Author Topic: Dreamcasts and imports (Read 6499 times)

Lilwolf · « **on:** August 11, 2003, 07:42:48 am »

I'm considering buying a dreamcast and some games (for some Naomi emulation of sorts).

but the trouble I have is about 1/2 of the games I want where never ported to the US... but you can still find them on ebay.

Is there a way to get around the country code? Was there any mod chips for sale?

Thanks

(Also, Saint... I don't know if this is unappropriate post... I'll remove it if it is)

toilet · « **Reply #1 on:** August 11, 2003, 09:18:35 am »

It's not difficult to get around the country codes. You can either find the Utopia boot disk, which you boot the dreamcast with and then swap in your import, or go the mod-chip route. The mod-chip is relatively easy to install.

Admin Edit: removed mod chip stuff that could get us in trouble.

pointdablame · « **Reply #2 on:** August 11, 2003, 01:30:53 pm »

take it from someone with 250+ dreamcast games... just burn the boot disk. there is no need to open up the case when import fun is just an .iso away

Molloy · « **Reply #3 on:** August 11, 2003, 01:50:37 pm »

I bought a chipped one 2nd hand last Christmas for CEX in London for

gnateye · « **Reply #4 on:** August 11, 2003, 03:10:48 pm »

i too have 200+ dc games alot of them are imports and homebrew apps, utopia or dc-x are definalty the way to go

dcemulation.com has everythign you coulds ever need

said7 · « **Reply #5 on:** August 11, 2003, 03:27:07 pm »

Cant wait till theres a good DC emulator for PC that will use the CD drive.

That would kick ass!

gnateye · « **Reply #6 on:** August 11, 2003, 03:45:46 pm »

i find dcs for 25$ so its all good to me

pointdablame · « **Reply #7 on:** August 11, 2003, 05:10:00 pm »

you CANNOT find more gaming for that price. Dreamcast is such an amazing system, and it still holds its own in a lot of ways to today's systems if you ask me. I wouldn't give mine up for anything. And, in case you are away from a computer but have your DC, there are emu ports for pretty much everything on DC

gnateye · « **Reply #8 on:** August 11, 2003, 05:15:49 pm »

i take one of mine on the road with me when i travel and use it in the hotel to check emails for free instead of the 9.99 most hotels charge for internet access, just use your isp and find the local dial up number before you leave. i listen to my mp3s, watch divx movies, and play a TON of games. you cant go wrong

fanboy mode off now

gnat

jakejake28 · « **Reply #9 on:** August 11, 2003, 05:18:50 pm »

i love the dc, i have 2 myself. definetly mod it, you will like it more than tthe boot disk. has anyone seen those treamcasts? just ordered one myself, should get here in a week or two (from portugal). that would be the ultimate system...

gnateye · « **Reply #10 on:** August 11, 2003, 05:49:32 pm »

the treamcast looks awesome! definatly post a review and some pics when you get it

anthony691 · « **Reply #11 on:** August 12, 2003, 08:38:59 am »

Okay, DC is my obsession. I have 4 DCs, ~ 20 controllers, 16 VMUs, and well over 200 games.

There is really no reason for the mod chip! The boot disc is really quite nice.

Good luck with you DC, and make sure you pick up: Rez, Ikaruga, DCDivX (free), To 11 (free and BEST MP3 player), and Evil Twin (great game).

I just found out the settings that a video needed to work with DCDivX like yesterday! Does anyone know if the XBOX DivX players need certain settings on the DivXs? It would be awesome not to have to re-encode.

Frostillicus · « **Reply #12 on:** August 12, 2003, 09:58:41 am »

What are the good import games y'all are talking about?

jakejake28 · « **Reply #13 on:** August 12, 2003, 12:07:52 pm »

Quote from: Frostillicus on August 12, 2003, 09:58:41 am

What are the good import games y'all are talking about?

guilty gear x, ikaruga and kof2002

Dave_K. · « **Reply #14 on:** August 12, 2003, 03:20:02 pm »

To those on this thread who are advocating piracy of Dreamcast games:

LEAVE IT OFF THE MSG BOARD!

Its one thing to brag that your are a low life, cheap ass, theif, contributing to the demise of the Dreamcast (with what little value remains of it). But then giving advice to newbs to just download ISOs and avoid paying (what $10??) to someone on ebay is just plain wrong, and is not condoned on the BYOAC msg boards.

I would have just had Saint pull this thread, but I then I wouldn't get a chance to rant

jakejake28 · « **Reply #15 on:** August 12, 2003, 03:29:25 pm »

Quote from: Dave_K. on August 12, 2003, 03:20:02 pm

...just download ISOs and avoid paying (what $10??) to someone on ebay...

i think that 10 bucks is a little high for most dc games. other than imports, few games seem to reach the 9.99 mark on ebay

gnateye · « **Reply #16 on:** August 12, 2003, 03:31:06 pm »

i think we all just ignored that part of the thread, unless he was talking about the utopia iso which is free and legal as well as all the homebrew games and apps.

Dave_K. · « **Reply #17 on:** August 12, 2003, 03:40:36 pm »

Quote from: gnateye on August 12, 2003, 03:31:06 pm

i think we all just ignored that part of the thread, unless he was talking about the utopia iso which is free and legal as well as all the homebrew games and apps.

Well to get this back on topic if you want a "legal" boot disc (which also supports VGA...utopia doesn't) then buy the Codebreaker or Action Replay CD. Just use the option start game without codes and it will boot imports.

gnateye · « **Reply #18 on:** August 12, 2003, 03:47:33 pm »

i use the dc-x also it came with my shenmue 2, i also have the utopia 1.2 which works with vga boxes, it just doesnt show anything on the screen (which is somewhat lame) but it works.

jakejake28 · « **Reply #19 on:** August 12, 2003, 03:58:17 pm »

maybe i'm the only one: i bought a mod chip from ncsx.com and installed it so i don't have to put up with swapping

gnateye · « **Reply #20 on:** August 12, 2003, 04:00:21 pm »

i like that idea, how much do they run?

jakejake28 · « **Reply #21 on:** August 12, 2003, 04:03:03 pm »

currently they are 25 bucks plus shipping...

gnateye · « **Reply #22 on:** August 12, 2003, 05:18:38 pm »

after lokking ionto this a little more, the mod chip cant do all the things the utopia can, when it comes to loading a lot of the homerew games that arent self bootable the chip cannot so you would still need the utopia, i'll just stick to that.

anthony691 · « **Reply #23 on:** August 12, 2003, 09:39:51 pm »

Quote from: Dave_K. on August 12, 2003, 03:20:02 pm

To those on this thread who are advocating piracy of Dreamcast games:

LEAVE IT OFF THE MSG BOARD!

Its one thing to brag that your are a low life, cheap ass, theif, contributing to the demise of the Dreamcast (with what little value remains of it). But then giving advice to newbs to just download ISOs and avoid paying (what $10??) to someone on ebay is just plain wrong, and is not condoned on the BYOAC msg boards.

I would have just had Saint pull this thread, but I then I wouldn't get a chance to rant

Hey dude, you are being quite irrational! What about PAL games? How could I legally play Rez without a PAL DC? If they didn't release NTSC versions I almost feel it is a right to pirate it... (morally, not legally of course!)

Or did they release NTSC Rez?

pointdablame · « **Reply #24 on:** August 12, 2003, 10:05:37 pm »

I didn't see everyone in this thread just say go out and burn all the games you can find. Yes, I said d/l the .iso of the boot disk, which is free to anyone with an internet connection. I also said i had around 250 DC games, about 80 + of which are real copies and which I bought when the DC was still a viable commercial system. I also have a large number of imports and homebrew software which are also FREE online. I also have a lot of emulators for the DC, and if you're gonna cause a ruckus over the use of emulators, then you're on the wrong msg board

I understand what you are saying in part, and feel free to rant all you want, but I think you are way off base. You say the dreamcast has some value left in it, when in fact, it does not. Sega has sworn it off, and except for the 1 or 2 games still slated for release in the US, the dreamcast is DEAD. Buying a game from someone on eBay will not help the Dreamcast. You could buy a million DC games off eBay and it would still be just as dead, and you would not be giving Sega or any game company one cent of your money.

Next time, before you call me and others "low life, cheap ass, thiefs" I think you should really look into what you are talking about. Thanks for reading MY rant

Dave_K. · « **Reply #25 on:** August 12, 2003, 10:08:50 pm »

Quote from: anthony691 on August 12, 2003, 09:39:51 pm

Quote from: Dave_K. on August 12, 2003, 03:20:02 pm
To those on this thread who are advocating piracy of Dreamcast games:

LEAVE IT OFF THE MSG BOARD!

Its one thing to brag that your are a low life, cheap ass, theif, contributing to the demise of the Dreamcast (with what little value remains of it). But then giving advice to newbs to just download ISOs and avoid paying (what $10??) to someone on ebay is just plain wrong, and is not condoned on the BYOAC msg boards.

I would have just had Saint pull this thread, but I then I wouldn't get a chance to rant

Hey dude, you are being quite irrational! What about PAL games? How could I legally play Rez without a PAL DC? If they didn't release NTSC versions I almost feel it is a right to pirate it... (morally, not legally of course!)

Or did they release NTSC Rez?

Nice try, but you can play PAL games with a boot disc just fine on US Dreamcasts. I bought the Dreamcast Pinball Trilogy game off ebay (its PAL) and plays fine when using my Action Replay CD to boot it. I believe gnateye above said he bought the Shenmu2 (UK/PAL verison) and plays fine (booting with DC-X disc).

But I have a feeling you will come up with some other justifcation as to why you need to pirate REZ.

SNAAAKE · « **Reply #26 on:** August 12, 2003, 10:14:16 pm »

meh...in case anyone don't want the hassle of buying gameshark or action reply.just download the etopia boot disc.
from www.megagames.com
its only like 1mb I think.
Its not illegal or anything.loads imports.

anthony691 · « **Reply #27 on:** August 12, 2003, 11:13:46 pm »

Quote from: Dave_K. on August 12, 2003, 10:08:50 pm

Quote from: anthony691 on August 12, 2003, 09:39:51 pm
Quote from: Dave_K. on August 12, 2003, 03:20:02 pm
To those on this thread who are advocating piracy of Dreamcast games:

LEAVE IT OFF THE MSG BOARD!

Its one thing to brag that your are a low life, cheap ass, theif, contributing to the demise of the Dreamcast (with what little value remains of it). But then giving advice to newbs to just download ISOs and avoid paying (what $10??) to someone on ebay is just plain wrong, and is not condoned on the BYOAC msg boards.

I would have just had Saint pull this thread, but I then I wouldn't get a chance to rant

Hey dude, you are being quite irrational! What about PAL games? How could I legally play Rez without a PAL DC? If they didn't release NTSC versions I almost feel it is a right to pirate it... (morally, not legally of course!)

Or did they release NTSC Rez?

Nice try, but you can play PAL games with a boot disc just fine on US Dreamcasts. I bought the Dreamcast Pinball Trilogy game off ebay (its PAL) and plays fine when using my Action Replay CD to boot it. I believe gnateye above said he bought the Shenmu2 (UK/PAL verison) and plays fine (booting with DC-X disc).

But I have a feeling you will come up with some other justifcation as to why you need to pirate REZ.

HMM... Maybe it's just my TV, but I owned a legit copy of Rez; it flickered on my TV! Could someone explain this? Was my copy messed up? Was it a different refresh rate my TV couldn't do?

Nice try though...

(pause for next flame...)

Who do you think you are helping by not pirating? (just playing devil's advocate here) Games being cheap is good for the gamer... Sega no longer sees a single dime. Now XBOX... tha't a different story...

And the BIG question.

HOW MANY GAMES ARE ON YOUR CAB?

I am done, and I await your speech on why it is wrong to download NES games...

Dave_K. · « **Reply #28 on:** August 13, 2003, 12:25:47 am »

Quote from: anthony691 on August 12, 2003, 11:13:46 pm

HMM... Maybe it's just my TV, but I owned a legit copy of Rez; it flickered on my TV! Could someone explain this? Was my copy messed up? Was it a different refresh rate my TV couldn't do?

Nice try though...

(pause for next flame...)

Who do you think you are helping by not pirating? (just playing devil's advocate here) Games being cheap is good for the gamer... Sega no longer sees a single dime. Now XBOX... tha't a different story...

And the BIG question.

HOW MANY GAMES ARE ON YOUR CAB?

I am done, and I await your speech on why it is wrong to download NES games...

Ok, I normally play my DC games in a cabinet with an arcade monitor (rgb out) so I just tried booting Pro-Pinball Trilogy on my normal NTSC TV (using the utopia boot disk) and it worked. Maybe it comes down to the game? I'm not sure...I don't have REZ to try it out (I already have REZ for the PS2 and at 60fps

).

Sorry if I jumped to the wrong conclusion. If you already own the a real copy of REZ then there is nothing illegal about downloading an NTSC cracked version (I have herd they can do this for some 50hz PAL games). You should try playing through a VGA box on a vga monitor (as it has to output 60hz refresh).

How many games do I have in my cab? Well I own about 60 Dreamcast games. I also have a PS2 in a cab with about 15 games.

I understand you playing devils advocate here, and would comment that you are still hurting the dreamcast/sega reputation and market value. Yes the dreamcast still has some market value even after its death (although with all this pirating its come down to almost nothing). You are now screwing the die hard Dreamcast fans/collectors....and you (hypothetically) somehow feel better about that?

SirPoonga · « **Reply #29 on:** August 13, 2003, 01:36:50 am »

So how come pirating has taken the DC down but not the PSX?

jakejake28 · « **Reply #30 on:** August 13, 2003, 01:44:13 am »

Quote from: SirPoonga on August 13, 2003, 01:36:50 am

So how come pirating has taken the DC down but not the PSX?

lots of good games were released for dc in non/usa countrys that it took pirating to be able to play for a fair price... but for the ps i can't really think of many.

plus, well everyoone else had ps's, i played panzer dragoon and guardian heroes on my poor old saturn. never did buy a playstation...

pointdablame · « **Reply #31 on:** August 13, 2003, 01:46:35 am »

Pirating did not kill the dreamcast. Lack of sales did. and YES, pirating did have an effect on that, perhaps even moreso than most other systems, but it did not kill it. It came down to the fact that Sega was in a financial crisis and its baby Dreamcast was getting beat up by the competition. The piracy most certainly did not help, and I am in no way making excuses for it, but it did not kill the system. Piracy has also hurt the PSX and PS2 but since it is selling so well in both the hardware and software market, it is not hurting Sony to the degree that it could be. That is the difference in the two cases.

And as far as piracy destroying the market value of the Dreamcast, that is just absurd. In the video game market, no companies *sans the one or two still planning to release games for it* are making ANYTHING from it. Therefore, there is no company-affiliated market for it anymore. As far as collectors go (which I consider myself) no amount of copies will ever destroy the value of a real game. I still to this day buy Dreamcast games, even if I already have a copy because I ENJOY HAVING THEM. That is why a collector is interested in what he/she collects. No true "collector" would say "O, i'll just get a burned copy cuz its cheaper" They would want the real thing.

That's just my .02 of course and opinions will of course vary, but I think it's pretty clear that the market value for the Dreamcast is slim to nil for many more reasons than piracy. The sole reason the dreamcast is even still on the radar is because of enthusiasts and true fans of the system. Real "thiefs" have already moved on to their modded ps2's and xboxes so they don't have to pay for commercially available games.

jakejake28 · « **Reply #32 on:** August 13, 2003, 01:49:08 am »

lets all stop fighting, and agree that the Dreamcast is the greatest home console ever made

Dave_K. · « **Reply #33 on:** August 13, 2003, 03:31:00 am »

Quote from: jakejake28 on August 13, 2003, 01:49:08 am

lets all stop fighting, and agree that the Dreamcast is the greatest home console ever made

Agreed. I just wish more people had respect for the console.

SNAAAKE · « **Reply #34 on:** August 13, 2003, 03:39:41 am »

Quote from: SirPoonga on August 13, 2003, 01:36:50 am

So how come pirating has taken the DC down but not the PSX?

well...you still need a modchip for psx but dc bootlegs are just like original.
So some regular joe can go to kazaa and download an iso and play no problem.
Thats VERY sad considering dreamcast has the best games ever.
wonder when you are releasing dc 2 with vga support

BTW,I have like 20 lega dc games(sorry I am poor)
and some . . .

Spaced Invader · « **Reply #35 on:** August 13, 2003, 04:09:41 am »

Quote from: Dave_K. on August 13, 2003, 03:31:00 am

Quote from: jakejake28 on August 13, 2003, 01:49:08 am
lets all stop fighting, and agree that the Dreamcast is the greatest home console ever made
Agreed. I just wish more people had respect for the console.

Do you own every board for every mame rom set on your computer? Not "defending" piracy...just sayin'. Pot's an kettles...

Molloy · « **Reply #36 on:** August 13, 2003, 05:59:34 am »

At this point (in ireland) there haven't been any DC games for sale for 2 years or more.

I don't care about "true collectors". They just hoard games and sit them on shelves driving up the prices. I get games to play them.

So these days I buy the newer imports. i'll be getting Border Down when it comes out for instance and I just download the others because the only people who'd benefit from me purchasing the games are traders and collectors, who I frankly don't want to have my money.

note: I've bought 3 Sega PS2 games and 2 Sega Gamecube games in the last 3 months.

anthony691 · « **Reply #37 on:** August 13, 2003, 08:35:58 am »

Quote from: Dave_K. on August 13, 2003, 12:25:47 am

Quote from: anthony691 on August 12, 2003, 11:13:46 pm
HMM... Maybe it's just my TV, but I owned a legit copy of Rez; it flickered on my TV! Could someone explain this? Was my copy messed up? Was it a different refresh rate my TV couldn't do?

Nice try though...

(pause for next flame...)

Who do you think you are helping by not pirating? (just playing devil's advocate here) Games being cheap is good for the gamer... Sega no longer sees a single dime. Now XBOX... tha't a different story...

And the BIG question.

HOW MANY GAMES ARE ON YOUR CAB?

I am done, and I await your speech on why it is wrong to download NES games...

Ok, I normally play my DC games in a cabinet with an arcade monitor (rgb out) so I just tried booting Pro-Pinball Trilogy on my normal NTSC TV (using the utopia boot disk) and it worked. Maybe it comes down to the game? I'm not sure...I don't have REZ to try it out (I already have REZ for the PS2 and at 60fps ).

Sorry if I jumped to the wrong conclusion. If you already own the a real copy of REZ then there is nothing illegal about downloading an NTSC cracked version (I have herd they can do this for some 50hz PAL games). You should try playing through a VGA box on a vga monitor (as it has to output 60hz refresh).

How many games do I have in my cab? Well I own about 60 Dreamcast games. I also have a PS2 in a cab with about 15 games.

I understand you playing devils advocate here, and would comment that you are still hurting the dreamcast/sega reputation and market value. Yes the dreamcast still has some market value even after its death (although with all this pirating its come down to almost nothing). You are now screwing the die hard Dreamcast fans/collectors....and you (hypothetically) somehow feel better about that?

I meant how many MAME games, but whatever...

I think I'm done arguing. Just showing that cracked NTSC versions are sort of nice...

And I guess Rez was legal; too bad I sold my copy of Rez...

nighthawk2099 · « **Reply #38 on:** August 13, 2003, 08:39:20 am »

The problem is now that there is a lot more going back and forth about Piracy and moral issues of such, it's just a matter of time before this thread ends up like other such threads...in... THE PIT..... Let's agree to disagree (as we all have our own standings (moral and legal) on the matter) and continue on like Buds..... VIVA LA DREAMCAST !!

Lilwolf · « **Reply #39 on:** August 13, 2003, 09:03:54 am »

I'm not into piracy when there are legal ways to get the games.... And when I feel moral to them (I payed Capcom my dues in the arcades... TRUST me! I spend more in arcades then I did on food... No joke)

I plan on purchasing each title I play for the dreamcast. They are cheap enought.

But I want some Naomi games that never came to the US. Thats about it really...

but starting another dreamcast thread (that doesn't talk about piracy)


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