Game Bargain of the Century

[17daysolderthannes]

what is that bargain you ask?

The Dreamcast



If you aren't an uptight square that's too proud to pirate, for a mere $20 you can gain access to some of the best damn games ever made. The Dreamcast may have been short lived, but in its short life it amassed some of the best exclusives to ever grace a Sega system, improved ports of some of the best N64 and PSX games (lookin' at you Tony Hawk!), and a homebrew lineup that probably beats out just about every other system out there.

A quick trip to any of a number of sites hosting .cdi files (PM me if you want details, unless mods give me permission to post ROM sites without actual file linking) will grant you access to the full library of DC games, near perfect emulators for NES and SMS/GG, a serviceable Genesis emulator, and an SNES emulator good enough to hit a few high points (SMW, Square RPGs, DKC), a handful of playable AES/Neo CD games via Neo4All, not to mention great homebrew like Beats of Rage. Just download Diskjuggler, double click the .cdi file, insert a blank CD-R, click burn, put it in the Dreamcast, enjoy.

Dreamcasts are so cheap you might as well keep one in every room in the house. Why not? buy the DC+hookups for $20 and a CD-R spindle for another $10 and you can have a solid collection of games in just a few hours of burning. I just bought a brand new looking Sega Sports DC for $25 shipped off of eBay with power cable and composite A/V cables. Even better, HD TVs aren't left out of the loop because you can utilize the VGA adapter and let the amazing graphic quality show in all its glory.

Why the Dreamcast isn't selling for $100 a piece is a mystery to me, there is no game system that offers a better value if you aren't afraid to violate the copyrights on 10 year old games. Hell, even the homebrew alone is worth the $20 price tag. And don't be afraid of CD-R games that allegedly wear out the laser, this is only true of unoptimized games that cause the laser to track non-stop during gameplay, which I've only encountered in Fatal Fury Mark of the Wolves and Propeller Arena because of the voice samples in-game (and Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2, but that's because the track is streamed during gameplay, the real disc does this as well).

Oh, and did I mention the Dreamcast got some of the most notable 2D fighters of all time? MvC2 was most arcade accurate on Dreamcast. Capcom vs. SNK and CvS2 were both best on DC as well. The Toodles Capcom Fighter Collection .cdi has those and much more all on one crazy awesome disc. And what about shooters? boatloads. Ikaruga, Bangai-O, Mars Matrix, Borderdown, Zero Gunner 2, just to name a few. Racing games have some landmark titles as well like the über sim Ferrari F355 Challenge, one of the best examples of the CarPG: Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2, and one of the best arcade-sim racers ever made: Metropolis Street Racer.

So what is this thread about you ask?

I'M TELLIN YOU TO GO BUY A GOD DAMN DREAMCAST, THAT'S WHAT!

PS: quit bitchin' about the controller, the Total Control Plus lineup has you covered:



Any PS2 arcade stick, dual shock (wireless or not), tilt-sense (like the psyclone), etc. all work wonderfully. There's also another Total Control Plus that allows for Saturn controllers for those with a fetish for gamepads over arcade sticks.

[adamx]

you can buy em brand new in the box for 99 bucks, not bad for something thats never been opened.

[TheRollingStoner]

The Dreamcast will be the next system I buy. Don't tell anyone, but I do plan on pirating games and running emulators/homebrew, what have you.

[rift]

Really? You thought there needed to be MORE said about the most praised/overrated console of all time?

I'd take a Saturn over a hundred dreamcasts

[Knuckle Duster]

As a heads up for anybody buying the DC new from ebay from 'PNP Games' They're resealed black sports edition consoles that may or may not be able to read CD-R's.

Another thing to note: Almost every DC that hasn't been powered up has a dead battery in them these days, it's not 'a flaw'.

[kool kitty89]

Everyone, be careful when you pirate DC games. MC Double Def DP will beat your ass.

He's the Captain Planet of the internet.

I liked how they put most emphesis on piracy of new games/movies/music, and selling them in particular. Not any mention of casual piracy at all really. (which is what the original don't copy that floppy was mainly about -somethign that some teachers were known to promote -based on the comments of a few members on here and AtariAge, in EU/UK with 8-bit casette games at least )

The only time piracy is harmful to the copyright holders is when it actually prevents sales of the new games on the market. This does apply to certain retro games, but not all (many are only available used). In the case of someone only considdering used or "downloaded," it really doesn't matter anyway, except if gotten used, it can effect the market value and might have some impact on demand of the new compilations/re-releases.


I'd be interested in a DC, but I don't know of any truely exclusive titles that I'm interested in, maybe shenmue, but I can't think of much else, and even that's kind of iffy. (I'd probably like it, but it's really engrossing and time consuming) I'm fine with PC emulators, and I've goth both SA games for GameCube, plus a few of the PC ports in the original PC form. (like MDK 2 and Episode 1 racer -albeit the latter doesn't run on my vista machine, but I have it for N64 too)

That and I almost never see DC stuff in local thrift stores. (I see saturn stuff more often, mainly games, and N64, SNES, Genesis, NES, and PX stuff more often)

[mick_aka]

I got this 17days.

Please, have some gum...

[Rusty Venture]

[Devil N]

What if I already have a Dreamcast along with 22 games and a shitload of downloaded discs? Do I get a pat on the shoulder?

[gamevet]

The only game I have a want to burn is Propeller Arena.

I pretty much have a legit copy (@75 titles) of every game I want on the system.

[Zork]

I saw a Dreamcast yesterday in a Thrift Store. I had such a hard time not buying it... Someday...

[Baloo]

Really? You thought there needed to be MORE said about the most praised/overrated console of all time?

I'd take a Saturn over a hundred dreamcasts

This x100

[Iron Lizard]

I like both Dreamcast and Saturn. Do I get a cookie from both sides?

[streetsofrage]

how do u play emulators on a dreamcast off a disc? theres not harddrive right?

[Iron Lizard]

Insert disc ,turn on system. Seriously though sometimes you have to combine the roms and emulator itself on a disc but there are many torrents out there that are ready to go with everything already on them.