Sega Dreamcast System Region Comparison - JPN - US - EUR - Adam Koralik

[FlatAbove732]

Adam, isn't the Japanese one heavier because it has the heat pipe passive cooling system inside, whereas all the China ones did away with that, used a more power efficient fab of cpu and gpu components, and replaced the heat pipe with a simple piece of sheet metal? This was a really cool feature of the dreamcast at the time and a selling point to me but by the time I got mine and had it apart to look inside, no heat pipes. No big deal though, the heat pipe free ones probably are more reliable.

[AdamKoralik]

@FlatAbove732 Its something like that, I made a video about the Japanese Dreamcast specifically,, I think I talked about that a bit.

[FlatAbove732]

@AdamKoralik I remember this info from when they were still making Dreamcast systems and I was very into the system while games were still being produced. The reason why it was made in Japan is because that is where they started making it, but later on they moved production to china and shrunk the die size to cut costs and further cut cost of manufacturing by doing away with the heat pipes. There should still be photos of the old style board with heat sinks on google images.

[FlatAbove732]

@AdamKoralik here you go, w w w (dot) gamesx (dot) com / dreamcast / index2 (dot) htm It looks pretty neat, I was disappointed that I couldn't see it in real life but it wasn't necessary by the time I purchased mine.

[flamerasta89]

the cooling system in the japanese is better than the north american

[fireheartgames]

I've always wondered why the European Dreamcast had a blue swirl. Thank you for letting us know. I found your video and finally found out.

[AdamKoralik]

@fireheartgames Happy to help.

[PANDEMONIUMDJ]

i love ur videos. r u a member at dreamcast-talk or dcisozone?

[AdamKoralik]

@PANDEMONIUMDJ Thanks. Yes I am, I use the same username.

[PrrrromotionGiven]

Typical. Everyone prefers the blue swirl and I, living in Europe, prefer the Orange swirl :P

[rwdplz1]

I have a 9-9-99 American Launch Dreamcast, HKT-3020, manufactured July 1999, made in Japan

[Chao772VersionIV]

The Dreamcast (EU) version that I have is made in Indonesia including the Sega Saturn.

But the Master System and Mega Drive are both DUH! made in China

[DjMaffiaboss]

@Chao772VersionIV My Dreamcast HKT-3030 (Pal E from Germany) is made in Japan

[hyrulesavior2008]

i hate it when i read in the back of any console ( MADE IN CHINA ) not like the glorious days back in 90's everything was made in Japan.......

[Chao772VersionIV]

@hyrulesavior2008 All Nintendo consoles I have including the Wii DUH! it's made in China and the NES, SNES, N64 and GCN are actually made in JAPAN!

[hyrulesavior2008]

@Chao772VersionIV for some reason i hate chinese products they feel cheap and crash easily.....but i respect their culture,nothing is like a japanese product cuz they last forever

[KMCGamer]

I love all of your dreamcast videos

[AdamKoralik]

@KMCGamer Thank you.

[sonic71x]

@AdamKoralik Your videos are awesome, especially your dreamcast ones! Please, make more!

[AdamKoralik]

@sonic71x I intend to.

[sonic71x]

@AdamKoralik Awesome!

[AdamKoralik]

@Yoleirocks2000 Thanks.

[thefreakface]

The BLUE one is the best :P

[cutemimi25]

I read the bottom of my 2 American Dreamcasts and one actually says Made in China as for the other one it actually says Made in Japan.

[AdamKoralik]

@cutemimi25 Good to know, thanks.

[Coolboy529]

my pal dont have that yellow one

[soragarza]

do you have any dreamcasts your willing to sell? i really need one hah

[AdamKoralik]

@soragarza I don't sell my stuff. But Dreamcasts are easy to get. Check EBay or Amazon.

[Scourgeandmephiles93]

Guess what I bought half a year ago. A PAL Dreamcast with an installed mod chip to make it play all region games. Wasn't expensive at all. =)

I've also heard that PAL DCs are rare.

[AdamKoralik]

@Scourgeandmephiles93 You can use any Dreamcast to play games from any region. It just requires a boot disc.

PAL Dreamcasts are rare in North America or Japan I suppose. Since thats what was released in Australia and Europe, they're undoubtedly less rare there.

[mrbluswirl]

The Japanese one is heavier than the others because of the liquid cooling system they had. Lucky bastards.

[kasm279]

@mrbluswirl Lolwut, the dreamcast barely even needs the fan it has :P Really the only path for air inside these is from the back vent, which is half blocked by the RF shield.

[BRiTDRAG2]

INDONESIA FTW!!

[99volsfan]

my dreamcast says made in japan and its an american dreamcast

[fredfrit]

i have a two Europian Dreamcasts one is made in indoanesia other is made in japan, only japan still works like new, indonesian was a real shit but there are no noticable diferences betwen them, i looked inside, all the same just all indo DC's had a problem with a cable that comes from a laser, after few years of use it brokes..

[TheInsanemonkeyboy]

You know writing out JAP is racist dont you? the correct abbreviation is JPN.

[AdamKoralik]

@TheInsanemonkeyboy Ha, holy shit, yeah, you're right. My bad. I'll fix that right now. I don't know why I forgot that.

[TheMachinimanator]

australia gets nothin

[Jakkinator45]

what company used the logo?

[AdamKoralik]

@Jakkinator45 Unfortunately, I don't know.

[chaoreturnsforgood76]

@AdamKoralik It was a PC software company called "Tivola ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING" which has the red swirl trademarked as their logo so Sega of Europe decided to change it to blue.

[Moopthehedgehog]

@AdamKoralik

If you are still curious,

It was a children's company called Tivola

[AdamKoralik]

@Moopthehedgehog Yeah someone let me know, thanks though!

[therezn55]

no look...cause i bought these games and now i have my dreamcast and i have this japanese game...streetfighter zero 3 and it doesnt play....i dont know what to do so i could play it on my dreamcast it doesnt read it ..and the game isnt scratched or anything...its a japanese version...do i or can i get some type of converter to play it...and the game isnt a copy its the real thing ...would can/should i do ...?? HELP please..any advice

[AdamKoralik]

@therezn55 You need to use a boot disc, like Gameshark or Codebreaker.

[therezn55]

woow but thanks for the help i wouldnt know how that would have worked...really thanks...you are truely helpful

[AdamKoralik]

@therezn55 No problem dude.

[therezn55]

were can i get this boot disc ?? is it possible to buy the disc somewhere in stores because i do not own a credit card and so i would need to buy it in store...or i can some how mail money and they can mail the disc....all in all in confidence

[AdamKoralik]

@therezn55 If you know how to burn a CD you can just download a boot disc, burn it, and your Dreamcast will read it. I recommend GameShark or Codebreaker.

[therezn55]

hey can i get some answers dude...im gona buy ay dreamcast...im gona buy an amercian one but should i buy a japanese one?....bucause im scared of buying an american dreamcast and it not playing all the japenese games im also going to buy and i dont want a japanese dreamcast and it not playing the amercian games i have already have bot...or can i buy an american dreamcast and buy some type over cd to make the other japanese work?

[AdamKoralik]

@therezn55 If you're in North America, buy an American Dreamcast and use a boot disc to play import games. Boot discs are REALLY easy to get.

If you live in Japan, buy a Japanese Dreamcast and use the SAME boot disc, and it'll allow American games to work.

[4houseofthedead]

Would you upload a video of showing all of your dreamcast games?

[AdamKoralik]

@4houseofthedead Yes, I intend to, when the time is right.

[TheBigClaw]

From my understanding Australian Dreamcasts (or any game system for that matter) are exactly the same as any other system release for Europe or any other PAL regions. My DC looks just like your European one, stickers and all and I am in Australia.

[AdamKoralik]

@TheBigClaw Good to know, thanks.

[4houseofthedead]

What about the dreamcast controllers, is there any differences between the JAP, US, and EUR version?

[AdamKoralik]

@4houseofthedead I did a video on the controllers, should answer you questions.

[matcraizy]

i wis i played that system but this thing was made like 13 or 14 years ago and i never was interested in it back then

[AdamKoralik]

@matcraizy Released in Japan in late 1998, in North America or Europe in 1999. So, 11, 12 years at the most.

[pacman6438]

My PAL Dreamcast is actually made in Japan.

[AdamKoralik]

@pacman6438 Interesting, thanks for letting me know.

[foxworthy21]

I had 2 US Dreamcast. One I bought in 1999 which was made in Japan and the other one I bought in 2000 which was made in China.

The one made in Japan runs cooler to the touch and quieter with the fans than the one made in China. Just thought I share my thoughts. Thanks.

[AdamKoralik]

@foxworthy21 Thanks for sharing.

[zeldajunkielol2]

I have an NTSC Dreamcast that was made in Japan and A dreamcast that was made in China pretty sure the one made in Japan has an older manufacture date.

[jonathannintendonerd]

Just curious do you use a step down converter for the Japanese one or do you just plug it into the wall directly? Just wondering if it could handle 120VAC.

[AdamKoralik]

@jonathannintendonerd Yeah, I have a video on just the Japanese Dreamcast with more information. But the short answer is, a Japanese Dreamcast can be plugged into an American (or Canadian) outlet and work just fine.

[TimeChristis]

Cool series! I wanted to point out another difference: the Windows CE logo. While the US says "Compatible with", the Japanese say "Designed for".

[AdamKoralik]

@TimeChristis You're absolutely right. I missed that. Good call.

[hegnia32]

i cant wait until i get $40 so i can buy a dreamcast at play n trade

[AdamKoralik]

@hegnia32 You love it. Make sure you pick up Shenmue.

[hegnia32]

@AdamKoralik its gunna be my second one because my first broke :( and i couldnt play one for about 5 years so yeah and ill make sure i get shenmue (and my favorite, tech romancer)

[AdamKoralik]

@hegnia32 Good, I'll be making reviews of each game eventually. So, you'll get a sampling of everything.

[dinizgames]

AdamKoralik nice comparison, so the japanese versions have more height? man i want one now, i have the European version and im a proud Sega Fan, Great System, hey i have a question, do youknow that Virtual Fighter 4 was to came ut on the Dreamcast but got ported to the ps2? i heared that there two GDs, boht camed with the Japanese Specicial Edition of Shenmue 2 and one of theose GDs was a Pasport Disc with a Demo of it on the Dreamcast, do you know about this?

[AdamKoralik]

@dinizgames No, the only real difference is that the Japanese versions have a clear plastic piece infront and not a grey one. My Japanese unit is a launch model and is there for heavier. But they're the same size.

Virtua Fighter 4 was intended to be released on the Dreamcast but never was. Yes, ultimately it was released on the PS2.

[AdamKoralik]

@dinizgames Shenmue II Limited Edition came with two bonus discs about Virtua Fighter 4. Both contained information about the Virtua Fighter series and even videos of Virtua Fighter 4. There was NO demo of Virtua Fighter 4 for the Dreamcast ever released to the public.

[dinizgames]

AdamKoralik, but it was ported to the ps2,

I see, So those videos were VF4 runing on Dreamcast Hardware? have you seen those videos? how were they?

[AdamKoralik]

@dinizgames To be honest I haven't watched them.

[dinizgames]

AdamKoralik, i see, they must be prety rare, sinse there not videos on Youtube, i would like to see if the game looked better on the Dreamcast then it looks on the ps2, sinse the Dreamcast can handle better textures, i know there is Torrent out there, but it has no seeds and its prety rare to, anyways great videos

[AdamKoralik]

@dinizgames Its not rare really, its just not that interesting. Eventually I'll do a video on the Japanese version of Shenmue II, when I do, I'll show the bonus discs.

[dinizgames]

AdamKoralik, ok, i see, thanks

[ihearduliekgoatse]

My Japanese DC has the clear plastic piece too, but weighs around the same as my European one. cool vid.

[AdamKoralik]

@ihearduliekgoatse Does your Japanese Dreamcast have a build date listed on it?

[AdamKoralik]

As I mention in another video, I know games can be easily imported, but I wanted to be authentic.

And yes, I know all about the CD-R backups. I don't use them.

[jonathannintendonerd]

really they can all play the same games with a easily downloadable utopia boot disk. or heck you can even play boot leg stuff on them with out modding but you didn't hear it from me. ; )