Here's a few Dreamcast facts I remember. Shocking? Maybe not. But then again, maybe!
- The Dreamcast start-up jingle was composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, who won both an Grammy and an Academy Award for scoring The Last Emperor (1987).
- Michael Jackson appears in three Dreamcast games: Space Channel 5, Space Channel 5: Part 2, and Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2.
- Shigeru Miyamoto was an unpaid, uncredited consultant on Seaman.
- Seaman's creator, Yoot Saito, used trickery and tabloid magazines to convince the Japanese public that Seaman was a real living creature (and the missing link in human evolution). When the hoax was revealed, Seaman sold over 400,000 copies—nearly becoming the best-selling Dreamcast game.
- "Spawn: In the Demon's Hand" and "Seaman." Can you guess what these names have in common? Hint: a third game, D2, contains an enemy that was censored in the U.S. version—a phallic, ooze-spewing tentacle.
- If you live in the west and are fan of either Sega Rally 2 or Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram, this may piss you off: the Japanese versions supported online play.
- The Dreamcast's life was short, yet several developers left their entire legacy with it. Among them: Climax Graphics/Crazy Games (Blue Stinger, Illbleed), No Cliche (Toy Commander, Toy Racer), and Carmel Pot (The Lost Golem). None of their games have been ported to other platforms.
- MYTH BUSTED: Contrary to popular belief, Napple Tale was not developed by an all-woman staff.
- FACT BUSTED: This one's a doozy, and I don't think anyone has told the whole story. (I'm not sure anyone has it!) But this is what I've learned from first and second hand research. Grain of salt and all that.
In 2007, Dreamcast fans got word that Sega had ceased GD-ROM production, so they started a petition to reverse the action. But in fact, Sega hadn't yet killed the GD-ROM, and had no apparent plans to; GD-ROMs were still able to be pressed for new NAOMI-based arcade titles, and potentially, for new Dreamcast games. Yet the bogus news of the Dreamcast's death spread to Japan, and developers of NAOMI/Dreamcast games heard of the petition—believed it—and begged Sega to bring back the GD-ROM. Sega, incredulous, thought there was a manufacturing problem and told them that they'd look into it... essentially, validating the hearsay! While Sega "looked into it," developers resolved to go back to using cartridges for their NAOMI arcade games. In Sega's eyes, this made the GD-ROM moot. They ended its production.
Yes, you read that right: your petition to save the Dreamcast actually killed it.
/shyamalama!
Yes, you read that right: your petition to save the Dreamcast actually killed it.
/shyamalama!