Dreamcast Episode Coming Soon!

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Everyone else will be doing that same thing, but that’s OK… we don’t aim to be different; we aim to be us.

We will be recording our next podcast episode (yeah, fancy that!) this coming Saturday evening. We might even broadcast it live on Stickam! Stay tuned to my personal Twitter for details, but in the meantime, we want your stories.

Were you there for the biggest launch in entertainment history back on 9/9/99? What was your favorite game? Did you ever browse the web on your TV? Did you sink tons of hours into a console-based MMO? Did you scratch your GD-ROMs (as it was so easy to do) and never get to play a certain game ever again? Did you import the European version of a particular game so you could play it in English on the system it was actually developed for?

Give us your Dreamcast stories. Keep them relatively short and easily digestible so we can share them on the show. Write them out and e-mail them over to us at feedback (-at-) vgconvos *D*O*T* (-com-), or just leave a comment here on the post. Send them in soon, since we are recording on Saturday. The plan is to have the episode our for the ten-year anniversary on 9/9/09, especially since that specific evening we will all be busy playing The Beatles: Rock Band.

Comments

7 responses to “Dreamcast Episode Coming Soon!”

September 3, 2009

VenomSymbiote

Cool! New Podcast Episode! =D

Too bad I never owned/played a Dreamcast…

However, I really am excited to hear you guys talk about it, since you guys love it so much!

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September 4, 2009

Hao Kaiser

Aw, man, I won’t be able to watch the possible Stickam broadcast, since I’m not at my dorm this weekend.

Well, maybe that’s for the best… The last time I was in the live chat, Jeff’s hard drive died the next day. 😛
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Here’s my poorly constructed Dreamcast story:

I actually just recently acquired my Dreamcast last October or November off of eBay, because I really wanted to try out “Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.” (For reference, this was well before we had heard any confirmation about the now-available digital re-release, and even with the cost of the used console, it was still a cheaper way to play the game than getting a used copy of the PS2 or Xbox port).

Not only was “MvC2” my first traditional 2D fighter (I know that’s horrible, but I’m young, so I have an excuse for being late to the party), but it is also the first game I’ve played a lot with my now-four year old sister. She absolutely loves the game (so much so that when I got “Street Fighter IV,” she saw the similarities between the two games, and made me put it down and pull out the Dreamcast), and when I put her handicap WAAAAAAY up, and mine WAAAAAAY down, she actually puts up a half-way decent fight, especially when she uses her regular team of Spider-Man, B.B. Hood, and Son Son.

So, yeah, the system gave me a chance to play a fantastic game that came out when I was nine (that ought to make you feel old :P) almost ten years after the fact, got me hooked on what is now one of my favorite genres of games, and allowed me to introduce my kid sister to the fun of video games. Even if it is the most recent console in my collection, the past few months have given the Dreamcast a very special place in my heart

And as an aside, my Dreamcast came with a CD-R copy of “Resident Evil: Code Veronica – Disc 2” in the disc tray… Have any of you taken advantage of the systems weak copy protection to replace games that may have become physically unplayable, or have you looked into any homebrew applications? The latter has certainly become one of my favorite aspects of the Dreamcast.

Anyways, I hope my story wasn’t too long, and I’m really happy to hear that you guys are recording another episode. I can’t wait until Wednesday!

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September 5, 2009

Tsukento

The Dreamcast is probably my favorite console of all time. Simply put, it has an interesting, yet sad tale to how it lived.

I ultimately got my Dreamcast when Sonic Adventure 2 was released in 2001 since my family usually bought only one console per generation (save for me having an SNES and Genesis at the same time), so I missed out on a good chunk of its life. However, I definitely can’t forget the bold marketing ads Sega put up on TV for the Dreamcast or how amazing Sonic Adventure and Soul Calibur looked when I tried them out at a KB Toys at the local mall.

Through out the time I’ve had the Dreamcast, I’ve plugged hours upon hours into Phantasy Star Online. I busted my brain trying to solve the puzzles of ChuChu Rocket!, as well as my fingers playing Samba de Amigo with a controller since the darned maracas were $80. Speaking of broken fingers, Marvel vs Capcom 2 gave me blistered thumbs thanks to the arcade stick being just as expensive. But it was all too fun.

I could go on and on, but I’ll stop right here. The Dreamcast was an amazing console and it was really sad to hear it being discontinued within a year and a half of being released and seeing Sega leave the console market, despite finally getting everything right with the console that they did wrong with the Saturn.

To this day, my Dreamcast is still hooked up and I continue to enjoy the games I have and I also continue to buy games I’ve missed so far.

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September 5, 2009

Blackmegaman

Well I really don’t have a story , but I do have a lot of memories of me and my friends in high school playing various Dreamcast games during lunch break ( games included Marvel vs Capcom 2 , Project Justice , Guilty Gear X , and my personal favorite JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure). Me and my friends had hours of fun playing these games over the years during high school……well I hoped that was a decent enough “story” worth your reading time.

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September 5, 2009

Emtrey

I actually held off on getting a Dreamcast until the very end, when they got discounted to $50 (and by then it was just downright irresponsible not to pick one up). It was literally only days after the GameCube’s launch, so I’d bought two systems in the span of a week (and my PS2 was less than a month away– Christmas).

The thing I most remember about the Dreamcast at the time was walking into a store, finding games at $5-10 apiece, and walking out with a handful of them each trip. Found myself playing the Dreamcast far more than the GameCube that season and lamenting the fact that it was basically a dead console by that time, because it was so fun.

The game that just absolutely sucked me in, though, was Shenmue. I just loved exploring the small neighborhood and going about everyday activities while investigating the murder of Ryo’s father. By the end of the game, I was hungry for more and anxiously awaiting one of the final DC releases in the form of Shenmue 2… and then came the announcement from Microsoft that Shenmue 2 would be Xbox exclusive in the U.S. Lovely. Having just plunked down money for three new consoles, I simply could not justify a fourth for one game– even a game I hungered for.

So, I took to the internet and found out that several people were importing the game for the DC from the U.K. and that all I’d need was a “boot disc”. Finding that boot disc, though, entailed more stops than I’d care to admit. Toys R Us, Kaybee Toys, Circuit City, Software Etc., local dept. stores, everything was a bust, until I noticed that an EB Games had actually opened up in the mall while I wasn’t looking. A quick phone call confirmed they had exactly ONE DC-X boot disc in stock, I had them hold it for me, and raced down to pick it up. Half my task complete. Now to actually get Shenmue 2.

Shortly thereafter, the news hit gaming sites that EB Games would be offering the import of Shenmue 2 for the DC as part of a package with a boot disc, so I head back down to my EB Games and ask to place an order. Being an EB newbie, I’m not sure how the process is supposed to go– I expected to put some money down. But instead they just take my name, say “thanks”, and send me on my way. On the appointed day, I either call or swing by (memory is a bit foggy) and I’m told, yeah, they got one in, but it went to a guy who’d actually put some money down on it. (I’m mildly incredulous, because they’d never even given me the option.) Somewhat steamed, I leave and start looking into U.K. stores to order from.

A short time later– day or two after Christmas, if memory serves– I get a call from EB saying that they’ve unexpectedly gotten another copy of Shenmue 2 in and they asked if I still wanted it, because if not there was some guy there who was pretty keen on having it. Needless to say, I was there within the hour and left with my shiny new PAL copy of Shenmue 2 (to the envy of the guy who was hanging around in case I didn’t show up). Oh, sans the boot disc they promised, but I already had one, so no biggie. Beat it by New Year’s and have been holding out the wholly irrational hope for eight years that someday, somehow, Shenmue 3 would become a reality.

The kicker, of course, is that four or five year later I’d wind up grabbing an Xbox and so spent $10 on the U.S. version of Shenmue 2, as well. But the quest to get Shenmue 2 for the DC that winter has been the story that’s defined my Dreamcast experience.

Close second was the hunt for as many VMUs as possible, so I could actually play the games.

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September 5, 2009

Bryce

Well this might be too late, but my favorite dreamcast game had to be Skies of Arcadia. I am dying for a sequel especially after Valkeryia Chronicles, which not only had guest appearances of the main characters of skies, but also shows a next gen sega published jrpg can be damn awesome.

I pretty much was only into final fantasy at time, but I took a chance on skies and I will never regret it.

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September 6, 2009

Mitchell/Roark

Oh my god! Last night was awesome. I loved the topic. Like I said in my email, I’m getting a Dreamcast sooner or later.

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