Dreamcast
Latest
Born for Wii: Jet Set Radio
Even though it's been eight years since Jet Set Radio was released for the Dreamcast, few games are its equal when it comes to style -- and even fewer have surpassed it. Jet Set Radio pioneered cel-shading in 2000, and just about every entry on the short list of games that out-cool it also followed in its footsteps. While Okami, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and No More Heroes all feature gorgeous toon-shading to the same effect, they also owe their beauty to the original, which brought the wild streets of Tokyo-to to life in an exciting new way. It's so stylish, it even gives 80's Prince a run for his money.Jet Set Radio is a game of mad beats, madder cops and rad moves. You take on the role of the aptly-named Beat, the leader of an up-and-coming street gang in the bustling metropolis of Tokyo-to. Your gangs of Rudies, skate punks out to make their mark on the world, are the GG's. Your task? Usurp the territory of rival gangs, avoid the police, and tag your way to the top. And don't forget to jam out to some righteous tunes while you're at it. As developer Smilebit's first release, Jet Set Radio is a landmark title for the Sega Dreamcast, and it's their second game that's Born for Wii. #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } NEXT >> %Gallery-31384% Every week, Born for Wii digs into gaming's sordid past to unearth a new treasure fit for revival on the Nintendo Wii. Be sure to check out last week's entry in the series, Sam & Max Hit the Road, and for more great titles that deserve your attention, take a look at Virtually Overlooked.
Born for Wii: Power Stone 2
"Welcome to the Power Stone World."Man, we're off to a good start already! When a game is nice enough to welcome you to the experience just for making it to the title screen, and also offers you encouraging remarks like "You are the champion – keep it up!" it's got to be pretty awesome, right? Well, in the case of Power Stone 2, it is.Released for the Dreamcast in 2000, Capcom's Power Stone 2 was relatively hot on the heels of its predecessor -- the original Power Stone hit the system in 1999. Power Stone 2 takes advantage of the Dreamcast's four controller ports, and like Super Smash Bros., it offers one of the most frenetic and entertaining brawler experiences for a group. Just make sure you don't play with that one friend who doesn't respond so well to losing -- your Power Stone experience may end with a large bruise. But I digress: other than 2006's Power Stone Collection for the PSP, the Power Stone world has been rather dormant. The colorful cast of characters, addicting chaotic battles and goofy nature of the Power Stone world make it a prime target for the next Wii multiplayer phenomenon. #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } NEXT >> %Gallery-30455% Every week, Born for Wii digs into gaming's sordid past to unearth a new treasure fit for revival on the Nintendo Wii. Be sure to check out last week's entry in the series, Rogue Squadron, and for more great titles that deserve your attention, take a look at Virtually Overlooked.
Sega has a surprise for Leipzig
Sega might have spent the last few years dragging our beloved memories of Sonic through the dirt, but like an abused, battered spouse, we always return to the company's embrace. They'll change this time, we tell ourselves before each new Sega title is revealed. Sometimes, the gamble pays off. Other times ... not so much.At first glance, the company's Wii line-up for Leipzig (listed past the break) consists of titles we've all seen before, but Sega is also planning a "world premiere" for a hitherto unannounced game, one that will be announced in time for the start of the trade fair on August 20th. This being Sega, our imaginations have instantly fired up. Given the recent trademarking shenanigans and Sega's current fondness for reviving Dreamcast titles, our money is on a Jet Set Radio game of some description. You never know, however -- it could just be another Sonic game noone really cares about. We'd never rule that option out.Activate idle speculation!%Gallery-22964%
Sega tags USPTO with Jet Set Radio trademark
Sega has already enjoyed a measure of success with two ports from its wonderful Dreamcast line-up, and now Jet Set Radio will join the likes of Shenmue on the "rumored" pile. A "Jet Grind Radio" trademark was filed over at the USPTO last week by Sega, while Kotaku heard whisperings at the ongoing Comic-Con 2008 festival that the trademark referred to a new Wii game.Though we should emphasize the "whisperings" part of that last sentence, it's difficult not to get massively over-excited by the idea of a Jet Set Radio on Wii. The original game, now a breathtaking eight years old, exuded style and flair from every pore, with to-die-for cel-shaded visuals and a soundtrack that is played on the Wii Fanboy stereo to this day. We'd take a trip back to Shibuya-cho and Professor K any day of the week, and we'll do it with Wii MotionPlus compatibility, if you're reading this, Sega.[Via Game|Life]
Dreamcast emulator for PSP real, really slow
It's time for another edition of "They Did What?" Okay, so it's the first and only edition (so far), but this is pretty darn cool. We're talking about nullDC PSP, the first Sega Dreamcast emulator for PSP. It's the creation of nullDC (a Dreamcast emulator for PC) author "drkIIRaziel" and has just recently gotten to the point where it loads and runs Shenmue ... at, oh, one frame per second. (With games taking 20-30 minutes to load.)Still, the prospect of walking around with a "DC Pocket" is definitely appealing. Let's hope for the sake of those who'd use it to play games they legally own that Sony's rumored new PSP-3000 doesn't make a mess of the hombrew scene with potential new anti-piracy measures.[Thanks, Craig!]
PSP gets incredibly slow Dreamcast emulator
The PSP homebrew scene continues to expand to new, uncharted territories. This time, it appears drkIIRaziel of DCEmu has created a Dreamcast emulator for the PSP. Considering how powerful the hardware is, this seems like a rather futile effort, as evidenced by the first footage (seen above). While it will unlikely prove to be fruitful, this exercise shows the incredible skill and talent found in the community.[Via Joystiq]
Wii Warm Up: Best kitten in a game?
We like kittens. This post from yesterday just got them on our brains and their cute, furry little selves won't get down from up there. So, we figured we'd ask you all about your favorite game kittens, or just plain old felines.So, out with it! Love the cat in Chu Chu Rocket? Are you a fan of Bubsy?Just kidding, Nobody likes Bubsy.
The 'ultimate proof' that PS3 is winning
The deafening din of a million, argumentative keystrokes. Silenced. The endless wave of hyperbolic, hyperactive hype. Held back. The battle of technology, software and back-of-the-box bullet points. Over. At last, the console wars can draw to a close, the vision of its victor burning bright in our minds and hearts as it crushes off-white shells beneath its monolithic frame. Here is the "ultimate proof" that Sony is winning: A CNBC business reporter and Los Angeles Emmy award winner, Jane Wells, has a son who totally ditched his 360 for a PSTriple.Now now, don't discount the 16-year old boy's prescient abilities -- Mom writes he "tells me the latest trend three months before I read about it in the media." An avid Xbox fan, trend watcher Jane Wells Jr. (not his real name) decided to trade in his cherished system for a PlayStation 3, shortly after hearing about a little game called Metal Gear Solid 4 in Sony's E3 press conference. Sony's 2008 E3 press conference.Following this discovery, not to mention news of other exclusive titles and "the awesomeness of Blu-ray," he "promptly packed up his Xbox 360 and all his games and went down to Game Stop to trade them in." And that about wraps it up for Microsoft and Nintendo. Our biggest regret in all this? Not telling our mom about that time we sold our PlayStation to fund the purchase of best console ever, the Dreamcast. We could have made a difference.[Via Deantak]
Wii Warm Up: ... if dreams could come true
The big news over at DS Fanboy got us thinking about how Sega has been using the Wii to unleash updated Dreamcast titles on us. Titles such as Samba de Amigo and House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return. Since the DS got the Cadillac of dream remakes/updates (we're still not sure yet), we were wondering what dream title, from the most dreamy of past consoles, would you want to see remade for Wii? Virtua Cop? We call dibs. Jet Grind Radio? Nice choice. Shenmue, right?
Boogie down with Samba de Amigo
The above off-screen video may not be of the highest quality, but you do get a taste of the multiplayer action to come. See, blog Blue Hero Gaming recently got their hands on Samba de Amigo (where's the Wii Fanboy love, Sega?) and decided to write their experience with the title. When combined with the video, it's quite the nice little package. So, who's pumped for Samba de Amigo?%Gallery-20601%[Via Go Nintendo]
Born for Wii: ChuChu Rocket!
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Born_for_Wii_Chu_Chu_Rocket'; In spite of its untimely demise, the Dreamcast still lives on in gamers' hearts due to a small library of now-classic titles, ranging from the grandiose, such as Shenmue, to the bizarre, like Space Channel 5. Falling closer to the latter on the weirdness scale is ChuChu Rocket!, a unique Dreamcast puzzler that's noteworthy for being one of the last great games to come out of Sega's Sonic Team (I mean, really -- Shadow the Hedgehog?), and for taking the Dreamcast online with four-player multiplayer -- no small feat in 2000. Just like Katamari Damacy, ChuChu Rocket! succeeds on the strengths of simple-but-addictive gameplay and irresistible charm.ChuChu Rocket! makes no attempt to hide what it is -- a pure puzzler, free of all frivolities and unnecessary dead weight like a story. The concept is quite straightforward -- your only goal is to guide a group of mice (or, in some levels, just one mouse) into a rocket. In many cases, this involves avoiding cats who are roaming the puzzle terrain, waiting to make a mouse sandwich out of your little ChuChus. Both the mice and the cats move in the exact same fashion -- they head in a straight line until they hit a wall, which will cause them to turn right. It's a little like watching a group of lemmings, but, thankfully, the mice move just a bit faster.%Gallery-25945%
ASUS' Eee handwriting pad evokes the Dreamcast, flannel shirts
Apparently ASUS thinks that people will want a tiny computer which they can delicately slip into their back pocket, but would also be interested in carrying around a slew of cabled peripherals. Hence the creation of this USB "handwriting pad" for the Eee -- not to be confused with a steam-rolled Dreamcast controller (VMU included, of course). Honestly, when the plastic takes up more space than the screen, things might not be as "handy" as you suspect. Guys, Sega and 1998 called, they want their design back.[Via Pocket-lint]
Frogger 2 achievements reveal possible DC port
When Frogger 2 was revealed (courtesy of the ESRB) to be coming to XBLA, there was some speculation as to which version of the game would end up being ported over. There was the original and then the later update, the latter of which was the game with the most content and most recent release, but the Live Arcade has seen older games show up too. Now that the achievements have been revealed, we can see from their details that they definitely refer to things that the later game had, but the earlier didn't. Given that this will be a port, let's hope that the netcode is that of the PC version, because XBLA hasn't had the best of luck with the online portion of Dreamcast ports. Achievement list after the break.
Rumor: Ryo Hazuki to enjoy capsule toys on Wii?
We don't normally see any reason to post rumors from the GameFAQs forum, but this time there's a magazine scan involved, so that's ... marginally more plausible. GameFAQs poster Saikobooru found a blurb in the Swedish magazine Gamereactor (or at least a convincing-ish fake of a scan from Gamereactor) stating that, like other Sega classics NiGHTS, The House of the Dead, and Sega Bass Fishing, Shenmue will make a return appearance on the Wii.According to this rumor, the new Shenmue will be more like the House of the Dead on Wii than NiGHTS: in other words, ported versions of the two games rather than a new game, with some new minigames added. And now you can commence the inevitable debate about whether Shenmue is boring or the best game ever.[Via NeoGAF]
Modder creates Dreamcast portable from mom's plastic jewelry box
Dreamcast fans are doing what they can to keep the final Sega console alive in handheld fashion. This latest one certainly isn't the most elegant mod in the world -- in fact, it's a boxy Frankenstein that looks pretty uncomfortable and crampy after a long game session. That said, the clean, straight lines and generous 5-inch screen are an impressive step up from some rough versions we've seen elsewhere. Taking an entire Dreamcast's guts, adding an LCD screen, forging a portable power supply, and fitting it all in one portable box is no easy task -- so we salute you, modders. And we confess, we totally dig the brass hinges. Video after the break.
Wii Warm Up: Upgraded for Wii
With some great PS2 games getting upgraded for the Wii (Resident Evil 4 and Okami), as well as some Dreamcast games getting another spin on the system (House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return, Samba de Amigo), we were wondering if there were any games that you'd like to see get their own Wii edition? There's a lot of games to choose from out there, so you have to have at least one on your mind!Is there a game that could benefit from the Wii treatment? Is it just something that would make good use of the Wii's motion-based controls, or a game that could really use the new audience?
The Daily Grind: Why aren't there more console MMOs?
The list of them can be counted on the fingers of one hand: Phantasy Star Online, for the Dreamcast; Everquest Online Adventures and Final Fantasy XI for the Playstation 2; and Phantasy Star Universe for both the PS2 and the Xbox 360. And that's it. The only MMO currently thought to be planned for release on both PC and console (though not at launch) is Age of Conan for the 360. Why is there such a dearth of console MMOs?Many will say that it's because MMOs are so complex and rich that they cannot be managed with a console controller, and that's partly true -- imagine playing World of Warcraft with a DualShock -- but that's more of a design issue. A game meant for consoles, rather than one ported over from the PC, should have such limitations in mind. There's also the closed environment of the console, which is harder to plan patches for, and the still-in-its-infancy online service for the three major brands. On the bright side, there would be no need to worry about system specs; every player would be getting the same experience. And there could be added value in game achievements, which is a system that doesn't currently exist for PC MMOs.Are there more reasons against console MMOs than there are for them? Should developers bother with the consoles at all?
Ask Joystiq remembers the Dreamcast
Although we skimmed a little bit on this week's Ask Joystiq, we'll be back in full force next Friday!If you have any burning questions, unsolved gaming mysteries, or just a desire for musings from our knowledgeable cadre of writers, drop us a line at ask AAT joystiq DAWT com (and yes, we write it that way for a reason).Q: In January of 2007 you reported that three new games would be coming out for the Dreamcast: Last Hope, Trigger Heart Excelica and Karous. What is the status of these games? Are there any more Dreamcast games coming our way?-WonderflexA: In short, the status of these games is: they're out in Japan. Last Hope hit on Jan. 31, Trigger Heart Excelica came in on Feb. 22, and Karous was released on March 8. Dreamcast owners can search for the limited-run games through importers, but non-Dreamcast owners have options too -- Trigger Heart Excelica recently hit Xbox Live Arcade, and Karous is now available for the Wii in Japan (Wikipedia currently lists a PS2 version of Last Hope, but we couldn't find any other evidence that it's even planned).We couldn't find any evidence of new retail Dreamcast games being planned, but Dreamcast Scene and DCEmu continue to update with plenty of homebrew games and apps. Sure, most of these freebie releases don't have the polish or appeal of a retail release, but some are good enough to get ported to the DS. Good hunting.
Dreamcast.com converted into phishing scam, Sega warns
"Do you still own a Dreamcast?" asks dreamcast.com. By all appearances, the supposed official site of Sega's cherished console has received a legitimate update, exciting loyalists that have been anticipating the system's 10-year anniversary later this year. By clicking on the question, visitors are prompted to accept a user agreement for an @user.dreamcast.com email account (apparently tied to Gmail). Applicants must supply a console serial number, email address, and password before being granted a [serial number]@dreamcast.com Gmail address.The thing is ... Sega no longer owns dreamcast.com. Oh dear. While we have yet to obtain an English language statement from Sega, Japanese news site Mainichi has confirmed that dreamcast.com is no longer owned by Sega and is using the official Dreamcast and company logos illegally. Additionally, the current dreamcast.com domain registration information is also fraudulent. Engadget Japanese reached out to Sega for further clarification, and a representative stated that Sega is considering "appropriate measures." As we wait for further information, please (please!) do not submit any personal information to dreamcast.com. You've been warned. Read - Mainichi.jp [Japanese]
Dreamcast demo stand now sitting on eBay
Having sported a host of unique games and out-of-the-box online connectivity way back in 1999, the ill-fated Sega Dreamcast is unsurprisingly placed on many a gamer's pedestal. Of course, such praise is purely figurative and easily topped by the actual pedestal of sorts found in a Dreamcast demo unit. No longer standing proudly in a store, just such a full-sized stand (complete with two controllers and region-free console) is now was up for grabs in an eBay auction. You'll need a van to do the grabbing, mind you, as seller "no_effects84" is only entertaining pick-ups from his Leicestershire home in the UK. If you're in the area and have at least £230 ($456) to spare, the stand should make for an excellent conversation piece in your living room -- more so if you have Seaman running on it. Heck, the only thing holding us back is the bidding war with UK Resistance that's sure to ensue. Update: It has since been sold for £300![Via Engadget]
