Dreamcast Console Regions

[sega2k]

I know there are japanese versions of the Dreamcast. And in your videos I noticed that you had a few of them. Is it possible to play any game on them, like US games? Also, since its the Japanese version is there a way to go into the setting to change the language to english? Finally, I know you've prolly heard of people using CD-R's to play import games. But if I were to buy a Japanese Dreamcast couldn't I play the burned discs since the dreamcast can't tell the region? I would appreciate the feedback. Because I want to buy a Japanese version of the dreamcast and play my US games on it.

[Gary_b]

I know there are japanese versions of the Dreamcast. And in your videos I noticed that you had a few of them. Is it possible to play any game on them, like US games? Also, since its the Japanese version is there a way to go into the setting to change the language to english? Finally, I know you've prolly heard of people using CD-R's to play import games. But if I were to buy a Japanese Dreamcast couldn't I play the burned discs since the dreamcast can't tell the region? I would appreciate the feedback. Because I want to buy a Japanese version of the dreamcast and play my US games on it.

yes, you can play any region Dreamcast game on any region Dreamcast. even retail games! as far as i know there are not any games that can't be loaded on a Dreamcast from another region by using a boot disc. speaking of boot discs, you would need one to play retail games from the US on the JP console. unless you wanted to mod your console. as for CD-r, AKA backups, most have been region modded so that you can just put them in and play them.

you can go into the settings in an American Dreamcast and change the language to Japanese, so i don't see why you couldn't do the same in reverse on a JP system? i guess there is a chance that Sega changed some things for the US consoles but i doubt that the language settings are any different?

btw as far as i know changing the language settings on the system will only make the OS menu turn to English. it wont make JP games speak English, idk if it will do anything for games sub titles?

[sega2k]

Also, you said I can use a boot disc to help start up a US game on a Japanese Dreamcast. But doesn't using CD-R's work the same since you said that they are region free? Wouldn't that be easier than trying to make a boot disc? Just wondering

[Macabre]

What he meant by "using cd-r's" is that its a burnt game that someone has made using a cd-r. That could be a legit backup or a (more common) shared version of the game that has become public (in other words, pirated).

What specifically he meant was, that some of these shared versions of the game have been modified slightly so that they are region free. This is game dependent, and if your downloading from places like snesorama, then it would list in the comment section if this feature has been added by the uploader.

Just because your using a cd-r doesn't remove region restrictions, sorry.

[Gary_b]

What he meant by "using cd-r's" is that its a burnt game that someone has made using a cd-r. That could be a legit backup or a (more common) shared version of the game that has become public (in other words, pirated).

What specifically he meant was, that some of these shared versions of the game have been modified slightly so that they are region free. This is game dependent, and if your downloading from places like snesorama, then it would list in the comment section if this feature has been added by the uploader

well put

Just because your using a cd-r doesn't remove region restrictions, sorry.

again well put. some back up copies will still require a boot disc. you are probably gonna need one anyway. the good news is that you can use a CD-r version from a rom site. you should try to buy real games. having all back ups would feel dirty to me

[Macabre]

If your also going to make a habit out of using cd-r's for your games, go ahead and invest in a backup dreamcast. The console was designed to;

1.) play games that are on a gdrom disc.
2.) play music that is from a cdrom disc.

Playing games via its cd reader will become taxing on the systems disc reader unit, and it will eventually fatigue faster than the console normally would. You can make slight adjustments to the laser itself once the unit starts to fail, but ultimately, if all you play are cd-r's, you will need to replace your disc-reading part. I try to avoid cd-r's (other than trying homebrew or recently pso online here), but had a friend who was a pirate whore and his dreamcast was dead within a year after figuring out how to burn games.

If your just wanting to figure out the burning-game-using-cdr things for online game play specifically, then it would be advisable to keep a legit disc for non-online use. I still enjoy playing pso offline just as much as this new-found-online business, and prefer my legit disc




Also... if your going the other route and you just want a giant pile of game images so you don't have to purchase a game library, consider reading into this new SD memory card reader hack. You will save alot on cd-r's. I'm actually tempted to do this hack myself just so I can experiance the epic quake-simpsons game again.

Really, look into it. $ wise, the parts cost about as much as a pack of 10 cd-r's, assuming you have the soldering iron.

[Gary_b]

Also... if your going the other route and you just want a giant pile of game images so you don't have to purchase a game library, consider reading into this new SD memory card reader hack. You will save alot on cd-r's. I'm actually tempted to do this hack myself just so I can experiance the epic quake-simpsons game again.

Really, look into it. $ wise, the parts cost about as much as a pack of 10 cd-r's, assuming you have the soldering iron.

another route would be to use an emulator on his computer. massive hard drives are cheap these days. chances are he already has a 150 GB one in his computer.

[jinn]

If you need a chip to make the DC region free PM me