!RESURRECTED! BIG LIST - Stuff for that new Dreamcast

[ChuckG]

Muffy- You're entitled to your opinion.

More demand in Japan? All I know is that I was in a game store the other day for about 1/2 hour. In this time, I saw 4 DC units sold, and not one Playstation, XBox, or Nintendo.

Poor demand in the US? I don't think so.

 

[yakswak]

Dreamcasts are being sold MSRP for 9900 yen in Japan, which is about $80. It's only $30 more than the US price...I thought it was being sold for a lot more than that over there which would give Sega the incentive to turn on the production line again, but it still doesn't seem like it? However, there are more games planned for release in Japan into January of 2002. Maybe this is the reason. I have no clue, just guessing.

Dreamcast Console Price

Dreamcast software release schedule

 

[Salvador]

Oh man.. I can't believe I'm back. I have (had) ATT@home service and got cut off Friday. During the switchover to ATT's servers, I was using my dad's AOhell account at his place and realized that Anandtech bans all AOL ISP's. Doh! Why is that anyway?

So.. I've been sitting here reading posts unable to answer. It's kind of like being tied up and having a gag over your mouth. At least that's the way I felt.

Anyway.. I went on a buying spree the last week and now that I'm adding everything up that I bought, I realized that I bought between $400-$500 worth of stuff. So much for being a budget system.

I've played a couple of the games so far and have luke warm feelings about some of them. This is my first console, so I really didn't have anything to compare this stuff to. Until I'm sure that I want to stick with the Dreamcast system, I'm going to keep the majority of the games sealed.

Now.. I opened and played F355 Ferrari Challenge. How does this game compare to the rest of the racing games out there?

I also opened Flag to Flag CART. Actually, it came opened from where I bought it from. I sorta kinda had to have it because I'm a huge CART fan. I must say that I'm pretty dissapointed with the game though. The physics seem all wrong, it's difficult to see the turns on some of the tracks and there is no real setting for damage. I hate bouncing off the walls or having the cars come to a stop when you go off the track slightly. I also don't like the game menu. You either play arcade or championship. In Championship, you can't select the track that you want. You basically have to go through the entire season.

I've actually been on the Road America, Mid-Ohio and Cleveland track and they aren't that realistic in this game. I have an older CART PC game (with horrible graphics), that plays much better and is much more realistic than this game.

I also wanted to mention that I bought the Madcatz MC2 wheel and this thing is great! It's so cheap, but so well thought out.

Since I bought the DC mainly for racing/driving games, I wanted to know how these games that I tried stack up to other DC games. I do like F355 challenge, but I wasn't bowled over with it like I thought that I would be. Is this as good as it gets?

Sorry for the longish post. I have many other questions, but I'll save you guys from them.

Thanks,

Sal

PS.. Tallgeese: What an outstanding job you are doing running this thread. Kudos!

 

[Bojax]

This whole thing about the DC being produced again isn't true. All they're doing is shipping 2000 or so of the U.S. versions back to Japan, which will be converted to Japan units, because of the high demand there.

Where did you get your information? Do you have a link?

 

[catrats]

<< This whole thing about the DC being produced again isn't true. All they're doing is shipping 2000 or so of the U.S. versions back to Japan, which will be converted to Japan units, because of the high demand there.

Where did you get your information? Do you have a link? >>



Bojax, here's a reference. Another article, from Gamenikki, refers to another production run but makes no mention about US units being converted.

 

[Tallgeese]

Sal:

Thanks for the kind words! Thanks also to everybody else who has either posted or PM'd to express appreciation for this thread.
Actually, the real work is being done by all of YOU, finding the deals and letting us all know. Thanks everyone!

 

[kb1972]

<< I'm sure this was probably mentioned already, but using burned games does in fact shorten the life span of your DC. >>


WTF!?! I also hear that listening to MP3's causes cancer, and using a cable TV descrambler creates cavities.

 

[Pakaderm]

Ok here's the skinny on a new DC Wheel!

It's the Thrustmaster Ferrari racing wheel.

Here's a review: Thrustmaster Wheel

I found it have EBGames B&M. The only one they had was pre-owned, and it was $14.99. I inspected the box/parts and found them still in the original plastic wrap. I bought it and took it home. There was not a single mark/sticky spot/defect anywhere on the unit! Hot score for that day for me!

This is probably just a luck of the draw thing, but check your EBGames B&M just in case. It was with all the PS2 wheels.

-Pakaderm

 

[Fritzo]

<< I do like F355 challenge, but I wasn't bowled over with it like I thought that I would be. Is this as good as it gets?

Sorry for the longish post. I have many other questions, but I'll save you guys from them.

Thanks,

Sal

PS.. Tallgeese: What an outstanding job you are doing running this thread. Kudos! >>



F355 is so-so. Get Test Drive V-Rally or Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 (if you can find it) if you want some games to really so off your DC's power (V-Rally is EXCELLENT!)

Look at the list of "Most Wanted Games" on the first post for hints on what's good.

 

[tigerbait]

Salvador, I'm sure you would like both Test Drive V-Rally and Test Drive LeMans. Both are excellent.

 

[Tallgeese]

<< a new DC Wheel...the Thrustmaster Ferrari racing wheel. I found it have EBGames B&M. >>

This wheel is also at EBgames.com, new for $29.99, BTW. Also added to the Big List. Thanks Pak!

 

[Speedy3D!]

holy hell that is one big list

 

[Keen314]

<<

<< I'm sure this was probably mentioned already, but using burned games does in fact shorten the life span of your DC. >>


WTF!?! I also hear that listening to MP3's causes cancer, and using a cable TV descrambler creates cavities. >>



Very simply, a Dreamcast doesn't use either DVDs or CDs as game media; it uses a proprietary media called GD (the drives are GD-ROMs). My understanding is that due to this difference, you put more stress on your Dreamcast's disk drive when you put CDs in. I'd suggest that you don't just ridicule people who tell you things that are new; you'll never learn anything.

 

[soltrain]

hmmmmmm. Playing burned dreamcast games is bad for the dreamcast? I find it very hard to believe. I know that the dreamcast was designed to play GD discs, but just because it was designed to play GD discs does not make it bad to play regular burned CD's in the drive. The dreamcast plays regular music CD's fine, they're not GD discs...


DC CD ROM:


<< CD ROM Drive: Dreamcast features an exclusively developed 1-gigabyte CD ROM drive called the GD ROM. While also holding more than 1/3 more information than standard CD ROMs (640 MB), the GD ROM was primarily developed by Yamaha to avoid piracy as the 1 gigabyte format is exclusive to the Dreamcast system (unlike CD ROM and DVD which are currently being severely affected by piracy). The 12 speed drive is super-fast and can load the Dreamcast's entire 26 MB of RAM in under 15 seconds. >>



from CDRInfo


also, I find it extremely hard to believe that Sega would ever rekindle dreamcast production to bring it back to the states. Demand is up because at $50, the dreamcast is an amazing deal--Sega probably pays more to produce the dreamcast than 50, making the possibility that they'll bring it back mainstream and raise the price unreal.

 

[TecJunkie]

Once again does anyone know if it is possible to play foreign shenmue II on US dreamcast?

 

[catrats]

<< Once again does anyone know if it is possible to play foreign shenmue II on US dreamcast? >>


According to Planet Dreamcast, Shenmue II will be availabe from EB next Monday, Dec. 10. Judging from this report, you need some sort of boot-disc in order for it to work but the short answer is, yes.

 

[Atrac]

Is there any difference between "Made in Japan" Dreamcasts vs. "Made in China" ones? I bought mine last week from Best Buy and it was a Japanese made one. They got in a new shipment and these are all Chinese. Note that all of the units say they were manufactured in September 2000.

Just curious.

 

[up4deal]

I saw phantasy star online for $5 in Sears, Fairfax VA. There were still 4 or 5 left in the cart. I grabbed one anyway.

 

[mithrandir2001]

<< hmmmmmm. Playing burned dreamcast games is bad for the dreamcast? I find it very hard to believe. I know that the dreamcast was designed to play GD discs, but just because it was designed to play GD discs does not make it bad to play regular burned CD's in the drive. The dreamcast plays regular music CD's fine, they're not GD discs... >>


The problem with burned CD-ROMs is that they affect the read pattern of the DC optical unit. GD-ROMs have a high-density inner track section. The laser mechanism doesn't have to make large movements to read this data because of the higher density. Frequently accessed information is stored in this dense section while infrequently accessed data like cutscenes and FMV is stored in the regular low-density outer sections.


<< Once again does anyone know if it is possible to play foreign shenmue II on US dreamcast? >>


Yes...I got my copy for $45 shipped (instead of EB's $59 + tax) from Videogame Imports. I already have a boot disk (Utopia) which you can make on your own.

 

[Siamskunk]

Argh....just got VF 3tb from KBtoys but couldn't play. When I turned the power on, it booted to System setup screen then reboot and reboot and reboot.

What's going on? Is it possible that this isn't US version? Help please.

 

[Salvador]

Got a question about buying so-called new games off of half.com and Gleebay.

I was in a Babbages the other day and bought the last F355 Challenge in the store. Since it was the last one, the jewel case was open. The guy behind the counter said that he could shrink wrap it for me if I wanted. I said, sure. When he gave me the cd shrink wrapped, it looked like it came that way from the factory.

Now.. Here's my question: How likely is it that when someone off of Shebay or Half.com sells a game and says that it's new and factory sealed, that it is in fact a used game and it was just re-sealed in shrink wrap?

Just curious.. I guess it doesn't matter if the game is mint and plays fine, but it is a deceptive way of doing business if this is in fact what is going on here.

Sal

 

[Fritzo]

<<

<<

<< I'm sure this was probably mentioned already, but using burned games does in fact shorten the life span of your DC. >>


WTF!?! I also hear that listening to MP3's causes cancer, and using a cable TV descrambler creates cavities. >>



Very simply, a Dreamcast doesn't use either DVDs or CDs as game media; it uses a proprietary media called GD (the drives are GD-ROMs). My understanding is that due to this difference, you put more stress on your Dreamcast's disk drive when you put CDs in. I'd suggest that you don't just ridicule people who tell you things that are new; you'll never learn anything. >>



This obviously isn't true since the DC was designed to play music CD's (it's a choice right from the main menu when you turn it on!) So...yes, you deserve to be rediculed

 

[Fritzo]

<< Got a question about buying so-called new games off of half.com and Gleebay.

I was in a Babbages the other day and bought the last F355 Challenge in the store. Since it was the last one, the jewel case was open. The guy behind the counter said that he could shrink wrap it for me if I wanted. I said, sure. When he gave me the cd shrink wrapped, it looked like it came that way from the factory.

Now.. Here's my question: How likely is it that when someone off of Shebay or Half.com sells a game and says that it's new and factory sealed, that it is in fact a used game and it was just re-sealed in shrink wrap?

Just curious.. I guess it doesn't matter if the game is mint and plays fine, but it is a deceptive way of doing business if this is in fact what is going on here.

Sal >>



Easy to tell...look at the CD when you take it out. Does it have any fingerprints/scratches? A factory sealed CD will be absolutely perfect. A used CD will have some scratches on it (unless the previous owner was extremely anal about disc care).

 

[Salvador]

<< Easy to tell...look at the CD when you take it out. Does it have any fingerprints/scratches? A factory sealed CD will be absolutely perfect. A used CD will have some scratches on it (unless the previous owner was extremely anal about disc care). >>


Yeah.. I guess I could tell that way. The thing is that I bought a game at half.com and then found it cheaper afterwards. I'm thinking about reselling the one title and I'll probably sell the one that I bought from half.com instead of the store bought game. There's no way of telling if I keep it sealed and I don't want it to come back and bite me in the arse.

BTW.. I'm completely anal about any discs that I have. I have 15 year old cd's that look as good as the day that I bought them. I guess I get that from caring for LP's. Remember those. Seriously, I could never understand why it's so tough to handle your discs from the edges.

Sal

 

[Atrac]

Knowing very little about the subject, here's my theory on why burned Dreamcast games *could* be bad for the unit.

Since it's not a regular CD-ROM Drive, it's not designed to read "regular" CD's "fast." Sure, it is designed to read Audio CD's, but it only reads it from the center outward. And it does that at a slow speed, since Audio CD's don't require much "effort" for the laser.

GD-ROM's are read differently. The data is compressed, so the laser reads at a higher speed and scans only small areas at a time.

SO, doesn't it seem like if the laser is moving around reading a "regular" CD-ROM burned with a Dreamcast Game, and it's uncompressed, then the laser is doing "double-duty" and getting overworked? It seems like it would have to read larger areas of the disc and really have to work much harder.

Also, I believe the "high density" area is the outer ring, not the inner ring.

I could be wrong, and hopefully I am. It's just something that occurred to me. Prove me wrong, please.