Sega Plans to Stop GD-ROM Production 02/2007 ?

[Mark30001]

http://segakatana.com/images/news/hkt06_dcs_01.png http://segakatana.com/images/news/hkt06_dcs_02.png

Via Dreamcast-Scene (http://dreamcast-scene.com/index.php/Main/GDROMproductionpetition)

It is nearly certain that Sega of Japan plans to discontinue production of GD-ROM media in February, 2007. This media is used almost exclusively by the Sega Dreamcast home console, and the NAOMI arcade system. By stopping production, future official games (licensed by Sega) on the Dreamcast or NAOMI will not be possible.

(The NAOMI is important, because games such as Ikaruga, Border Down, Puyo Puyo Fever, and nearly all official import DC games from 2004-2007 originated on NAOMI.)

If GD-ROM production is discontinued, this means:

* No more NAOMI arcade games
* No more NAOMI ports to Dreamcast (Recent NAOMI ports include Under Defeat and Radirgy)
* Trigger Heart Exelica (February 2007) and Karous (March 2007) will unexpectedly be the final official Dreamcast games.

This doesn't need to happen, as developers are fond of the NAOMI for its relative low cost, ease of production and accessibility, and straightforward ports to the Dreamcast home console. Warashi returned to the scroll shooting genre with Trigger Heart Exelica on NAOMI, and Milestone would likely gladly continue to produce further games following Karous on the system as well.

Sega themselves have recently presented Dynamite Deka EX running on NAOMI. If GD-ROM production continues, there is a much greater chance that we'll see a home console port of this game on DC within a year. Please speak up now, and help us to ensure the continuation of GD-ROM production.

In order to show your opposition for the ceasing of production of GD-ROM media, please click on the image below, save and print, sign and date it, and then mail it to Sega of Japan, located at the following address:

Sega of Japan
1-2-12 Haneda
Ohta-ku, Tokyo, 144-8531
Japan

Because of the urgency of this matter, we, as Dreamcast-Scene, do not have time to compile collected signatures and send them in a large package as usual. These letters will need to be sent straight to the source. If you bring the sealed and addressed envelope to your local post office, they will be able to affix the exact amount of postage.

Click image to enlarge

http://segakatana.com/images/news/dcsgdrompetition_small.png (http://segakatana.com/images/news/dcsgdrompetition.png)

Time is of the essence. Please do this as soon as you can. Thank you. - Dreamcast-Scene.com, and Dreamcast fans everywhere.
digg the story (http://digg.com/gaming_news/Sega_to_stop_GD_ROM_production_Help_keep_the_Dream cast_alive)

[JKKDARK]

Believe me, these news are killing my heart (seriously).
I will try to help now :(

[Azuki]

To use GDrom for Dreamcast game release, people must have the official devkit (software and hardware) so the use of GDrom in DC is exclusively dedicaced to almost japanese companies.

Japanese companies deving on DC nowadays are a few (2 or 3), there are perhaps 2 or 3 games on GDrom made a year and very often shoot them up.

The most activity on DC nowadays is by homebrew coders (emulators and games) : they could not use legally GDrom anyways.

:)

[JKKDARK]

The only way to get a console alive is releasing official software. Maybe there are not a lot of official games released every year, but it's enough if we want Dreamcast alive.
Anyway, Sega didn't announce it officially, Dreamcast-Scene is only assuming

@ Mark30001: I think you need to update your post adding it ;)

[ShmupFighter]

I think I'm gonna be sick. I knew this would come sooner or later, but I never thought it would be this soon. Damn it!

[JKKDARK]

I think I'm gonna be sick. I knew this would come sooner or later, but I never thought it would be this soon. Damn it!

It wasn't announced by Sega!
It's like to say: "Oh what about id PS2 consoles are not produced after Feb '07? We need to make a petition!"
Did you understand? ;)

[Elven6]

Damn, mabye we should show Sega we still love our GD-ROMs, flood the petitions and buy some of those new offical Dreamcast games coming out. And unless Homebrew games are loaded onto the main ram it will start deteriorating the laser faster, so we still need GD-ROMs!

[Christuserloeser]

As long as we don't have a reliable source or official statement by SEGA this is just another internet rumor, so I moved it from the news forum to the general gaming forum.

[Christuserloeser]

On another note:


And unless Homebrew games are loaded onto the main ram it will start deteriorating the laser faster, so we still need GD-ROMs!

This is another rumor. Dreamcast is made to read both formats - just like your DVD player. Homebrew does in no way affect the GD-ROM drive's lifespan.

So even if this whole thing would be true, SEGA could use common cds for NAOMI and Dreamcast. Remember that NAOMI even allows storing the game data on ROMs!

http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/community/viewtopic.php?p=10145


Seeing that [using CDs] would lower the publishing costs without significantly reducing the number of potential custumers, that's at least something I would do if I were in a position to decide. And seeing as none of the games we've recieved on Dreamcast during the past years included lots of FMV and use the AICA soundchip to generate the music instead of CDDA soundtrack, there wouldn't be a space problem on a common cd too. I mean we're talking about Arcade games and no big scaled RPG or adventure productions.


The good thing about a petition is however, that we indeed would show we care about the future of Dreamcast / NAOMI.

[SSaxdude]

I'll do a dance if they keep making GDs... ok that might not work. I'll sign a petition.

[Elven6]

On another note:



This is another rumor. Dreamcast is made to read both formats - just like your DVD player. Homebrew does in no way affect the GD-ROM drive's lifespan.

So even if this whole thing would be true, SEGA could use common cds for NAOMI and Dreamcast. Remember that NAOMI even allows storing the game data on ROMs!

http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/community/viewtopic.php?p=10145




The good thing about a petition is however, that we indeed would show we care about the future of Dreamcast / NAOMI.

I heard CDR's mess it up in the long run, does that mean it will be ok to play bleem?

[V3N0M]

Hey I may be new to the DC scene. (Only having my DC for less than 6 months now.) After seeing what the DC is capable of, having such a great homebrew and hacking scene as well as some really nice commercial games. I will sign this petition and that way at least I know I tried to help the DC and keep it alive a little longer. (Commercial wise) Anyways I will hope for the best and maybe in the end Sega will change their mind when the see how many supporters they still have.

[quzar]

Whoever's idea this was, it's just stupid. It's not like Sega doesn't know we're out here, and that's the only reason I can imagine to do this. There is absolutely NO WAY SEGA will discontinue the GD-Rom for another good 3-5 years. Not only do the DC and Naomi both use it (Naomi, Naomi 2, and Hikaru basically all the same thing) but the newer SEGA+other people systems use it too, like the Chihiro and Triforce (quite literally they use the same pyhsical drive the Naomi does in the form of an addon, which, as is key for arcade hardware, reinforces the concept of modularity of replacement[anyone needing a GD-Rom drive has to buy the same part]).

As for CDs ruining the DC's laser, that isn't exactly true. What happens is that since the motor has to move the laser more to read the same amount of info off a CD, it wears the motor out more. Most smart people dummy their CDs before burning them to help minimalize this.

[JKKDARK]

I think the TriForce and Chihiro aren't going to be seeing many new releases...

[Elven6]

Whoever's idea this was, it's just stupid. It's not like Sega doesn't know we're out here, and that's the only reason I can imagine to do this. There is absolutely NO WAY SEGA will discontinue the GD-Rom for another good 3-5 years. Not only do the DC and Naomi both use it (Naomi, Naomi 2, and Hikaru basically all the same thing) but the newer SEGA+other people systems use it too, like the Chihiro and Triforce (quite literally they use the same pyhsical drive the Naomi does in the form of an addon, which, as is key for arcade hardware, reinforces the concept of modularity of replacement[anyone needing a GD-Rom drive has to buy the same part]).

As for CDs ruining the DC's laser, that isn't exactly true. What happens is that since the motor has to move the laser more to read the same amount of info off a CD, it wears the motor out more. Most smart people dummy their CDs before burning them to help minimalize this.


How do you dummy? And what are the benefits?

[trezzer]

OK, guys. Let's get this boat rocking. Go and help digg this, so it can make the front page: http://digg.com/gaming_news/Sega_to_stop_GD_ROM_production_Help_keep_the_Dream cast_alive

[Christuserloeser]

How do you dummy? And what are the benefits?

BootDreams (http://www.consolevision.com/members/dchelp/) || Info (http://dcemulation.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=937274)

Now back on topic. ;)

[Rick_Son]

I'm sending mine in Tommorrow. I want Dreamcast to still live and I hope we get a melty blood port also.

[Elven6]

Same here, even if this news is false Sega will see the support it is getting and mabye create a few more ports or something.

[kingbuzzo]

ok , I finally know what's going on after talking to max. I'll repost what I said at DCS.


This is a bit difficult because staff at dcs cannot release the actual source of this info.

What we can say is that Max of DCS has some personal contacts with some "important" folks when it comes to gdroms. There may of one time been a large surplus of gdroms, but apparently production only happens when a game is to be released. This also isn't the first time sega was about to cease production. It was only after the plea of select dev teams (which we also don't have permission to mention yet) that gdrom production kept on going.

there have been some talk about dc and even naomi being able to use regular cd's instead. Though this is surely possible; Sega has made it clear to developers that they will not have anything besides their own patented format for licensed releases.

We will try to bring as much info as we can after some more conversations with our sources, but it seems to be a very delicate situation. Given how short of time we are; we just went straight ahead with the petition. Please understand.

thank you very much,

King.

[Elven6]

CD's won't use DC or Naomi games to their full potential. They shave off 400MB, longer load times, bigger strain, cut backs (due to the 400MB no longer being their).

[DanPotter]

This is another rumor. Dreamcast is made to read both formats - just like your DVD player. Homebrew does in no way affect the GD-ROM drive's lifespan.

I never did figure out for sure where this rumor came from. I think what happened (based on a couple of images I've seen) is that some cruddy CD creators put huge "padding" files on their CDs to push all the data out to the edge of the disc, for higher bandwidth (i.e. streaming files faster). Unfortunately they left the ISO directories near in the inside ring, so the head has to seek back and forth almost constantly if there's anything but streaming going on. That does wear it out.

Smart CDs will do as much streaming of sequential data as possible and push it towards the outer ring by including full sessions before the data area, to keep the indices near the data. Or just leave everything right where the ISO maker puts it.

You can really tell the difference between these two methods if e.g. you listen to the drive while playing FoF vs one of the "naive pad file" discs.

That said... 7+ years later, very little is going to stop the working of time on those drives. :) I'm sad to say that my second dev machine's GD reader seemed dead when I tried it tonight :(

Edit: Doh, didn't see the extra page of responses in there. :D Sorry.

[kohan69]

I'd love to sign it, but I'd love to know if this is confirmed by SEGA first.

I personally hate the GD-ROM, it's like an impotent adolescent - already not a CD, but not nearly a DVD :P

Please explain why stopping GD-ROM production would kill any future arcade-to-dreamcast ports. Wouldn't NAOMI still exist with a CD-drive?

and to dispel the CD myth:
reading any disk wears out the motor and laser.
Games that are harder to read causes the laser to die faster. This is true for back-up CD and DVD games for Playstation 2

With dreamcast, this is not usually the case. The one back-up game that wears-out the dreamcast more than the original GD-ROM is 'Skies of Arcadia' due to compression. Does this mean if you play it your dreamcast will die? No. Does this mean if you played the original Skies of Arcadia it would have less wear on your dreamcast? Yes.
The best way to take care of your dreamcast laser is to clean your original Dreamcast disks and burn your CD-Rs at the lowest speed possible

[JKKDARK]

I'd love to sign it, but I'd love to know if this is confirmed by SEGA first.
Yes


I personally hate the GD-ROM, it's like an impotent adolescent - already not a CD, but not nearly a DVD :P
It was a way to stop piracy. Just check what happened with the Saturn and PlayStation.



Please explain why stopping GD-ROM production would kill any future arcade-to-dreamcast ports. Wouldn't NAOMI still exist with a CD-drive?
Sega will not license games on CD-ROM. And developers want an official release, if they can't on Dreamcast, they will move to another platform.


and to dispel the CD myth:
reading any disk wears out the motor and laser.
Games that are harder to read causes the laser to die faster. This is true for back-up CD and DVD games for Playstation 2

With dreamcast, this is not usually the case. The one back-up game that wears-out the dreamcast more than the original GD-ROM is 'Skies of Arcadia' due to compression. Does this mean if you play it your dreamcast will die? No. Does this mean if you played the original Skies of Arcadia it would have less wear on your dreamcast? Yes.
The best way to take care of your dreamcast laser is to clean your original Dreamcast disks and burn your CD-Rs at the lowest speed possible
No. I believe Dreamcast is not for read under the disk.

[quzar]

Yes

This is NOT confirmed by SEGA in any way (unless there is more news than the initial news). This is information leaked from one of the current NAOMI/Dreamcast game development studios, and could be a misinterpretation/misunderstanding/overreaction/plain 'ol rumor.

[Christuserloeser]

This is information leaked from one of the current NAOMI/Dreamcast game development studios, and could be a misinterpretation/misunderstanding/overreaction/plain 'ol rumor.

That's the same impression that I got. It's not going to happen.

Two hints:
1. Anyone noticed how many new NAOMI games are anounced to be released during the next few months ?

2. Remember that the Wii is GameCube compatible and that there's an arcade board based on the GameCube hardware which would allow straight 1:1 arcade -> Wii releases...
And exactly that board is using GD-ROMs... ;)

[Xiaopang]

and to dispel the CD myth:
reading any disk wears out the motor and laser.
Games that are harder to read causes the laser to die faster. This is true for back-up CD and DVD games for Playstation 2

yes and no. *EVERY* drive wears out from day one you use it. that's just the nature of mechanic machinery...why this would only apply to a ps2 is beyond me




With dreamcast, this is not usually the case.

and the reason for that would be? the dreamcast uses a physical drive as well and aside from the higher density it does wear out. might be slower, but it surely happens.




The one back-up game that wears-out the dreamcast more than the original GD-ROM is 'Skies of Arcadia' due to compression.

what has compression to do with wearing out a drive? may be there's more seeking, but still the effect would be ridiculously small, except for the case that the dc would access the disc constantly...for a loooong time...months if you will


just a word to this whole thread. seems to me as if that kinda petition to save the dreamcast from commercial death would have belonged more in the year 2002 than in 2007. whining about the "apparent" death is just laughable. production of the hardware stopped years ago and sega doesn't even make a profit from the stuff you can buy at stores and off ebay. even if 2 or 3 commercial games and ports are released every year this still doesn't mean that the console is alive. this chapter of video gaming history was closed a long time ago. still celebrating and using the console is another thing, but acting as if everything would depend on a few shoot'em ups on some dreamcast-compatible systems is just ridiculous...

[JKKDARK]

just a word to this whole thread. seems to me as if that kinda petition to save the dreamcast from commercial death would have belonged more in the year 2002 than in 2007. whining about the "apparent" death is just laughable. production of the hardware stopped years ago and sega doesn't even make a profit from the stuff you can buy at stores and off ebay. even if 2 or 3 commercial games and ports are released every year this still doesn't mean that the console is alive. this chapter of video gaming history was closed a long time ago. still celebrating and using the console is another thing, but acting as if everything would depend on a few shoot'em ups on some dreamcast-compatible systems is just ridiculous...

They make a profit from the games they license.
And I know you don't want to read it, but until March 8th (the latest official game at the moment -Karous-) the Dreamcast is alive :p Small or big, if it's official, it's alive. Even various games are still online with the official servers.
And it's not ridiculous to support your favorite console. Are you really a video game player?

[Xiaopang]

lol am i a video game player? you can bet, but i'm also realistic. just because of *one* game, a console is not alive and the money sega makes of the licenses is unimportant compared to their other franchises on actual consoles. in other words, if sega would only depend on their dreamcast licenses they could close down after an hour for lack of money. thats how unimportant they are.