World Series Baseball back online with DreamPi

World Series Baseball 2K2 is back!

Being from the UK, I can't say I've played many Baseball games in my time, the only ones that come to mind are Super Baseball 2020 for the Neo Geo CD and World Series Baseball 2K1, which for reasons unbeknownst to me, I and a friend used to love playing back in our days in 6th form college (high school for you yanks). We even made one custom character each. I remember this quite vividly because my friend's character was named Saddam. Yes, as in Saddam Hussein, and also shared his likeness.

The random images you can find on Google never cease to amaze me.

While Sadam's days of hitting home runs out of the park, along with his save file, are unfortunately long gone, online baseball on the Dreamcast isn't. Thanks to Shuouma, from the Dreamcast Live team, World Series Baseball 2K2 is playable online once again with DreamPi.

Anyone who knows anything about baseball games (so not me) will tell you, WSB 2K2 is the best example of the sport on the Dreamcast, so it's fantastic that its online features have been restored. What's more, now they've successfully got one 2K sports title up and running, no doubt it's only a matter of time before others follow. I'm personally looking forward to NFL 2K1 which according to the Dreamcast Live's website, is currently a work in progress.

As always, great work guys!

Dreamcast Live's Shuouma has once again stepped up to the plate

If you haven't yet rejoined the online party, consider picking up a DreamPi from the Dreamcast Live store.

A Quick Look At Tech Romancer

You have to hand it to Capcom. The Japanese firm really did pull it out of the proverbial bag when it came to putting top notch games out on the Dreamcast. Man, just imagine the Dreamcast without Capcom. There'd be no Power Stone, no Street Fighter, no Resident Evil. Gunbird 2, Mars Matrix, Marvel Vs Capcom...they're all a result of Capcom throwing pretty much everything and the kitchen sink at Sega's system. Capcom were pretty damn cool back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, eh?

One game that rarely gets a mention though, is mecha fighter Tech Romancer; a 3D one-on-one brawler with a slightly ridiculous name but which exudes a level of production value rarely seen in an original franchise without an anime or manga heritage to fall back on. Furthermore, it might sound like a game in which Metal Gear Rex sends C-3PO a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates, but to dismiss Tech Romancer on name alone would be a big mistake.

Upon booting Tech Romancer (known as Chronicle of Super Steel Warrior Kikaioh in Japan), you're greeted with an overly enthusiastic title screen and intro sequence that feels straight out of a 1980s Saturday morning cartoon that was appropriated from the Far East and syndicated; but only after being dubbed dubiously into English without a single fuck given. The only thing missing is the tracking interference regularly seen on VHS tapes you used to get from Blockbuster that had already been watched and rewound several thousand times before you rented it.

Herein lies the great deception though, for this game and all of its perceived heritage is nought but folly. Just like Wainhouse Tower, Tech Romancer and all of its apparent lore is a fabrication of something grander. While it may appear to be a game based on some obscure cartoon series you didn't know existed (because you're just not cool enough, frankly), Tech Romancer is a totally original IP that was created just for the arcade original, and this subsequent console release. All of the robots and animation sequences were designed by Studio Nue, a well-known animation studio responsible for some of the most widely regarded and respected anime productions around; and it's down to this mastery that you be forgiven for thinking you'd completely missed something awesome.

As an example of pure aesthetic genius, in which pedigree and kudos is demanded from its audience from the off, Tech Romancer is an unadulterated lesson in how to get things totally spot on...

A Statistical Analysis Of Dreamcast Launch Sales

Our good friend Vince19 has been at it again, this time analysing the launch window sales of the Dreamcast in the United States, and drawing comparisons to a host of other retro, contemporary and current gen systems. We recently featured Vince19 's other statistics-based videos here at the Junkyard ( heck out a statistical analysis of overall US games sales and a statistical analysis of Dreamcast game prices), and they're both well worth a watch if bias-free and purely factual analysis are something you're a fan of. Plus, Vince19's soothing mid-Atlantic accent is strangely soothing. Check out the latest video below, and see how the Dreamcast stacks up against the competition in terms of units shifted in the first few days of release:

Remember to give Vince19 a follow on Twitter to stay abreast of his uploads, and you can find his YouTube channel here.

Rare Dreamcast-based digital aquarium sells for US$3650

Ever wanted to own one of the rarest variations of the Dreamcast hardware? With touchscreen controls and an exclusive game where you can interact with digital fish? Sorry to say you've just missed out, but it would have set you back over US$3650. so you probably aren't that gutted.

We've previously covered the Sega Fish Life Digital Aquarium here, and here. If you're too lazy to click the links, it's basically a rare curio from Japan that was mainly sold to businesses like restaurants. While waiting for their steaming bowl of ramen, patrons are soothed by the realistic looking digital fish gently swimming around, and you could even tap the glass to interact with them. Unlike real aquariums, business owners never had to ever worry about forgetting to feed them or cleaning out a scummy tank. Japan thinks of everything.

Chilean-based Juppon Gatana retro store finally sold their unit to an identity obscured ebay member r***i, who dominated the auction with a bid of US$2000 on 22 Feb, and defended against 3 other serious bidders, before the auction ended yesterday at a cool US$3650. Juppon Gatana's reserve was met, so presumably the unit will soon be on its way to a happy (and decidedly poorer) new owner soon.

Here's hoping r***i has the ability and philanthropic compassion to digitally preserve the Sega Fish Life GD-ROM and dutifully release it into the wild, so that maybe one day us mere mortals might be able to experience its esoteric delights via a suitably modified emulator. I jest, that's probably not going to happen...stupid hoarders.

Update: 40 Winks Dreamcast Stretch Goal Announced

Just a quick update to let you all know that the 40 Winks Kickstarter campaign has indeed announced a Dreamcast port stretch goal if funding exceeds US$200,000. *glares at every gumshoe reporter who contacted us on Twitter, Facebook, or just spitting-chip-at-me-on-the-street to insist I update my original rant* Happy now?

The appropriateness of a Dream-themed platformer on the Dreamcast has not escaped me.

Not much new to report other than that. I think most of my reservations still stand. Further comments on the campaign page indicate that a back-up of the source code for the PlayStation version might still be available, which would help aid as a guide for a native Dreamcast port. They seem to know what they are doing and what they are talking about, but I'm still uncertain about whether they are underestimating the task ahead of them, or whether I'm making a mountain out of a molehill.

In any case, 200k would burn a significant hole in anyone's pocket, so wages for some devs to have a crack at it would be covered for at least a little while. If it all goes pair-shaped, a Bleem! based wrap-around solution could also be drawn upon as Plan B, which would also be fine.

But the biggest hurdle is general apathy and overall Kickstarter burnout. It seems fairly premature to be courting the interest of the Dreamcast community at this stage. Other campaigns that have tried and failed at least had a demo running on real hardware as a proof of concept. Maybe if they can provide such a demo before the funding deadline, I'll change my tune, but with so many "fully-funded" Dreamcast games apparently stuck forever in development hell, we've been thrice bitten, frice shy.

~~~***~~~

P.S. If this gets close to $200k, I'll probably be a hypocrite and still back it. I never learn.

DreamPod - Episode 57

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First new DC game of 2018 - Ghost Blade! (again!)

Breaking news (ok, month old news that I just found out about) that is sure to make our very own Ross jump for joy. We have a release date for the first Dreamcast release of 2018, and it will be another in JoshProd's series of US/J-NTSC style reprints. Ghost Blade will be available to own again on March 23rd 2018.