System Disc 2
From Sega Retro
System Disc 2 | ||||||||||
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System(s): Sega Dreamcast | ||||||||||
Publisher: Sega | ||||||||||
Developer: Sega | ||||||||||
Genre: Miscellaneous | ||||||||||
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System Disc 2 is a piece of Sega Dreamcast software meant to be used in a development environment.
It is essentially a boot disc, allowing the Dreamcast (and Dreamcast Dev.Boxes) to run games burned onto GD-Rs (which were created with devices such as the GD-Writer). The System Disc 2 is merely a security measure - it reduces the chances of playable prototypes making in into the wild because normal GD-Rs will not function on a Dreamcast without it. In the manufacturing process, extra information would be added to the retail discs so that System Disc 2 wasn't needed, but until this stage the System Disc 2 was a requirement for the testing of unfinished games, even on development hardware.
Each copy of System Disc 2 is unique, and none were intended for the general public. Ironically this is one of the few cases where a Dreamcast piracy prevention technique actually worked - the majority of Dreamcasts can run CD-Rs, so if the game is small enough, it is entirely possible to bypass the GD-ROM burning process completely, thus you don't actually need a System Disc 2.