Random Gaming Thoughts

[Limewater]

You know that feeling when you buy a game with the intent to play it, but don't quite get around to it, but it stays on your shortlist, and then one day you see that a remake is coming out?

It's kind of weird.

[bmoc]

You know that feeling when you buy a game with the intent to play it, but don't quite get around to it, but it stays on your shortlist, and then one day you see that a remake is coming out?

It's kind of weird.

I got Shin Megami Tensei V for Christmas. I haven't played it yet and now Vengeance is coming out. Sometimes you don't have to wait long.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I know prfsnl_gmr has MASTERED the Emerson Arcadia 2001 version. I'm excited to try it on Switch.

[RCBH928]

Quick Dreamcast update, I did pick-up a copy of the Sega All-stars version of Sonic Adventure and it boots up and plays fine in my console. Funny how that goes.

Had the same issue and resolution with Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure. Nothing to do with your console as it is only the printing of the game.

why do they make some wierd cd format and not just stick to the standard to be on the safe side? HD-DVD (bluray comepetitor) had stupid issues like that. Its not going to help piracy as it seems.

speaking of that, idk if consoles are finally winning but I have not heard of physical pirated copies since ps3 days. That 360 had them.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I know prfsnl_gmr has MASTERED the Emerson Arcadia 2001 version. I'm excited to try it on Switch.

MASTERED

Interestingly, the Arcade Archives release is the first release since the game was ported to the legendary Arcadia 2001.

[MrPopo]

Quick Dreamcast update, I did pick-up a copy of the Sega All-stars version of Sonic Adventure and it boots up and plays fine in my console. Funny how that goes.

Had the same issue and resolution with Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure. Nothing to do with your console as it is only the printing of the game.

why do they make some wierd cd format and not just stick to the standard to be on the safe side? HD-DVD (bluray comepetitor) had stupid issues like that. Its not going to help piracy as it seems.

speaking of that, idk if consoles are finally winning but I have not heard of physical pirated copies since ps3 days. That 360 had them.

GD-ROM (the Dreamcast disk) was larger than CD; you got almost a 50% improvement in storage space. Going with DVD would have required a licensing fee.

[marurun]

GD-ROM drives could also be manufactured using existing CD-ROM drive parts just with additional firmware controls, and disc pressing was more affordable.

[RCBH928]

yeah but then you get finicky stuff like the bad prints like we have seen on hd-dvd. I never heard issues on DVD or Bluray unless the batch itself had manufacturing issues. I kind of like to stay with the flow and avoid obscure tech just for compatibility and quality assurance.

but I have to say the 50% improvement on CD storage is pretty amazing.

[Limewater]

yeah but then you get finicky stuff like the bad prints like we have seen on hd-dvd. I never heard issues on DVD or Bluray unless the batch itself had manufacturing issues. I kind of like to stay with the flow and avoid obscure tech just for compatibility and quality assurance.

but I have to say the 50% improvement on CD storage is pretty amazing.

With the benefit of hind-sight, they might have added a second thumb-stick and DVD-drive and charged 50% more than they did at launch.

They made their decisions based on the information they had. I am betting they partly were reacting to the failure of the Saturn, which is largely attributed to its very high release price compared to the Sony Playstation.

In the end, GD-ROMs worked pretty well for the Dreamcast. I may be wrong, but the manufacturing issues didn't really pop up as a huge problem during the few years of Dreamcast commercial relevancy.

[marurun]

Only a small number of launch releases saw bad pressings. It was probably a result of the rush to have inventory ready. It could happen with any medium, TBH.

I genuinely only think Sony put such focus on the DVD with the PS2 because they were also in the media business and would reap sales from expanding the DVD market as well. Basically, they were catering to two different sides of their business.

Let me reiterate that there is absolutely zero chance the Dreamcast could have launched with DVD capabilities. The system came out in Japan in late 1998 and the cheapest dedicated DVD player in 1998 was $400. In 1999 good players finally broke the sub-400 barrier, and DVD was becoming more mainstream. By 2000 decent players were finally sub-300 (as low as $250 for the cheapies), but Sony’s entry-level dedicated player was $300, and their PS2 debuted late in the year at $299. Sega would have to have partnered either with a bargain-basement hardware provider and jacked the price up to somewhere around $500 or delay release to 2000 and risk becoming thoroughly irrelevant as a console hardware and software maker, leaving the Dreamcast to simply die before release. Sega also didn’t have a movie business to leverage, or a consumer products division.

Logistically, Sega made the only reasonable hardware decision available to them. And the Dreamcast was actually a super well-designed piece of hardware, in regards to capabilities at least. In other ways, not so much. NEC’s video chip was quite powerful but a pain to manufacture, resulting in poor yields, constraining initial hardware supply during that critical launch window. Demand was huge then and a stronger supply of systems could have bought Sega a bit more financial padding to cushion their market exit.