SERIOUSLY IF YOU WANT A DREAMCAST GO TO GAMESTOP!!!

jkam

jkam

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I think this may have been posted before but this is a great deal! If you want a dreamcast now is the time. I went to Gamestop last night and picked up two dreamcast systems. Normally they are 19.99. However they were on sale for 30% off. They also had a promotion buy two dreamcast items get the third free. So I picked up Dead or Alive 2 for free! Then when I checked out the guy said oh you get these VMU's for each system. My total for 2 Dreamcast systems, 2 VMU's, and Dead or Alive 2 was 29.26. Thinking about it later I probably could have grabbed another system instead of DOA2 but I didn't need another one. The Dreamcast has a pretty good selection of games but there are also emulators and other things you can run on the system. Definitely worth it.
 
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I picked up a DC w/ a brand new vmu for 11.99 at ebgames during the presidents sale...along with an N64 w/expansion pack(9.99), memory card and Conkers(9.99)
 
Heh, I paid $80 for a Dreamcast on Ebay... that was in late 2002, RIGHT before they started getting REALLY cheap. But it did come with Marvel vs. Capcom 2, which to this day is pretty hard to find, and Shemue. So I don't regret it!

But 2 Dreamcasts for under $30... damn. I've actually gotten a bunch of people to buy dreamcasts just based on showing them mine. The main hook was the homebrew emulation stuff. I got one of those boot discs with like 700 NES roms on it... you should see the spell it weaves over everyone who sees it :D .
 
Busta for that boot disc with the like 700 nes games on it does your dreamcast need to be modded or can you run the disc on any dreamcast ?
 
[quote name='notoriousxbox']Busta for that boot disc with the like 700 nes games on it does your dreamcast need to be modded or can you run the disc on any dreamcast ?[/quote]
Those boot on older DCs. Look for websites that will tell you the manufacture date yours has to be made BEFORE.
 
Most of the Dreamcast systems can boot from cd-r. The two I got played the Nes emulator fine. Only the last batch of Dreamcasts wouldn't boot from cd-r...I think after October of 2000. Don't quote me on that though because I am not 100% on it. I will try to fine more info on the net.
 
I have a theory that about 70% of used dreamcasts out there are broken. Anybody else agree or have I just had a string of bad luck with broken DC's?
 
It took me 3 tries to get a working Dreamcast about 6 months ago at my EB Games. First one wouldn't boot games (do they test those things?), and the 2nd one had a broken CD tray hinge.

So that's what - 66% failure rate?

I'm with ya.
 
DCs are THE most picky-eater systems ever. You touch a disc with your bare hands and it refuses to read it.

BTW, watchit or CheepyD will lock this thread from the whole CD-R emu discussion thing.
 
Everything I read points to any dreamcast manufactured on or after October 2000 won't boot from a CD-R. If you grab one just check the bottom and get one manufactured before then.

As for broken DC's the two I got work great. I don't know...maybe Gamestop checks them out or maybe I just got lucky.

Either way it is a great system and worth the cheap price.
 
I might see if my brother wants to pick up 2 light guns and some light gun games. I already have a dreamcast which is very underatted. I do wish that Sega would have put out a sort of program that would have incoraged independent programers for that system. Sort of similar to the old computer/game systems from back in the day.
 
I got a pretty awesome deal at gamestop on a dreamcast too.

DC system (11.99 after 40% discount, 30 + GI card)
Shenmue, 3.88 (40%)
Grandia 2 8.76 (40%)
Skies of arcadia 10.56 (! 40%)
vmu 99 cents

36 dollars, not bad at all.
 
the VCD's are not worth watching however. It's neat to say that you can do it, but it looks horrible, unless that's all you have to watch movies on.
 
[quote name='bingbangboom']I might see if my brother wants to pick up 2 light guns and some light gun games. I already have a dreamcast which is very underatted. I do wish that Sega would have put out a sort of program that would have incoraged independent programers for that system. Sort of similar to the old computer/game systems from back in the day.[/quote]

Light guns on Dreamcast are a good time... there's only like 4 games available that support them (House of the Dead 2, Death Crimson OX, Confidential Mission, and Virtua Cop 2 from the Sega Smash Pack), but it's still a blast using them. They don't even need use of those video cable piggy-backs to work, like the PlayStation guns I've seen; you just plug it in like a regular controller and you're set.

Oh, and you can use the guns with emulated NES games too, but it's a bit buggy since it's not "officially" supported (it's designed to emulate an NES mouse, I believe, so moving the gun off the screen throws it off).

Cool thing to try if you've got more than one TV in the same room:

In my room, I have the TV out plug routed to an extra TV, so this extra screen duplicates the main TV screen. Strangely enough, the Dreamast light gun will work on BOTH screens - so me and my friend were back to back, each focusing on a different screen when playing House of the Dead 2. Technically the game plays exactly the same, but it just feels really cool playing that way.
 
[quote name='"BustaUppa"'][quote name='bingbangboom']
Cool thing to try if you've got more than one TV in the same room:

In my room, I have the TV out plug routed to an extra TV, so this extra screen duplicates the main TV screen. Strangely enough, the Dreamast light gun will work on BOTH screens - so me and my friend were back to back, each focusing on a different screen when playing House of the Dead 2. Technically the game plays exactly the same, but it just feels really cool playing that way.[/quote]

I know how this is possible.
I looked up how light guns work on howthingswork.com yesterday, never knew it would benefit me somehow. I'll c&p what I found since my explanation would be way off.


The computer normally uses one of two different techniques to figure out whether or not the gun is pointed at the target when the user pulls the trigger:

The computer blanks the screen and then paints just the target object white. If the photodiode senses darkness after one vertical retrace signal and then light after the next, the computer assumes that the gun is pointed at the target and scores a hit.

The computer blanks the screen and then paints the entire screen white. It takes time for the electron beam to trace the entire screen while painting it white. By comparing the signal coming from the photodiode with the horizontal and vertical retrace signals, the computer can detect where the electron beam is on the screen when the photodiode first senses its light. The computer counts the number of microseconds that pass between the time the horizontal and vertical retrace signals start and the time the photodiode first senses light. The number of microseconds tells the computer exactly where on the screen the gun is pointing. If the calculated position and the position of the target match, the computer scores a hit.
 
Vcds are good if you just want to watch really cheap kungfu flicks and dont want a collection of video tapes. CD-R reading ability is good for homebrew DC games, I hear the scene is getting pretty hot lately and not just because of emulators, After seeing that Beats Of Rage game I'm curious to see what else my pop up...maybe I'll run to GS and buy one this week!
 
The, NES light gun is pretty primitive, it only divideds the screen in 6 sections like this

[][][]
[][][]


Those 6 blocks representing your screen, so if you are playing duckhunt and are aiming in the general area you will kill the poor creature :( and make the dog happy. Just thought I would toss that end. In one of the mags I got from EB they have the DC for 9.99 with this coupon.

Does anyone know the current B&M prices at gamestop and EBgames?


From my personal+business exp
Sega systems have a rate of lasting. Even though I had two saturns go bad on me recently with J2k3

Next nintendo, then microsoft, then playstation.


this is with my exp from all mainstream systems from 8 bit sega/nes to current.

I would say about 90% of US dreamcasts can play cdrs.

With Any game system, remember to keep it well cooled and don't play it on the carpet, or in a cabinent where the heat builds up. Thats what is causing some of the laser read problems.
 
[quote name='javeryh']I've got a launch DC that still works perfectly. Where do you buy these discs with all the NES/SNES games?[/quote]

You don't buy them you make them yourself. A good place to start would be DC Emulation
 
What are the best light guns for DC? I hear the import gun wont work and they made the system difficult to use light guns on in the US. I had bought my father a MadCatz light gun for DC but 1. the trigger broke after a week of use and 2. the accuracy was crap. I bought a second gun (forgot the brand but it came with a free /crappy/ game) it didnt break but the accuracy was still garbage and couldnt hit things at the edges of the screen.
 
[quote name='javeryh']I've got a launch DC that still works perfectly. Where do you buy these discs with all the NES/SNES games?[/quote]

Um, you can't. Not legally anyway. If you were going to do that anyway.. *cough* it's not really something you should be paying for. Ssh, don't ask anymore questions.
 
This is YMMV, my gamestop closest to me has NO %30 off all DC, or for that matter any of the stuff thet aren't going to accept for trade in anymore. A few things marked down a little... but thats it. Oh well, last time I went I got MvC2 (mint) and a new controller, good enough for me =P
 
To all CAGs: I just read a post on the Digital Press board in which one guy reported that his nearest Gamestop moved all their Dreamcast stuff to a better-performing store. So some stores are already doing that with DC, NES, SNES, and Genesis stuff. So try to call ahead if you can to check with the store if you're not sure whether or not your store may be moving their stuff too.
 
[quote name='jkam']Everything I read points to any dreamcast manufactured on or after October 2000 won't boot from a CD-R. If you grab one just check the bottom and get one manufactured before then. [/quote]

That is correct. Sega removed MIL CD playback from the console once they found out it was being used to pirate games. All consoles manufactured before October 2000 don't need a mod chip to run CD-Rs from it.
 
[quote name='javeryh']I've got a launch DC that still works perfectly. Where do you buy these discs with all the NES/SNES games?[/quote]

You dont buy u download..... :roll:
 
[quote name='Edge'][quote name='jkam']Everything I read points to any dreamcast manufactured on or after October 2000 won't boot from a CD-R. If you grab one just check the bottom and get one manufactured before then. [/quote]

That is correct. Sega removed MIL CD playback from the console once they found out it was being used to pirate games. All consoles manufactured before October 2000 don't need a mod chip to run CD-Rs from it.[/quote]

Actually, even tho Mil CD support is disabled on newer dreamcasts made after October 2000, they can still boot CDrs that use a Data/Data multi session format rather than the Mil CD audio/data multi session format. There are guides on how to convert any cd images or previously burnt games so they will work on newer dremcasts that do not support mil cd. Still, its more of a pain in the ass to convert all the discs so an older dreamcast would be ideal.
 
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