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Classic Games (Games)

Sega Opens Gate, Puts Dreamcast Out To Pasture 35

Posted by Zonk from the r-i-p-little-console dept.
Earlier this year we discussed the discontinuation of the GDRom, and what that likely meant for the Dreamcast. In news covered by Kotaku, who translated a blurb on the Sega Nerds site, Sega has now announced that they're officially stopping the repair service for the Dreamcast and Sega Saturn. They've offered the service all these long years to loyal fans, and two new Dreamcast games were even released this year in Japan. Just the same, this looks to be the end of official support for 1999's unsung console hero.
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Sega Opens Gate, Puts Dreamcast Out To Pasture More

Sega Opens Gate, Puts Dreamcast Out To Pasture

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  • But if the history of the Saturn is any indication, we'll be seeing Dreamcasts at the flea market for years to come. I only hope I can score a BBA. I actually have a DC, four controllers, about eight VMUs and a light gun, and I had no idea that they were still supporting the thing.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by pupstah ( 78267 )
      I have a BBA I've never used. Same with a DC keyboard. Will grab a $5 DC mouse off ebay one of these days.
      • I forgot to mention, probably because it was not important, that I have keyboard, mouse, and fishing controller as well. :) The BBA is the thing I could never find for a "Reasonable" price and now finding one is going to be a nightmare.
    • I had no idea they were still supporting the thing

      They re not!

  • wow i had no idea... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by kennedy ( 18142 )
    that sega was still willing to repair the saturn (well until now).

    laugh all you want, but i still keep my saturn hooked up to my TV for imo the most perfect home versions of street fighter.

    • Re:wow i had no idea... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by AKAImBatman ( 238306 ) * <akaimbatman AT gmail DOT com> on Monday April 02, 2007 @01:49PM (#18576511) Homepage Journal

      i had no idea that sega was still willing to repair the saturn

      Yep. And as the summary mentions, Sega was even providing GDRom (the DC optical format) manufactering services to independent studios and homebrewers up until recently. As a result, there have been a LOT of new releases for the DC in recent years.

      At this point it looks like companies might have to switch over to CDRoms. The only reason why they haven't to date is some information suggests that certain DC models may have trouble reading CD-Rs. At this point that info looks like it may be overblown. And since pressed CDs are not affected, a clear path forward exists. Don't expect the Dreamcast to die too soon.

      As for the Saturn, it should make it long enough for NiGHTS 2 to be released. :P
      • saw it on joystiq this morning - i am quite excited (and imo the wii is a perfect fit).

        as a side note, i too still have my wonderful dreamcast. it's a shame that system wasn't a bigger hit. so much potential.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by AKAImBatman ( 238306 ) *

          NiGHTS 2 coming for the Wii

          Thus the reference. Though I just had a vision of the mysteeeeeerious future. In it, I saw a Slashdot article about NiGHTS 2 being officially confirmed. I wonder if I my post had anything to do with that? ;-)

      • Don't expect the Dreamcast to die too soon.

        Mine died literally the day after the warranty expired. I really enjoyed playing it, too.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by twistedsymphony ( 956982 )
      I've still got my Saturn too, I play the occasional game of nights, recently I picked up an Netlink adapter and a copy of Virtual On Netlink Edition. There's actually group that still play Netlink games regularly: The Saturn Netlink League [saturnleague.com].

      I have more affinity for my Dreamcast though, I've got quite a few games for it, just this weekend I played through Space Channel 5.

  • Sega isn't known for their customer support (Score:5, Interesting)

    by spyrochaete ( 707033 ) on Monday April 02, 2007 @02:01PM (#18576693) Homepage Journal
    If Sega discontinues Dreamcast service, how will they populate their canned technical support response?

    I bought Outrun 2006 for PC via Steam a couple of months ago. The game consistently froze my computer every time I played the game for more than about 30 seconds. It's the only game I have trouble with so I asked Sega for support, noting specifically that I needed assistance with my PC. It took them 2 weeks to reply and they sent me a generic response featuring links on how to repair and clean a Dreamcast. Luckily Steam was understanding enough to issue me a refund - one of two refunds I've ever gotten for a software product in 20 years.

    I was going to paste the generic reply letter here but it's longer than I remembered it, so here's a link to my blog [demodulated.com] where I give a full description of my account. Needless to say I won't be buying Sega software for a PC ever again.
    • That was the most witty blog title ever. And to you sir!
    • Haha! I really like your reply to Sega. Maybe a travel brochure or a banana? Tropical indeed!

  • Samba de Amigo, and 480p (Score:5, Informative)

    by Jozxyqk ( 16657 ) on Monday April 02, 2007 @02:24PM (#18577023)
    I have kept my Dreamcast hooked up to my TV all along, mostly to play the occasional party game of Samba de Amigo (I have a still-working set of maracas I got for my birthday several years ago). Now, with the Wii, and the definite Nintendo+Sega good relationship, maybe they'll come out with a Wiimote-friendly Samba game.

    Also, don't forget that the DC has the option of a "VGA box", which lets you run a good number of games in, effectively, 480p, on newer TVs. Soul Calibur 1 in 640x480 still stands up pretty well to newer games graphically (and even with the BRICK of a controller, still plays pretty well).
    As soon as I get around to getting an HDTV, I definitely plan on plugging my Dreamcast into the VGA port if it's got one...
    • All signs indicate NiGHTS will be making its (long overdue) return to the Wii this year, so I have a lot of hope. With that said, Samba is a perfect candidate for a Wii game as well. I wouldn't mind a new Seaman either, but I won't hold my breath.

  • Considering Burning Fist was just released... (Score:5, Informative)

    by sesshomaru ( 173381 ) on Monday April 02, 2007 @03:24PM (#18577835) Journal
    Considering Burning Fist was just released for SegaCD, I'm not too worried. In fact here's a page of recent SegaCd releases:

    Sega CD Releases [gooddealgames.com]

    Of course, this means CD based games and not GD-ROM based games, but so be it. Looking forward to Age of the Beast [senileteam.com]

    SEGA was defeated but the soul still burns....

    • Actually the correct line says:

      "SEGA was seriously wounded, but the soul still burns..."

      And, yes, I still have my DC sitting around my video projector and, oh boy, Capcom vs SNK Millennium Fight 2000 [wikipedia.org] is still tons of fun with 2 arcade sticks!

      I briefly had a Gamecube (that I sold after finishing Zelda).
      Passed on PS2, passed on XBOX, passed on PSP, passed on DS, passed on XBOX 360, passed on PS3.

      But seriously considering the Wii now.

      Rgds,
      Julien
      • Ah, the Dreamcast had so many 2D fighters. I have both Capcom vs. SNKs, one Capcom vs. Marvel, the Vampire (Darkstalkers) import, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, JoJo's Bizarre Advenuture (unless I gave it to some kid... because it wouldn't work in VGA. Dreamcast games must work in VGA.)

  • Open Source It (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    So they're not getting anything from the Dreamcast, why not open source it so it can be hacked to support CDROMS. Make the Dev Kit downloadable for free. Give it all to a community that even when five years have passed still plays with it. Keep playing!

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by ldd23 ( 94367 )
      The Dreamcast does support CD-ROMs. This is allegedly one of the reasons that it failed; too much piracy. And there is a freely available devkit: KallistiOS [sourceforge.net]
  • I bought a Saturn BEFORE I bought a playstation, as at the time, the Saturn was slated to receive the best RPG lineup since the Super NES. Square was just Square at that time, having not bought out Enix, and they were free agents, having just left Nintendo - so I expected a ton of good games on the Saturn. Unfortunately, Square signed with Sony, and the Saturn took a big hit; but the system was still doing more than the Playstation with it's power in it's first year. NiGHTS was an amazing game that I sti

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