Dreamcast Dev.Box
From Sega Retro
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| Dreamcast Dev.Box | ||||||||||
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| Made for: Sega Dreamcast | ||||||||||
| Manufacturer: Sega Enterprises, Ltd. | ||||||||||
| Type: Development tool | ||||||||||
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Dreamcast Katana Dev.Box is the official development kit for the Sega Dreamcast. It is the tool used by the majority of Dreamcast developers to produce Dreamcast games.
Hardware
The Katana DB is effectively a computer, but with four Dreamcast controller ports and a GD-ROM disc drive. It has a region switch plus various debugging features, and is compatible with S-Video, RCA and VGA television outputs. The major difference between the Katana DB and a normal Dreamcast is that the Katana DB can interface with a Windows (or Macintosh) computer, as well as various other development components for testing and debugging.
There are supposedly at least four slightly different variants numbered HKT-0100, HKT-0110, HKT-0120 and HKT-0130 and the specifications can vary slightly between each model. Documentation is scarce, however earlier models may not have the hardware to interface with the GD-Writer and other components, and some lack built-in hard drives. Hard drives can not be bigger than 4GB otherwise the Katana DB won't be able to understand.
Katana DBs are valuable collectors' items, not just because of their rarity, but due to the possible contents which lie within. In some situations prototype or unreleased games have been found stored in second-hand Katana DB hard drives.
Digital manuals
Dreamcast/Dev.Box System Architecture
Photo gallery
Older model
Newer model (front)
Newer model (back)
Katana Back
Katana Bottom
Katana Cover off
Katana's Hard Drive
Katana Writer Back
Katana Writer Bottom
Katana Connected To The Writer And SCSI connections
Katana Test Screen
Main Motherboard
Main Motherboard (bottom)
SCSI Motherboard (top)
SCSI Motherboard (bottom)
GD-ROM Drive Mother Board
References