Come Fly(er) With Me - An Exploration of Dreamcast Flyers

 

For the sake of fitting an awful pun into this article's title, I've decided to call those little bits of paper whose purpose is to crassly shill a product or service, 'flyers'. Around these parts I believe the more commonly used term is 'leaflet', although I suspect folks on either side of the pond (and indeed elsewhere in the Anglosphere) will know what is being referred to regardless of which term is employed. Flyer, leaflet, handbill, pamphlet, handout, circular; why there are so many synonyms beats me.

Regardless of linguistic preferences though, the purpose of these objects in angling for sales is all the same, as is the typical end result. After being thrust into your hand on the street by a weary-eyed distributor, or unceremoniously jammed through your letterbox, most flyers are dumped straight in the (recycling) bin, perhaps after being afforded a brief glance if they are lucky. After all, once they have conveyed their message to the reader their primary purpose has been fulfilled. Fortunately though for geeks like us, a hefty crop of Dreamcast flyers have managed to survive the perils of the last 20 years and are safely tucked away in private collections. Of course, keeping a hold of printed material like this isn't a sign of deviant hoarding instincts. Oh no, this is all about curating a collection and preserving precious artefacts.

Ok, ok, calling a pre-order form for Sega Bass Fishing a precious artefact might be an egregious bastardisation of the English language. However, it wouldn't be unreasonable to presume that flyers may hold some kind of value that makes them worthy of preservation - whether that be to hobby enthusiasts with a penchant for oddities, or folks undertaking more serious research into video game history. Therefore in the interests of appeasing these pressing needs, I've recently scanned and uploaded around 20 or so Dreamcast flyers for your viewing pleasure.

What follows is a full list of the haul, with titles hyperlinked to PDF files hosted over at the virtual Aladdin's den that is Sega Retro. Scribblings on some of the more noteworthy pieces can also be found below the list for our hardier readers…

• @barai Eternal Arcadia (4 pages, Japan, 2000) 
• DeeDee Planet (2 pages, Japan, 2000)
  
• Dreamarena Xtreme Dream competition postcard (double-sided, UK, 2000)
  
• Dreamcast Karaoke (2 pages, Japan, 2001)
  
• Dreamcast E3 postcard (double-sided, USA, 1999)
  
• Dreamcast launch (6 pages, Japan, 1998)
  
• Dreamcast launch feat. Hidekazu Yukawa (1 page, Japan, 1998)
• Dreamcast launch postcard (double-sided, Spain, 1999)
• Dreamcast-Scene.com and Wind & Water Puzzle Battles (double-sided, Germany, 2008)
  
• Dreameye (4 pages, Japan, 2000)
  
• Evolution (quad-fold A4, Japan, 1998)
• Garou: Mark of the Wolves postcard (Japan, 2001)
  
• Grandia II (quad-fold A4, Japan, 2000)
• Maken X (tri-fold A4, Japan, 1999)
  
• Phantasy Star Online (tri-fold A4, Japan, 2000)
• Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear competition postcard (double-sided, UK, 2001)
• Record of Lodoss War postcard (double-sided, UK, 2000)
  
• Roadsters (2 pages, UK, 2000)
• Sega Bass Fishing (2 pages, UK, 1999)
  
• Shutoko Battle 2 (8 pages, Japan, 2000)
  
• Space Channel 5 postcard (double-sided, US, 2000)
  
• Speed Devils (2 pages, Japan, 1999)
• WAO! Sega WAO! (6 pages, Japan, 2000)
  

Genki Show-off the Goods

That's an awful lot of copy squeezed into a two-page spread! Here Genki seem to be hoping that readers will gaup in awe at the length of their race track and the selection of souped-up cars on offer.

The marketers at Sega and Genki evidently felt that Shutoko Battle 2 (Tokyo Highway Challenge 2 in PAL regions) warranted more space than usual to flaunt it's red-hot features, shelving the typical flyer format for an 8 page 'Special Guide Book'. As to be expected, the piece delves into hyperbolic detail about the game's graphical improvements, enlarged track and various modes, but also includes an interesting little interview with two of the developers, Tomo Kimura and Tsutomu Hagiwara. Props to Mr Kimura for rocking that mullet in the year 2000 - a brave move that is worthy of our upmost respect.

Wao? Yes, WAO!

Apologies for the bodged centre-fold where two pages meet. Despite this I wanted to exhibit this two-page art piece in all it's glory. The PDF linked to above provides a much higher quality view.

Given the peculiar font used, at first glance I assumed the 'WAO!' emblazoned all over this flyer was a brand name of some sort. That stylised 'O' is definitely supposed to be something other than just a letter, but I haven't the foggiest what (answers in the comments please). After digging a little further though, I discovered that 'wao' appears to just roughly translate to 'wow', and Sega are suggesting that customers would be 'wowed' by the cornucopia of internet services available via the Dreamcast. Many of the features shown, such as video-chatting via the Dreameye and on-demand downloads of Mega Drive and PC Engine classics, as fleeting as they may have been, did in fact exist. Others, such as the chance to get a medical check-up via your Dreamcast (a horrendous idea with dystopian undertones), never came to pass. In any case, the distinctive art style shown on the inner pages is quite endearing and the flyer shows how ambitious Sega were with their vision for the expansive role that the Dreamcast would play in domestic settings.

High Hopes for @barai

The @barai concept explained via cartoon strip, complete with FAQ.

 
@barai was one of many innovative concepts that was put into practice for the Dreamcast. As advertised and explained in this flyer, @barai versions only allowed players to progress part-way through a game, after which point a digital key needed to be purchased to unlock the full game. These editions sold for a much lower price than regular retail releases, thereby allowing customers to try a game without committing to a big outlay of cash. Sega clearly had hopes that @barai would catch-on, touting the likes of Illbleed and House of the Dead 2 as future releases, but that wasn't to be. Aside from Eternal Arcadia, Hundred Swords was the only other title to actually get the @barai treatment.

Xtreme Dreams

Did Sega ever really care about my Xtreme Dreams, or did they just want to lure me onto Dreamarena to inflate my dial-up internet bill even further?

XTREME! I had been blissfully ignorant of the fact that this iteration of the word 'extreme' had seeped over onto our shores, assuming that it was safely contained over in the United States. Alas, as seen here, it reared its head in the title of the 'Xtreme Dream' competition that Sega was operating for Dreamarena users in the year 2000. To enter, Dreamarena users simply had to explain their dream holiday to Sega who would then stump-up the funds to make it a reality for selected lucky winners. Who actually won this competition? Was their holiday in fact 'Xtreme'? Here lies another mystery that should be thrown onto the heaving in-tray of our in-house private investigator, Tom Charnock.

* * *

I'll mercifully wrap things up my ramblings here, but must close out with an obligatory appeal to readers. Who else has curios like these squirreled away in dusty cupboards? Why not scan and share them before they are 'accidentally' scrapped during a spring clean or perish in a mains water leak? Come on, let's be having you!

A Tribute Documentary about D2 Creator Kenji Eno is on the way

A documentary about 90s gaming visionary Kenji Eno is on the way from documentary maker Archipel.

For those unaware, Kenji Eno was a maverick game developer and musician who founded WARP game studios. With WARP, Eno most famously brought us the excellent D trilogy: D, Enemy Zero and D2, the last of which was on the Dreamcast. All three games pushed the boundaries of what people at the time considered a "video game", the latter two of the trilogy in particular experimenting with multiple genres. Eno sadly passed away on February the 20th, 2013, due to heart failure brought on by hypertension.

On the tenth anniversary of Eno's passing, Archipel, a documentary maker that specialises in documentaries "about Japan's creative minds and culture" on YouTube, plan to honour him with a tribute documentary.

Back in October of last year, Archipel announced the documentary was being worked on, saying they'd recieved some "moving testimonials" about Eno, presumably from those who worked with him in the industry. They followed this up seven days ago, when they provided an update, saying they'd wrapped up shooting and that a teaser trailer will be released soon.

We've wrapped shooting. Happy and honored for all the guests who participated to the project and the conversations we've had about this truly avant-garde creator. Teaser coming soon.

— Archipel | アルシペル (@SailToArchipel) January 16, 2023

Update: On the 20th of February - the anniversary of Eno's death - Archipel finally released their teaser for this documentary. This very sombre clip shows the faces of Eno's friends, colleagues, and family who will be providing testimonials. Many highly regarded creatives from the Japanese video game industry are shown, including Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez, Space Channel 5), Yoot Saito (Seaman), Kenichi Nishi (L.O.L.: Lack of Love), and Fumito Ueda (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus). The teaser ends confirming that the documentary will be out in 2023. Check out the teaser below.

As a huge fan of Eno's work, I'm really excited for this upcoming documentary. Will you give it a watch when it's released? Let us know via our social media channels, or simply by dropping us a comment below.

Related Articles: 

• In White 1999: The Time D2's Laura Appeared as a Model in a Japanese Fashion Magazine
• A Quick Look At Real Sound: Winds of Regret
• The Haunting D2 Music Box

DeeDee Planet - Newer Beta Version Uncovered and Preserved

In 2021 we reported on the public release of an all but complete build of DeeDee Planet, the quirky and endearing Dreamcast game that was intended to be a spiritual successor to ChuChu Rocket!, which was sadly shelved just before going on sale. This release was made possible by a stalwart of the Dreamcast scene, Pcwzrd, who managed to source the beta from an unnamed developer, ripped the contents, and put it out into the world. What really put the icing on the cake though was the implementation of online play in 2022, thanks to one of the gurus of Dreamcast server revivals, Shuoma, thereby enabling dozens of folks to experience the game as it was meant to be (cursing your inexplicably skillful opponents as they rain missiles down upon you from their levitating sheep).

Well, here we are in 2023, and the DeeDee train still appears to have more track to traverse just yet. Today, BANANABREAK, a prolific preservationist with a lot of work already under their belt, has kindly released another DeeDee Planet beta (available to download here). This version was allegedly acquired from an ex-Sega UK employee who worked for the team in charge of Dreamarena, the online service that was available across Europe. Could this mean that a localised version was tentatively in the works? It would be a bit of stretch to claim so, but if anyone out there would like to produce a translated version complete with cover art in the majestic PAL-blue style, then we certainly wouldn't turn our noses up!

The GD-Rom containing the latest DeeDee Planet beta to be found and digitally preserved by BANANABREAK.

What we do know (or at least, assuming the scribblings on the GD-Rom are correct) is that this beta is around 10 weeks newer than the version that was previously available. To my uninformed eye, there are no obvious differences between the two builds. However, given that the purported reason for the game's abandonment by Sega was a problem with the game's server connection, it could well be the case that changes affecting this part of the code are in-fact there, hidden away behind the scenes.

Pcwzrd and Shuouma did run some tests with this new build. Pcwzrd had this to say about it:

“As far as we can tell, nothing changed. Nothing obvious anyway. Shuouma says the game is still sending the same corrupted stats back to the server so [Sega] didn't fix that. Shuouma thought that they may have possibly tried to implement a fix for something but it didn't work. That might have been the point at which when they just gave up and cancelled the game.”

Can any of our eagle eyed readers sniff out the differences between these builds? Are we going to see even later builds gracing the internet in years to come? As always, do let us know your thoughts in the comments.

P.S. As a little treat for anyone who is as enamored with this game as I am, I have recently scanned a promotional flyer that was produced for the game. A preview is available below, but a higher quality PDF is also to be found over at Sega Retro. 

The 18th of May release date touted here sadly wasn't to be, but over 20 years on from being scrapped DeeDee Planet's developers can rest easy in the knowledge that their work wasn't in vain.

Review: Andro Dunos

I did consider labelling this post as a 'retrospective' as opposed to a 'review,' and that's because Andro Dunos is not a new game for the Dreamcast. It's not a new game, period. Indeed, this latest release physical for the venerable old console represents something of an enigma in that it's an officially sanctioned release of a game that was previously released a long time ago in an unofficial guise. Are you confused yet? I know I am. But allow me to attempt to unpack this little conundrum.

See, Andro Dunos is a Visco developed side (and occasionally vertical) scrolling shooter that was originally released for the Neo-Geo AES and MVS platforms back in 1992, and which was subsequently made available for the Dreamcast using the Neo4All emulator in the mid 2000s. Indeed, you may have even seen (or possibly own) a copy of the lesser-spotted physical release of Andro Dunos that was previously available, which was essentially a printed CD-R containing Neo4All and an Andro Dunos rom file, presented in a rather nice folded cardboard sleeve. There was a similar Neo Drift Out release too, if memory serves (found them!)...but I digress.

As far as I can tell, this latest iteration of Andro Dunos for Dreamcast is almost identical to the aforementioned (it even displays the Neo4All icon on the VMU screen), albeit with a few subtle differences; the main one being that this is an officially sanctioned physical release with full license from Visco Games and limited to just 2000 copies, all of which come with a rather nice certificate of authenticity and a choice of PAL or NTSC jewel cases, professionally printed manual and case inlays, and the same type of top quality printed CD that you would expect from veteran Dreamcast publishers JoshProd and PixelHeart.

Just taking a moment to appreciate the physical presentation of Andro Dunos (I went for the PAL cased version as the NTSC flavours are not yet - at the time of writing - available), it's really quite hard to fault the level of care that has gone into the package. As mentioned above, you get a nice (if slightly threadbare) instruction manual, some excellent original box art, a little holographic sticker on the back of the box denoting which of the 2000 numbered copies you have acquired (mine is 0332 - what's yours?), and then there's a signed cardboard insert vouching for the authenticity of the copy in your possession. It's a nice touch, I must admit.

But what of the game Andro Dunos itself? Well, it's a pretty bare bones affair in all truth. Set against the backdrop of an alien invasion of Earth, players are thrust into the cockpit of the Yellow Cherry fighter ship and tasked with battling through 8 levels of increasingly more difficult enemies, many of whom seemingly only exist to waft onto the screen, fire a shot and then either exit or propel themselves at your ship, kamikaze style. Naturally, you are armed with a complement of weapons systems which are actually quite similar to those seen in Sturmwind, and these are used to blast your way through the unending swarms of baddies and the numerous multi-staged end of level bosses.

I never played the original Andro Dunos back in 1992, simply because I didn't own a Neo-Geo. I did have a school friend who professed to own one of SNK's mythical systems, but when I went to his house to see/play on it, he claimed his mother had thrown it in the bin because - and I quote - "she didn't know what it was." Because that's something that happens in reality, Chris. You know who you are. 

The upshot of these blatant school boy lies, is that the Dreamcast release of Andro Dunos is my first real experience playing it, and when compared to the other shooters available on the platform, it leaves me a little cold.

Want to see a voxel engine running on Dreamcast?

Again I ask: want to see a voxel engine running on Dreamcast? Of course you do. And now you can. See, programmer Luiz Gustavo (aka NaReeZ) has been working on a Dreamcast voxel engine for the past few weeks and has already produced something rather special, currently running in the Flycast emulator (real hardware is in the works):

As you can see, this short clip shows the disembodied camera roving across a rather nice landscape of lush green valleys, rolling hills, temples and rivers. It's all very tranquil, I'm sure you'll agree.

I first heard about this while browsing Dreamcast-Talk, and there's some interesting discussion in the thread about voxel-based games such as Outcast, which was rumoured to be coming to the Dreamcast at one point but then fell off release schedules as time went by.

I guess it shouldn't really come as a surprise that the Dreamcast can handle a voxel engine, especially since the Sega Saturn did it in commercially released title Amok (or A+M+O+K as the game refers to itself); but it is very encouraging that an independent developer is able to squeeze such an impressive looking and fluid engine out of the Dreamcast in a relatively short period of development time.

Voxel Space Engine Dreamcast with fixed resolution, Software Double Buffer and transferring data from RAM to VRAM using Store Queue Transfer(similar to DMA). It loses 15 to 20 FPS but it runs smoothly. Is there any way to implement double buffering without losing FPS?@sseraphini pic.twitter.com/f3ZhBhbBRm

— Luiz Gustavo (@NaReeZ) January 6, 2023

As it is, the engine - titled 'Voxel Space Engine Dreamcast' - is quite bare bones and is clearly in the 'tech demo' stage at the time of writing, but who knows where this could lead? A homebrew port of Outcast on Dreamcast, anyone? A Dreamcast port of Amok that runs above 8 frames per second? We can but dream...! You can also find the video from pikuma here, which is where the inspiration for Voxel Space Engine Dreamcast came from.

Update: Since posting this article, Luiz has been able to get his voxel engine running on real Dreamcast hardware, with assistance from Ian Michael and Luke Benstead (Kazade), see below.

needs optimization but now works properly on original hardware. Thanks @IanMicheal10 and @kazade for the help. pic.twitter.com/xbw4z4DFSU

— Luiz Gustavo (@NaReeZ) January 15, 2023

We'll be keeping a close eye on Luiz's progress, and if any helpful programmers can assist please do follow him on Twitter or get involved over at Dreamcast-Talk.

Photos and Video Footage of the VM2 Revealed!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gemaboy Zero heads to Dreamcast in 2023!

Taking the prize for the first news story I could be bothered to report on in 2023 (don’t worry, there are plenty more to come - just needed a bit of a break after the festive period!), Nape Games have announced that the ‘retro’ version of their successfully Kickstarted Switch/PlayStation 4 title Gemaboy Zero X will also be gracing the Dreamcast. A companion release to the NES variant, Gemaboy Zero is a slightly paired back iteration of the current-gen game, which promises backers an ‘action, exploration and platform Cyberpunk Ploidmania’ experience. Their words, not mine.

Nape Games are no strangers to the Dreamcast scene, having previously released Reknum and Ploid on the platform; and Gemaboy Zero promises more of the same high quality Metroid-style gameplay that fans of this particular developer will be familiar with. Personally, I haven’t played any of the previous Nape Games Dreamcast releases; but you have to hand it to them - while the Spanish outfit might not be the most recognisable of indie studios out there, they have clearly poured a lot of time and effort into creating their own stable of interesting and original IP, with the Ploid canon in particular carving out its own niche and deep world building.

From the Gemaboy Zero Kickstarter page: “Within the RETRO version for the NES and Dreamcast we will include the new GemaBoy Zero adventure, which will be a parallel adventure to GemaBoy Zero X, a growth adventure for our protagonist Omega while he perfects his Skillmaster ability and thus, be the definitive PLOID X!”

If any of that makes sense to you, then congratulations - you are clearly fluent in the lexicon of the Nape Games universe! For the rest of us, basically Gemaboy Zero is a cool looking, retro-themed Metroid-style platform exploration adventure that is worthy - on first glance at least - of your attention. Visit the Kickstarter and the Nape Games website for further details.

I’m reliably informed that Nape Games usually have copies of their Dreamcast titles available to purchase after campaigns have ended, so even though Gemaboy Zero crowdfunding closed in December 2022 it’s well worth keeping an eye on these links to stay informed of when physical or digital will be available to purchase by us plebs who didn’t back it.

Are you a fan of Nape Games’ output on the Dreamcast? Will you be acquiring a copy of Gemaboy Zero? Are you a pleb like me? Let us know in the comments!

The Dreamcast Junkyard's choicest cuts and hottest takes of 2022

Well, another whole year has come and gone, and we're all a little older and a little wiser. All a little bit more wrinkly and decrepit. All a bit more wizened and broken. All a bit more...I think you get the idea. Anyway, as has become something of a custom here at The Dreamcast Junkyard, we thought it would be totally radical (dude) to round up the majority of the content we've posted here over the last 12 months; so you don't have to navigate the archive using that unweildy little sidebar thing.

Huge thanks must go to all the people who have continued to create content that we report on, and of course to those who have agreed to guest on our podcast. Thanks also to the team members who write the features, the news posts and the reviews; and of course thank you to you - our readers - who continue to visit the Junkyard year in, year out.

For your reading pleasure, presented below in a digestable list are some highlights from 2022. Not everything we've published is included, but if you're reading this on the desktop version of the blog you'll find the aforementioned unweildy little sidebar archive just down there on the right, from which you can find everything from not just 2022, but from the last 18 years of The Dreamcast Junkyard...

Shadow Gangs

Reviews

• Ghoul Grind: Night of the Necromancer - Mike cast a critical eye over Woog Worx's interesting retro-styled, auto-scrolling, Halloween-themed platform adventure, and was particularly impressed with just how well executed the whole affair was.
• Postal - Lozz suited up and dove in to Dan Redfield and WAVE Game Studios' Dreamcast fantastic release of Running With Scissors' blood-soaked 90s shooter, and was pretty impressed with what he saw. Twin Stick controls and complete DLC included on the disc were particular highlights.

Yeah Yeah Beebiss II

• Yeah Yeah Beebiss II - In 2022 the Dreamcast played host to a port of a sequel to a game that never actually existed. That port was the simple yet enjoyable Yeah Yeah Beebiss II and Tom found that while the game was quite basic in design, it was also quite a fun little title.
• Shadow Gangs - Showcasing just how diverse the range of new Dreamcast releases were in 2022, Lozz took a look at the visually impressive side scrolling brawler Shadow Gangs. While the aesthetics were a highlight, the game's difficulty level was seen as a slight negative.

Virtua Sriker 2 ver 2000.1

Retrospectives

• Virtua Striker 2 - When is a football game not a football game? When it's Virtua Striker 2 of course! Tom took to the pitch in Sega's arcade football fest to see if Virtua Striker 2 holds up.
• The Flashback series on Dreamcast - The Dreamcast has now recieved officially sanctioned ports of both Flashback and sequel Fade to Black. We joined Conrad B. Hart to see how well these ports fared on the Dreamcast.
• Nettou Golf - Kev switched off Giant Killers, donned his most hideous golfing attire and interrupted a good walk when he investigated Nettou Golf, an NTSC-J title which he found to be surprisingly good fun.

Maximum Speed

• 90 Minutes: Sega Championship Football - 90 Minutes represents one of the most turgid footballing experiences one can find on Dreamcast; however the NTSC-J version (titled J.League Spectacle Soccer) is one of the very best to grace a GD-ROM drive. How so? Find out in Tom's retrospective!
• Maximum Speed - The Atomiswave played host to a number of interesting games that were never ported to other platforms, and Maximum Speed is one such title. A sort of Daytona-lite that features stock and open wheel vehicles, and some of the most annoying sound effects you're ever likely to hear.

Flyer for Premier Eleven

Features and News

• The Hunt for Premier Eleven - Premier Eleven is often seen as the greatest football game the Dreamcast never got. By 'often,' we mean 'by us.' This elusive Atomiswave title does exist in very limited numbers out in the wild, but so far it remains undumped. Join us on this most whirlwindy of investigations.
• Brave Little Abacus - Lewis went down the rabbit hole of discovering why this celebrated band used a Dreamcast during their live shows, and even managed to bag an interview with Brave Little Abacus frontman Adam Demirjian, who explained the reasoning behind it, as well as his general admiration for the console.
• Dreamcast translation projects - The Dreamcast English translation scene appears to be going from strength to strength, and so our resident translations specialist Lewis brought us news on projects involving such NTSC-J titles as Radirgy, Chaos Field, Panzer Front, Puyo Puyo~n, Cool Cool Toon and RUN=DIM as Black Soul.

RUN=DIM as Black Soul

• The Dreamcast indie scene enters a 'Golden Age' - Lozz took a deep dive into the indie scene on the Dreamcast, as more and more games are released and new publishers enter the Dreamarena (sorry).
• Where are they now? - ODM's '100+ New Games' - The Official UK Dreamcast Magazine famously printed a '100+ New Games' feature in the July 2000 issue, and so Andrew decided to delve into the history books to find out what happened to them all. Did all of these games materialise...or was it all just pie in the sky?
• VM2 'next-gen VMU' from Chris Daioglou - Serial Dreamcast peripheral upgrader Chris Daioglou returned in 2022 with a vision for a next-gen VMU. Titled VM2, the project was launched on Indiegogo and smashed its funding goal. Read about it here.

RIP Mr Yukawa

• A farewell to Hidekazu Yukawa - News of former SEGA Japan Managing Director Hidekazu Yukawa's passing was reported in June 2022, after the great man died in June 2021 aged 78. Here, Lewis respectfully paid tribute to his legacy, and detailed every time Mr Yukawa appeared in a Dreamcast game. Rest in peace Mr Yukawa, gone but not forgotten.
• Gauntlet Giveaway! - Midway's Gauntlet Legends offered a pretty sweet deal to anyone who bought the game - send in proof of purchase and receive a set of pewter miniatures based on characters from the game. Through a series of bizarre events, Tom ended up with a set of these miniatures and here's what he thought of them.
• The 'All About Dreamcast' VCD - Lozz managed to bag himself a copy of a Chinese-language VCD sold in Hong Kong and Taiwan titled 'All About Dreamcast,' and being the dutiful digital preservationist that he is, then went and ripped it and uploaded the contents to YouTube.

SEGA Spud Dive

• Is video of the Sega Spud Dive lost media? - The Sega Spud Dive was a publicity stunt that involved people swimming through vats of mashed potatoes to win Dreamcast related prizes, and we've covered it several times here. However, there doesn't appear to be any video of the events...which is odd considering the numerous film crews in attendance.
• Remute Generations - A music CD with exclusive Dreamcast functionality and visuals created by Duranik? Yes please! Here, Tom took a look (and a listen) to Remute's latest release - Generations.
• Title Defense: Dreamcast's lost boxing sim - Title Defense was intended to be a more simulation-based alternative to Ready 2 Rumble, but sadly it was never released. That didn't stop the game being featured quite regularly in magazines of the era. Tom took a look at what could have been, had Climax not shelved this intriguing title before it could muster a defense. See what I did there?

[lock-on] Volume 003

• [lock-on] Volume 003 Dreamcast special - [lock-on] Volume 003 offered a veritable smorgasbord of Dreamcast content, some of which was created by the very people who write the guff on this blog. Once the disclosure was out of the way, Tom took a look between the pages and offered a wholly unbiased opinion.
• Dee Dee Planet playable online - Dee Dee Planet was a pseudo sequel to ChuChu Rocket! that would offer online gaming to Dreamcast owners. Sadly, it was never released. That was until the Dreamcast community got hold of it, released it and added online functionality in 2022. Most impressive.
• Dreamcast Mini: Hopes and Prospects - The promise of a 'Dreamcast Mini' has been doing the rounds online for years, but how would it work, really? Would Sega even be able to turn a profit from such an expensive endevour? Lozz threw caution to the wind and offered his thoughts.

RIP Bernie Stolar

• Show Report: Nottingham Video Games Expo - The Junkyard Crew took a rare trip out into the real world to take part in NottsVGE, where we met some industry legends, drank some beer, played some games and generally had a thoroughly nice time.
• TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection lands on Dreamcast - Dreamcast coding legend Ian Micheal decided that he wasn't overly impressed with Konami's decision to skip the Dreamcast when it came ot releasing TNMT: The Cowabunga Collection. So he went ahead and created his own version...which is arguably better than Konami's. So there.
• Bernie Stolar sadly passes away - The late Bernie Stolar is credited as being the father of the Dreamcast, and it was with great sadness that we learned of his passing in June 2022, aged 75. In this rather sombre news update, we paid our respects to the gaming industry giant. Rest in peace Bernie Stolar, who will forever be remembered as the force behind the creation of the Dreamcast.

Dreamcast Gold Ingot from RetrOldTech

• There's gold in them there Dreamcasts! -  Lewis took a look at the tongue-in-cheek offering of a gold bar made from reclaimed precious metals out of Dreamcast consoles. Clearly a prank novelty item from RetrOldTech, but one we couldn't help but applaud for its downright weirdness.
• Dashy no Blast demo released - Talented indie developer Voxel surprised us all with the release of playable Halloween-themed demo Dashy no Blast in October 2022. Playing like a better version of Cannon Spike, this promising demo hit all the right notes.
• Cuphead on the Dreamcast?! - Developer Aionmagan created this rather nifty proof of concept Cuphead demo for the Dreamcast back in June. While it is very limited in scope (it's basically one screen), it proved that the Dreamcast could cope with Studio MDHR's amazing animations, if nothing else.

Dreamcast magazines for preservation

• Dreamcast Magazines: Appreciation and Preservation - Lozz presented this rather well researched appeal for Dreamcast magazine preservation, taking a look at the various periodicals that catered for the platform and asking for Dreamcast owners to plunder their attics and cupboards for missing issues.
• RetroAchievements adds Dreamcast support - Ross popped up after a lengthy hiatus to report on RetroAchievements adding Dreamcast games to its database of supported titles. For those uninitiated, RetroAchievements basically adds trophies to games from all manner of classic systems, so having Dreamcast added was a pretty big deal.
• Using AI art to create Dreamcast images from hell - On a particularly boring day back in May, Tom decided to see what would happen if he prompted an AI image generator with terms like 'Dreamcast' and 'Jet Set Radio.' This article was the result. You're welcome.

Sonic Adventure

• Sonic Adventureland: A Roller Coaster of Love - Brian bought a ticket and took a ride through Sonic Adventure's numerous roller coaster themed Action Stages, reminiscing about some of the real life theme parks he'd also visited along the way.
• SEGA Powered issue 5 - Issue 5 of SEGA Powered magazine was fairly heavy on the  Dreamcast content, and naturally we thought it would be nice to have a flick through its pages here at the Junkyard.
• Hermes: Limited Edition - Lewis finally managed to snag a copy of the excellent indie title Hermes, and it was a copy of the rather nice limited edition which came bundled with a special Hermes-branded VMU.
• Spring News Round-up - A lot of Dreamcast news happened during the month of April, and Lewis was on hand to document the creation of a Dreamcast bedding set, the release of a Mega Duck emulator and a bunch of new indie games.

Interviews

• Driving Strikers - Jaz tracked down and chatted with Luke 'Kazade' Benstead to discuss the concept behind the upcoming online-enabled Rocket League style title for Dreamcast, Driving Strikers.
• Video Game History Foundation - wasn't really sure where to put this one so I settled on including it here. Tom and Brian joined Frank Cifaldi and Kelsey Lewin from the Video Game History Foundation's History Hour podcast to discuss the US and European launches of the Dreamcast, and also the history of this very blog.

DreamPod episodes

If you're a regular listener to our podcast, then you'll know that we occasionally have special guests on the show to discuss their own history with the Dreamcast. Below are some of the highlights from the past year, however all of our regular 'news' episodes can also be found at Buzzsprout here.

• In DreamPod 103, we welcomed writer, producer and director Jörg Tittel, who previously wrote for the Official US Dreamcast Magazine. In this wide ranging chat, Jorg discussed how he got involved in writing for the magazine, and how his friendship with the late Shinya Nishigaki resulted in a cameo appearance in Illbleed.
• DreamPod 106 saw us welcome WAVE Game Studios' Daniel Crocker and SEGA Powered editor Dean Mortlock. In this episode we chatted about how WAVE Game Studios was formed and how they have taken the Dreamcast scene by storm; and we also discussed Dean's history in magazine publishing, from his time at SEGA Power through to his latest venture SEGA Powered.
• Shenmue Dojo were our honoured guests on DreamPod 108, with James Brown and Matt Oliver joining us to discuss all things Shenmue. From the origins of Shenmue Dojo, to the release of Shenmue World, thoughts on the cancellation of the Shenmue animated series, and even a Shenmue quiz, if you're a fan of Yu Suzuki's magnum opus, this episode will be right up your street.
• DreamPod 109 was tinged with both sadness and joy, as while it was a characteristically enjoyable romp through the year 2002 with the team from Dreamcast Years, it also marked the very last episode of the DCY Podcast (well, unless you backed the physical minidisc release of the actual final, final episode as part of the Dreamcast: Year Two book).
• Our guests for DreamPod 111 were Dan 'The Mega' Driver and James 'The Segaholic' McGhie, who together are known as The SEGAGuys. In this episode, we chatted about Dan and James' entry into the world of Sega, their own podcast and YouTube channel, hypothetical Dreamcast sequels and of course there was a Sega-themed quiz.
• In DreamPod 112 we were lucky enough to be joined by former SEGA Europe marketing director Giles Thomas, who spoke to us about how he was handed the task of launching the Dreamcast in Europe. From his time at MTV and VH1 music channels to joining Sega and overseeing the marketing campaign across the continent, Giles offered us a goldmine of interesting tales from the early days of the Dreamcast. 

"Cupcake anyone?"

Videos

• Giant Killers series - I felt it was only right to include this here simply due to the sheer amount of love Kev (pictured above, replete with his stash of cupcakes) has poured into this series. Yes, if you find yourself yearning to watch a middle-aged man from Northamptonshire play through season after arduous season of Dreamcast football management sim Giant Killers, then you are in for a treat. Head over to our YouTube channel and feast your eyes and ears on Kev's superlative series. Don't bother looking at any of the other recent stuff as it's pretty much all embedded in the articles featured above. I just wanted to give Kev some recognition for this labour of love. And mention his cupcakes again.

What's next?

Naturally, we can't predict the future. However what we can do is commit to continuing the same level of slightly obsessive coverage of any and all noteworthy Dreamcast related news happenings, and a steady stream of new podcast episodes, news, reviews and features over the next 12 months. Everything we produce here is done purely for a love of the topic, none of us do this as a regular job - we are simply a rag tag band of  hobbyists (if that's the right term). If you'd like to support us though, you can do so by visiting our 'Buy me a Coffee' page here.

You can also continue to follow us on Twitter, join our Facebook group, join our Discord, subscribe on YouTube or simply leave us a nice (or horrible) review over on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you may get your podcasts). It all helps and is hugely appreciated. Here's to another great year of Dreamcast related goodness.

The Dreamcast Mini: Hopes and Prospects

Since Nintendo launched their NES Classic to commercial and critical acclaim in 2016, most video game console manufacturers of the '80s and '90s have been stirred to try and reproduce that success, dusting off long neglected brands and intellectual properties in the hunt for financial gains. 

Technically speaking the NES Classic isn’t all that innovative – ‘plug and play’ systems that enable users to sample a selection of old games straight out of the box had already been kicking around the market for many years. Dozens of these types of units were produced during the nineties and noughties, typically on the cheap, including a spate of abominable Mega Drive clones churned out by third-party manufacturers under license from Sega. 

One of the more famous Dreamcast Mini images one can find with a bit of Googling.

Although the fundamental premise was the same, the NES Classic had characteristics that distinguished it from what came before and established a framework to be emulated moving forward (good pun, right?). Here was a first-party designed and produced system that stayed true to the original's aesthetics, with a carefully curated set of games, and a decent build quality that gave customers a much more realistic reproduction of the console’s experience.

In its first year on the market the NES Classic sold over 1.5 million units. Rather than languishing in the darker recesses of the Argos catalogue or piling up in the gloomy discount bins of retailers, these new-old consoles sold like hot cakes, and competitors quickly took note. Sony’s PlayStation Classic was released in late 2018, while Sega were relatively late to the party, with the Mega Drive Mini hitting stores in late 2019.

The Mega Drive Mini, released in 2019, did well enough to warrant the release of the Mega Drive Mini 2 in 2022.

Inevitably, the question many gamers and industry hacks have persistently raised since the revival of plug-and-play system via the ‘Classic’ model is: what's next? Could it be feasible that Sega are secretly working away on a Dreamcast Mini as we speak? For some outlets, the mere mention of the Dreamcast in a survey sent to Japanese buyers of the Mega Drive Mini was enough reason to run pieces with rather optimistic headlines earlier this year.

While the anticipation felt by some for the possible revival of a personal favourite is understandable, the harsh reality is that to date no verifiable proof has surfaced to suggest that a Dreamcast Mini is on the horizon. This article could probably end here, but as we’re occupying that strange limbo period between Christmas and New Year with little else productive to do, let’s allow some leeway to ponder the prospects of such a product appearing in the near future.

No matter how much you’d love to have a teeny tiny version of a design classic sitting next to your TV, the first and foremost factor Sega will be considering is the potential profitability of a Dreamcast Mini. After all, behind the sparkly mission statements and corporate social responsibility lingo, they are a business with shareholders that only love Sonic as long as he is bringing home stacks of hard currency alongside the chaos emeralds.

Maybe a Dreamcast this mini would be taking things a bit too far...

Is there really a large enough audience for a Dreamcast Mini? One key customer profile in this respect would be those who are motivated to open their wallets by nostalgia. Middle-aged folks who want a momentary escape from the drudgery of modern life but can’t be bothered with the hassle of picking up second-hand hardware, or the need to trawl through forum posts to figure out how to re-calibrate their rickety GD-Rom drive. 

On this point, the Dreamcast is at a severe disadvantage, as without some serious mental gymnastics it is hard to be nostalgic for something that you never experienced in the first place. 9 million units sold is nothing to be sniffed at, but it is a drop in the ocean when we consider the figures racked up by the behemoths of Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft.