Well this is unexpected.

I have just been brought to attention something quite surreal by GavvieUK on Twitter. From the British Library website:
From 6 April 2013, the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales, Bodleian Libraries, Cambridge University Library and Trinity College Dublin, gained powers to archive the entire UK web, along with e-journals, e-books and other formats.
To mark the passing of the new regulations, curators and other experts from all the participating libraries chose the 100 Websites which they judge will be essential reading for future generations researching our life and times in 2013.
What has any of the above got to do with the Dreamcast Junkyard? Scroll down to near the bottom of their top 100 list of website and er...we're on it.
The Dreamcast Junkyard - Blog dedicated to the community of gamers who continue to play Dreamcast games online, despite the fact they were officially discontinued in 2002
There is only two gaming related website listed in this top 100, the other being Nintendo Life. The list is mostly made up of websites like Ebay, Twitter, Facebook and UK sites like Daily Mash, Moonpig, the official website of Stephen Hawking, the BBC and lots of political and official government websites.

...I'm quite speechless. We are even mentioned in a BBC News article about it! Um....wow.

Dux 1.5 Trailer: Release date April 22nd


Looks like our first Dreamcast game of 2013 to ready to escape into the wild, though in this case it's not an entirely new game. Much like Last Hope: Pink Bullets, Dux 1.5 is a revision of, well...Dux, which came out back in 2009, and has made changes to make the game more balanced with adjustments to various gameplay elements, bug fixes and enemy patterns, instant re-spawn instead or re-loading from a check point, a new soundtrack and 'custom controls' which I assume means you can customize anything to any button.

The good news is if you already own the original Dux you can get your hands on this new edition. I;m not entirely sure how you go about claiming one but this is mentioned on hucast.com so if you log in from there and contact them they will let you know I would imagine. Also if you pledged to the Redux kickstarter you can get a discount on anything from their store, and if you pledged enough for Redux you will get Dux 1.5 as well.

The game has been revealed to be on it's way at the end of this month, the 22nd of April, although there is still no release date for Redux as of yet. As for wherever kickstarter pledgers will get this on street date or will have to wait till Redux is out, I'm just asked Hucast about that on Twitter..

Either way when this pops through the mail I will bring you a video including side by side comparisons with the 2009 release. I was pretty darn awful at Dux, so hopefully the changes will help go towards me getting further in it! :P

1500+ subscribers on Youtube? About time I posted something!


The Dreamcast Junkyard Youtube channel has been dormant for about 9 months now, since my Gunlord inside out video, and with over 1500 subscribers still about, it's about time I updated it! So here's a quick video about all the games announced to be releasing for the Dreamcast this year, which I will be featuring on the channel as soon as they arrive in the post, starting with Sturmwind at the end of April.

For this year of new content I thought it was about time I gave the channel a new lick of paint. I updated the channel design and in the video there is a new intro featuring that Dee Cee mascot I designed a while back. I'm also thinking about something for the 15th anniversary of the Dreamcast consoles Japanese release, but it's too early to say just yet. I did leave a clue though.

Remembering Kenji Eno


Last month a gaming legend passed away. Kenji Eno is not a household name but his influence on games is massive, creating unique works that have such a unique and mysterious feel to them.


Sega fans will know him best for games like D and Enemy Zero on the Saturn and D2 on the Dreamcast. He also created Real Sound: Kaze no Regret, a game on both the Saturn and Dreamcast that was a audio only adventure, so even blind people could play it. The man was also a musician and composed tracks for Sega Rally 2.

Here is a fantastic article over at Gamasutra about his career and influence. Also, a Dreamcast fan e-mailed me an interview with Kenji Eno discussing D2, scanned from an issue of Gamersrepublic. Check it out below.



Finally here's a video review Caleb did way back in 2007 of D2.

 

Sturmwind finally has a release date: April 24th!

Redspotgames announced on their Facebook page that Sturmwind now has a release date of April 24th. I pre-ordered this such a long time ago now, so I hope the wait has been worth it! Here's the press release in all it's cheesy glory!
We are under attack: Sturmwind pilots, fall in for saving the world in April 2013!
Antritt zur Weltenrettung!
The fierce enemy‘s troops have already reached our world‘s doorsteps and we are running out of time! Our reconnaissance drones have detected 16 promising locations for our search of „Mother“, the planet of our living ancestors. 
After several development steps by Duranik and redspotgames the launch date for your mission is clear. Sturmwind pilots, your all-dominant mission will begin on April 24th 2013. All documents will be sent to you until this very date.
Fight over 20 boss enemies in 16 levels. In addition to the so-called “Award Trophy System”, there will also be an internet highscore list in which your performance can compete against each other worldwide.
Your wings of steel are now our last resort. Stay ready for further instructions. Over and out.
This release date is for both the regular and limited editions. When the limited edition arrives I will be bringing you a unboxing and first impressions video! For the mean while, there is a preview article at That Darn Pixel that recently popped up, check them out! Also make sure to visit the Redspotgames Facebook for more details of the games development.


Leona's Tricky Adventures: a new Dreamcast Kickstarter!


What's this? Another Dreamcast game project up on Kickstarter? Why yes it is! I just got e-mailed about this one a couple hours ago. Here is what Silvana had to say on the project:

"The comic-artists M.Musal/B.Samuel, game music
legend Chris Huelsbeck and also Fabian Del Priore 
helped us to create a truly beautiful, explorative
puzzle game. Dreamcast (and Amiga) is our first
target platform as a tribute to where the inspiration
came from.

Help us to fund our Kickstarter campaign - this will
also give us the chance to integrate Dreamcast support
in our Kha SDK, which will make Dreamcast development
much more accessible for everybody since we know there
are thousands of Dreamcast- and Amiga-Fans out there
who are very disappointed that their consoles are not
continued by mismanagement."


UPDATE: The Kickstarter has been cancelled, and funding for this game is now going to take place via Paypal/credit card pledges at their website at this link, although on that page the pledges are for a PC version, go to this page to pre order the Dreamcast version with a standard version for 25 Euros as well as options for all the bonus stuff including the soundtrack, t-shirts and more from the kickstarter also still available. This way they can get funding without a target amount as such and can still get the game produced. 

Take Notes

Looks like Sega just can't resist teasing us with trinkets and other Dreamcast-related paraphernalia that we'll never see in the West (well, certainly not in Europe anyway). The latest offering? Only a Dreamcast-inspired laptop:



This range of console-flavoured laptops is currently only planned for release in Japan, and the full list includes Mega Drive, Saturn and Dreamcast-themed lids as well as a standard blue 'Sega' one. According to CVG, the machines (known as the 'Sega Note PC') will come in several different configurations (the high-end model will feature a 2.40Ghz i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM and 1GB of graphics memory, as well as a Blu-ray burner), and those sexual lids are interchangeable meaning you won't have to fork out four times for the whole set.

I probably won't be swapping my Macbook for one, but it'd definitely earn you a few Kudos points if you whipped one out in a lecture or a coffee shop.

Reports of a 32X-inspired external Zip drive are unconfirmed.

The Ghost Blade Announced! Neo XYX Trailer!

Hucast, while busy on the kickstarted Redux: Dark Matters, has ended up announcing another Dreamcast shooter! The Ghost Blade is a TATE style vertical shooter, so if they time it' release right we might get two at the same time, the other being Neo XYX from NG: Dev Team!


They have a deluxe special edition up for pre-order right now, which contains the game, an artbook, a soundtrack CD and a superplay DVD! It's quite pricey at 80 Euro, but a cheaper regular edition to due to be put up for pre-order soon. If you do want this one though they only have just over 100 copies left so be quick!

Going back to Neo XYX, NG:Dev Team has released a trailer of the game. I get a proper Toaplan feel from it, in particular games like Truxton, which is a-ok by me! This game is due out in June, and is up for pre-order on both limited and regular editions.

At this rate we are going to get hopefully SIX Dreamcast games this year: Sturmwind (eventually), NEO XYX, Redux: Dark Matters, DUX 1.5 and Pier Solar! Phew!

Bitsocket celebrates #DCember, reviews project Justice



Bitsocket, an excellent Youtube gaming show if you haven't seen it already, has started a Dreamcast themed month on their channel (or half a month I guess) called #DCember (now why had I never thought of that one?) and have kicked it off with a review of Project Justice: Rival Schools 2, a proper underrated Capcom fighter that is still only available on the Dreamcast today. With any luck we will see more Dreamcast love from them throughout the month!

EDIT: Turns out #DCember was kicked off by the blog Midnight Resistance, who have a whole bunch of Dreamcast related articles you should check out here. They talk about Shenmue, Jet Set Radio, Virtua Tennis 2, Soul Calibur and Confidential Mission.

Gunlord named game of the year by Classic Game Room



Mark of Classic Game Room has named indie Dreamcast game Gunlord the game of the year! Check out the video above to see an increasingly drunken Mark go through his list of favorite games before deciding that the Dreamcast is still very much alive. Was it the beer? The SEGA fan in him? Who knows. But the DCJY salutes Classic Game Room!

Missed Out On The Pier Solar Kickstarter? Don't Worry!


If you weren't able to get to the kickstarter in time but still want a copy of Pier Solar for the Dreamcast then you are in luck!

Watermelon Co. is selling preorders for the regular edition of the Dreamcast version on their website (scheduled to be released 5/13).

http://www.magicalgamefactory.com/en/factory/shop/


Pier Solar Dreamcast Game Fully Funded!

Watermelon's kickstarter has been fully funded!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/573261866/pier-solar-hd-an-rpg-for-xbox360-pc-mac-linux-and

There WILL be a new Dreamcast RPG!

Huzzah!

More details about stretch goals will be coming out tomorrow.

I'll never be able to look at a Dreamcast controller the same way again..

To most people, this photo above is just a Dreamcast controller. To those who have been playing Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, which just released on the PS3, XBOX 360 and Wii U recently, and has played that game quite far in, it probably means a extra bit more.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, and do not mind being spoiled probably the coolest unlockable in a Sega game for about a decade, and also need a solid piece of evidence why you as a Sega fan must own this game, check out the video after the jump..

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Zeit Geist

If you've looked at the comments for the previous post, there's a chance you've already copied and pasted the link to the following Youtube video. If you haven't, then get ready for a rather thorough analysis of the recently released (and unfinished) Geist Force. The Gagaman(n) did a post on the subject of this lost gem not too long ago, but I think the more exposure this newly released beta gets, the better. Geist Force is a game that really intrigued me when I saw it previewed in the games mags of the era - who wouldn't have wanted to see a Lylat Wars/Star Wing type game running on the brand spanking new Dreamcast hardware?

A reader by the name of DCeric has put together this rather cool video examining the various unfinished stages that make up Geist Force, and also looks at some of the debug levels that exist. Enjoy.

Dedication & Aberration

As I may have mentioned in some recent posts, the level of enthusiasm displayed by most of the Dreamcast community never ceases to amaze me. Even now, in 2012, there are multiple hand-helds, console mods and emulators popping up all the time, and the level of commitment to our favourite defunct system should be championed. To illustrate my point, I was recently (well, not that recently actually...I completely forgot to post about this but hopefully this will make amends) contacted by a DCJY reader known only as 'Aaron' who has, rather impressively, designed and built his very own bespoke DC arcade cabinet. Wanna see? Boom:



How awesome is that? According to it's talented creator, the unit is 47" tall and has a 17" LCD monitor strapped in. Aaron - the DCJY salutes the fruits of your labour...which was clearly actual labour, and not just clicking around on eBay after one too many beers as I am want to do on many a cold, lonely winter evening. Sigh.

On the subject of eBay and display cabinets, I have noticed quite a number of them popping up for auction - you know, the ones they used to have in GAME and EB back when the DC was en vogue? Weird coincidence or blood curdling conspiracy? You decide.

I finally saw the Angry Video Game Nerd movie trailer last night. Urgh. To use his own phrase against him: what was he thinking? I'm not gonna lie - it looks terrible. I think James Rolfe's AVGN reviews are fucking legendary and I was intrigued by the notion of a movie about the character...but just viewing the trailer made me slightly sad. What's with the stupid aliens and zombies and cliched army shit? Why couldn't it just have been a Napoleon Dynamite-esque tale of a nerd who loves talking shit about games in his basement? I realise the amount of work that must've gone into it, and that the whole project was funded by donations...but is this really what those fans who pledged money really wanted to see? More importantly, can the AVGN ever recover from this:


Again...you decide.

Art (Spin) Attack

Ever fancied owning a piece of game art? A hand-drawn portrait of Super Magnetic Neo perhaps? Or what about an original oil on canvas rendition of a scene from Crazy Taxi? Eh? Well, if you have - your luck is in. Well, sort of. Before anyone beats me to it, yes, I stole this story off the BBC News website, and to be fair it's only very weakly linked to anything to do with the Dreamcast...but the feature's title is Sonic and Lara: Video game concept art sold for charity, so I guess it's relevant. If you can't already guess from the aforementioned headline, there's going to be an auction of gaming concept art held at (well, after) the London Games Festival Art Exhibition. Here's one of the Sonic concept sketches that's up for auction:

Framed and signed by Yuji Uekawa. This'd look good in anyone's living room.

The range of stuff up for sale is pretty impressive, and covers all genres and platforms - the Arkham City stuff is particularly good, although not all of the art up for sale is of such a high standard: be warned Moshi Monsters do feature. From what I can tell from the website, the actual exhibition is over - they're just auctioning off the art in batches now. Be interesting to see what the Sonic art goes for. Might even make a bid myself, even more so if it's at £1.78 with 30 seconds to go. Ebay skills, don't fail me now!

Let's get back up to speed! News! News! News!

Yikes, looks like the Junkyard of Dreamcast has started gathering dust and there has been quite a bit of Dreamcast news lately! Apologies on my part for having seen said news but not having time to type it all up here, time for a catch up!

For starters: Oh hey two new Dreamcast games were announced recently! First off is the latest from our friends at NG:DEV TEAM.. NEO XYX!


This will be a TATE scrolling shooter, with six stages and bosses, and like all their other games will be appearing on both Neo Geo and Dreamcast! There is only one, off screen teaser video of the game which you can check out below.


Pesonally I can't get enough of these classic style scrolling shooters, but I can imagine some people would want something different from the indie Dreamcast scene once in a while, so how about an RPG?

Those in the Sega fandom may of already heard of Pier Solar: it was the most ambitious indie effort on the Mega Drive/Genesis, a huge classic style RPG that was sold in very limited supply and now goes for three figure prices. Well Watermelon Co. have set up a kickstarter for a HD remake, which they plan to release on PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox Live Arcade and, most excitedly for us...the Dreamcast!

The graphics are being redone in high definition and while the Dreamcast is obviously not a HD console (by todays standards anyway), that version will be getting the same new graphics at 480p with VGA support. The disc will also include the original Mega Drive version too for those who missed out on the original (like me) and love the sprite art!

With 22 days to go the kickstarter is already 64% of the way and if you want to grab this game for your Dreamcast a $49 pledge will get you the standard edition, available in any Dreamcast region style packaging you choose to match up (PAL, US or Japan) with your shelf of games, and a $125 pledge will get you a collectors edition full of extra goodies in a big box set!



So er...how about those games still due? In the case of ReDux: Dark Matters, the other Dreamcast game that debuted on Kickstarter: it is apparently almost complete. According to the twitter account, anyway.

As for Sturmwind? Hmm, well, Redspotgames have not updated us about the status of that game since June, where they have a big Q&A about why the game is so delayed and the complications that have caused it's current 'TBA' date. It's a tad frustrating, but looking forward to the game when it's eventally released none the less. I just hope they update us on this soon.

UPDATE: According to Duranik's Facebook page the release date should be revealed in a few days as they are currently in the pre production test run. There is a new preview about the game here.