Today is the 20th anniversary of the famous 9/9/99 release of the Sega Dreamcast in the United States. While we looked back fondly on some of the most iconic Dreamcast games already earlier today, the console has not completely faded into the void.
No, there will almost certainly never be a Dreamcast 2 or anything like that, even if people really want it to be so, but not only are there still people out there making games for Sega’s final home console, there are still people online playing together.
There are communities of players that still get together and play classic online games such as Phantasy Star Online and Worms World Party.
One such community is the Dreamcastic Club, a YouTube channel/community that continues to be active in promoting players to get online with their Dreamcast, posting helpful tutorials, and sharing videos of game nights.
For example, you can check out what playing Phantasy Star Online looks on the Dreamcast like in 2019 via a session which took place recently two days ago on Sept. 7.
Now it’s probably obvious to most of you reading this that Sega has not officially supported the Dreamcast in years. Sega has been busy surviving and thriving as a thirty-party developer/publisher ever since the plug was pulled on the Dreamcast. In other words, you can’t just simply hop on as you did 20 years ago.
However, crafty fans have found a ways to get online. The most popular method, is using a custom software known as DreamPi created by Luke Benstead.
According to this DreamPi set up guide created by the Dreamcastic Channel, DreamPi “takes your existing high-speed internet and transforms it into a dial-up connection that can be used by your Dreamcast.” Neat right?
Since I haven’t tried it myself just yet, I recommend going and watching the Dreamcastic Channel’s walkthrough if you wanted to give it a go.
It’s not the only guide or method for playing Dreamcast online, but it’s the simplest and easiest to understand method that I have come across so far while researching and also provides information about how to join the various modern Dreamcast communities that exist.
Just know that you’ll likely need to purchase some equipment that is required to set everything up. A website by the name of Dreamcast Live, a place where players go to organize meetups and game sessions, has a space where you can get links to all the things you’ll need.
While I’m still waiting until I have a free weekend to sit down and give it a try, it’s comforting to know that somewhere out there, people are still keeping one of my favorite consoles of all-time alive.
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