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Sega Drops Dreamcast Price To $50
kerskine writes: "Just read this article on CNET that says Sega has just dropped the price of the Dreamcast console to US$49.95. Given past articles on Slashdot on all sorts of fun Dreamcast projects, now's the chance to get one. Why not get two (in case you break one)?" See also this article on getting Linux to run on Dreamcast, and NetBSD is another option to explore. 8ight points out even more interesting Dreamcast information.
Here's my project for December: turning my Dreamcast into a sweet arcade cabinet. Build a wooden frame or buy an empty one and use your dreamcast + cheap TV for an excellent combo. I'm estimating the whole project will come in under $300 bucks.
I've seen MAME projects which use PCs and other gear, but this is the best value. You can burn a MAME emulator along with some roms on a bootable disc, you could buy Atari's Greatest Hits for 20... or if you like modern games, there are lots of arcade-straightforward titles like Crazy Taxi, Dead or Alive 2, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 that make great pickupandplay games for a few minutes.
Just because the system didn't make it in the market, don't write it off; the potential for hacking, modding, or simply playing quality games is high. And by the end of the year I'll have a standup version of Crazy Taxi to play...
Let me tell you about my Dreamcast: I use it to play games for NES, SNES, Sega Master System, MAME, Colecovision, Gameboy, and other systems, all of which are emulated (some near-perfectly) on the Dreamcast. An N64 emulator is reportedly in the works, too, as is an Apple ][ emulator, and more. I have run Linux on it successfully (although I wish I had a hard drive). I can also use it as an MP3 player, and using the newest VCD player I get full-motion, full-screen playback of VCDs on my TV (some earlier attempts were choppy, but the new player is great). I can use it as a web browser (if I want to see what the web is like on TV for some odd reason), or to send e-mail. Right now, I have it set up for my roommate to use for her e-mail so she doesn't need to "borrow" my computer. All that use out of it, and that's without even looking at the large library of Dreamcast Games. For 50 bucks, this thing is a steal.