Yes, the above is true (it's in regards to our 9-9-09 celebration night). We'll have a full written report in the coming days!! So, start checking on us again!
Sorry we've been so lame and out- of-touch. We have some great plans for 2010.
Ok. Come back in a day or two and we'll explain the court case, just know this: someone had to explain to the judge what a Dreamcast is.
“I saw some kids playing a Dreamcast on tv set up on the sidewalk outside this little co op grocery store on my way to work today, and I was so happy and so busy yelling "SEGGAAAA!" that I almost crashed.”
The above quote is from a forum posting that someone brought to our attention. Very awesome.
The paper ended up running two pieces about The Dreamcast on September 9th. The other one was more the typical “looking back at what was” piece, yet still cool.
Lastly, I missed this earlier in the week but The Flagpole (another Athens, Ga publication) wrote a little piece about our night calling it “the nerdiest event Athens has seen in a while.” Check it out: http://flagpole.com/Weekly/DontMiss/DontMiss-9Sep09
I’ll have some video clips posted in the next day or two. They’re still coming, so keep checking.
Even though the night had its fair share of hiccups, we still managed to have an amazing time. Here is how our night began : By the 8 o’clock hour we were met with three disappointing situations: 1) a thunder storm 2) a citation from the police department 3) a non-working wi-fi/internet connection. Things were not looking up.
However by 10pm everything was rolling smoothly and the party was in full swing. Just as promised, we had 2 Dreamcast set up on televisions in the different parts of the club and 2 consoles projected, one on a wall in the club and the other outside serving as the entrance to the club (by then the rain had let up).
We played Dreamcast all night. Dreamcast cakes were served, countless games were played, a Dreamcast was given away, people showed up with their own games, bands played (Gemini Cricket, Grey Milk, Captain #1, & I Have Read Other Books…), and we then around 1 am we ended the night with a Soul Calibur competition.
Even though we couldn’t stream the event, some video was captured and we are currently putting together a video to post next week. We are also trying to track down some photos that were taken by various people that attended the party. So even though things started on a sour note, the night ended with spirits high and feeling fulfilled.
The daytime or “around town” streaming also experienced its fair share of troubles, the most being weak wi-fi signals. Some places had great high-speed connections while others had incredibly slow connections. We are talking dial-up slow! Still, despite bandwidth limitations we had a great time everywhere we played. We experienced a wide range of reactions from puzzled and confused looks to others that totally embraced our mission and jumped on board. The highest level of enthusiasm was found at the University of Georgia, where I heard my favorite quote: “I was born before the Dreamcast came out but I wouldn’t say I was living!”
Overall, I can’t imagine a better way to spend the 10th anniversary of the Dreamcast. Like I said, we have pictures and video clips to be posted soon and I’ll go through the justin.tv stream and find some highlights as well. We will also post the article(s) written about us and the Dreamcast by The Red & Black newspaper.
Lastly, if you have not read The Dreamcast Top 100 presented by The Dreamcast Junkyard, you need to.
My only regret of the day was not being able to see much of the Dreamroom stream but I guess that is what archives are for! More soon!
Thanks to everyone that watched and hung out with us on 9.9.09: Play N Trade, Ike & Jane, The Daily, UGA – Jittery Joe’s Crew, The Grit, Go Bar, and The Red & Black
No-thanks to the Athens-Clarke County Police Department
Dreamcast 10 Year Anniversary Celebration!
Starting at 9am (eastern time): All day we'll be streaming from public places throughout Athens, Ga playing the Dreamcast. Everything wraps up at a party at the Go Bar at 9pm. So, we'll be streaming all day and giving away some stuff donated by Play N Trade. If the feed is down, check back at the top of every hour to see where we'll turn up next or check the posted schedule.
STREAMING SCHEDULE FOR 09.09.09 (all times are for the Eastern Time Zone) 9am – wake up, morning gaming, getting everything packed up 10am – Breakfast @ Ike & Jane’s (a local coffee/donut shop) 11am – UGA campus (hanging out, meeting people, etc) 1pm – Downtown Athens, Ga / lunch somewhere 3pm – Jittery Joe's Coffee Shop 4pm – 8pm – heading home / dinner / getting ready for the party / checking out the Dreamroom stream (we’ll be streaming off and on during these 4 hours)
9pm – midnight – Dreamcast 10 Year Celebration @ The Go Bar, downtown Athens, Ga.
Live bands (playing songs from the Dreamcast EP) Dreamcast gaming : 2 projected screens (one inside, one outside), 2 traditional tv set-ups Door prizes :
3rd place – free Dreamcast EP
2nd place – Play N Trade gift card + Dreamcast EP
1st place – free Dreamcast system (donated by Play N Trade) + Dreamcast EP + a handful of Dreamcast games
...and maybe more prizes!! A huge thanks for Play N Trade of Athens for donating most of the door prizes!
Also, checkout Barry's (The Nomad Junkyard) Dreamcast party during our downtime!
Daytime streaming will start at 9am (Eastern Time Zone). From there we’ll be driving all over Athens, Ga and streaming and playing Dreamcast from public places. That's right, we are bringing the Dreamcast to the masses! Here is a rough schedule (tomorrow: times are a guide, check back, and refresh the feed often):
STREAMING SCHEDULE FOR 09.09.09 (all times are for the Eastern Time Zone) 9am – wake up, morning gaming, getting everything packed up 10am – 11am – Breakfast @ Ike & Jane’s (a local coffee/donut shop) 11am – 1pm – UGA campus (hanging out, meeting people, etc) 1pm – 3pm – Downtown Athens, Ga / lunch somewhere 3pm – 4pm – Barnes & Noble bookstore (we’ll be set up somewhere in the store) 4pm – 8pm – heading home / dinner / getting ready for the party / checking out the Dreamroom stream (we’ll be streaming off and on during these 4 hours)
9pm – midnight – Dreamcast 10 Year Celebration @ The Go Bar, downtown Athens, Ga.
Live bands (playing songs from the Dreamcast EP) Dreamcast gaming : 2 projected screens (one inside, one outside), 2 traditional tv set-ups Door prizes :
3rd place – free Dreamcast EP
2nd place – Play N Trade gift card + Dreamcast EP
1st place – free Dreamcast system (donated by Play N Trade) + Dreamcast EP + a handful of Dreamcast games
Also, a HUGE thanks to the Play N Trade in Athens, Ga for donating the Dreamcast and gift card as door prizes. These guys were super supportive and totally onboard when we told them about it. So, support Play N Trade!
We’ll have another update later tonight. We are going to change the layout of the website in order to make viewing the stream easier, we want to include the SEGA Junkyard family in the layout, and be able to communicate our different streaming times (the stream will be off and on tomorrow since we’ll be traveling from wi-fi spot to wi-fi spot). We’ll also be updating via our Twitter (twitter.com/otherbooks), letting everyone know when we are streaming again.
Tomorrow is going to be awesome! There are a lot of things happening around the ‘net and we’re going to try and get them included in the “re-design,” making Ihaveadreamcast.com a central location for much of the Dreamcast craziness.
Lastly, if you have a Twitter account – Tweet about #therealsept9. A group of Dreamcast fans are trying to make it one of the top Twitter trends, as well as a mission to take 09/09 back from other video game releases.
Wow. September is here. Ok. So, we are getting a step closer to our vision for 09-09-09. Here is the deal so far:
Daytime Streaming (throughout the entire day of 09-09-09 we’ll be streaming) but we are trying to take internet streaming and Dreamcast playing to a new level – You’ve seen us play the Dreamcast at our house before and frankly we need something more exciting, more challenging. So, we have cooked up a few new ideas… If you want hints, study the poorly scanned “Dreamcast Day” notes. Everything is being ironed out and will be posted in a day or two (at this point we are just finalizing the times). Basically, we’ll be streaming throughout the day at different times for chunks of an hour or so.
But trust us, if this works – it should prove to be pretty bizarre.
We plan this to be the biggest Dreamcast Anniversary Party in the southern United States, if not the world. So, make sure you are a part of the action.
Go Bar (Athens, Ga Dreamcast party): Starting sometime after 8pm (eastern standard time) open to the general public, free, door prices. If you live anywhere close to Athens, Ga or know someone that does – tell them to be here! At least 3 – 4 Dreamcast systems will be set up. Two projected against the walls: one inside the club, the other outside in the patio section). The other systems will be set up on televisions. Internet streaming station. One Dreamcast will have our streaming camera set up to give people at home a chance to chat it up with everyone at the club. The camera will be positioned in a way so that everyone at home will see plenty of gaming. Dreamcast Goodies – cookies, cakes, and more will be baked in the Dreamcast’s likeness will be there for munching on. Door prizes – we are currently in talks with Play N Trade to offer Dreamcast related door prizes to all who attend (including a Dreamcast system). Musical Performances by the Draemcast EP bands: Bicycles & Gravel, Captain #1, Gemini Cricket, Grey Milk, and I Have Read Other Books Besides The Catcher in the Rye. DJing by DJ Other Voices, Other Rooms – he will spin a few video game inspired sets between performances and gaming competitions. Dreamcast EPs – there will be plenty of Dreamcast EPs for people to pick up (it’s never too early to start thinking about Christmas). Streaming Other Dreamcast Parties Station – a place to checkout some of the other Dreamcast parties going on around the world! (Hopefully – we’re still working on this one).
We’ll also be trying to document as much of the day as possible with digital cameras (video and still picture).
We are also working out ways to include many of the other Dreamcast events happening on September 9th as well. Be on the look-out for a new website design to help organize all the craziness.
Please, email us with any questions or suggestions on how to make this better: panta AT ihaveadreamcast DOT com.
(A number of people have emailed us over the last month or so, if we never got back to you. SUPER SORRY! Contact us again, we get overwhelmed for time to time).
Dreamcast Party - Athens, GA - 09/09/09
It is almost here! 10 years of Dreamcast gaming! We have heard lots of rumblings of gaming marathons and Dreamcast celebrations across the internet. We have finally gotten our acts together and think we are ready to start talking 09.09.09. I HAVE A DREAMCAST should be streaming a lot during 09.09.09. But will we not be gaming all of the time, we'll have a number of activities streaming throughout the day. We'll have a schedule soon. However, our big event will take place in the evening. The entire I Have a Dreamcast crew will be at The Go Bar! in Athens, Ga. It will be a party like no other! There will be performances by the Dreamcast bands, we'll have at least 4 gaming stations set up (one or two will be projected on the walls of the club), we'll have cake, special t-shirts made for the event, and copies of the Dreamcast EP. The event will be FREE and open to the public. We are doing our best to get all fans of the Dreamcast in the Athens/Atlanta region to attend and, hell if you live within 500 miles of Athens, Ga you owe it to yourself to be here! After all, it only happens once this year!
The Dreamcast Survey
Speaking of the DC 10th Anniversary, The Dreamcast Junkyard has put together a great survey to officially declare the top 100 Dreamcast games. Voting has already begun and the results will be posted on 09.09.09. So get over there and vote! We already have. http://dreamcast100.blogspot.com
DreamMP3
Last but far from least.
The folks at DC Evolution recently released DreamMP3, an MP3 player for the Dreamcast. At their website you can download the DreamMP3 for free and included in the CD image is our very own Dreamcast EP. So, once you've finish voting for your favorite Dreamcast games make sure you head over to DC Evolution and download the DreamMP3. They have also posted some kick ass album artwork for the release. Very cool. DC Evolution - DreamMP3
Lots of things going on in the coming weeks! I have probably said it before but I am totally impressed and proud of the Dreamcast community, from everyone in the SEGAJunkyard Family, DC Evolution and their DreamMP3, SegaNerds, GVN, the folks at the SEGA of America blog, and all of the other SEGA related blogs out there. I'm looking forward to September 9th and all the celebrations leading up to that day! Let us know what you are doing. We'll try to organize a way to list and promote everything.
During the stream, and after, we received a number of questions about the website and what made us do it – so I decided to address some of the more common questions (I also included some pictures)! Enjoy.
Why a 24 hour Dreamcast marathon?
I was talking with my buddy Sean about the game Shenmue. I have owned the game since its launch but for various reasons never got around to playing it. It’s a massive game and I never wanted to start it until I had the time to enjoy it. Well, the time never came. So, I told him I would I play and complete Shenmue I & II this year. Sean, knowing how busy I am, seemed doubtful but would support me nonetheless. Even with the support of my friend, I felt I needed something more to keep me in check, so I created this website to blog about my progress. I figured with this website I would feel a responsibility to play and post regularly, despite my hectic schedule.
However, we needed a URL and something to get us in the spirit of our beloved console. After much joking around we came up with www.ihaveadreamcast.com and decided it would be fitting to stream a 24 hour Dreamcast gaming marathon on Monday, Jan 19, 2009. It would serve as a launch party for the website and way to get us all back into the Dreamcast frame of mind. So with only a few days to go, we started planning. In the end, we had close to 30 games gathered, 2 Dreamcasts (one for the big screen/stream and one on a small tv for people to play), a gathering of friends willing to take part, and bands that agreed to play and write songs for the event.
Are you using a digital projector?
Yes, we needed to use something that everyone in the room could see. Crowding around a television set didn’t seem like the best option. Additionally, we figured a digital projector would make it easier to see via streaming video.
Why not just use a capture card and stream a nice clean and crisp image?
After looking at many streaming video game channels on justin.tv, I thought it was cool that people could stream the same screen they were looking at home, however, for us the games were only one part of our marathon. We wanted to include everyone involved: the friends playing the games and the folks in the chat room. We felt it was important to create a sense of community and stream the entire room, not just a game with a voice commentary. We wanted people to get a sense of the room and the party, it’d seem silly to do it any other way. I know the image quality suffers but we felt it was important to do it that way.
I heard lots of voices, who were the game players?
Jesse T., Jesse H., Sean, Matty, Tim, Jenny, Blake, Sara, Dan, Marie, Gabriel, Kathleen, Betsy,
Cristal, Julian (the baby)
What games did you play?
Power Stone
Marvel vs. Capcom
Sega Rally
Soul Calibur
House of the Dead 2
Sega Bass Fishing
Jet Grind Radio
Space Channel 5
Virtua Tennis
Evil Dead – Hail to the King
Gauntlet Legends
Crazy Taxi
Sonic Adventure
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Toy Commander
Illbleed
Seaman
Phantasy Star Online (we booted it up and then turned it off at the serial number screen)
Shenmue (we booted it and let the title screen play during one of the musical
performances)
How did you choose what to play?
We had no set rule on what would be played or when. We wanted to keep it fresh and in line
with our moods. At the beginning we started with Power Stone and Marvel vs. Capcom and
held gaming competitions, letting the winner select the next game. Next we started giving
the chat room choices as to what we played next. Other times we played what we felt like.
And near the end we played (rather poorly) what the chat room demanded.
Will you do this again?
Yes. Probably. When is another question. We have some ideas for future marathons but we
want to keep it fresh and original. We do not want to turn around and do the same thing.
Think about it. We had 10-12 people playing games, we had live music written for the
event, we had cookies baked in the shape of 9s, we had a variety of contests, we wore
snuggies, and we participated in tomfoolery. We cannot just turn around and do all the same
things. It’d be uneventful and not as special. We do have lots of ideas that we were
unable to fulfill, so that right there gives us reason to do it again. Keep an eye of the website
and we’ll announce new streams –we’ll probably do some shorter
streams with Shenmue – but we will be back with something bigger and better. I hear
there are some others out there that are thinking of copying what we did. So, in the
meantime, if you need a fix, check them out.
Check back later this week for the beginning of my Shenmue journey.
