Dreamcast

The Dreamcast (Japanese: ドリームキャスト) known during its development under the names " Blackbelt, " " Dural, " and " Katana" video Game console is a manufactured by Sega between November 1998 and March 2001. It is the first console delivered out of standard with a modem what made it possible to be connected to Internet and thus to consult Web pages and to read email S. The logo of Dreamcast is a spiral of color orange on the US market and Asian, or blue on the European market.

History

Dreamcast leaves the November 27th 1998 to the Japan, the September 9th 1999 with the the United States and the Canada and the October 14th 1999 in Europe. Its frank introductory price in France east of 1790 .

The objective of Sega at the time was to propose the first system 128 bits of new generation in order to succeed the Saturn while arriving in store before the PlayStation 2 of Sony (which will leave the March 4th 2000 to Japan). Dreamcast innovated with the analogical triggers, a reader of Gd-Romanian six times faster than the reader CD-ROM of the PlayStation 1, as well as a minor unit called VMU (Visual Memory Unit) tenantable in the lever and which served at the same time of memory card and mini game console thanks to its screen LCD. Equipped with a game library relatively little provided but with quality, it did not meet discounted success.

The major asset of Dreamcast according to Sega resided in the fact of being able to propose playable plays In line. This argument was used by Sega in its countryside marketing of launching to ram the pawn with the PlayStation 2, its principal rival, who was to leave almost 1 year later.

This strategy did not function because not enough plays implemented the play In line. Moreover, the public awaited the exit of PS2 in March /octobre 2000, famous more powerful.

The January 31st 2001, Sega announces the stop of the production for March 2001. A few units were produced later on, but with impossibility of reading audio CD, in order to counter the illicit copy of video games (see low).

After the stop of manufacture, Sega decided to withdraw market of the material general public. Dreamcast is the last video game console of Sega.

Internet

Dreamcast is the first game console which gave access to Internet via a Modem plugged in on its right-sided (modem 56K for the American console and 33.6k elsewhere). Moreover it had until in 2003 its own gate of access to Internet: the Dream arena . The majority of the Dreamcast plays had a directly accessible Web page dedicated since the play on this gate. For this year, the large majority of the services online have been removed, some subistent ( Phantasy Star Online , Quake 3 , Sakura Taisen Online , Starlancer …), or because they have a number of relatively important players, or because they left tardily or because their waiters are divided with those of other plays PC.

Specifications

CPU : Hitachi SH-4 of the type RISC, containing a vectorial calculating unit 128 bits (frequency of the operations: 200 MHz 360 MIPS/1.4 GFLOPS)
Driving graph : PowerVR2 cd. (able to trace more than 3 million Polygon S a second) conceived by NEC/VideoLogic
Memory : Principal 16 Mo, Videos 8 Mo, Sound 2 Mo.
Chart its : Sound processor “Super Intelligent” of Yamaha, containing a processor ARM7 32 bits given rhythm with 45 MHz (64 stereo channels PCM/ADPCM)
GD-ROM Drive : Maximum speed 12x (when it turns has an angular velocity constant fashion-CAV). GD-ROM is a type of medium of a capacity from approximately 1 Go (that is to say 112 minutes) especially developed by Yamaha.
Modem : Modem 56 kbit/s of series on the console (speed was of 33 kbit/s for the European version)
Couleurs : Roughly 16,77 million colors simultaneously

It should be noted that the terminals of arcade Sega Naomi use the same hardware as Dreamcast (but with more memory).

Accessories and extensions

Lever : 4 levers can be connected on the front face of the console. Each lever lays out of 2 ports VMU (see below) laid out one above the other.
Memory card : Its memory cards were made up of a small screen with liquid crystals black and white and buttons, transforming them on the occasion into small game consoles portable, called VMU for Visual Memory Unit . Two VMU are plug-in simultaneously in the lever. The interests of this VMU were multiple:

to allow a posting on the lever because the screen was visible once the VMU plugged in the lever
to exchange safeguards of play easily because 2 VMU could be connected between them.
to prolong the experiment of play while playing on VMU if the play Dreamcast proposed this functionality.

Kit of vibration : An optional accessory, the rumble pack made it possible to make the lever vibrating by plugging in it in one of ports VMU of the lever. So that functions, the play must be compatible.
Keyboard and Mouse : Very useful to benefit fully from the connection Internet of Dreamcast and surfer more easily.
Lever arcade: Arcade Stick : A larger and heavy lever allowing an experiment of play close to that of the terminals of arcade.
Gun : To off exploit in a more effective way plays like The House the Dead 2.
Carpet of dance : Allowing to play series " Dance Dance Revolution " , or with " Feet Off Fury "
Maracas : The only drawing play started from this accessory is Samba of Amigo.
BBA or Broadband To adapt : This element replaces the modem of Dreamcast by an Ethernet adapter. Available to the sale only on Internet and in minor amount, it is a very rare accessory.
Fishing cane : With sensor of movement for the throws. Compatible with the plays Low Sega Fishing 1 and 2, Sega Fishing Marine.
Twin Stick : The only drawing play started from this accessory Oratorio Tangram
Race is Virtual To control = Stealing : For all the plays of race
Link cables : 2 dreamcast makes it possible to connect to play on two separate screens (requires 2 consoles, 2 plays, 2 screens) Compatible with certain plays like F355 Challenge or Virtual it.
Microphonous : Created in the beginning to allow communications between players online, this accessory is usable with the following plays: Combine Front Online, Planet boxing ring and Seaman.
Dreameye = camera Dreamcast : This accessory was only created to benefit from the capacities online of the console and is not usable in any play. It was delivered with an allowing software of the videoconference.
Drikara = To control of Karaoke : Left only Japan, Drikara made it possible to download files with the format midday on the service online of Sega Japan. It was conceived to support the BBA and Dreameye. Will dreamkara does not have a built-in memory, and the songs downloaded during a session were unobtrusive by extinguishing the console.
Densha de Go! To control : Still an accessory created for only one play: Densha de Go! , a simulation of control of train.
Para Para To control : Accessory only sold with a Play (Para Paradise Para - also left on PS2). The Para Para is a dance mainly founded on the movement of the arms. This accessory is composed of a carpet and 5 sensors of movements posed on the ground. The player places himself in the center of the sensors and must follow the posted indications to the screen (even principle that GDR, but with the hands)

There exist many other accessories developed by third editors:

Panther cd. (developed by Madcatz): This rather rare accessory (diffusion especially in North America) is a joystick coupled to a trackball: it makes it possible to play to the FPS and plays of plane.
Quasimoto Quasicon : A platform presenting two levers Arcade type allowing to play two, as on a terminal of arcade. This accessory was developed to be compatible multi platform. It is available with Dreamcast adapters. (adapter Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox and PC/MAC by defect).
ASCII pad FT : This pad with the paces of pad Saturn was published in version limited SNK for the plays of combat.
ASCII Mission stick : A specific pad for the plays of air simulation.
Pop' Music To control (published by Konami): Still an accessory for only one type of play: Pop' music 1 to 4.
X-Arcade To control : A platform presenting two levers Arcade type allowing to play two, as on a terminal of arcade. This accessory was developed to be compatible multi platform. It is available with adapters Dreamcast, Playstation 2 and Xbox (adapter PC by defect).
Double Power : of mark HKEMS, it is a case with 2 ports for VMU, allowing the exchanges of safeguards, and a port to connect on the parallel port of a PC, in order to preserve its safeguards on computer (or to recover safeguards on Internet. Require the purchase of the cable " Cd. VMS Cable" same mark.
Total Control : of mark HKEMS, it is an adapter allowing to play with a pad PSX on its Dreamcast.
Total Control More : of mark HKEMS, the same one as the precedent, but with an additional port to connect its VMU, support of the Dual mode Shock
Total Control 2 : (HKEMS) Similar that the precedent, with an adapter for keyboard and wheel PSX
Total Control 3 : (HKEMS) Adapter for lever of Sega Saturn. Support the twin stick of Saturn.
Total Control 5 : (HKEMS) Adapter for keyboard and mouse standard.

Other accessories, having to transform Dreamcast into true " center multimédia" were also announced but unfortunately ever marketed because of the stop of the production of the console.

Reader Zip : to connect under the console, this disk drive to the format zip was to allow to store demonstrations and films downloaded since Internet.
Reader DVD : to compete with the reading of DVD (of series) of the Playstation 2, Sega had envisaged to market a reader of DVD for Dreamcast.
Reader MP3 : it should have been appeared as a VMU and could connect on the lever with the manner of this last. Sega had as an ambition the distibution of films and musics over the Internet.
SatCast : CD boot which should have made it possible Dreamcast to be rétrocompatible with the Saturn.

Photographs

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