2 Rev0s and New to DT

[ceramicsaturn]

Long Post Warning:

Hey guys. I'm a new member here. I was directed to come here by a member on Online Consoles as I'd like to try to play PSOv2 online one day. They said this place would be the place to go to. I don't have a BBA yet, so it's not like I can right away anyway, but I'm hoping to do this in the near future.

As a bit of an introduction, I've always been one of those Nintendo fans drooling over Sega tech. I was never able to get Sega systems when they first came out, but they were always my favorite. The Saturn and Dreamcast in particular are big standouts. I still remember seeing the Dreamcast and screenshots of it's games in a FOA Shwartz Christmas catalog for the first time and wanting it like nothing else. The first time I saw a game running was in a Walmart where there was a demo. Rush 2049 was playing. I can still remember how my jaw was on the floor as I couldn't believe how it was able to render the flame on the back of the car.

ANYwho, my first Dreamcast was at the tail end of it's life. Gamestop was cleaning house and I picked up one and a few games for cheap. I sold that many years ago, though. It's a good thing anyway, I always had terrible luck with it's laser (even after "configuring" it).

I recently got back into it though, and man did I score big.

Thre weeks ago, I found a Dreamcast at my local gaming store. I looked at the price, and it had a price sticker of $30 on it. Pretty average price for a Dreamcast. Got to talking with the employee behind the counter and learned it was an import Dreamcast. I worked him down in price until we reached a messily $15. Not bad as import Dreamcasts are worth about $80-120 easily. I left with the system, controller, two VMUs (japanese models) and hook ups a very happy guy. There was one oddity I noticed about the system, though. The detachable "modem" wasn't a modem at all. It was just a port-less piece of shell that attached to the ETX port. No way to plug in anything. Just a placeholder. Odd. But that's just the tip of the iceberg....

Two Fridays ago I get a call from another shop that had my number. They knew to call me if they ever get broken systems in that are in good physical condition (always good to have a replacement shell). They said they got in a broken white Dreamcast. I went there and the thing looked like it was dragged behind a car for a week. Not even kidding, it had to be the worst condition DC I've ever seen. I told they guy why I wanted broken systems, and asked him to look for one that was in better condition next time. I get a call the next day, on Saturday, and he says he has another Dreamcast.

At this point my interest is pretty low seeming as I wasted my time the previous day to go look at a Dreamcast that was in horrid shape. He said the top half was clear, which peaked my interest, and I drove to the store to check it out.

The first thing that I found striking was not only was the top shell clear, but that the Sega logo and Windows logo were printed on the front. 3rd party shells never had this, and never had the embedded numbers under the lid, etc. I asked him how much he wanted, and he said $5. Seemed fair as even 3rd party shells are going for $50-80 on eBay.

I came home, and the first thing I did was plug the half clear system in. Why not see what was wrong with it. To my surprise it powered on. Ok, so the drive must be bad. No. In fact, I"ve played the thing for hours straight for the last few days, and it's completely working. Score for me, that raises the value to $30. Or did it?

I decided to take some pictures of the system from all angles (top, bottom, and the four sides) and post them on another forum I'm apart of that solely deals with Dreamcasts. I ended up learning that the shell was actually a Sega branded limited edition shell from Japan you could buy that would replace your stock white top half. They only made 1000 of each color, and are EXTREMELY rare. The shell alone is worth over $150. SWEET!

Then a member notices something. Next to the region code on the bottom of any US system is a circle with a number in it. All DCs had a 1 or a 2 in this circle. Mine had a 0. Apparently this is called a rev0 system. It was made roughly a year before the other Dreamcasts (before release), and had heatsinks, a metal cased fan, and heat pipes. The thing runs MUCH quieter than a typical Dreamcast and will never over heat. Already had offers for it in the thread! Only two members have ever found one. One moderator bought one for a lot of money, and the other found it randomly on eBay. That's it. They are VERY rare and MUCH better built than the typical retail release.

I then decide to compare it to my new Japanese system. On Japanese systems there is no number on the bottom in a circle. So it's a little harder to figure out. I looked through the vent holes and noticed the same type of fan was inside...the one that had the metal casing. Remember how this Dreamcast didn't have a dial up port on the modem extension? That's the main sign that it's a Japanese rev0 model! That's right, I have two freakin' rev0 Dreamcasts!

So sorry for the long post, but now you know why I'm here, how I got here, and what started the Dreamcast craze for me again. I've been downloading games I've never gotten to play, and now have a hefty collection under my belt. Games like Propeller Arena, Gundam DX, Frame Gride, etc are standouts. But I would like to get online with PSO. There aren't any BBAs on eBay right now, so I'll have to wait longer than I'd like. Anywho, I look forward to being a good addition to the community. If you guys want pics of the DCs, just ask.

[pcwzrd13]

Sweet finds you got there! I hope you enjoy your stay at the best Dreamcast forum on the net! Check out my website, Dreamcast Live, and the contest section of the forums if you're interested in entering some competitions.

[mazonemayu]

that would be me

hey m8, glad you found your way here

btw, that dreamcast with the empty modem shell might very well be a kiosk or rental model

[ceramicsaturn]

that would be me

hey m8, glad you found your way here

btw, that dreamcast with the empty modem shell might very well be a kiosk or rental model

Oh hey!

Yeah, that's what they said. Either way, it's made prior to release and it has the rev0 parts in it. The American one has no problems with PSO because it has a modem, but that Japanese model without the modem has a unique issue with PSO. It freezes at certain parts, typically after guild missions are done, and also seems to corrupt data. I'm not sure what the reasoning is on that. The same disc runs perfectly on my US rev0. According to theisozone all of the Japanese rev0 models all lack that functional modem. The US ones though have it. Otherwise the hardware is essentially the same, minus the format difference and the sticker underneath the console.

[ceramicsaturn]

Sweet finds you got there! I hope you enjoy your stay at the best Dreamcast forum on the net! Check out my website, Dreamcast Live, and the contest section of the forums if you're interested in entering some competitions.

I'll check it out when I get home. Thanks for the welcome!

[dark]

Hey, welcome. Sounds like you have some cool DCs. Let me mention a few things to give you a bit more context on rarity and uniqueness of your DCs.

Many standard Japanese dreamcasts did not ship with modems, instead they were shipped with a plastic shell that sounds like what you have. I think you got a good deal, but used normal retail version Japanese dreamcasts are unfortunately not worth as much as $80-$120 by themselves

I saw you were mentioning that your DCs were "pre-launch." As for whether your DCs are pre-release, keep in mind that even though the US DC launch was September 1999, the Japanese launch was much earlier on November 1998! And sega was also producing the DCs in advance of these months (IE: my USA launch model bought in Sept 1999 says it was manufactured in August of 1999). In the US, other earlier models were produced (usually manufactured around April/May 1999) -these models did not have modems, and were provided to game retailers to set up kiosks and also to a national video store (I think Hollywood Video?) to build up the anticipation by providing system rentals before the system launched.

The early versions of the DC have the metal fan and heat pipes. The 1999 US models seem to have them, as do the Japanese models from the first year.

The first party clear shell is indeed very rare and seems to sell for a good price on ebay. Lucky find with that one

[ceramicsaturn]

Hey, welcome. Sounds like you have some cool DCs. Let me mention a few things to give you a bit more context on rarity and uniqueness of your DCs.

Many standard Japanese dreamcasts did not ship with modems, instead they were shipped with a plastic shell that sounds like what you have. I think you got a good deal, but used normal retail version Japanese dreamcasts are unfortunately not worth as much as $80-$120 by themselves

I saw you were mentioning that your DCs were "pre-launch." As for whether your DCs are pre-release, keep in mind that even though the US DC launch was September 1999, the Japanese launch was much earlier on November 1998! And sega was also producing the DCs in advance of these months (IE: my USA launch model bought in Sept 1999 says it was manufactured in August of 1999). In the US, other earlier models were produced (usually manufactured around April/May 1999) -these models did not have modems, and were provided to game retailers to set up kiosks and also to a national video store (I think Hollywood Video?) to build up the anticipation by providing system rentals before the system launched.

The early versions of the DC have the metal fan and heat pipes. The 1999 US models seem to have them, as do the Japanese models from the first year.

The first party clear shell is indeed very rare and seems to sell for a good price on ebay. Lucky find with that one

Sorry if I mentioned pre-launch in there when referring to the Japanese one. I do know the American model though was made a full year before it's release state side.

I appreciate the help. I do know that the rev0 models are quite rare, and have verified the US is one by parts / rev number (the 0 in the circle next to the region). If others were made with this fan, that very well maybe. But I am sure on that one that it's a rev0 for certain.

I was aware of the DC launch being a year early in Japan. It is older than my American one, so that would explain that. My American DC has a modem, so I do not believe that it was a demo/kiosk model, though. Only the Japanese is lacking one, which seems to go in line with what you are saying about the early Japanese run.

Either way, the fact that each don't sound like a locomotive passing by while playing is enough to love them, haha. I'm pretty lucky to find them. Regarding the regular, non-early import DCs, I've been watching eBay for some time, and they do all seem to cost 80-120. Maybe you might get one cheaper than that if you're lucky, but I haven't seen one for sale for cheaper than that.

[dark]

Regarding the regular, non-early import DCs, I've been watching eBay for some time, and they do all seem to cost 80-120. Maybe you might get one cheaper than that if you're lucky, but I haven't seen one for sale for cheaper than that.

I've seen loads go for much cheaper than that. Here's one that ended recently with a couple games and accessories for $35.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Asian- ... 3a7262734e

Not to belabor a point, but the only real indicator of an item's price on ebay is what it sold for - not what some whacko lists for Otherwise there would be plenty of DC games "worth" over $100, which just isn't the case at all.

[Alec1382]

Not to belabor a point, but the only real indicator of an item's price on ebay is what it sold for - not what some whacko lists for Otherwise there would be plenty of DC games "worth" over $100, which just isn't the case at all.

Very true. I don't know why some morons waste their time listing things for so high when there are other copies available for cheaper. Look at this guy for example. Do they honestly think that anyone in their right mind would spend $125 on this, when there is another complete copy available for $45?

[ceramicsaturn]

Lol, whatever it's worth.... is besides the point as mine is not your typical release. ANYwho .