Dreamcast online functionality
The Dreamcast is a home video game console by Sega, the first one introduced in the sixth generation of video game consoles. With the release of the Dreamcast in 1998 amid the dot-com bubble and mounting losses from the development and introduction of its new home console, Sega made a major gamble in attempting to take advantage of the growing public interest in the Internet by including online capabilities in the console as a selling point. As such, the Dreamcast was the first console to include a built-in modem for Internet support and online play. Sega would end up leaning heavily into the online capabilities to sell the Dreamcast as hype grew for Sony's then-upcoming competitor, the PlayStation 2, which also promised online gaming in addition to its DVD capabilities.
To create further incentive for use of the Dreamcast's online capabilities, Sega went beyond the scope of their prior online ventures and invested heavily in the development of unified online services for it, a concept that predated former partner Microsoft's Xbox Live service by a few years. Sega also predated Microsoft in pioneering the concept of downloadable content for games released on a console, though it was hampered by the small memory of the VMU. Despite the foresight Sega had in the emergence of broadband Internet access by making the modem modular and upgradeable with a broadband adapter, the services mainly supported dial-up Internet access throughout their lifetimes; only in Japan did broadband service arrive for the Dreamcast before Sega discontinued it in 2001, abandoning the console business altogether with its transition to third-party publishing. The services were gradually discontinued by Sega in the subsequent years; the last remaining service lingered on in Japan before it was shut down in 2007. In response, hobbyists have revived parts of the online services by creating private servers for a handful of games that had their official servers shut down.
Hardware
Sega produced two networking accessories for the Dreamcast worldwide, one for dial-up connections and one for broadband connections. A third accessory, also intended for broadband connections, was only available in Japan. All adapters are visually similar to each other; however, the first accessory includes a telephone jack while the latter two accessories include an RJ45 jack for Ethernet instead. The adapters attach flush to an expansion port on the side of the Dreamcast. Sega also produced a keyboard and a computer mouse for easier navigation of the Internet on the Dreamcast.Modem Adapter
The Modem Adapter is a dial-up modem that was included with most Dreamcast consoles sold worldwide, excluding Brazil and regions of Asia outside Japan. In Brazil, where the adapter was excluded due to the high price of the console there, it was sold separately for R$49.99 as the Dreamcast Link. European, Australian, and early Japanese models came with a 33.6 kbit/s modem, while North American and later Japanese models included a 56 kbit/s modem. However, with no region lock present, it is possible for models bundled with the 33.6 kbit/s modem to use the 56 kbit/s one instead for faster Internet access. To produce the modem, Sega partnered with Rockwell International through its semiconductor division, which was spun off as Conexant on January 4, 1999.There are two models of the modem adapter, 670-14140A and 670-14140B. The "A" model can use power from the Dreamcast game console to allow it to operate without the need of power from the telephone line. The "B" model does not use power from the Dreamcast; thus, it is dependent on the power from the telephone line or a modem that runs power through the telephone line.
Custom dial-up server
There are multiple ways to create a server between a Dreamcast and a personal computer using the standard modem which allows the Dreamcast to share the PC's network connection.- PC-DC Server using Windows 95/98.
- PC-DC Server using a Linux distribution like Ubuntu.
- Dial-up Network by using a LAN modem with a telephone line simulator.
- PC-DC Server using Dreamcast Now software on a Raspberry Pi.
Broadband Adapter
Only a few hundred thousand units of the Broadband Adapter were produced as worldwide broadband adoption was still poor at the time. While it was solely mass produced in white to match the console's default model color, a black model was produced on a limited build to order basis; orders were accepted throughout much of December 2001, with a minimum of 2,000 units produced from February to March 2002. Due to the adapter's launch late in the lifespan of the Dreamcast, only a handful of games supported the adapter as developers had to explicitly include support for the adapter in their games; the games that did support it were able to take advantage of the 10 and 100 Mbit speeds provided by the adapter. However, it also had an unintended consequence of much faster Dreamcast GD-ROM copying, leading to a dramatic increase in game piracy towards the end of the console's North American lifespan. CSI announced that it would discontinue production of the adapter on April 24, 2002, citing Sega's discontinuation of Dreamcast production and transition to third-party development.
It is a common misconception that the Broadband Adapter was released with two model numbers ; in actuality, both Japan and US models have the code HIT-0400 and use a Realtek 8139 chip. The code HIT-0401 refers to the Japanese model's packaging and documentation, while the code HIT-0400 refers to the adapter hardware. Besides the Broadband Adapter, Sega also released the LAN Adapter in 1999 for sale in Japan only. The LAN Adapter is technically inferior compared to the Broadband Adapter as it supports only the low 10 Mbit speed with the use of a Fujitsu MB86967 chip; it is practically inferior as well since it is not compatible with any online Dreamcast games and works only with the included Japanese browser disk.
Due to the decline of dial-up networking and the rise of the more modernized, faster LAN connection, the Broadband Adapter has reached very high demand over the pre-packaged Modem Adapter. Combined with the scarcity of the adapter, this has resulted in highly inflated prices for it; as early as 2004, third-party retailers such as eBay sold the adapter alone for around $100 to $150, and it still regularly sells for more than the Dreamcast itself. Some games are still playable online via the Broadband Adapter through private servers, such as Phantasy Star Online, Toy Racer, and Quake III Arena.
Online services
Unlike the Xbox Live service launched by Microsoft in 2002, Sega never had a unified worldwide service for the Dreamcast. Instead, Sega created separate regional services that were developed independently of each other, with different companies from different regions participating in the development of the services in their respective regions. Former Microsoft executive Sam Furukawa recalled in 2010 that Sega chairman Isao Okawa proposed adding Dreamcast compatibility into the Xbox several times to Microsoft chairman Bill Gates as Sega explored a sale to Microsoft after the launch of the PlayStation 2, though negotiations ultimately failed due in part to the latter balking at the former's insistence on including online gaming with supported Dreamcast titles.Dricas (Japan)
Dricas was an Internet service intended for Dreamcast consoles in Japan. The service launched the week of October 28, 1998, with only a few features such as e-mail available; the feature set expanded in the weeks preceding the Dreamcast's launch in Japan on November 27, 1998. Much of its infrastructure was developed by ISAO Corporation, which was spun-off from Sega on November 26, 1999. Its accompanying web browser, Dream Passport, provided the ability to connect via dial-up, browse the Internet, receive and send e-mail, chat with other users, and so on. The Dreameye accessory, which was only sold in Japan, added the ability to send images and videos through e-mail and video chat.On March 30, 2000, Sega announced that Dream Passport 3, which was due for release on April 29, would include an online rental service called Dream Library, where users could download and play emulated Mega Drive and PC Engine games; a small fee was charged daily throughout the rental period of each title. Initially scheduled to launch with the browser, Sega delayed it to May 30, then delayed it again for two days due to "final testing"; the service went live at 18:00 JST on June 1 with 17 Mega Drive and 13 PC Engine titles available. Five Mega Drive titles were added to the service the same month along with 15 PC Engine titles. The service was temporarily suspended from January 27, 2001, to March 2001 due to Sega implementing compatibility with the Broadband Adapter through server modifications.
Dricas persisted until March 7, 2000, when the service was consolidated into ISAO's multi-platform online service, isao.net. Broadband support arrived for the service a few months later on July 15 of that year, launching with the debut of the Broadband Adapter in Japan. Isao.net maintained online services and game servers for the Dreamcast until Sega ceased the online servers for the last remaining Dreamcast game, Phantasy Star Online, along with its GameCube port on March 31, 2007. Sega ultimately terminated the Dreamcast-dedicated portion of the isao.net service on September 28, 2007, officially eliminating the last remaining vestige of its ambitious plan for online gaming with the Dreamcast.