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See an unreleased 'The Simpsons' game that never made it to Dreamcast
The title offers a fantastic glimpse into The Simpsons' living room, complete with giant lumbering Homer.
The forgotten dream of second-screen gaming
The original iPad came out on April 3rd, 2010, at a time when most smartphone manufacturers were making the awkward transition from full QWERTY keyboards to touchscreen-only devices. Apple sold 1 million iPads in that first month, and by the end of 2010, that figure had climbed to 15 million. That same year, the top video games were Fallout: New Vegas, Bayonetta, Red Dead Redemption, Super Meat Boy and StarCraft II. The alpha version of Minecraft was generating some slight buzz.
20 years of Dreamcast: Readers look back on Sega’s final console
Engadget started up in 2004, so we missed the rise (and fall) of the Sega Dreamcast by a few years. We've still covered the company's ups and downs over the past decade and a half (and can't wait for the Sega Genesis Mini later this month). Today's the 20th anniversary of the Dreamcast's release in North America, so we asked readers to write a review to tell us what they miss most about the console. Here's what they had to say about the games they loved, the features that impressed them and the system's unrealized potential.
The Dreamcast predicted everything about modern consoles
9/9/99. 20 years ago today, the Dreamcast landed in America. And even though it was ultimately an absolute failure, it changed the face of console gaming forever. It brought the power of Sega's arcade hardware into your living room (at a price more palatable than the Neo-Geo). It banked on network connectivity by including a modem. And it even ran Windows! You can draw a clear line from the Dreamcast to today's systems, making it seem even more remarkable in retrospect. Now that we're gearing up for another generation of home gaming systems, it's worth taking a look back at exactly how it foretold our current gaming landscape.
Sega is becoming its weird and wonderful self again
Sega is in an unexpectedly good place right now. The company was never on top of the industry; it's been beaten by Nintendo, by Sony, by the decline of the arcade. It spent years nursing the wounds from its fall from grace in the '90s, and through the '00s and early '10s could seemingly do little right.
Retro-bit brought brand-new Sega accessories to CES
While Nintendo's 'classic' consoles have soaked up much of the retro love lately, Sega fans do have something to look forward to. The last booth I stopped by at CES 2018 was one of my favorites, as Retro-bit showed off new officially-licensed accessories it's releasing for Sega consoles later this year, including (but not limited to) Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get my hands on any of these controllers to see how they match up with the originals, but it's nice to see them upgraded with modern capabilities like USB and Bluetooth.
Violence for all: 'Postal' goes open source
Behind the ongoing public debate on violent video games, a few key titles always stand out -- but before the public was freaking out about Grand Theft Auto, it was reeling in shock from Postal. This ridiculous satirical smorgasbord of violence earned the accolade of "digital poison" from Senator Joe Lieberman at launch, but still gathered a cult following. Earlier this year, the game saw a high definition remaster -- but the original game isn't dead yet. Developer Running With Scissors just announced that its making the 1997 original open source -- publishing the code on Bitbucket under the GPL2 license.
With the Switch, Nintendo could make controllers great again
There was no more exciting time to be a peripheral fan than 1999. For me, someone who loved the custom controls of the arcades, the Dreamcast was a fantasy come true. Its Visual Memory Unit (VMU) was a memory card with a screen that slotted into the controller -- and a micro-console in its own right. Games like Power Stone and Seaman let you load mini-games onto the VMU to play on the go, but more interesting was its dual-screen potential.
'Sonic the Hedgehog' tribute games reflect a mascot's fall from grace
It'd be an understatement to say that the Sonic the Hedgehog game franchise hasn't held up well over time. Sonic was once nearly as big as Mario, but a long string of bad titles (with exceptions) ruined his rep -- you're more likely to spot him in dodgy fan fiction and internet memes than a popular game. And the homebrew developers from Arcane Kids know it. They've built the Sonic Dreams Collection, a batch of tiny tribute games for Macs and Windows PCs that acknowledge the Sega mascot's fall from grace. It masquerades as a leaked set of Dreamcast protoypes, but it's really a nod to the weird places Sonic fandom has gone in the 21st century. There's a "Sonic Movie Maker" where the hedgehog calls you his dad, and "My Roommate Sonic..." well, let's just say it turns romance stories on their head.
'Shenmue 3' quickly smashes $2 million Kickstarter goal
The long-awaited sequel to the iconic Dreamcast franchise Shenmue is really happening. Shenmue 3, unveiled by series visionary Yu Suzuki at Sony's E3 press conference, has already hit $2 million on Kickstarter. It's almost certainly a crowdfunding record, and means fans will get to play as Ryo once more on their PS4 and PC. Given that Sega doesn't have an E3 booth this year, the game's revival is certainly a shock to fans. The original titles were cult classics on Sega's last console, but many assumed the publisher had given up on a third entry. The company is a little busy developing Sonic and Angry Birds crossover games for mobile, after all. That's why it wasn't surprising to hear that in order to fund a third entry, the Shenmue team is striking out on its own. The Kickstarter campaign is essentially an open challenge to fans: You say you've always wanted this game, now prove it.
'Shenmue' and 'Streets of Rage' tunes are headed to vinyl
When it comes to classic Sega games, they don't get much bigger (or better) than Shenmue and Streets of Rage. They were released more than eight years apart and on completely different consoles, but they share an important trait: incredible sound. Now, as Polygon reports, a London-based record label called Data Discs is planning to release both soundtracks on vinyl later this year. They'll be priced at £19.99 (roughly $31) and pressed on 180 gram vinyl, complete with lithographic artwork prints. The company is also working with Streets of Rage composer Yuzo Koshiro to remaster the tunes from the side-scrolling beat 'em up, ensuring fans get the best experience possible on their turntables. Pre-orders start on May 30th and there are "exclusive editions" for those who spend their cash early, however the first wave of records isn't expected to leave the warehouse until September.
JxE Streams: 'Resident Evil: Revelations 2' meets 'Code Veronica'
No one refers to video games as their "stories." Games tend to have a whole lot of sequels but they're hardly suited for serialized storytelling over a long period of time. Super Mario Bros. doesn't keep a thread running General Hospital style; the medium's just not built for soap opera. With the exception of Resident Evil, of course. For nearly 20 years, Resident Evil's absurd storyline has stayed intact: an unbroken string of evil corporations, bio-terrorism and the cheesiest one-liners this side of a Marmaduke comic strip. Unfortunately, Claire Redfield, one of its best heroines, has been out of the spotlight for 15 years. Now she's back and JXE Streams is looking back on her stories.
Up to 6 billion players can watch Did You Know Gaming's Dreamcast vid
We're up to 7 billion players now, 15 years on from Sega's optimistic slogan. Beloved by many but ultimately a failure, the Dreamcast is excellent subject matter for Did You Know Gaming's latest fact-collecting vid. Did you know just how deep Sega and Microsoft's partnership ran? Watch on to learn more. [Image: Sega]
Happy 15th birthday, Sega Dreamcast
Fifteen years ago today, Sega launched its final video game console. Arriving in stores on September 9, 1999, the Dreamcast stole our hearts with a plethora of amazing games. There are plenty of essential classics from the Dreamcast era – Power Stone, SoulCalibur and Phantasy Star Online, to name a few – but what are some of the lesser-known favorites? To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the machine that refused to stop thinking, the Joystiq staff presents a short list of obscure treasures. The system may be gone, but our love is eternal. What are some of your favorite, lesser-known Dreamcast titles? Tell us your picks and why and we'll add it to our gallery as a community choice! >>Obscure Dreamcast Gems<<
Sonic Adventure 2 cutscene recreation is no faker
YouTube animator Cameron Turner gives a brief but promising glimpse at what a Sonic Adventure 2 remake might look like in the fan-made scene recreation above, putting a new spin on a memorable clash between Sonic and Shadow. The recreation improves on the original scene in practically every way, adding more dynamic action and fixing its infamous overlapping dialogue. Honestly, the animation here is better than what the voice acting deserI'LL MAKE YOU EAT THOSE WORDS! [Video: Cameron Turner]
Pier Solar HD stalled by certification, additions detailed
Pier Solar HD developer WaterMelon Co. is releasing its touched-up Mega Drive and Sega Genesis RPG on more than 10 platforms, and understandably, they've hit a bit of a snare this week in the certification process: While the build that WaterMelon submitted to Valve was cleared for release on Steam, Microsoft rejected the version due to what WaterMelon's update describes as "internal requirements." The studio is holding off on submitting to Sony and Nintendo until the issues Microsoft had with Pier Solar HD are resolved, but on a positive note, WaterMelon's update adds that correcting the issues "doesn't take as long as we thought." Once Pier Solar HD is cleared on all platforms, WaterMelon will announce a release date. While we're waiting, WaterMelon has extensively detailed the additions to Pier Solar HD beyond its visual boost. Beyond new areas to explore, chests to loot and bosses to trample, at least one new ending has been included, with WaterMelon teasing the potential inclusion of secret endings. Pier Solar HD also uses a reworked save system, which is based off traditional save points rather than the original version's method. Three extra songs that didn't fit on the original cartridge, a doubled inventory capacity and Achievements join Pier Solar HD's additions, including built-in Achievements for the Dreamcast and Wii U versions. An optional new graphic mode also applies a smoothing "hq3x filter" on pixelated elements, offering more rounded edges on things like character and enemy sprites if a cleaner trip down memory lane is desired. [Image: WaterMelon Co.]
Pier Solar HD pushed back to June
Pier Solar HD, the Sega Genesis-style RPG developed by Watermelon, has been delayed to June, Sega Nerds reported. The delay was announced via a backers-only update on the developer's Kickstarter page. Watermelon earned $231,370 on the service in December 2012, and just received approval from the Steam Greenlight community in March to begin distribution for PC, Mac and Linux on that platform. Also in development for PS3, PS4, Wii U, Android, Ouya, Dreamcast and considered for 3DS, Pier Solar HD was delayed to April just a few short months ago. Watermelon is reportedly looking to launch the game before E3, which starts on June 10. We've reached out to Watermelon to confirm the game's delay, and will update as we learn more [Update: Watermelon confirmed to Joystiq that Sega Nerds' report is accurate]. [Image: Watermelon]
Seen@GDC 2014: (The mob surrounding) Yu Suzuki
There were a lot of people at the Shenmue postmortem panel during GDC. Alas, Yu Suzuki, director of Shenmue, didn't stun the audience with the surprise announcement of Shenmue 3. That wasn't enough to stop eager fans from crowding around the former Sega guru behind classics like Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing, Outrun, Daytona and Space Harrier. Can't see him in the photo above? Let's get a little closer.
Neo XYX joins the Dreamcast's library next week
Mere weeks after Redux: Dark Matters made its Dreamcast debut, yet another game is scheduled to launch for Sega's surprisingly healthy 15-year-old console. German studio NG:DEV.TEAM announced that it will release its arcade-style shoot-'em-up NEO XYX for the Dreamcast next week via its online store. NEO XYX (pronounced "Neo Zaikusu") is a vertically scrolling shooter in the vein of Truxton, Batsugun, and other arcade standouts developed by Toaplan. NEO XYX previously launched as a homebrew release for SNK's Neo Geo console in 2013, though the upcoming Dreamcast edition will be available at a fraction of the Neo Geo version's original price. NEO XYX will be released on February 17 in standard, limited, and collector's editions. [Image: NG:DEV.TEAM]
Dreamcast review: Redux: Dark Matters
Sega held onto the Dreamcast for as long as it could, selling limited run games on its website well after the console's death in 2001. Still, Sonic's house gave up the ghost eventually. Enter publisher Hucast and designer René Hellwig, who just can't let it go. It's 2014 and they're still putting out brand new Dreamcast games like Redux: Dark Matters. A side-scrolling shooter made in the grand old style, Redux is very much of a piece with the hardcore arcade games typical of the Dreamcast. While it won't win the old machine any new acolytes, it handily demonstrates why the faithful remain, a demanding exercise in twitch reflexes painted in bold colors. Like its 2009 predecessor, Dux, Redux feels at home in the Dreamcast library. The two-dimensional shooter has you flying a spaceship from left to right, shooting other spaceships while collecting new weapons and trying not to blow up – it's precisely the sort of arcade-style game that defined Sega's last console. It's easy to pick up and play, difficult to master, and bears an unusually soft visual style. Dux and Redux both feature opening levels whose color palettes actually call the Dreamcast itself to mind, with muted, grey industrial walls and a tiny, blood-orange, triangular ship. It's like you're piloting the console's power light straight into its guts.
