Long Post Warning:

Hey guys. I'm a new member here. I was directed to come here by a member on Online Consoles as I'd like to try to play PSOv2 online one day. They said this place would be the place to go to. I don't have a BBA yet, so it's not like I can right away anyway, but I'm hoping to do this in the near future.

As a bit of an introduction, I've always been one of those Nintendo fans drooling over Sega tech. I was never able to get Sega systems when they first came out, but they were always my favorite. The Saturn and Dreamcast in particular are big standouts. I still remember seeing the Dreamcast and screenshots of it's games in a FOA Shwartz Christmas catalog for the first time and wanting it like nothing else. The first time I saw a game running was in a Walmart where there was a demo. Rush 2049 was playing. I can still remember how my jaw was on the floor as I couldn't believe how it was able to render the flame on the back of the car.

ANYwho, my first Dreamcast was at the tail end of it's life. Gamestop was cleaning house and I picked up one and a few games for cheap. I sold that many years ago, though. It's a good thing anyway, I always had terrible luck with it's laser (even after "configuring" it).

I recently got back into it though, and man did I score big.

Thre weeks ago, I found a Dreamcast at my local gaming store. I looked at the price, and it had a price sticker of $30 on it. Pretty average price for a Dreamcast. Got to talking with the employee behind the counter and learned it was an import Dreamcast. I worked him down in price until we reached a messily $15. Not bad as import Dreamcasts are worth about $80-120 easily. I left with the system, controller, two VMUs (japanese models) and hook ups a very happy guy. There was one oddity I noticed about the system, though. The detachable "modem" wasn't a modem at all. It was just a port-less piece of shell that attached to the ETX port. No way to plug in anything. Just a placeholder. Odd. But that's just the tip of the iceberg....

Two Fridays ago I get a call from another shop that had my number. They knew to call me if they ever get broken systems in that are in good physical condition (always good to have a replacement shell). They said they got in a broken white Dreamcast. I went there and the thing looked like it was dragged behind a car for a week. Not even kidding, it had to be the worst condition DC I've ever seen. I told they guy why I wanted broken systems, and asked him to look for one that was in better condition next time. I get a call the next day, on Saturday, and he says he has another Dreamcast.

At this point my interest is pretty low seeming as I wasted my time the previous day to go look at a Dreamcast that was in horrid shape. He said the top half was clear, which peaked my interest, and I drove to the store to check it out.

The first thing that I found striking was not only was the top shell clear, but that the Sega logo and Windows logo were printed on the front. 3rd party shells never had this, and never had the embedded numbers under the lid, etc. I asked him how much he wanted, and he said $5. Seemed fair as even 3rd party shells are going for $50-80 on eBay.

I came home, and the first thing I did was plug the half clear system in. Why not see what was wrong with it. To my surprise it powered on. Ok, so the drive must be bad. No. In fact, I"ve played the thing for hours straight for the last few days, and it's completely working. Score for me, that raises the value to $30. Or did it?

I decided to take some pictures of the system from all angles (top, bottom, and the four sides) and post them on another forum I'm apart of that solely deals with Dreamcasts. I ended up learning that the shell was actually a Sega branded limited edition shell from Japan you could buy that would replace your stock white top half. They only made 1000 of each color, and are EXTREMELY rare. The shell alone is worth over $150. SWEET!

Then a member notices something. Next to the region code on the bottom of any US system is a circle with a number in it. All DCs had a 1 or a 2 in this circle. Mine had a 0. Apparently this is called a rev0 system. It was made roughly a year before the other Dreamcasts (before release), and had heatsinks, a metal cased fan, and heat pipes. The thing runs MUCH quieter than a typical Dreamcast and will never over heat. Already had offers for it in the thread! Only two members have ever found one. One moderator bought one for a lot of money, and the other found it randomly on eBay. That's it. They are VERY rare and MUCH better built than the typical retail release.

I then decide to compare it to my new Japanese system. On Japanese systems there is no number on the bottom in a circle. So it's a little harder to figure out. I looked through the vent holes and noticed the same type of fan was inside...the one that had the metal casing. Remember how this Dreamcast didn't have a dial up port on the modem extension? That's the main sign that it's a Japanese rev0 model! That's right, I have two freakin' rev0 Dreamcasts!

So sorry for the long post, but now you know why I'm here, how I got here, and what started the Dreamcast craze for me again. I've been downloading games I've never gotten to play, and now have a hefty collection under my belt. Games like Propeller Arena, Gundam DX, Frame Gride, etc are standouts. But I would like to get online with PSO. There aren't any BBAs on eBay right now, so I'll have to wait longer than I'd like. Anywho, I look forward to being a good addition to the community. If you guys want pics of the DCs, just ask.