Um, there’s, ahem, no particular reason I’m asking, just, uh, curious, yeah, that’s it! So, mostly for the sake of, enlightenment, I’m wondering about the following things…
1) If someone were to build, let’s say, a portable Dreamcast, would it require BOTH VMU slots or just one? Would 1 be enough?
2) Assuming this person did build such a unit, would it be necessary to be able to SEE the LCD on the VMU unit when it was plugged it? Could a gamer live without that?
3) Would the unit need the three extra controller ports, or were there not a ton of games that require this?
4) What would be better – a smaller screen (2.5″) and better battery life or a bigger screen (4″-5″) and less battery life?
5) What other features would be cool in such a unit?
SO! If anyone has any thoughts/input as to these and other burning questions, please email me! Thanks!
Have you for sale this ?
1. Only 1 VMU would be required, the 2nd was just there for a rumble pack. Technically speaking, neither are ‘required’ except for game savings. If you could hardwire the VMU, you’d save some space, while still having the save function, although no portability.
2. No, it’s not necessary to see the lcd, sometimes useful, but not all together required.
3. 1 controller is fine
4. I’d prefer a slightly bigger screen. but thats me
5. a spare port for rumble. 🙂
Seriously though, I realize that this article is outdated, but I just found it. I still have a dream cast with a few games I’d enjoy playing.
crazy taxi and a few others for DC portable would be kinda cool.
Not quite sure when this idea came about, but I am pretty sure it was abandoned, I would like to know what the problems were when/if you attempted this feat?
I was playing with the idea of doing something like this, but my idea was to put the guts of the system within a arcade controller. Not as portable as your innovations, but I like playing fighting games so that was my reasoning.
Anyway, the Dreamcast was one of my favorite systems, the other being the Atari Jaguar, although from your site they both appear to be difficult to mold into a portable.
one VMU port would be enough
no, one must not see the LCD of the VMU
1 Controller is enough (at least its a protable, but the link feature should be there for ferrari f355 challenge e.g. man that would be so cool)
the big screen would be better
the portable dreamcast is still appreciated!!
I know I’m a little late to the party here, but I do have some input.
1) If you could build in the rumble feature, there is no need for a secondary VMU slot.
2) A gamer could live without the VMU screen, however, some games did make use of the screen while playing. Resident Evil: Code Veronica comes to mind; you could see your health on the VMU.
3) If you could build it with TV out, the extra controller ports would come in handy for multiplayer.
4) Personally, I would prefer a larger screen AND longer battery life! 🙂 But I think the larger screen would win out.
5) TV out would be nice. The ability to play VMU minigames on the main LCD using the main control scheme, if in the realm of possibility.
Someone (who was inspired by you, Ben Heck!) once built such a device, but his site has since vanished. His name was Dave, and you can view a copy of his site here:
http://web.archive.org/web/20060329012542/www.portablesystems.net/dreamcast3.htm
It truly would be great to get a handheld DC! Anywho, thanks for listening.
Dhomas
well I saw that as well tho I’m late as well on this post, but to Dhmoas that PDC is kinda bulky a lil bit it wouldn’t feel right playing Marvel vs. Capcom 2, lol, I’m mainly a Fighting/shooting & some RPGs kinda guy, and some stratagey, but ne-who, ben if u could make one datz not bulky I’ll probally buy one, or I’ll try to make one my self if I had that much time on my hands, but I don’t, but it’ll be tight to have a portable dreamcast wit ya, just playing Jet Grind Radio/Marvel vs. Capcom on da go is fun, it’ll be kool if ur playing it on the air plane as well, if u got a long flight to another country, 😀 and here’s some insites from my perspective.
1) probally a 5″ LCD screen would be fine if it doesn’t drain alot of battery
2) can fit the VMU inside of it
3) smaller than that one Dhmoas showed us………..
4) re-chargable Li-on batteries [if it’ll work]
5) wall jack connector to connect to the re-chargable battery.
it would be nice to have a portable DC, show it off around da city, ^__^, and ppl be wondering where u get it & bring ppl here, hehe, it’ll make a killa sale
1. Only one VMU slot. I don’t want to shake anything loose.
2. I personally like to see the VMU. Kinda adds that Sega-ish thing to it…
3. One port. Everyone esle can get their own…
4. Small Screen. Especially since some of the artwork is REALLY colorful and loves battery life.
5. Outputs to hook it up to a TV like you have in the Wii Laptop.
I know this is kinda old, but i just started playing my DC again a couple of days ago(Shenmue) and realized hom much i like it.
I realize this topic is older, but it’s relevant to me and I thought my input might still be useful to you.
Despite what everyone else has said, two memory slots would be preferred and with due cause. Space on the VMU could easily be depleted by a sports title. Also, some titles had features involving the VMU screen which greatly enhanced gameply. The best way to execute this would be to hardwire the first vmu and embed the screen in the front of the unit. Then, you could place the second port somewhere on the edge of the unit (on the top edge near one of the corners would make the most sense). Actually, you could put the screen in the top right corner of the face and place the second slot on the top left edge, or the other way around. That would make the most sense. There are 3 reasons for the inclusion of the second slot. Firstly, if you’ve only got one slot, there’s no way to transfer data to another card. Secondly, Sega released a 4x memory card, but it lacks the VMU screen. Regardless, it is usefull as a secondary and relatively massive storage alternative which, when placed in the second slot, can compliment the functionality of the VMU. Lastly, there was a game called Seaman, that’s like a man that lives in the sea as in Sea Man or Sea-Man. Seriously, don’t laugh. So this game had a particularly clever voice recognition game play mechanic to it and required the use of a microphone plugged in to the second port. Specifically, the game required the device to be plugged in to the second slot and would not function otherwise. While this game was not widely popular in the US, it still is a consideration for your design.
As for controller ports, I would ask for four. More than one is absolutely required as there were a few games that supported the keyboard and mouse. However, I would go all the way with it and use all four ports. As someone else pointed out, you included a video out option for your Wii mod. I’d do the same here as there were many popular multiplayer titles for the Dreamcast and to exclude that audience would, I think, be a serious mistake.
With regard to size of screen, despite allegations led by Sony’s 2000 marketing campaign, Dreamcast games were beautiful and the system executed them, in most cases, flawlessly. That having been said, the size of screen used to display the Dreamcast software will have a direct effect on the play experience and the justice done to the source material. If it were possible, I would include a high-quality projector lens on the base of my portable dreamcast and find an abandoned drive-in to play my games. I think you catch my meaning.
1.If you want to play Seaman, you need both VMU slots.
2.It’s nice to, but I don’t think you needed to.
3.It would be better to not have them
4.Bigger screen.
5.Rumble which I think requires the second slot.The modem would be nice.
I don’t understand all the people who talk about conserving battery life, then say they want a rumble feature.
You can’t have a rumble on this thing. Period.
Wanna suck battery power down to nothing fast? Add rumble.
1.) 1 port would be enough. I dont understand why there are 2
2.) I have never used the vmu screen for anything on my dreamcast just to save stuff
3.) I would say at least 1 extra controller port but 3 would be cool
4.) I’d say the smaller screen. The longer you can play the better 😛
5.) make it compatable with DVDS or something or make it still TV plug-into-able. built in speakers too. hey check this out
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Honestly, I just want to own one.
I’ve got more DC games than ps, xbox.
Dream cast portable modded would rule! Best fish game ever could played constantly with no removal of CD!