SEGA Dreamcast

SEGA Talk Podcast #25: SEGA Dreamcast – 20 Year Anniversary (1999-2019)

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In celebration of the SEGA Dreamcast turning 20 years old in America on September 9th, we’re talking about the console itself on this milestone episode of SEGA Talk! What went on behind the scenes during the development of the hardware? What were the best launch games? How early did SEGA plan to discontinue the Dreamcast? Find out all that and more on this episode!

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New Dreamcast documentary speaks with Masayoshi Kikuchi (Jet Set Radio), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez), Rieko Kodama (Skies of Arcadia), and more

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To celebrate the upcoming 20th year anniversary of the SEGA Dreamcast, the Japanese YouTube channel Archipel has decided to go talk to Japanese creators that worked on software for the Dreamcast. This is just the first part and the people they got from SEGA is pretty crazy:

Hiroshi Iuchi (Ikaruga), Kenji Kanno (Crazy Taxi), Masayoshi Kikuchi (Jet Set Radio), Rieko Kodama (Eternal Arcadia/Skies of Arcadia), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Space Channel 5 / Rez), Tetsu Okano (Segagaga), Yoot Saito (Seaman), and Hiroaki Yotoriyama (Soulcalibur)!

Its nice to see some of these creators sit down and talk about their time working on the very iconic Dreamcast, pretty excited to see part two of this documentary series. If you haven’t seen Archipel’s content, you should totally check out other documentaries they have done.

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Google Stadia takes shots at SEGA Dreamcast before GDC reveal

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The picture above was Google’s GDC advertisement to what would be the reveal of the Google Stadia, a Google streaming box that will allow you to steam your games at ‘4k 60fps’. The photo that was posted by Nibellion shows off failed gaming products including the NES Power Glove, the famous Atari E.T. and lastly the legendary Dreamcast.

While I don’t want to wish bad omens on Google’s Stadia gaming entry, I’m pretty sure it isn’t going to have half the users of SEGA’s Dreamcast which sold close to 10 million units in about 2 years. But what are your thoughts on this and Google’s gaming entry?

2/2021 Update: Why tack on an update for a 2 year old article? Several comments are saying this is fake news, that we need to retract it, that this is photoshopped, etc. This is a real photo, as you can see from this Tweet showing two angles of the E.T. game on display. What is likely is that later in the event, the E.T. and PlayStation swapped places. But the point stands that the above photo is real and this did happen. So… NO RETRACTION!

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Retro Fighters Launches Pre-Orders and Kickstarter for SEGA Controllers

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The modern retro accessory manufacturer Retro Fighters famous for the Brawler 64, a modern two-prong controller for the Nintendo 64 previously funded through Kickstarter, are now looking to release controllers for Mega Drive, Genesis and Saturn for pre-order as well as looking for funds for their Dreamcast controller via Kickstarter.

Featured on their website is the 2 in 1 controller designed for use on Mega Drive/Genesis and Saturn platforms named the BrawlerGen. Featuring six face buttons and an analog control stick supporting all platforms, a ‘Mode’ button for supported Mega Drive and Genesis games and two shoulder buttons for Saturn. The two handed design mimics the ergonomic form seen in modern controllers while supporting features necessary for all platforms. Bypassing crowdfunding, the controller is available with an MSRP of $39.99 for pre-order on their website with a launch date set for the 10th of June this year.

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SEGA Dreamcast turns 20 years old in Japan, what are your favorite Japanese Dreamcast games?

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The SEGA Dreamcast is one of my favorite consoles released, while we got the console in North America with the iconic release day of September 9th, 1999; over in Japan they got the Dreamcast almost a year earlier on November 27, 1998! While it isn’t the 27th quite yet in North America, it is in Japan where the anniversary takes place. This anniversary got me thinking about what I would consider my favorite Dreamcast Japanese only release and I think I narrowed it down…

My favorite Dreamcast import is Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream, a fun little 2.5D platformer developed by Chime and published by SEGA only in Japan. The game was notable for trying to cultivate a ‘feminine sensibility’ by hiring a staff of mostly females which really gives the game a very unique feel to it. One of the bese aspects of the game is also the soundtrack which was composed by Yoko Kanno which featured a ton of great tracks.

But what I really want to know is what is your favorite SEGA Dreamcast import and why? Let me know in the comments below!

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SEGA AGES team not ruling out Saturn & Dreamcast games in the future

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The people over in Famitsu had a great little interview with the people behind SEGA Ages which t his time included Rieko Kodama (Skies of Arcadia, Phantasy Star, Deep Fear) where she talked about what it meant for her titles to make the list of most requested SEGA Ages titles. There was also a lot of discussion regarding Jet Set Radio getting the number one spot, with the team saying that composer Hideki Naganuma himself asking fans to vote for the series. They also said that some issues regarding the poll happen because this time voting was open to everyone, while the last poll they had (after SEGA 3D Classics wave 2 in Japan, polling for what games will be in Wave 3) they only let people that bought SEGA 3D Archives Vol. 2 to vote, saying that this time a lot more younger fans that might not have grown up with the type of games they are reprinting will get to vote. They showed Mushi King ranking highly as an example.

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Hideki Sato talks about creating SEGA Saturn hardware and Sony asking SEGA to go third party

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SEGA’s Hideki Sato is a big figure in SEGA history, he was the mastermind behind all of SEGA’s major console hardware including the SG-1000, SEGA Master System, SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis, SEGA Saturn and SEGA Dreamcast.He later served as SEGA President from 2001-2003. Earlier this month he was part of an ‘oral history research project’ that is documenting the game industry in Japan. The transcript is over 150 pages long and all in Japanese. I can’t read Japanese, can you?

Well it seems that Gryson on the SEGA-16 boards knows some Japanese and he translated some of his favorite tid-bits, I’ll include the one about how he changed the SEGA Saturn to respond to PlayStation and of course the story about how PlayStation CEO

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SEGA Games CEO talks to CNBC about demand for retro SEGA consoles

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CNBC had a interview with SEGA Games young CEO Haruki Satomi where he discussed what SEGA was up to in modern times and talked about fan demand for SEGA retro consoles. According to Satomi, he specifically gets a lot of demand for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. We know the company just announced SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Classics for PS4, Xbox One and PC. When pressed by the interviewer if SEGA had plans for a retro console, he said:

“Depending on fans request… if we hear more request and its a reasonable business for us then it might happen in the future.” – Haruki Satomi, CEO of SEGA Games

A really cool part of the interview is Haruki Satomi discussing what ‘Nintendo has done right with AR, like Pokemon Go’ (which is weird because Pokemon Go isn’t created by Nintendo), then Satomi goes into talking about SEGA doing VR first back in the mid-90s. While its cool to see CNBC do a interview with Haruki Satomi, I would have loved if they had someone that knows more about SEGA interview him. You know, like us?

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Commodore 64 game Barbarian releasing to the Dreamcast and Genesis/Mega Drive

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The classic 8-bit Commodore 64 Epyx game Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, which was later ported to several systems including the BBC Micro and Atari ST, is set to receive a SEGA Dreamcast port. The upcoming port is being handled by Retro Games Ltd, who have acquired the Epyx catalog, so it’s official!

Given the game has seen so many ports, you’re probably wondering which one the Dreamcast is getting. The answer is all of them, as you will be able to switch between the various versions with the press of a button. There will also be a new Dreamcast version with enhanced visuals. The game is also heading to the NES, Atari Jaguar and Genesis/Mega Drive.

Expect a physical Dreamcast release later this year, and in the meantime you can keep up on the project by following the Epyx Facebook page.

[Source: The Dreamcast Junkyard]

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SEGA News Bits: Bluetooth SEGA Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast Controllers Reaction

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We have finally gotten around to talking about all the cool retro SEGA products that Retro-Bit had at this year’s CES 2018. On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we take a look at all the retro SEGA controllers shown at the event, our thoughts on the announced products and even pitch some retro gaming accessories and controllers we’d like to see Retro-Bit create. So give the video a watch and let us know in the comments what you think of all the upcoming retro SEGA controllers.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.

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Retro-bit SEGA USB and Bluetooth Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast accessories revealed!

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Last month we shared the news that Retro-bit would be creating USB, bluetooth and classic controllers for the SEGA Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast, with the products debuting at CES 2018. Well CES 2018 is happening now, and images of the Retro-bit SEGA products are online! The community section of the RGT 85 Facebook page and Madlittlepixel show us just what we can expect from the new line of products. After the break, let’s check out the images and see what we can see!

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Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works teases never before seen production materials from Jet Set Radio, Shenmue and more

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Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works, an upcoming book from Read-Only Memory, is the followup to SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works. Successfully backed on Kickstarter late last year, Read-Only Memory sent a new years update to backers and boy is it an exciting one! Read-Only Memory received a large amount of production materials from SEGA of Japan, including several never-before-seen pieces from popular Dreamcast games. Included in the haul are:

  • Game mechanic sketches, environment concepts and high end renderings for Sonic Adventure
  • The complete design document for Jet Set Radio/Jet Grind Radio, including some amazing graffiti artwork concepts
  • A very early proof of concept video for Space Channel 5
  • Character studies and production artwork for Phantasy Star Online
  • Storyboards, character designs and environment artworks for Shenmue

Read-Only Memory will spend the coming weeks sorting through all the materials and identifying pieces to include in the book, with the final cut of the book to be laid out in a few months. Also revealed is that photoshoots for the Hardware Showcase chapter of the book will be taking place in the next few weeks, featuring everything from consoles to the fishing controller to the Samba de Amigo maracas. If you’re the proud owner of a Dreamcast hardware rarity you think should make the final cut, please do drop Read-Only Memory a line!

We here at SEGAbits can’t wait to get our hands on the book, and in the meantime we’re working to get Darren Wall of Read-Only Memory back for another Swingin’ Report Show podcast.

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Xeno Crisis is an upcoming retro-styled arena shooter for the SEGA Dreamcast and Mega Drive/Genesis

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Nearly a year ago today, I shared a list of indie games coming to classic SEGA consoles in 2017. While I’m hard at work on a 2018 list, which includes some who didn’t make their 2017 deadline, I wanted to report on the Kickstarter campaign for the upcoming SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis and Dreamcast game Xeno Crisis. Releasing in both physical and digital formats, the game is an arena shooter for up to two platers and takes inspiration from games like Smash TV, Contra, Mercs, Granada, Alien Syndrome, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Chaos Engine and Shock Troopers. Currently, the game is in the prototype stage and the plan is to release the game in October of 2018 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Mega Drive.

The campaign ends in 5 days, and currently they have $68,726 pledged of a $27,038 goal. You can learn more about the project here, and as always with a Kickstarter campaign, read everything carefully before making your mind up on backing or not.

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Retro-bit announces SEGA partnership – creating USB and Bluetooth Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast accessories

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Have you ever played a rerelease of a classic SEGA game and felt that it just didn’t feel quite right with a modern controller? Well we could be seeing classic SEGA controllers for modern hardware soon, as retro gaming hardware manufacturer Retro-bit has announced a collaboration with SEGA. The official press release states that the plan is to produce accessories for SEGA’s platforms which includes, but is not limited to, SEGA Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast. The first products to be released will include accessories that match the quality of the originals, made for use on original hardware as well as USB for PC use and Bluetooth wireless. These new products will debut in the Innex booth #21023 in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center during CES 2018.

This is very exciting, as games like Sonic Mania, Jet Set Radio HD and NiGHTS HD all would benefit from the original controllers. Also, the notion of a new Dreamcast pad for original hardware being made in 2018 is just sort of crazy and cool. Also, new USB Saturn pads would be amazing.

Read the full press release after the break

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