RIP My Dreamcast - August 2000 to August 2011

[starchildskiss78]

Today is a sad day for my little 128 bit white box: it died today.

It was a fine machine, playing arcade classics like Crazy Taxi and innovative games like Jet Grind Radio and Space Channel 5.

I tried to fix it...really I did. You see, my girlfriend's cat is old and she decided that my Dreamcast was a good place to get sick on. Her aim is true and the damage far-reaching. It got all over parts I cannot even access! I tried my best to clean it, but it was no use. That wonderful little machine was special because it was one of the first consoles I got with my own money and only the second I got brand new.

I used to work for the Sears Parts Direct call center. They had (or have...I have no clue if they still do it) a program called Parts to Points. You received points for doing well in your stats. Once you had enough points accumulated you could order stuff out of a catalog. You could get a washer, a lawn mower, or even a nice little cutting edge video game system. I remember having it shipped to my girlfriend's mother's house (for safe arrival and someone actually being home when it arrived). I rushed to a friend's house to borrow his VCR because I didn't have the right hookup on my tv for the cable supplied.

When I got home, I popped in that demo disc and played the hell out of those games. I remember playing the first stage of Sonic Adventure and being blown away by the graphics (and that big whale chasing after you!) and being hooked. It trumped anything the Playstation had to offer, that's for sure!

I now scour the net for a new Dreamcast. I didn't have access to it for a while because the S-Video cable (cheap thing that it was) broke on me and I had since sold my A/V cable. I had just replaced the cable a couple of months ago!

I think I am going to have to pet proof my consoles and put them away when they are not in use. I would cry if our Pokemon N64 had something happen to it!

[Lerxstnj]

My condolences!
She is a fine machine, and I would miss her too if she died. That's why I have 6 backup systems on hand. Since I have no cats (I'm allergic), they all are still working fine. Luckily your replacement is only a low bid away on Ebay.

[starchildskiss78]

How very true! It's a shame that it won't be "my" system, but someone else's system!!

[Colorado Rockies]

R.i.p.

[T2KFreeker]

Damn. Sorry to say, but the cat would be dead . . .

Seriously though, it's a shame to see another Dreamcast bite the dust. Hopefully you find a suitable replacement quickly so you can get back to some gaming in style!

[starchildskiss78]

Damn. Sorry to say, but the cat would be dead . . .

Seriously though, it's a shame to see another Dreamcast bite the dust. Hopefully you find a suitable replacement quickly so you can get back to some gaming in style!

Believe me the thought crossed my mind! I would not harm an animal, however, and it is merely an electronic device that was manufactured in mass quantities. It is replaceable...the cat? Not so much...

[heybtbm]

It is replaceable...the cat? Not so much...

Don't be so sure about that.

[Rickstilwell1]

Heck I'm sure there are still brand new Dreamcasts out there for cheap. Wasn't it just last year that a bunch of brand new Dreamcasts were discovered and being sold for $99?

[Nikademus1969]

Believe me the thought crossed my mind! I would not harm an animal, however, and it is merely an electronic device that was manufactured in mass quantities. It is replaceable...the cat? Not so much...

Exactly.


May you find another DC in mint condition :)

[Nikademus1969]

Heck I'm sure there are still brand new Dreamcasts out there for cheap. Wasn't it just last year that a bunch of brand new Dreamcasts were discovered and being sold for $99?

Thinkgeek, of all places, was selling them for a while.

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

Dreamcasts are still cheap and plentiful, fortunately. That cat needs its butt whooped though. Just make sure your GD-ROMs and your VMUs are intact and you should be able to start with no damage to your data.

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

Heck I'm sure there are still brand new Dreamcasts out there for cheap. Wasn't it just last year that a bunch of brand new Dreamcasts were discovered and being sold for $99?

My Dreamcast (made June 2000) was $25 at Game Crazy in March 2006. It was console only, with hookups, in good condition, although the GD-ROM reader noise doesn't inspire confidence. You could probably find one in good shape, boxed, for $40-50 now. Just the console - maybe $20 if you're lucky.

[frogofdeath]

That's a bummer man. My Dreamcast was "dead" for about two years, but I just now got around to resurrecting the wonderful system. Luckily, mine was any easy fix, no cat puke. Godspeed on you quest for a new Dreamcast.

One clarification, do you hope to find a brand new system or just new in the sense that it is new to you?

[retroman]

You have my regards:(

[staxx]

Put it in the dish washer and it should clean it up. Then wait for it to dry and see if it fires up. Hopefully it wasn't on when the cat was sick all over it. There might be a few caps or a fuse (not sure if the power board has one) that needs to be replaced. Don't throw it out quite yet.

[starchildskiss78]

That's a bummer man. My Dreamcast was "dead" for about two years, but I just now got around to resurrecting the wonderful system. Luckily, mine was any easy fix, no cat puke. Godspeed on you quest for a new Dreamcast.

One clarification, do you hope to find a brand new system or just new in the sense that it is new to you?

I would *love* to get my hands on a brand new system, but it's going to have to be new to me. I managed to find a boxed system for a reasonable enough price so I went with it. As a bonus, I picked up a VGA box. I always wanted one, but didn't want to hook it to my monitor. I realized yesterday that it works with HDTVs with the PC In (like my Sony Bravia). I am ready to be blown away all over again!

[starchildskiss78]

Put it in the dish washer and it should clean it up. Then wait for it to dry and see if it fires up. Hopefully it wasn't on when the cat was sick all over it. There might be a few caps or a fuse (not sure if the power board has one) that needs to be replaced. Don't throw it out quite yet.

Small problem...no dishwasher (unless you count me and my girlfriend taking turns!).

I could not get the Dreamcast fully disassembled to get to all the crevices. Thankfully it wasn't on when it happened but it definitely would have been a problem as soon as I powered it on.

The thing is in multiple pieces in my trash already. I spent so much time just looking for a screwdriver to open the thing (I know its Phillips head screws, but I have literally ONE in the whole house small enough to fit the holes!) and to see it as a mess without being able to fix it was too frustrating.

At least I could replace it....wasn't thrilled about shelling out dough for a system I already owned. I wanted to buy games...GAMES!!!!

[spongerob]

I remember the time I showed my friend that pressing start would skip the "da DA da da DA" Dreamcast splash screen. His reaction was hilarious.

I remember playing Shenmue and being blown away at the time. Searching for sailors, moving boxes on a fork lift, being bored out of my mind. Yet every time I thought I couldn't take any more, something awesome happened and I had to keep going. To this day, I yearn for Shenmue 3 :(

I offer up a salute to your fallen DC.

[starchildskiss78]

My "new" (to me, anyway) Dreamcast arrived in the mail today! It was boxed with all the goodies you'd expect in the original box (phone cord, Web Browser disc, Generator disc, controller, power cord, RF Switch box, etc) and in very good condition for being over a decade old (this model was manufactured in November 2009, making it nine months older than my old one).

I fired it up (using my composite cable I saved from the previous system) and went through the different games on the demo disc (Sega Bass Fishing, Power Stone, Sonic Adventure, Ready 2 Rumble, Flag to Flag CART, House of the Dead 2, and Monaco Grand Prix). I don't remember getting my butt kicked so easily in Ready 2 Rumble and I HATED Power Stone. I thought it was a forgettable fighter. The racing games were forgettable F1 style games, and Sega Bass Fishing was interesting. I like House of the Dead 2, but it was just the training mode.

I can't wait to get the VGA box and hook it up to the Dreamcast. Even if it is a marginal difference, I know I will enjoy reliving these classics.

Long live the Dreamcast!

[APE992]

Dreamcasts are hardly little machines that I've seen stand up to a lot of abuse. Yours can probably be fixed honestly.

Unless the CPU is fried. Never been able to successfully fix one of those. The cat probably blew a fuse which are easy to diagnose and replace.

[lackofcolour]

Ah dude, "Keep Dreaming" :(

From what I've heard the VGA box makes a huge difference. Anyway, it's awesome how easy it is to find a replacement in pretty good condition :) Although, If it were mine I'd have bin scrubbing it for days... Haha.

[frogofdeath]

and Sega Bass Fishing was interesting
Good game, but Marine Fishing is far superior (at least in my humble little opinion). Do you have the fishing rod controller? A must buy for the fishing games. The only thing better is actually fishing.

[starchildskiss78]

Dreamcasts are hardly little machines that I've seen stand up to a lot of abuse. Yours can probably be fixed honestly.

Unless the CPU is fried. Never been able to successfully fix one of those. The cat probably blew a fuse which are easy to diagnose and replace.

It may have been simply a fuse, but I am definitely not technically inclined at all...it was better for me to say goodbye to an old friend and find a suitable replacement.

[starchildskiss78]

Ah dude, "Keep Dreaming" :(

From what I've heard the VGA box makes a huge difference. Anyway, it's awesome how easy it is to find a replacement in pretty good condition :) Although, If it were mine I'd have bin scrubbing it for days... Haha.

I was going to go that route at first, but once it started becoming difficult to take apart I decided to go the path of least resistance.

[starchildskiss78]

Good game, but Marine Fishing is far superior (at least in my humble little opinion). Do you have the fishing rod controller? A must buy for the fishing games. The only thing better is actually fishing.

I do not have the fishing rod controller. I never had much of an interest in that game or Marine Fishing. The demo doesn't do much to sway me! As for actually fishing...I'll pass! :)

[ownerizer]

Dreamcasts are still cheap and plentiful, fortunately.

I picked up just a DC console only at a thrift store today for $3.00. I'm pretty happy with that.

[homerhomer]

BTW, I've noticed there's a Dreamcast ( with nothing else ) at my local GoodWill, I would be willing to rescue it, if you're interested. It wasn't pretty, but chances are that it will work. I think it was $9.99

[Gamevet]

I would *love* to get my hands on a brand new system, but it's going to have to be new to me. I managed to find a boxed system for a reasonable enough price so I went with it. As a bonus, I picked up a VGA box. I always wanted one, but didn't want to hook it to my monitor. I realized yesterday that it works with HDTVs with the PC In (like my Sony Bravia). I am ready to be blown away all over again!

The VGA box doesn't work with every HDTV. I tried hooking it up to my 52" Samsung LCD, but it wouldn't recognize the console. It works fine with my 24" LG LCD though.

[starchildskiss78]

BTW, I've noticed there's a Dreamcast ( with nothing else ) at my local GoodWill, I would be willing to rescue it, if you're interested. It wasn't pretty, but chances are that it will work. I think it was $9.99

I appreciate the heads up and the offer, but this Dreamcast I ordered seems to be doing the trick just fine. I do not think my girlfriend will appreciate me bringing in a second console!

[starchildskiss78]

The VGA box doesn't work with every HDTV. I tried hooking it up to my 52" Samsung LCD, but it wouldn't recognize the console. It works fine with my 24" LG LCD though.

I certainly hope it works with my 46" Sony Bravia LCD. I know it has the right connections for the VGA box. I should know today if it arrives on time! (According to the USPS, it was in Mobile yesterday morning, but it must have been after the trucks were already making deliveries.)

[courtesi1]

oh hell no. trade in that fur ball in at the chinese take out for some egg rolls or dim sum

[starchildskiss78]

oh hell no. trade in that fur ball in at the chinese take out for some egg rolls or dim sum

I believe that would cause me more trouble than replacing my Dreamcast, seeing that it is my girlfriend's cat she's had for 13 years now....

The "new" Dreamcast is just fine! :)

[starchildskiss78]

The VGA box came in today for my Dreamcast. I was reading around and saw that it outputs video but only has a 3.5mm audio jack that you need to hook up to speakers of some sort. I bought a "Y" Adapter (3.5mm Plug to Phono Plugs) just in case I needed to be creative. Turns out I didn't have to bother...right under the PC connection on my Sony Bravia LCD is a 3.5mm jack for the purpose of being wired for sound! I fished out my 3.5mm cable from my car (to listen to my iPod) and hooked everything up.

The thing fired up and I was treated to...nothing. I had the switch set wrong! (It has "PC" and "TV" settings...I think I had it set to PC and it confused it because I could hear the startup sounds.) Once I corrected the little problem, I threw in Sega Smashpack Volume 1 (since it came in the mail today) and was treated to a nice sharp picture I don't ever recall my Dreamcast being capable of!

I went alphabetically down the list from there and tried every game in my library, from 18 Wheeler all the way to Space Channel 5. I have a small library (14 games) but I only had trouble in a couple instances. Ecco the Dolphin would not show a picture after I took out Dead or Alive 2. I put Crazy Taxi back in and after that it worked fine. On the second run-through, Sega Smashpack Volume 1 didn't show the picture on Virtua Cop 2, but I am sure it is easy to correct. The only game that did not work was the Acclaim game (South Park: Chef's Luv Shack...surprise, surprise). I also learned that Ulala swears in Space Channel 5. (Toward the end of the game when she is about to fight the main boss she says "f*ck me boots"...I had to play the cut scene twice just to make sure I was hearing it right!) I can use the RCA cable I kept for that game, if I am in the mood for a poor use of a license in the form of a quiz/mini game disc.

The VGA box came from Amazon, but there are other retailers out there. Mine is from Retro-Bit (http://store.innexinc.com/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/RB-DC-0561.jpg) and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the item itself. My only "gripe" is that the picture is not quite center. The black bar on the left is a bit wider than the one on the right. Not a major distraction, but I noticed it.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

Damn. Sorry to say, but the cat would be dead . . .

Seriously though, it's a shame to see another Dreamcast bite the dust. Hopefully you find a suitable replacement quickly so you can get back to some gaming in style!

Cats throw up (even when their not old). When you adopt a cat, you know that's part of the deal. It isn't intentional, so punishing a cat because of where something RANDOMLY lands is like blaming the weatherman for the snowstorm.

[starchildskiss78]

Cats throw up (even when their not old). When you adopt a cat, you know that's part of the deal. It isn't intentional, so punishing a cat because of where something RANDOMLY lands is like blaming the weatherman for the snowstorm.

Well put....I chalk it up to experience. I have rearranged my consoles so none of them are as easy a target and I am thankful it wasn't anything serious with the cat or the console. Consoles are merely things and can be replaced!

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

BTW, I've noticed there's a Dreamcast ( with nothing else ) at my local GoodWill, I would be willing to rescue it, if you're interested. It wasn't pretty, but chances are that it will work. I think it was $9.99

I bet a broken Dreamcast is still worth $9.99. Nab that thing.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

A couple of days after reading this thread, I walked inside a thrift store and saw a Dreamcast for $7.99. Finally, I got lucky. It said "AS IS" and didn't have most of the hook-ups, but I took the risk anyway. I want to replace my existing Dreamcast because it locks up on certain games.