Difference between revisions of "Sega Dreamcast"

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{{ConsoleBob
 
{{ConsoleBob
| logos=[[File:Dreamcast logo.svg|160px]][[File:Dreamcast PAL logo.svg|160px]]
+
| | logo=Dreamcast logo.svg|150px]]
 
| consoleimage=Dreamcast.jpg
 
| consoleimage=Dreamcast.jpg
 
| imgwidth=320px
 
| imgwidth=320px
| name= Sega Dreamcast
+
| name= Dreamcast
 
| maker= [[Sega]]
 
| maker= [[Sega]]
| variants= Various development kits, [[Special Dreamcast Models|list of special release models]]
+
| variants=[[Sega NAOMI]], [[Atomiswave]], [[Sega System SP]]
| add-ons= [[Dreameye]], Sega Dreamcast Karaoke System, [[Dreamcast Zip Drive]] (canceled)
+
| processor= [[SuperH|Hitachi SH-4]]
| processor= SH-4 RISC CPU with 128 Bit graphic computational engine built-in (operating frequency: 206 MHz 360 MIPS/1.4 GFLOPS)
+
| releases={{releasesDC
| europe= October 14, 1999
+
| dc_date_jp=1998-11-27
| usa= September 9, 1999
+
| dc_rrp_jp=29,800
| japan= November 27, 1998
+
| dc_code_jp=HKT-3000
| australia= November 30, 1999
+
| dc_date_us=1999-09-09{{intref|Press release: 1999-09-02: Sega Dreamcast Launch Titles and Peripherals}}
| benelux=
+
| dc_rrp_us=199.99
| brazil=
+
| dc_code_us=HKT-3020
| germany=
+
| dc_date_uk=1999-10-14{{magref|cvg|216|52}}
| scandinavia=
+
| dc_rrp_uk=199.99{{magref|cvg|215|59}}
| southkorea=
+
| dc_code_uk=HKT-3030
 +
| dc_date_fr=1999-10-14
 +
| dc_code_fr=HKT-3030
 +
| dc_rrp_fr=1,690{{fileref|ConsolesMicro FR 01.pdf|page=15}}
 +
| dc_date_de=1999-10-14
 +
| dc_code_de=HKT-3030
 +
| dc_rrp_de=499,-{{fileref|NextLevel DE 1999-0910.pdf|page=6}}
 +
| dc_date_es=1999-10-14
 +
| dc_code_es=HKT-3030
 +
| dc_date_au=1999-11-30
 +
| dc_rrp_au=499.00{{magref|hyper|71|29}}
 +
| dc_date_br=1999-10-04{{ref|[http://web.archive.org/web/20000303160725/www.tectoy.com.br/unshock/prop.htm Dreamcast] ([[Tectoy]])}}
 +
| dc_rrp_br=899.00
 +
| dc_date_ru=2000-11-10<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20010409225930/http://sega.ru:80/news.phtml</ref>
 +
| dc_date_pl=2000-12-01
 +
| dc_rrp_pl=999
 +
| dc_date_as=1998-11
 +
| dc_code_as=HKT-3010
 +
| dc_date_kr=1998-11
 +
| dc_code_kr=HKT-3010
 +
| dc_date_cz=2000-03
 +
| dc_rrp_cz=10400 <ref>https://www.idnes.cz/ekonomika/test-a-spotrebitel/nova-konzole-dreamcast-prehrava-konkurenci.A_2000M051T05A</ref>
 +
| dc_date_ma=1999-11-04
 +
| dc_rrp_ma=3.999 DH
 +
| dc_date_in=2000-12<ref>https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/11/22/dreamcast-heads-to-india</ref>
 +
| dc_rrp_in=14000<ref>https://www.afaqs.com/news/story/795_Stracon-ready-to-turn-the-TV-into-a-multi-dimensional-entertainment-device</ref>
 
}}
 
}}
The '''Sega Dreamcast''' (ドリームキャスト), code-named "Katana" and "Dural" during development, is a video game console manufactured by [[Sega]] as a successor to the [[Sega Saturn]]. It was the first machine released in what is now known as the sixth generation of video game consoles, with its sixth-generation console peers being the [[Sony PlayStation 2]], the [[Nintendo GameCube]] and the [[Microsoft Xbox]].
+
}}
 +
<section begin=intro />The '''Dreamcast''' (ドリームキャスト) is a home video game console manufactured by [[Sega]] as a successor to the [[Sega Saturn]]. Dubbed as Sega's "Super Console"{{intref|Press release: 1998-05-21: Sega Unveils Super Console!}}, it is a "128-bit" machine designed with then-cutting edge hardware and a focus on the internet. The Dreamcast was originally released in Japan in November 1998 before seeing a Western release the following year.
  
The Dreamcast was Sega's last home console, and developed primarily to detoxify the Sega brand. Western trust in Sega had been reduced following the dismal performance of the [[Sega Mega CD]], [[Sega 32X]] and Sega Saturn, and Sega were keen to regain the trust seen in the days of the [[Sega Mega Drive]]. Faced with increased competition from [[Sony]], [[Nintendo]] and [[Microsoft]], the Dreamcast landed in a distant fouth place, and Sega largely pulled out of the console business. However, the innovative features of the Dreamcast along with a strong library of games means the console still has a large, dedicated fanbase, to the extent that Dreamcast games are still being released commercially today.
+
The Dreamcast was Sega's seventh and final home video game console, and was discontinued in early 2001{{intref|Press Release: 2001-01-28: Dúvidas e confirmações no futuro da Dreamcast}}{{intref|Press Release: 2001-10-29: Dreamcast não desiste e mostra novos trunfos}} due to financial constraints within the company. It had sold at least 8.2 million hardware units and 51.63 million software units by March 2001,{{fileref|AnnualReport2001 English.pdf|page=16}}, with estimates suggesting 10.6 million hardware units in total.<section end=intro />
  
One of the main features of the Dreamcast aside from cutting edge graphics for 1998/1999, is the built-in 56K modem. This gives users access to the Internet for web browsing, chat, email and (perhaps most importantly) online gaming. It was the first console to offer online features straight out of the box, and the first to offer these features worldwide, rather than in select markets.
+
An arcade counterpart to the Dreamcast exists as the [[Sega NAOMI]].
  
==Development==
+
<div class="toclimit-{{{1|{{{4|4}}}}}}">__TOC__</div>
In 1996, rumours of a next generation Sega game console started surfacing. According to the rumours, the machine's development title was 'Dural', named after a character from the Sega arcade and Genesis game, Virtua Fighter 2. In early 1997, insiders told of two new developments - Sega and Microsoft were in discussions and NEC/Videologic had been approached with regard to the graphics chipset.
 
  
Soon after, 3DFX, the graphics technology company, revealed a deal with Sega to provide technology for a new machine codenamed 'BlackBelt'. At the time, 3DFX made a popular graphics accelerator chipset for the PC called Voodoo, and it was this chipset that was allegedly going to be used in Sega's new machine.
+
==Hardware==
 +
The Dreamcast is a small, white box with aesthetics designed to appeal to a wide-ranging audience. It was envisioned as an "128-bit" "super console", designed to leapfrog "32-bit" and "64-bit" contemporaries in the form of the [[PlayStation]] and [[Nintendo 64]], respectively (although from a technical standpoint, its main processor deals in 32-bit or 64-bit instructions, with the 128-bit figure coming from the graphics hardware). Incidentally the Dreamcast was the last home console to use "bits" as a selling point, with processing capabilities now typically measured in other ways.
  
Now it became clear that Sega actually had two different machines in development, one in Japan (development names Dural/Katana), and one in America (development name BlackBelt). At one stage the BlackBelt, jointly developed by SegaSoft, Microsoft and 3DFX, was shown to a limited number of developers and was apparently very well received. The OS was designed to make the machine easy to develop for and allowed for quick conversions of games to and from PC. At the time Sega's policy seemed to be that raw processing power wasn't as important as an easy to develop for operating system. The Japanese 'Katana' generally outperformed the 'BlackBelt' in hardware terms, but had a more intricate and difficult operating system.
+
Taking design cues from the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Saturn, the Dreamcast contains four control ports, a removable modem, disc drive and an extension port (as well as the expected AV and power inputs). It is not backwards compatible with any prior [[Sega]] hardware or software (although [[Dreamcast Controller|its controller]] derives from the Saturn's [[3D Control Pad]]), and operates in much the same way as the Saturn (and [[PlayStation]]) does, with a configurable settings and memory management accessed through a BIOS screen.
[[Image:Sega-katanaback.jpg|thumb|right|Sega Dreamcast Developement Kit, view of the backend]]
 
In July, Sega cancelled the 3DFX deal and it became apparent that the 'Blackbelt' had been dropped too. It is unknown exactly why the BlackBelt was dropped in favour of the Japanese design, but the most likely reason is that the production cost would have been higher and ultimately would have lead to a more expensive final street price. Another possibility is that the 'BlackBelt' just wasn't powerful enough to compete in a market with other next generation machines from companies like [[Sony]] and [[Nintendo]].  
 
  
At this stage it was reported that the now Japanese-developed console was being called the 'Katana' (a katana is a type of sword). It was officially announced that Hitachi would be making the CPU for the machine. In early 1998, NEC/Videologic was finally confirmed to be providing the new graphics chipset, the PowerVR Series II. The operating system was tweaked to make it as easy to use and develop for as 'BlackBelt' was going to be, and Microsoft wrote another development system, based on its Windows CE technologies. Microsoft cooperated with Sega hoping to promote its [[Windows CE]] operating system for video games, but Windows CE for the Dreamcast showed very limited capabilities when compared to the Dreamcast's native operating system. The libraries that Sega offered gave room for much more performance, but they were sometimes more difficult to utilize when porting over existing PC applications. In May 1998 the Dreamcast was officially announced by Bernie Stolar, then CEO of Sega of America.
+
The Dreamcast uses a proprietary format of storage called [[GD-ROM]]s for games in order to circumvent software piracy, a strategy that ultimately backfired when the first run of discs had a high rate of defects. The format was also cracked fairly quickly (and in some cases, the pirated games were released ''before'' the legitimate versions). Sega largely had themselves to blame for the high levels of Dreamcast piracy—their use of the GD-ROM format was completely undermined by the console's support for the [[Mil-CD]] format, which allowed the console to boot from a standard CD-R. Mil-CD support was removed from the final Dreamcast revisions toward the end of the console's life.
[[File:Tivola logo.png|thumb|The German publishing firm "Tivola" is often cited as the reason the Dreamcast's logo was changed to blue in PAL regions.]]
 
The Sega Dreamcast has a red/orange spiral as its logo in all regions apart from Europe (and Australia) where it was changed to blue. It is suspected that this was due to a German educational game publishing company "Tivola" using a similar orange swirl in their logo. Though the color scheme was changed for all European games, advertisements and media, the orange LED used in the console was not replaced with a blue one.
 
  
==Release==
+
The GD-ROM format also put the console at a disadvantage when competing against the [[PlayStation 2]] - the PS2 used DVDs, and could therefore run DVD videos making it an inexpensive DVD player as well as a video game console. DVD-ROMs also have more storage space, allowing for bigger games (though the initial run of PS2 games used a blue CD-ROM format). Sega looked into DVD technology during the Dreamcast's development but claimed it was too expensive.
===Japan===
 
The Dreamcast was first released on the 27th of November 1998 in Japan with four launch titles: ''[[July]]'', ''[[Pen Pen TriIcelon]]'', ''[[Virtua Fighter 3tb]]'', and ''[[Godzilla Generations]]''. The situation in Japan was very different to that of the western world - in Japan the Sega Saturn had been a rousing success, and Japanese publishers failed to see the need for a new console, however sales were still strong for many years.
 
  
Like the Saturn, the Dreamcast was subjected to many games exclusive to Japan, along with numerous exclusive peripherals and special Dreamcast models.
+
The Dreamcast was the first video game console to ship with a built-in 56k modem, with broadband adapters being made available later on in certain regions. This allowed the system to connect to the internet using a custom, fully-functional web browser and e-mail client. Many games released for the Dreamcast shipped with online play modes, the most popular being ''[[Phantasy Star Online]]'' and the [[Sega Sport]]s lineup (now published under the ESPN label). Although other consoles before the Dreamcast had network gaming support, such as the [[Sega Saturn]]'s [[Sega NetLink|NetLink]] and the [[Sega Mega Drive]]'s [[XB∀ND]], the Dreamcast was the first game console to include this ability out of the box and is therefore considered the first internet-enabled home game system.
  
Japanese Dreamcasts can be identified by the triangle at the front of the unit. Though the LED is identical across all regions, the piece of plastic attached to the lid of the Japanese model is transparent, while in North America it is grey.
+
The Dreamcast has a modest hacking enthusiast community.  The availability of Windows CE software development kits on the Internet—as well as ports of Linux ([http://linuxdc.net/ LinuxDC]) and [http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/dreamcast/ dreamcast NetBSD] operating systems to the Dreamcast—gave programmers a selection of familiar development tools to work with, even though they do not really support the high speed graphics. A homebrew minimal operating system called [http://sourceforge.net/projects/cadcdev/ Kallistios] offers support for most hardware, while not offering multi-tasking, which is superfluous for games.  Many emulators and other tools (MP3, DivX players, and image viewers) have been ported to or written for the console, taking advantage of the relative ease with which a home user can write a CD which is bootable by an unmodified Dreamcast.
  
===North America===
+
Sega released an [[arcade]] board, using the same technology as the Dreamcast, called [[Sega NAOMI]], leading to many Dreamcast-exclusive games with a high level of arcade quality.
The US had to wait nearly a full year for their Dreamcasts - Sega executed a massive launch on the 9th of September 1999 (9/9/99). The Dreamcast took in over $97 Million USD on the first day of launch in North America, and sold over 500,000 machines in the first two weeks. Sega were quick to point out that $97,000,000 is more than ''Star Wars: The Phantom Menace'' brought in on its first day of release. Over a million machines were sold in North America in just over two and a half months, making the Dreamcast the fastest selling video games machine in that region, ever.
 
  
Sega Dreamcast's motto in the US was "It's thinking". There was some confusion with Sega's marketing tactics at the time, as adverts often failed to address ''what'' was thinking. It was not always clear that the Dreamcast was a games console.
+
The Dreamcast's [[PowerVR CLX2]] was the first GPU for a home system with hardware capabilities such as [[wikipedia:Bump mapping|bump mapping]], [[wikipedia:Volumetric lighting|volumetric]] effects,{{magref|gr|3|29}} [[wikipedia:Order-independent transparency|order-independent transparency]], and [[wikipedia:Normal mapping|Dot3 normal mapping]].{{ref|1=''[[wikipedia:PC Magazine|PC Magazine]]'', [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=90OvoBUqQoIC&pg=PA193 December 1999, page 193]}}
  
But the Dreamcast was met with problems when rumours of Sony's PlayStation 2 came into circulation. Many consumers held back from buying Dreamcasts, anticipating that Sony's console would be superior. Predictably, the PlayStation 2 proved to be a more capable machine, and despite its relatively weak initial library of games, came out on top due to the inclusion of DVD-playback capabilities. At the time, DVD players were quite expensive, so the PS2 was seen as a much better deal.
+
===Models===
 +
{{MainArticle|Dreamcast consoles}}
  
Production of North American Dreamcasts ceased in 2001, after Sega announced plans to leave the console business. Despite this, the Dreamcast is seen to have been more successful than the Sega Saturn (and Sega Master System) in this region.
+
<gallery widths="250px" heights="160px">
 +
Dreamcast JP.jpg|Japanese model
 +
Dreamcast US.jpg|North American model
 +
Dreamcast PAL.jpg|European model
 +
</gallery>
  
===Europe===
+
Japanese Dreamcasts can be identified by the triangle at the front of the unit. Though the power LED is identical across all regions, the piece of plastic attached to the lid of the Japanese model is transparent, while in North America it is grey. The Japanese models also have the text "Designed for Microsoft Windows CE" printed on the front right, whereas Western versions say "Compatible with Microsoft Windows CE".
The European release date was also aimed at a 9/9/99 release date but was pushed back to the 14th of October 1999. Likewise, initial European sales figures looked healthy, with over 100,000 machines sold in Europe on launch day alone and over 185,000 in the first weekend, but were console was threatened by the release of the PlayStation 2 and inevitably suffered the same fate as its North American counterpart.
 
  
===Australia/New Zealand===
+
For a full list of special edition Dreamcasts, see [[Special Dreamcast Models]].
Unfortunately, in the Australian region the launch was less successful, often being labeled a disaster by fans of Sega. [[Ozisoft]], the official Sega distributor in Australia, only managed to output nine launch titles despite the late release date (30th of November 1999), none of which were first party products. Apparently Sega-developed software had been held in customs and could not reach store shelves by the release deate. Also with no [[VMU]]s or other peripherals on the market, it seemed that after what seemed like infinite delays, Australian fans deserved better.
 
  
===Brazil===
+
===Technical specifications===
[[Tectoy]], who had been responsible for distributing Sega consoles in Brazil since the [[Sega Master System]], brought the Dreamcast to Brazil in 1999. The majority of games were repackaged titles imported from the US, and the console was not particularly successful.
+
{{mainArticle|Sega Dreamcast/Technical specifications}}
  
==About the Console==
+
===Hardware comparisons===
The Dreamcast used a proprietary format of storage called [[GD-ROM]]s for games in order to foil software pirates, a strategy that ultimately backfired when the first run of discs had a high rate of defects. The format was also cracked fairly quickly (and in some cases, the pirated games were released ''before'' the legitimate versions). Sega largely had themselves to blame for the high levels of Dreamcast piracy—their use of the GD-ROM format was completely undermined by the console's support for the [[Mil-CD]] format, which allowed the console to boot from a standard CD-R. Mil-CD support was removed from the final Dreamcast revisions toward the end of the console's life. The GD-ROM format also put the console at a disadvantage when competing against the [[Sony PlayStation 2]] - the PS2 used DVDs, and could therefore run DVD videos making it an inexpensive DVD player as well as a video game console. DVD-ROMs also have more stoage space, allowing for bigger games (though the initial run of PS2 games used a blue CD-ROM format).
+
{{MainArticle|Sega Dreamcast/Hardware comparison}}
  
The Dreamcast was the first video game console to ship with a built-in 56k modem, with broadband adapters being made available later on in certain regions. This allowed the system to connect to the internet using a custom, fully-functional web browser and e-mail client. Many games released for the Dreamcast shipped with online play modes, the most popular being ''[[Phantasy Star Online]]'' and the [[Sega Sport]]s lineup (now published under the ESPN label). Although other consoles before the Dreamcast had network gaming support, such as the [[Sega Saturn]]'s [[Sega NetLink|NetLink]] and the [[Sega Mega Drive]]'s [[XB∀ND]], the Dreamcast was the first game console to include this ability out of the box and is therefore considered the first internet-enabled home game system.
+
==History==
 +
{{MainArticle|History of the Sega Dreamcast}}
  
The Dreamcast has a modest hacking enthusiast community.  The availability of Windows CE software development kits on the Internet—as well as ports of Linux ([http://linuxdc.net/ LinuxDC]) and [http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/dreamcast/ dreamcast NetBSD] operating systems to the Dreamcast—gave programmers a selection of familiar development tools to work with, even though they do not really support the high speed graphics.  A homebrew minimal operating system called [http://sourceforge.net/projects/cadcdev/ Kallistios] offers support for most hardware, while not offering multi-tasking, which is superfluous for games.  Many emulators and other tools (MP3, DivX players, and image viewers) have been ported to or written for the console, taking advantage of the relative ease with which a home user can write a CD which is bootable by an unmodified Dreamcast.
+
===Localised names===
 +
{{aka
 +
|en_name=Sega Dreamcast
 +
|jp_name=ドリームキャスト
 +
|jp_trans=Dreamcast
 +
|il_name=דרימקאסט
 +
}}
  
Sega released a board, using the same technology as the Dreamcast, called [[Sega NAOMI]] for use in [[arcade]]s, leading to many Dreamcast-exclusive games with a high level of arcade quality.
+
==Games==
 +
{{MainArticle|Sega Dreamcast games}}
  
Though the Dreamcast was officially discontinued in early 2001, commercial games were still developed for it and worldwide software support continued until 2002, terminating in the USA with the February 12th release of ''[[NHL 2K2]]'', and in Europe with ''[[Cannon Spike]]'' and ''[[Freestyle Scooter]]'' on May 3rd. In Japan, software support continued for much longer. On February 24, 2004, Sega released its final Dreamcast game, ''[[Puyo Puyo Fever]]''. The final new third party game for the system was ''[[Karous]]'', released on March 8th 2007, and the final official release was a reprint of the 2003 title ''[[Border Down]]'' released exclusively through the Messe Sanoh store on January 17th 2008.
+
==Production credits==
 +
A list of names, likely the various people involved with console's creation, can be found at '''0x1A1A0''' in the flash ROM.
 +
{{creditstable|
 +
*[[Shoichiro Irimajiri]], [[Sadahiko Hirose]], [[Hidekazu Yukawa]], [[Hideki Satou]], [[Nobuhisa Yamada]], [[Taku Matsubara]], [[Kazuhiro Yasutomi]], [[Shoji Nishikawa]], [[Takashi Sekimoto]], [[Toshihiro Oba]], [[Shuji Hori]], [[Masaharu Shinohara]], [[Kazuhiro Baba]], [[Katsunori Gendo]], [[Kouji Horikawa]], [[Masatoshi Horikawa]], [[Osamu Hosokawa]], [[Seiichi Kajiwara]], [[Junko Kase]], [[Toshikazu Kawada]], [[Yasuhisa Kawase]], [[Yusuke Kiguchi]], [[Naohiko Kobayashi]], [[Manabu Kubo]], [[Teruaki Kuwana]], [[Kunihiro Mori]], [[Tomoyuki Mori]], [[Shigeru Motoyoshi]], [[Takeshi Nagashima]], [[Yoshifumi Nakamura]], [[Chuji Nakayama]], [[Madoka Nakayama]], [[Tatsuya Namatame]], [[Yasuhiro Nishiyama]], [[Toshiyuki Ogawa]], [[Tadashi Ohya]], [[Tetsuya Okawa]], [[Tatsuya Sakurai]], [[Hideaki Satou]], [[Yutaka Suetsugi]], [[Eriko Suzuki]], [[Masahiko Takeuchi]], [[Makoto Takiguchi]], [[Ryo Taki]], [[Masaki Tanaka]], [[Kazuo Tsuda]], [[Satoshi Tsuda]], [[Koichi Takayasu]], [[Naoki Niizuma]], [[Atsunori Himoto]], [[Tomoe Shinohara]], [[Kunihiro Tokumaru]], [[Yoshikazu Nagao]], [[Satoshi Kira]], [[Akitoshi Oikawa]], [[Hirokazu Hama]], [[Toshimichi Sugai]], [[Naoji Ozaki]], [[Hiroki Goto|Hiroki Gotou]], [[Masaharu Yoshii]], [[Masaki Kawahori]], [[Yuki Yamanaka]], [[Shinichi Uchida]], [[Masahiro Seki]], [[Takashi Ando]], [[Hideki Kudo]], [[Nobuhiro Fukuda]], [[Jiro Terakawa]], [[Yoichi Uchida]], [[Hiroki Okabata]], [[Kazuyoshi Hara]], [[Yuko Nasu]], [[Syuuji Okada]], [[Yutaka Okunoki]],  [[Tatsuya Kouzaki|Tatuya Kouzaki]], [[Tadashi Jokagi]], [[Yoshiaki Kashima]], [[Kazumi Suyama]], [[Yutaka Sugano]], [[Tomoko Hasegawa]], [[Kazuhiro Matsuta]], [[Katsuhiko Sato]], [[Manabu Kusunoki]], [[Shinichi Oya]], [[Takeshi Suzuki]], [[Kazunori Shibata]], [[Shigeyuki Shimizu]], [[Masayuki Imanishi]], [[Kenji Otsuji|Kenji Ohtsuji]], [[Masamichi Miyoshi]], [[Tarou Mitani]], [[Takaaki Jindou]], [[Yoshitake Noguchi]]
 +
| source=ROM text{{ref|https://tcrf.net/Dreamcast}}
 +
| console=DC
 +
}}
  
==Hardware==
+
{{creditstable|
===What's in the box?===
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*[[Hideki Sato]]
You will normally find the following in your box, along with a bunch of advertising-based and warning pamphlets together with recycled and recyclable packaging materials.
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*[[Hiroyuki Ohtaka]]
 +
*'''Start-up Video Production:''' [[Kazuhiro Fumoto]]
 +
*'''Start-up Jingle:''' [[Ryuichi Sakamoto]]
 +
| source=Developer mentions{{fileref|Sega_Consumer_History_JP_EnterBrain_Book.pdf|page=23}}{{ref|https://www.facebook.com/hiroyuki.ohtaka/about_work_and_education}}{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20231029150957/https://area.autodesk.jp/column/tutorial/softimage_maniacs/}}<ref>JW Szczepaniak (2014). ''The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers: Volume 1''</ref>
 +
| console=DC
 +
}}
  
*The Dreamcast console
+
==Magazine articles==
*Modem (attached to the console, but detachable - try it!)†
+
{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Magazine articles}}
*One joypad controller
 
*Demo [[GD-ROM]] Disc
 
*Browser Disc ††
 
*A long (30 foot) phone cable for the modem†
 
*Power cable with the appropriate plug for your region
 
*Composite video lead (also known as an AV cable)†††
 
*Manual (a simple black and white affair)
 
 
 
† If your machine is imported from Asia, or if you live there, you won't get a modem, just a lump of plastic so that you don't have a gaping hole in the side of your machine.
 
  
†† The exact browser disc included varied by region and time of release. The Japanese browser was [[Dream Passport]], the US browser was [[PlanetWeb]] and the European browser was [[DreamKey]].
+
==Video coverage==
 +
{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Video coverage}}
  
††† In the UK, a RF Unit was included instead of the AV cable to ensure that the Dreamcast was compatible with all TV's. I don't have any info yet on which TV leads were included in other European regions, but it is possible that an RGB/SCART cable was included.
+
==Promotional material==
 +
{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Promotional material}}
  
There is no [[VMU]] in the standard Dreamcast packages in any of the 4 regions.
+
==Digital manuals==
 +
<gallery>
 +
Dreamcast US DigitalManual.pdf|US manual
 +
</gallery>
  
There is no RF unit in the standard North American Dreamcast package. For older TV's, you'll have to purchase this separately. Also, if you have a [[S-Video]] or [[SCART]] capable TV, you should buy the relevant cable for that too.
+
==Gallery==
erman company holding a trademark on the distinctive orange swirl present on American and Japanese Dreamcasts. The system power light remains the orange color is on foreign Dreamcasts, however.
+
{{ratings|DC}}
 
+
===Official photographs===
===Special Dreamcasts===
+
<gallery>
For a full list of special edition dreamcasts, see [[Special Dreamcast Models]].
+
DreamcastScreenshots Hardware dreamcast & cd.png
 
+
DreamcastScreenshots Hardware back dreamcast.png
== Specifications ==
+
DreamcastScreenshots Hardware dreamcast master.png
{{multicol|
+
DreamcastScreenshots Hardware Dreamcast 1.png
*CPU: [[SuperH|SH-4]] [[RISC]] CPU with 128 Bit graphic computational engine built-in (operating frequency: 206 MHz 360 MIPS/1.4 GFLOPS)
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DreamcastScreenshots Hardware Dreamcast 2.png
*GPU: PowerVR2 CLX2*
+
DreamcastScreenshots Hardware dream cast & board.png
**It is capable of drawing around 7 million polygons per second, but the geometry data storage (the models for the polygons) would become a limiting factor, chipping away video memory for the textures.
+
DreamcastPressDisc4 Hardware dc mit joypad und vm.jpg
*Color Output: Approx. 16.77 million simultaneous colors (24 bit)
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DreamcastPressDisc4 Hardware CONSOLE.jpg
*Memory: Main 16 MB ([http://www.mcu-memory.com/datasheet/hynix/hy57v161610dtc.pdf Hyundai HY57V161610D]), Video 8 MB, Sound 2 MB
+
DreamcastPressDisc4 Hardware CONSOLE CONTR.jpg
*Sound Card: Super Intelligent ([[Yamaha]]) Sound Processor with 47MHz 32-Bit [[RISC]] [ARM7 CPU core built-in (64 channel PCM/ADPCM)
+
DreamcastPressDisc4 Hardware CONSOLE CONTR VM.jpg
*GD-ROM Drive: 12x maximum speed (when running in Constant Angular Velocity mode)
+
DreamcastPressDisc4 Hardware GROUP VM.jpg
*Inputs: Four ports that can support a digital and analog controller, steering wheel, joystick, keyboard, mouse, and more
+
DreamcastPressDisc4 Hardware console frei.jpg
*Dimensions: 189mm x 195mm x 76mm (7 7/16" x 7 11/16" x 3")
+
</gallery>
*Weight: 1.9kg (4.4lbs)
 
*Modem: Removable; Original Asia/Japan model had a 33.6 Kbytes/s; models released after 9 September 1999 had a 56 Kbytes/s modem
 
*[[Sega Dreamcast Broadband Adapter]]: these adapters are available separately and replace the removable modem
 
** HIT-400: "Broadband Adapter", the more common model, this used a RealTek 8139 chip and supported 10/100mbit
 
* HIT-300: "Lan Adapter", this version used a Fujitsu MB86967 chip and supported only 10mbit
 
*Storage: "Visual Memory Unit" ([[VMU]]) 128 Kb removable storage device
 
*Input devices: (4 custom controller ports)
 
**[[Controller (Dreamcast)|Standard Dreamcast gamepad]] with two add-on ports
 
***Add-ons: VMU, 4x Memory Card, Jump Pack
 
**Sega Dreamcast Keyboard
 
**Sega Dreamcast Mouse
 
**[[Dreamcast fishing controller|Sega Dreamcast Fishing Controller]]
 
**Sega Dreamcast Microphone (bundled with Seaman)
 
**[[VMU MP3 Player]] (Unreleased)
 
**[[Swatch Access for Dreamcast]] (Unreleased)
 
*Output devices:
 
**Sega Dreamcast RF Unit
 
**Sega Dreamcast AV cables (composite)
 
**[[Sega Dreamcast VGA Adapter]]
 
*Add-ons:
 
**Sega Dreamcast Karaoke System (Japan only)
 
**[[Dreameye]] (Japan only)
 
**[[Dreamcast Zip Drive|Sega Dreamcast Zip Drive]] (Unreleased)
 
}}
 
== BIOS ==
 
  
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
+
==Logos by regions==
|+ BIOS Revisions
+
{|class="prettytable sortable" style="background: #f2f2f2;"
 
|-
 
|-
! width="50"| BIOS Version
+
! style="width:100px;" style="text-align: center;" |'''Logo'''
! Machine
+
! style="width:100px;" style="text-align: center;" |'''Region'''
! Download
+
|- style="background: silver;"
 
|-
 
|-
| 1.004
+
|<gallery>Dreamcast logo.svg</gallery>
| Sega Dreamcast (Commercial-Early)
+
|Used in Japan, Asia and South Korea
| {{file|Jp_dc_1.004.7z|1.004 (Japan)}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1.01d
+
|<gallery>Dreamcast logo.svg
| rowspan="3"| Sega Dreamcast (Commercial)
+
Dreamcast US Logo Sega.svg
| {{file|Us_dc_1.01d.zip|1.01d (North America)}}
+
</gallery>
|-
+
|Used in North and South America
| {{file|Eu_dc_1.01d.zip|1.01d (Europe)}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
| {{file|Jp_dc_1.01d.zip|1.01d (Japan)}}
+
|<gallery>Dreamcast PAL logo.svg</gallery>
 +
|Used in Western and Eastern Europe,<br> Asia, Africa, Australasia
 
|-
 
|-
| 1.011
 
| Sega Dreamcast (HKT-0120 Devbox)
 
| {{file|Jp_dc_1.011(dev).7z|1.011 (HKT-0120 Devbox)}}
 
 
|}
 
|}
  
==Launch Titles==
+
==Artwork==
===Japan===
 
*''[[Godzilla Generations]]''
 
*''[[July]]''
 
*''[[Pen Pen TriIcelon]]''
 
*''[[Virtua Fighter 3tb]]''
 
===North America===
 
{{multicol|
 
*''[[Air Force Delta]]''
 
*''[[Blue Stinger]]''
 
*''[[Expendable]]''
 
*''[[Flag to Flag]]''
 
*''[[House of the Dead 2]]''
 
*''[[Hydro Thunder]]''
 
*''[[Monaco Grand Prix 2]]''
 
*''[[Mortal Kombat Gold]]''
 
*''[[NFL 2K]]''
 
*''[[NFL Blitz 2000]]''
 
*''[[PenPen TriIcelon]]''
 
*''[[Power Stone]]''
 
*''[[Ready 2 Rumble Boxing]]''
 
*''[[Sonic Adventure]]''
 
*''[[SoulCalibur]]''
 
*''[[TNN Motorsports Hardcore Heat]]''
 
*''[[Tokyo Xtreme Racer]]''
 
*''[[TrickStyle]]''
 
}}
 
===Europe===
 
{{multicol|
 
*''[[Blue Stinger]]''
 
*''[[Buggy Heat]]''
 
*''[[Expendable]]''
 
*''[[Incoming]]''
 
*''[[Metropolis]]''
 
*''[[Monaco Grand Prix 2]]''
 
*''[[Power Stone]]''
 
*''[[Sega Rally 2]]''
 
*''[[Sonic Adventure]]''
 
*''[[Speed Devils]]''
 
*''[[Trick Style]]''
 
*''[[Virtua Fighter 3tb]]''
 
}}
 
 
 
==Gallery==
 
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
File:Dreamcast US.jpg|NTSC-U model
+
Dreamcast Diagram1.svg|Hardware diagrams
File:Dreamcast.jpg|PAL model
+
Dreamcast Diagram2.svg
File:Dreamcast JP.jpg|NTSC-J model
+
DreamcastPressDisc4 Logos STYLEGUIDE.pdf|EU branding guidelines
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
==Physical Scans==
+
==Patents==
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
File:Dreamcast US Box Front.jpg|US box (front)
+
Patent USD412940.pdf|USD412940
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
 +
==External links==
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20000621105240/http://www.dreamcast.com.au/ www.dreamcast.com.au (Australia and New Zealand)]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20010207203709/http://www.sega.at/start.html www.sega.at (Austria)]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20020811061905/http://dreamcast.gz.ee/ dreamcast.gz.ee (Estonia)]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/19991006055629/http://www.dreamcast-europe.com/ www.dreamcast-europe.com (Europe)]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20010723143113/http://www.dcfin.net/ www.dcfin.net (Finland) ]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/2001*/http://dreamcastfinland.net/ dreamcastfinland.net (Finland) ]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040615201546/http://segadc.uw.hu/main/main.htm segadc.uw.hu (Hungary)]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/19991110181603/http://www.dreamcast.is/ www.dreamcast.is (Iceland)]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20011030031554/http://dreamcast.times.lv/ dreamcast.times.lv (Latvia)]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030603165424/http://www.symbas.com/dreamarena/index.html dreamarena.ru (Russia) ]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20020109174127/http://www.dreamcast.pl/dreamcast/ www.dreamcast.pl (Poland)]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030424194435/http://dreamcast-rus.boom.ru/  dreamcast-rus.boom.ru (Russia)]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20020321230534/http://dream-cast.narod.ru/  dream-cast.narod.ru (Russia)]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20010302164645/http://dreamcast.miesto.sk/ dreamcast.miesto.sk (Slovakia)]
 +
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20000618081150/http://www.dreamcast.nu/ www.dreamcast.nu (Sweden)]
  
 +
==References==
 +
{{multicol|
 +
<references />
 +
|cols=3}}
  
{{Sega_Consoles}}
+
{{Sega Consoles}}
 
{{Dreamcast}}
 
{{Dreamcast}}
 +
 
[[Category:Sega Dreamcast| ]]
 
[[Category:Sega Dreamcast| ]]
 +
[[Category:Dreamcast hardware| ]]

Latest revision as of 16:21, 1 January 2024

Dreamcast logo.svg
Dreamcast.jpg
Dreamcast
Manufacturer: Sega
Variants: Sega NAOMI, Atomiswave, Sega System SP
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Dreamcast
JP
¥29,80029,800 HKT-3000
Sega Dreamcast
US
$199.99199.99 HKT-3020
Sega Dreamcast
DE
DM 499,-499,-[5] HKT-3030
Sega Dreamcast
ES
HKT-3030
Sega Dreamcast
FR
1,690F1,690[4] HKT-3030
Sega Dreamcast
UK
£199.99199.99[3] HKT-3030
Sega Dreamcast
CZ
10400 Kč10400 [9]
Sega Dreamcast
PL
999zł999
Sega Dreamcast
RU
Sega Dreamcast
AU
$499.00499.00[6]
Sega Dreamcast
BR
R$899.00899.00
Sega Dreamcast
MA
3.999 DH3.999 DH
Sega Dreamcast
IN
₹1400014000[11]
Sega Dreamcast
KR
HKT-3010
Sega Dreamcast
AS
HKT-3010

The Dreamcast (ドリームキャスト) is a home video game console manufactured by Sega as a successor to the Sega Saturn. Dubbed as Sega's "Super Console"[12], it is a "128-bit" machine designed with then-cutting edge hardware and a focus on the internet. The Dreamcast was originally released in Japan in November 1998 before seeing a Western release the following year.

The Dreamcast was Sega's seventh and final home video game console, and was discontinued in early 2001[13][14] due to financial constraints within the company. It had sold at least 8.2 million hardware units and 51.63 million software units by March 2001,[15], with estimates suggesting 10.6 million hardware units in total.

An arcade counterpart to the Dreamcast exists as the Sega NAOMI.

Hardware

The Dreamcast is a small, white box with aesthetics designed to appeal to a wide-ranging audience. It was envisioned as an "128-bit" "super console", designed to leapfrog "32-bit" and "64-bit" contemporaries in the form of the PlayStation and Nintendo 64, respectively (although from a technical standpoint, its main processor deals in 32-bit or 64-bit instructions, with the 128-bit figure coming from the graphics hardware). Incidentally the Dreamcast was the last home console to use "bits" as a selling point, with processing capabilities now typically measured in other ways.

Taking design cues from the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Saturn, the Dreamcast contains four control ports, a removable modem, disc drive and an extension port (as well as the expected AV and power inputs). It is not backwards compatible with any prior Sega hardware or software (although its controller derives from the Saturn's 3D Control Pad), and operates in much the same way as the Saturn (and PlayStation) does, with a configurable settings and memory management accessed through a BIOS screen.

The Dreamcast uses a proprietary format of storage called GD-ROMs for games in order to circumvent software piracy, a strategy that ultimately backfired when the first run of discs had a high rate of defects. The format was also cracked fairly quickly (and in some cases, the pirated games were released before the legitimate versions). Sega largely had themselves to blame for the high levels of Dreamcast piracy—their use of the GD-ROM format was completely undermined by the console's support for the Mil-CD format, which allowed the console to boot from a standard CD-R. Mil-CD support was removed from the final Dreamcast revisions toward the end of the console's life.

The GD-ROM format also put the console at a disadvantage when competing against the PlayStation 2 - the PS2 used DVDs, and could therefore run DVD videos making it an inexpensive DVD player as well as a video game console. DVD-ROMs also have more storage space, allowing for bigger games (though the initial run of PS2 games used a blue CD-ROM format). Sega looked into DVD technology during the Dreamcast's development but claimed it was too expensive.

The Dreamcast was the first video game console to ship with a built-in 56k modem, with broadband adapters being made available later on in certain regions. This allowed the system to connect to the internet using a custom, fully-functional web browser and e-mail client. Many games released for the Dreamcast shipped with online play modes, the most popular being Phantasy Star Online and the Sega Sports lineup (now published under the ESPN label). Although other consoles before the Dreamcast had network gaming support, such as the Sega Saturn's NetLink and the Sega Mega Drive's XB∀ND, the Dreamcast was the first game console to include this ability out of the box and is therefore considered the first internet-enabled home game system.

The Dreamcast has a modest hacking enthusiast community. The availability of Windows CE software development kits on the Internet—as well as ports of Linux (LinuxDC) and dreamcast NetBSD operating systems to the Dreamcast—gave programmers a selection of familiar development tools to work with, even though they do not really support the high speed graphics. A homebrew minimal operating system called Kallistios offers support for most hardware, while not offering multi-tasking, which is superfluous for games. Many emulators and other tools (MP3, DivX players, and image viewers) have been ported to or written for the console, taking advantage of the relative ease with which a home user can write a CD which is bootable by an unmodified Dreamcast.

Sega released an arcade board, using the same technology as the Dreamcast, called Sega NAOMI, leading to many Dreamcast-exclusive games with a high level of arcade quality.

The Dreamcast's PowerVR CLX2 was the first GPU for a home system with hardware capabilities such as bump mapping, volumetric effects,[16] order-independent transparency, and Dot3 normal mapping.[17]

Models

Main article: Dreamcast consoles.

Japanese Dreamcasts can be identified by the triangle at the front of the unit. Though the power LED is identical across all regions, the piece of plastic attached to the lid of the Japanese model is transparent, while in North America it is grey. The Japanese models also have the text "Designed for Microsoft Windows CE" printed on the front right, whereas Western versions say "Compatible with Microsoft Windows CE".

For a full list of special edition Dreamcasts, see Special Dreamcast Models.

Technical specifications

Main article: Sega Dreamcast/Technical specifications.

Hardware comparisons

Main article: Sega Dreamcast/Hardware comparison.

History

Main article: History of the Sega Dreamcast.

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English Sega Dreamcast Sega Dreamcast
Japanese ドリームキャスト Dreamcast
Hebrew דרימקאסט

Games

Main article: Sega Dreamcast games.

Production credits

A list of names, likely the various people involved with console's creation, can be found at 0x1A1A0 in the flash ROM.

Source:
ROM text[18]


Source:
Developer mentions[19][20][21][22]


Magazine articles

Main article: Sega Dreamcast/Magazine articles.

Video coverage

Main article: Sega Dreamcast/Video coverage.

Promotional material

Main article: Sega Dreamcast/Promotional material.

Digital manuals

Gallery

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
GameZine (UK)
90
[23]
Komputer Świat Gry (PL)
75
[24]
Man!ak (PL)
85
[25]
Play (PL)
60
[26]
PSX Extreme (PL)
78
[27]
PSX Extreme (PL)
57
[28]
Sega Dreamcast
74
Based on
6 reviews

Sega Dreamcast

Official photographs

Logos by regions

Logo Region
Used in Japan, Asia and South Korea
Used in North and South America
Used in Western and Eastern Europe,
Asia, Africa, Australasia

Artwork

Patents

External links

References

  1. Press release: 1999-09-02: Sega Dreamcast Launch Titles and Peripherals
  2. Computer & Video Games, "November 1999" (UK; 1999-10-13), page 52
  3. Computer & Video Games, "October 1999" (UK; 1999-09-15), page 59
  4. File:ConsolesMicro FR 01.pdf, page 15
  5. File:NextLevel DE 1999-0910.pdf, page 6
  6. Hyper, "September 1999" (AU; 1999-xx-xx), page 29
  7. Dreamcast (Tectoy) (Wayback Machine: 2000-03-03 16:07)
  8. https://web.archive.org/web/20010409225930/http://sega.ru:80/news.phtml
  9. https://www.idnes.cz/ekonomika/test-a-spotrebitel/nova-konzole-dreamcast-prehrava-konkurenci.A_2000M051T05A
  10. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/11/22/dreamcast-heads-to-india
  11. https://www.afaqs.com/news/story/795_Stracon-ready-to-turn-the-TV-into-a-multi-dimensional-entertainment-device
  12. Press release: 1998-05-21: Sega Unveils Super Console!
  13. Press Release: 2001-01-28: Dúvidas e confirmações no futuro da Dreamcast
  14. Press Release: 2001-10-29: Dreamcast não desiste e mostra novos trunfos
  15. File:AnnualReport2001 English.pdf, page 16
  16. Gamers' Republic, "August 1998" (US; 1998-07-21), page 29
  17. [PC Magazine, December 1999, page 193 PC Magazine, December 1999, page 193]
  18. The Cutting Room Floor: Dreamcast
  19. File:Sega_Consumer_History_JP_EnterBrain_Book.pdf, page 23
  20. https://www.facebook.com/hiroyuki.ohtaka/about_work_and_education
  21. https://area.autodesk.jp/column/tutorial/softimage_maniacs/ (Wayback Machine: 2023-10-29 15:09)
  22. JW Szczepaniak (2014). The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers: Volume 1
  23. GameZine (UK) (+0:00)
  24. Komputer Świat Gry, "Czerwiec-lipiec 2000" (PL; 2000-xx-xx), page 72
  25. Man!ak, "Grudzień 1999" (PL; 1999-xx-xx), page 10
  26. Play, "Wszystko o Konsolach" (PL; 2001-xx-xx), page 2
  27. PSX Extreme, "02/99" (PL; 1999-0x-xx), page 18
  28. PSX Extreme, "03/2001" (PL; 2001-0x-xx), page 42
Sega Home Video Game Systems
83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11
SG-1000 SG-1000 II Mega Drive Mega Drive II
SC-3000 Mega-CD Mega-CD II Genesis 3
Sega Mark III 32X Dreamcast
Master System Master System II
AI Computer Game Gear
Saturn
Pico Beena


Sega Dreamcast
Topics Technical specifications (Hardware comparison) | History (Development | Release | Decline and legacy | Internet) | List of games | Magazine articles | Promotional material | Merchandise
Hardware Japan (Special) | Western Europe | Eastern Europe | North America | Asia | South America | Australasia | Africa
Add-ons Dreamcast Karaoke | Dreameye
Controllers Controller | Arcade Stick | Fishing Controller | Gun (Dream Blaster) | Race Controller | Maracas Controller (Third-party) | Twin Stick | Keyboard | Mouse | Third-party
Controller Add-ons Jump Pack (Third-party) | Microphone | VMU (4x Memory Card | Third-party)
Development Hardware Dev.Box | Controller Box | Controller Function Checker | Sound Box | GD-Writer | C1/C2 Checker | Dev.Cas | GD-ROM Duplicator
Online Services/Add-ons Dreamarena | SegaNet | WebTV for Dreamcast | Modem | Modular Cable | Modular Extension Cable | Broadband Adapter | Dreamphone
Connector Cables Onsei Setsuzoku Cable | RF Adapter | Scart Cable | S Tanshi Cable | Stereo AV Cable | VGA Box

Dreamcast MIDI Interface Cable | Neo Geo Pocket/Dreamcast Setsuzoku Cable | Taisen Cable

Misc. Hardware Action Replay CDX | Code Breaker | Kiosk | MP3 DC | MP3 DC Audio Player | Official Case | Treamcast
Third-party accessories Controllers | Controller converters | Miscellaneous
Unreleased Accessories DVD Player | Zip Drive | Swatch Access for Dreamcast | VMU MP3 Player
Arcade Variants NAOMI | Atomiswave | Sega Aurora