Dreamcast goes digital

The Sega Dreamcast is joining the ranks of systems whose games are downloadable to current generation consoles. Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi are coming to the Xbox Live and PlayStation Network download services. There's been no mention of the Wii; I assume it can't handle the Dreamcast games for one reason or another.

Sonic Adventure is coming on the Dreamcast's 11th anniversary, September 9. 9-9-10 doesn't quite have the same ring as 9-9-99, though.

The games will also have new features:

Sega of America wrote:

Each game is based on the original Dreamcast incarnation, featuring all of the gameplay that older players fell in love with. The games incorporate all-new enhancements and features such as high resolution visuals and surround sound. There will also be online leader boards, allowing players to compare their skills with friends across the world! In addition to this, all-new Achievement and Trophy integration will be available for each game released.

No word on Phantasy Star Online yet. I have to wonder if they'll make downloadable content available for released DC games. I know PSO and Skies of Arcadia both had some downloadable quests in their Dreamcast incarnations.

Sonic Adventure is a pretty fun game. I have the remake for gamecube.

Well, either way, I know I'm going to be looking at some games in the near future.

All right! Looking forward to playing Space Channel 5 again!

Even though Grandia 2 was ported to the PS2 I kinda hope they bring it as a dl game on the PSN.. I'd love to be able to play the game without having to hook up my ps2.. Curse me having a 40gb ps3

Hmmm... when I first saw this article I thought it was talking about having Dreamcast emulation on the PS3 and 360. Reading over it again I think these are ports. The "Sonic Adventure" they're releasing is really "Sonic Adventure DX: Directors Cut" which was previously ported to Gamecube and PC. Crazy Taxi was previously ported to PS2, Gamecube, and original Xbox. I would be surprised to see any Dreamcast games appear that haven't already been ported to other systems (which I suppose means Phantasy Star Online is a possibility).

Yeah, they're definitely ports and not straight up emulation. They're adding online leader boards and achievements/trophies, so there has to be some game alterations going on to get those triggered by the game.

I wonder... if PSO does get released like this, would Sega revive an official PSO server?

Rez has already been ported to the Xbox 360 as Rez HD. Not terribly surprising that Sega's doing this, just a little surprising they hadn't already gotten around to porting these sooner.

I think if Sega revived the official PSO server it would be short lived.. Sure a few trophies/achievements are great to obtain. *looks at Final Fantasy XI on 360* but PSO gets really really repetative very fast so I can and cannot see it coming back.

Some additional news about the Dreamcast digital downloads came up at E3, but it seems to have slipped under the radar thanks to all the other stuff at the expo. I just learned about this a minute ago. Gaming news website/magazine CVG asked the president of Sega West how many Dreamcast titles would be available digitally by June 2011.

He said they plan to have around "18 to 24" titles! He also stated that this is an effort to focus on the popularity of the Dreamcast, so there are no plans to do this for Saturn titles. You can read it here.

It seems like Sega is really going to go all out in bringing some of the Dreamcast's glory back. It's a pity that the Saturn isn't included. I'd love to have a chance to get Shining Force III.

And now a guy from Sega Japan, who oversaw the Sega Ages 2500 line, has said they are considering Saturn titles in a new interview. It seems like Sega has a case of the left hand not talking to the right.

That interview also confirms that the Dreamcast games that are coming to digital distribution are indeed not using emulation. It also says "The next titles that we announce will be titles that are representative of the Dreamcast." I don't think there's a more representative game than PSO, do you?