming to Sega's strategy for the Dreamcast in the face of such stiff competition from Sony's impending juggernaut. What really caught my attention though, is the big screen visible over Peter's right shoulder.

Throughout the interview, Dreamcast game footage plays out and anyone on the show floor who took the time to glance up at the gigantic display would have no doubt been mesmerised by the awesome lineup of titles being beamed into their retinas. Seaman, Space Channel 5, Deer Avenger, Half-Life, SWAT3, Game Room...hold up! Yes you read that right - this promo video shows footage of Dreamcast games that never actually released, yet they were being shown at E3 to try to garner interest in the system. 

Now, some of these games we have featured here at the Junkyard over the years, and some of them have actually been dumped online since those halcyon days: Dreamcast Half-Life is freely available online at this point; Deer Avenger gained some notoriety several years ago when a disc containing the game was discovered in a box in a basement and it eventually ended up in the hands of our good friend Adam Koralik; and SWAT 3 was announced for Dreamcast and subsequently cancelled (and as far as I know, a playable build has never seen the light of day). 

The one game shown on that screen presents the biggest question mark, is Game Room. In development by Sierra Sports (a subsidiary of Sierra Entertainment) it was intended to be a compendium of online-compatible mini games, with pool, darts and pinball featured, similar to the PAL exclusive microphone-bundled Planet Ring. 

Marvel Vs Capcom 2 there. Nice.

From what I can tell, Game Room was actually released on PC and utilised the Maximum Pool engine, but the Dreamcast port was cancelled along with the majority of the other Sierra properties that were announced. Like SWAT 3, whatever actually exists of Game Room for Dreamcast has never been leaked online, and there's very little information about how far along the game was before it was hoofed spectacularly into the gaping maw of gaming anti-history. Here's a better look at the footage shown in the background of uncle Peter's interview segment:

It's pretty clear that Sierra Entertainment had big plans for the Dreamcast, and had a number of titles in development before they ditched support for the platform. There are numerous games, including Game Room listed in this press release from around the exact time of E3 2000, and they did actually release two titles for the Dreamcast in Maximum Pool and Hoyle Casino. Indeed, the back cover of the Hoyle Casino manual even features a full page promo for Game Room, so you'd be forgiven for thinking its release was pretty much nailed on before the proverbial plug was pulled.

The back page of the Hoyle Casino NTSC-U manual.

As an aside, after Peter Moore's section there follows an interview on the E3 show floor with John Golden, former Director of Product Marketing at Sega of America, during which he waxes lyrical about the majesty of Samba de Amigo and the Dreamcast maraca controllers. The man clearly has exquisite taste (as well as an absolutely ballin' moustache, specs and tie combo), and the segment is well worth a modicum of your attention.

John was only 19 when this photo was taken. True story.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this rather fascinating and whimsical glimpse into the past. This video literally popped up on my feed by pure chance, so if you ever needed proof that we live in a simulation, this is it. Probably. Anyway, if you know anything about Game Room, or indeed what became of it (information on the Dreamcast port - as mentioned ad nauseum - is very hard to find), please do pipe up in the comments!

Special thanks to Lewix Cox for his help in digging up some of the sources in this article.

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.

Dreamcast New Years Resolutions 2026

Console photo credit: 20th Century Video Games

It’s nearing December as I sit down to write this at my typewriter... an opening that is actually just two lies as I am obviously not using a typewriter and I am actually lying in bed.

However, as the year is drawing to a close, I am reminded that I once made a deal with the Devil to be part of the Dreamcast Junkyard team and in 2025 I have contributed less than Floigan Bros did to the 3D mascot platformer genre.

So to appease the Devil and make sure I meet my yearly quota of content to satiate Dreamcast fans, here are my Sega Dreamcast 2026 resolutions that I wish to share with thee...

Credit: Sonic Wiki Zone

The Dreamcast Junkyard video game book club will return!

Yes, okay, that was a stupid name for an entirely video-based chat about video games and not books, but the premise itself was a sound one. We would announce the game we were going to discuss ahead of the actual stream and then people would join the chat to share their memories and ask questions. It’s actually been four years since the 11th —and as of now, final episode— which was actually just a badly lit stream of me playing Sonic Adventure badly, without any game audio. Anyway, I plan to make at least one more episode in 2026. Feel free to tell your loved ones it's back!

“Hey, Honey! Guess what? That thing no one wanted is returning!”

From our Sega GT stream

To Play Crazy Taxi 2 for at least 30 minutes. 

Is that a weird one? It might be. Crazy Taxi is one of my most beloved Dreamcast games and is responsible for some of my favourite memories with the console. The Dreamcast is actually the only console that has been an ever-present fixture of my gaming setup since I got it. I played it constantly from receiving it at Christmas to leaving for university in September 2000, and it joined me throughout my three years living in Cheltenham at various places, even as I regularly moved other consoles back and forth between student life and my parents' home on a whim. When I did finally return home in 2003, the Dreamcast was a key part of battling what I now see was a form of depression fuelled by a lack of direction. Then it was packed up once again to join me for my move to Sheffield in 2005 where it, and I, have remained since. That original Dreamcast was actually packed away for a few years as it wasn’t working, but it has since been revived and continues to loudly and proudly play discs to this day.

Despite all this, and having now owned several different copies of Crazy Taxi 2, I’ve never played it for longer than about 10 minutes before ultimately stopping and just returning to the original. Will 2026 be the year I finally give this sequel an actual shot? Especially as it’s not like I am actually any good at the original, it's merely familiarity and memories that bring me back, so maybe it's finally time to make some new ones.

Credit: LaunchBox Games Database

To buy the Hello Kitty Dreamcast...

The Hello Kitty Dreamcast is an insanely ace looking console that I have loved since I first laid my eyes upon it, despite still not really knowing what Hello Kitty actually is. I have seen the video where the creators claim she is actually not a cat but a little girl, and that seems like fantastic banter to me to say about something that is quite clearly a cat — and that honestly just adds to its charm a little.

The Dreamcast and its many variants aren’t getting any cheaper. In fact, it is probably cheaper now to buy even a fully modded Dreamcast than any modern consoles, so would I rather have a PlayStation 5 I don’t have time to play on, or the Hello Kitty Dreamcast? I look forward to constantly telling people “she isn’t actually a cat a you know…” when they ask me what the hell it is. 

Credit: Hit-Japan

...and play Giant Killers Season 2 on it!

It’s dawning on me that a huge amount of my contributions to the Junkyard are things nobody wanted, but did anyone say Giant Killers career playthrough Season 2?! Someone somewhere must have… maybe you there in the back? For those unaware, this was a series of YouTube videos I fired out a few years ago known as "The Premier League Replacement service" as it was while the World Cup was going on. Apparently, I don't see the need for brevity with my naming conventions. I probably won’t dress as a goal keeper again for one of the episodes this time, mind. It’s pretty much led to my new life predominantly playing Football games and sims over on YouTube, so I think it makes sense that I return to my roots and do it here for a spell again. Don’t act like that hasn’t already made your 2026!

I actually don't remember why I dressed like this.

Play the top 25 games of the Top 200 Dreamcast Games list.

Okay, specifically five of them. I famously don’t particularly like Rez, but there are five games in the top 25 that I have basically never played. I've tried Grandia II in the past and it didn’t click with me, but am counting it here as I can never remember if that’s the game with a talking parrot that I hated or not, which is probably a sign I didn’t give it a proper chance.

The other games include Sonic Adventure 2 and Skies of Arcadia, both of which feel a bit crazy to admit I've never played as someone who is constantly beating the drum for Dreamcast.

Credit: LaunchBox Games Database

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So there we have it. Would you ever get an article this obtuse and all over the place from Ai? Well, probably actually, but it wouldn’t be able to so easily back it up with links to previous videos and works, plus added memories of handing out cupcakes at events.

So with 2026 nearing, what are you looking forward Dreamcast wise? Regardless of if you are a die hard, new fan, or returning to the scene, what would be your resolutions to make sure you are still Dreamcasting in 2026?

Joy to the Swirl: A Festive Feast of Christmas(ish) Dreamcast Games

This post has been updated and expanded from a version that was originally published in 2024. Enjoy!

This time of year the barrage of shopping, crowds, attention-thieving ads, and obnoxious mall displays can take their toll. Their cacophony of superficial Christmas chaos drowns the soul. 

Approaching my wits' end, I try to slow down and reclaim the seasonal spirit in whatever small ways I can muster. First there's the traditional stuff: the Christmas markets; the Griswold family antics; the catching up with friends over pints...

Before long, it's time for the festive video games.

I'll start with playing the obvious ones: Restoring cheer to Twin Seeds City in Christmas NiGHTS. Scaling the giant snowman in Banjo Kazooie's Freezeezy Peak. Mario dropping the baby penguin off a cliff...

It'sa wholesome holiday tradition!

Inevitably, I'll boot up my Dreamcast and really kick the season into high gear. Sega's swansong console is blessed with a multitude of titles which radiate a festive aura in one sense or another. Some are decked with Christmas cheer, others are dusted with wintry snowscapes, and a few simply relish in escapist revelry. Whatever the case, I thought I'd take a stroll through the platform's jolly games in this blog post. Settle in, grab a hot beverage, and huddle up to the warmth of your Dreamcast fan…

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Blue Stinger 

Ditching any semblance of survival horror, Blue Stinger stirs a cocktail of action/beat ‘em up, B-movie camp, and Yuletide vibrancy. And that understates how hard it goes on all counts.

 

Whether you crave gory fisticuffs or holiday cheer, Blue Stinger indulges in both and spares all nuance. Want to obliterate Dinosaur Island’s mutant folk? Its vending machines dispense a feast of gatling guns, rocket launchers, lightsabers, and stun rods (my personal favorite) for your destructive delight. Need a jolt of merriment? It’ll bury you in an avalanche of neon snowmen, chipper earworms, and bizarre Pen Pen cameos. There are no half measures in Blue Stinger and God bless it for that.

Hassy Holidays, everyone!

In all, Blue Stinger embodies holiday excess and it will charm the shit out of you if you open your heart to its violent revelry.

Anyway, I’ll move on as I've spilled plenty more ink championing Blue Stinger as a highlight of the Dreamcast’s festive offerings and its library in general. We also celebrated it on the Dreamcast Junkyard's DreamPod Episode 137 and The Sega Lounge Episode 282, two podcast episodes fully dedicated to Shinya Nishigaki and Climax Graphics’ immortal holiday classic.

Christmas moral: We can brute force our way to Christmas cheer with a little kung fu and napalm.

Beverage pairing: Hassy & vodka

Dessert pairing: Gingerbread dinosaurs

Song pairing: This song on loop for 10 hours

Cool Boarders Burrrn! (NTSC-J) / Snow Surfers (PAL) / Rippin’ Riders (NTSC-U)

UEP System's Dreamcast snowboarding game sports a different title in each region but I've always appreciated their common commitment to alliteration. The game itself, though? Eh — 

My expectations were likely overblown by the spoils of other turn-of-the-millennium snowboarding games. I've always balked at Snow Surfers' relative rigidity. It affords limited potential for exploration and improvisation which contrasts unflatteringly against the expressive freedom of SSX, Amped, and Steep Slope Sliders. 

I still revisit Cool Boarders Burrrn! each winter, hoping to somehow enjoy it more than I traditionally have. The checkpoint timers are unforgiving and tricks are restricted to a handful of dedicated launch points (a la other Cool Boarders games). Each run offers just a couple viable approaches, yet — only recently — I've felt compelled to keep retrying them to improve my best times and trick scores. There's a certain hook there.

Decades onward, and unmoored from the shadow of its contemporaries, I've found a merry little game in Snow Surfers. With some persistence, carving the slopes feels refreshingly kinetic and the chill beats, nifty set pieces, and wintery village locales are charming as hell. It only took a couple of decades but Cool Boarders Burrrn! is beginning to feel a lot like a toasty tradition in its own right.

Christmas moral: Something...patience...something, something. Also, alliteration is alright.

Beverage pairing: Jingle Juice with Mountain Dew

Dessert pairing: Christmas crumble

Song pairing: "Walking in a Winter Wonderland"

Shenmue

AM2’s classic Santa stalking simulator needs no introduction here. I’ll just say that few things feel as cozy as moseying around Dobuita's bustling streets at Christmastime with the snow crunching under Ryo's sneakers. Tailing Santa around town, It's always amusing to see him peddle local boozers to underage teenagers before imbibing at them himself. Ryo can't stay out too late, though. Ine-san will worry and he still has to wake up early for his forklift job on Christmas Day. 

On a related note, Mark's pre-shift forklift races are mandatory but don't pay jack squat. That's bullshit.

Christmas moral: Unionize.

Beverage pairing: Milk

Dessert pairing: Nothing. Ryo doesn’t eat food in Shenmue because he is a ryobot

Song pairing: “Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas (Sometimes)” by Harvey Danger

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.