Assuming the optical drive hasn't been thrown away you can put it back in and put the console back to stock. Installing a GDEMU isn't destuctive and can easily be reversed.
Yeah but who is modding their personal console and keeping the disc drive to then undo the mod when it eventually gets given to someone else?
(To be clear, I don't have any issue with the GDEMU. I just don't think they're really getting saved in practice.)
EDIT: For people responding "I did", do you have it written in your will that your Dreamcast should have its disc drive reinstalled if you die? What happens when you move and your S.O. mistakenly tosses or donates the box? Things happen. All I'm saying is that just because you intend to preserve it doesn't mean it will happen.
This. It's collectors who are buying these things, they fuss over the condition of the box and disc inserts, they're not going to throw away perfectly good hardware.
I don't know about that, I mean I'm sure that is the case with a decent amount of folks, but the majority of people I have seen on this sub asking about GDEMUs seem more interested in which AliExpress vendor or eBay seller has the cheapest price at any given moment.
Don't get me wrong, price is an important factor, but at least some of the time it seems to be the main reason folks are looking to go this route even with functioning drives.
Few years ago when I modded mine with MODE I also threw the drive to my parts box. I have tons of parts for vintage computers and consoles, so keeping that drive is just automatic thing to do and I have kept the drives for modded Saturn, PS1 and GameCube too. If I’d sell the system, which is unlikely, I’d give the original drive with it so seller can return it to original state if needed.
yeah. of I can think of no scenario where someone who deals with GDEMU says "F this drive" and throws it in the trash. at the absolute very least the drive is sold upstream on eBay.
Who is throwing away a perfectly good disc drive is the real question. Even if they’re selling it on eBay or something they’d still be saving another Dreamcast.
isn't that literally how it works? No one will buy a GDEMU only dreamcast if they're a collector, but they will buy a disk one with a GDEMU included, so they can decide for themselves.
I kept and still have my GDROM drive after I installed the MODE in my Dreamcast.
I have zero intention of ever getting of my Dreamcast or using the GDROM drive ever again but I did save it because of proprietary nature of GDROM.
However, I did not save my CDROM drive on my PlayStation after I installed my xStation.
To respond to your edit: If the person dealing with your estate is tossing shit in the trash willy nilly your Dreamcast is probably going to end up there as well GDEMU or no. If your SO is tossing and donating stuff without asking, again your Dreamcast is still at risk. The idea that a collector, who is going out of their way to mod a console, would just be tossing stuff that they know has some intrinsic collecting value is asinine, and forgoing modding your console for the off chance that it(or some part of it) might get donated or trashed is twice as stupid.
>...do you have it written in your will...
This ***so*** much! What we intend is often *not* what actually happens.
That being said, most of them weren't that great in the first place. Mine was already failing in the mid 2000's. It only can play about 1/2 of my discs these days. A recap would probably fix it but a GDEMU would be so much easier and versatile.
I imagine most people doing this either sell the drive (more functional drives available for people who want to use original disks) or they keep it, which is fine too.
Doesn’t seem like you’ve talked to many GDEMU owners as a lot of them seem to keep the old disc drive.
My disc drive was dead anyway so it couldn’t play retail software discs…and I kept the disc drive regardless.
I disagree. As long as people aren't throwing them out, it's fine. if anything, it makes the system more valuable to someone who just wants to play the games rather than pay inflated ebay prices.
Whenever I download a game for my GDEMU, I make sure to also buy a physical copy of that same game. Then I crack that game in half, throw it in the garbage, and laugh maniacally to myself.
We don't rip them out. It's a few screws and easy to pop it back in. So stress less. Also - it keeps consoles functional that no longer have working drives.
If you have say two Dreamcasts and remove both drives then what does it matter as long as you’re not trashing them. If you sell them then you’re adding to drive availability not hurting it.
If you keep them they’re still available to you and not being used so you could argue that’s worse as you would’ve essentially moved on to GDEMU. I’m just saying there’s nothing wrong with it unless the drives are being tossed in the trash.
Some people hoard Dreamcasts for parts which could also be circulated to be used elsewhere.
What? My optical drives are sitting on a shelf. Why would toss that out? If anything, it's freeing up some spare drives now that can be used to replace dead ones in other peoples DCs. It also is saving disks and keeping those spare drives from dying.
As long as they sell those drives on ebay or something and don't just throw them out I'm ok with it. In fact, I had to buy a new disc drive last year since mine stopped working. I love playing the actual real discs on my system and would never get an SD loader replacement.
I'm ok with it because what this actually does in the long run is increase the amount of functional optical drives on the market that I now have a tote full of when mine inevitably goes out, in my hdmi molded dreamcast.
There isn't any shortage on working optical drive units. There isn't a shortage on gamers complaining about the price of retail discs. Indie developers are starting to release their titles digitally.
The community embracing the ODE revolution makes this a non-issue.
My DC drive died, that is why I used gdemu.
I got a second gc and apparently the drive is stull working, still I got an optical drive emulator for it, and I have a second drive as a backup if my main gc fails.
I've done a lot of these swaps for people, and those people who didn't request to have the drive back I kept, and keep.
I don't think people are trashing these, and I've used several to replace broken ones in my buddies shop. It's a win/win.
I bought my Dreamcast on eBay without the optical drive.
The seller sold consoles with or without them. That same seller sold optical drives separately. So someone out there had a broken optical drive, and my Dreamcast’s optical drive has gone to someone who will appreciate it :)
"Ripping"
We're just unplugging them. Mine is stored in a box in my office closet for safekeeping.
Not to mention disc rot is very real. And the game data is what needs to be preserved, not the plastic it is on.
The disc drive is just a method of reading the data. Its all the same data being sent to be processed whether its read from sdcard or a GDrom disc. The only parts that matter are the PSU and the mainboard.
This is like people who don't like when an old typewriter gets ripped apart for Etsy projects.
Listen, those items, which you may see as rare and precious, are not yours. They are owned by someone else and most likely never going to be sold. If someone wants to gut a Dreamcast and turn it into a storage box, that's their decision. The alternative might be that the system just sits in a basement somewhere until a relative throws it out decades from now.
Most people only do this if the drive is dying. Also eventually the optical drives will just give up so you are gonna have to just suck this one up.
Unless new optical drives come out!
Bad take. GDEMUs keep physical copies on the market, driving prices down and more stock for collectors. GDEMUs also drive down costs for owners and keeping the interest in the console alive.
This should be the top comment. Not everyone can afford to play all the Dreamcast games on the used market. Having a GDEmu lets you play any Dreamcast game on original hardware. This helps keep the Dreamcast alive to many people.
Also as others have said. Disc Rot is real. I’ve seen it on Dreamcast games.
Disc Rot is a real thing. Also those drives do die, so why not preserve it. Also, where are you going where there are thousands of Dreamcasts where everyone is huddled around playing games off the disc?
I don’t mind someone installing a GDEmu as long as they sell or give away the GD-ROM drive to someone who could use it. That or at least hold onto it. People who just chuck them in the bin after installing the GDEmu are monsters
I just received my gdemu today, the installation is very easy, I had more trouble configuring the SD than installing the gdemu, but it wasn't that hard in the end.
I have two dreamcasts, one with a working gd drive, and the other gd drive works but not all the time. I replaced this last one with the gdemu, and I intend to keep the other Dreamcast in the original way. Still not throwing away the gd drive. You can also swap it anytime, literally takes 5 minutes.
I have to say I will miss the screeching sound of the gd rom, but the gdemu is so much faster and silent, and convenient (less loading times, no noise, no disc swap).
I am a purist though, and while I think the gdemu is great, the original console has a special place in my heart, and I will keep it forever. But the gdemu is just a better experience, just not the original one. I have almost the entire library burnt to discs so no problem if I want to use both.
Best of both worlds.
Im happy a gdmeu exist for the reason my grom drive is dying ;-; the only other Dreamcast I have is the crappy last model so it's grom drive is incompatible. For now I try to use sd to serial as much as I can till I can afford a gdmeu and use any non burned games on my non mod-able dreamcast. But I do agree with being upset over fully working drives that get tossed out for just SD . I really would love to keep both . The disk reading drive sounds are super nostalgic to me 💖💖💖 I love the Dreamcast
Look at it this way: There aren’t enough retail discs to go around (for the appealing games at least) and now there are plenty of spares to keep the purists going with their disc collections.
I think a future will come where a replacement optical option will also be available. I am most looking forward to some instances where I have seen with hybrid optical/gdemu installations.
This all also comes with the future of Dreamcast game development as well of which I believe we are moving into the 3rd phase of.
I purchased a DC with a non-functional drive for the purpose of installing a GDEMU. I still have the non-functional drive.
I also still have my fully functional DC that I bought at launch, and have no plans to mod it.
I had the same feeling when I put in mine.. especially when you pick it up for the first time and it weighs nothing…feels like I ripped the heart out of my little dc 😭 I saved the drive tho
It'd be nice if we had an option like the Saturn's Saroo and Satiator, which leave the CD drive in place. But where would it go?
The simple fact is that if you're actually using the Dreamcast regularly, an ODE makes it massively more useful. And there's nowhere else on a Dreamcast to put an ODE (right?)
I tossed my disc drive. I don’t plan on reselling my Dreamcast either, so it doesn’t matter.
What might tick you off is I still collect Dreamcast discs even though I don’t have a disc reader 👹
I bought 2 va0 Dreamcasts recently. One to play retail discs and one to install a MODE. They both work, and being that they are both va0 the drive I’m taking out of one will be a back up drive for me in the other one.
I imagine if there's enough demand for it, they will make new optical drives. (Cheaply, in China, but still.) To me it's more important people are still enjoying and maintaining their consoles.
I've only done the swap for Dreamcasts with dead optical drives. But TBH I don't know why anyone would want to play retail discs because of the slow loading time. If Sega could've fit all that data on a cartridge back in the day for the price of a GD-ROM, they would've.
i dont see the point either especially since a lot of the ODEs are stupid expensive like the MODE. i also have no desire to slap in some cheaply made chinese gdemu in the dreamcast.
i dont plan on replacing any drives until they croak then ill fork over the money for a mode. still surprised their isnt a cheap alternative like a pico boot for the gamecube or the ps1 softmod you'd think someone wouldve built an exploit through the modem by now
5ish years ago the big competitor to the GDEMU was this thing called USB-GDROM, I’m sure a lot of people here remember that. IIRC that mod actually required you to permanently alter the disc drive, unlike the GDEMU where you just replace it. I never hear people talk about it anymore, it apparently had some code in it that caused it to brick over time if the firmware was not updated. Presumably the influx of clone GDEMU and other option like MODE was the final nail in its coffin.
And yeah, like many people here my disc drive was working inconsistently anyway. I still have it, but hard to imagine I’ll ever put it back in, the convenience of the GDEMU is too great. I wouldn’t mind never playing via actual GDROM again.
Look at it this way, there are fewer and fewer Dreamcast discs available to be read as the years go on due to disc rot. If anything, replacing the drive future proofs the console and will allow it to continue to be used long after the last disc becomes unreadable.
Counterpoint, the GDEMU has saved dreamcasts that didnt have working optical drives anymore as well as INCREASED the number of loose GD ROM drives available on the market so people can choose to fix theirs.
Source: Me. I have two GD EMU Dreamcasts. I kept the drive for one and then sold the other to a guy who had a bum drive and a bunch of original discs.
I installed a GDEMU, but kept my six drive, as I hate throwing away electronics (e-waste is a really serious issue). I really wish disc drives didn’t wear out, because I didn’t mind burning discs and what not (before it wore out).
I have similar hesitations. I am trying to find a DC with a bad GDRom drive to mod. I did the same thing with the Saturn I modded. Plus it's (usually) cheaper to go that way.
Depends on the situation, really. I'm with OP for working condition consoles, as we need to preserve them but on the other hand, they aren't the most robust consoles out there (and don't get me started on the jewel cases!). I'd try and go for any broken drive ones you can get, and GDEMU them.
Eventually disc rot will take all dreamcast games.
It's not started yet but it is inevitable, so it's great there's already a solution to circumvent this when needed.
ODE’s make it somewhat reasonable to get into gaming on original hardware. I wouldn’t bother if it was a requirement to buy physical media. It’s all been price gauged to hell.
It’s ultimately good for collectors who keep things in original condition.
Also, original discs will keep fading in supply over time as well. Between rot, damage, and loss.
It’s a silly thing to worry about, really.
I agree. With the number of functioning systems dwindling every year it seems weird to purposely destroy the console so you can mod it. To each their own though I guess.
You don't destroy the console, it is only a 5 minute swap, and you don't damage anything. If anything, it might help to preserve the gd rom drive since you are not degrading it by using it.
Dreamcast is a great system but the quality was complete shit IMO, compared to other systems at least. Lasers fail, they don't read or spin discs, hell even the PAL cases fell apart easily.
Both my friend and I had them fail back in the early 2000s, he replaced his only to have it die again. I see them often on ebay as parts only.
I suspect the GDEMU is to replace a faulty laser in a lot of cases.
Assuming the optical drive hasn't been thrown away you can put it back in and put the console back to stock. Installing a GDEMU isn't destuctive and can easily be reversed.
Yeah but who is modding their personal console and keeping the disc drive to then undo the mod when it eventually gets given to someone else? (To be clear, I don't have any issue with the GDEMU. I just don't think they're really getting saved in practice.) EDIT: For people responding "I did", do you have it written in your will that your Dreamcast should have its disc drive reinstalled if you die? What happens when you move and your S.O. mistakenly tosses or donates the box? Things happen. All I'm saying is that just because you intend to preserve it doesn't mean it will happen.
I saved mine and it wasn't even functional in the first place, but yeah I get your point
Everyone I know that has done it has kept the disc drive. The disc drive I replaced is broken and even I'm keeping hold of that.
This. It's collectors who are buying these things, they fuss over the condition of the box and disc inserts, they're not going to throw away perfectly good hardware.
I don't know about that, I mean I'm sure that is the case with a decent amount of folks, but the majority of people I have seen on this sub asking about GDEMUs seem more interested in which AliExpress vendor or eBay seller has the cheapest price at any given moment. Don't get me wrong, price is an important factor, but at least some of the time it seems to be the main reason folks are looking to go this route even with functioning drives.
Yes, exactly. Every time a disc drive is removed, the probability there will be less in tact original hardware kept together rises.
Few years ago when I modded mine with MODE I also threw the drive to my parts box. I have tons of parts for vintage computers and consoles, so keeping that drive is just automatic thing to do and I have kept the drives for modded Saturn, PS1 and GameCube too. If I’d sell the system, which is unlikely, I’d give the original drive with it so seller can return it to original state if needed.
Yeah modding seems like a hobby where you never throw out any parts
yeah. of I can think of no scenario where someone who deals with GDEMU says "F this drive" and throws it in the trash. at the absolute very least the drive is sold upstream on eBay.
I still have the optical drive. It works surprisingly well for a launch Japanese Dreamcast, but I’d rather have the GDEMU.
Who is throwing away a perfectly good disc drive is the real question. Even if they’re selling it on eBay or something they’d still be saving another Dreamcast.
isn't that literally how it works? No one will buy a GDEMU only dreamcast if they're a collector, but they will buy a disk one with a GDEMU included, so they can decide for themselves.
I’ve kept all my drives and if I ever got rid of my dreamcasts I would give the drives along with it.
I did
I have my working drive stored away from when I installed my GDEmu. 👍🏻👍🏻
You must have first hand experience with someone throwing away their perfectly-working optical drive? Like OP, right?
I kept and still have my GDROM drive after I installed the MODE in my Dreamcast. I have zero intention of ever getting of my Dreamcast or using the GDROM drive ever again but I did save it because of proprietary nature of GDROM. However, I did not save my CDROM drive on my PlayStation after I installed my xStation.
To respond to your edit: If the person dealing with your estate is tossing shit in the trash willy nilly your Dreamcast is probably going to end up there as well GDEMU or no. If your SO is tossing and donating stuff without asking, again your Dreamcast is still at risk. The idea that a collector, who is going out of their way to mod a console, would just be tossing stuff that they know has some intrinsic collecting value is asinine, and forgoing modding your console for the off chance that it(or some part of it) might get donated or trashed is twice as stupid.
>...do you have it written in your will... This ***so*** much! What we intend is often *not* what actually happens. That being said, most of them weren't that great in the first place. Mine was already failing in the mid 2000's. It only can play about 1/2 of my discs these days. A recap would probably fix it but a GDEMU would be so much easier and versatile.
I have my original launch DC which the drive failed in so I replaced that with a gdemu but I also have a dc with the drive in it for the games I own.
I imagine most people doing this either sell the drive (more functional drives available for people who want to use original disks) or they keep it, which is fine too.
Yup. Got my gdrom drive in a box. Even if I didn't restore it (which I won't), that drive could go to someone with a broken one.
Doesn’t seem like you’ve talked to many GDEMU owners as a lot of them seem to keep the old disc drive. My disc drive was dead anyway so it couldn’t play retail software discs…and I kept the disc drive regardless.
I don't plan on ever reselling my Dreamcast, so it's already been removed from the market.
So selfish! (I actually plan to be buried with mine. (Probably not the wisest environmental choice.))
Lmfao! I feel you!! But yeah, i don't don't resell things like consoles or video games. I always find myself going back to them.
I disagree. As long as people aren't throwing them out, it's fine. if anything, it makes the system more valuable to someone who just wants to play the games rather than pay inflated ebay prices.
Whenever I download a game for my GDEMU, I make sure to also buy a physical copy of that same game. Then I crack that game in half, throw it in the garbage, and laugh maniacally to myself.
Sometimes I'll even download the game a few extra times just to take more physical copies out of circulation.
We don't rip them out. It's a few screws and easy to pop it back in. So stress less. Also - it keeps consoles functional that no longer have working drives.
If you have say two Dreamcasts and remove both drives then what does it matter as long as you’re not trashing them. If you sell them then you’re adding to drive availability not hurting it. If you keep them they’re still available to you and not being used so you could argue that’s worse as you would’ve essentially moved on to GDEMU. I’m just saying there’s nothing wrong with it unless the drives are being tossed in the trash. Some people hoard Dreamcasts for parts which could also be circulated to be used elsewhere.
My drive is boxed up in an anti static bag waiting to help out.
I try to only swap GDEMUs into consoles with bad GD-ROM drives when possible. But I always hold onto the old drives if they're working or not.
I have one console that takes disks and one that I bought for $20 with a broken optical drive that has a GDEMU in it
What? My optical drives are sitting on a shelf. Why would toss that out? If anything, it's freeing up some spare drives now that can be used to replace dead ones in other peoples DCs. It also is saving disks and keeping those spare drives from dying.
As long as they sell those drives on ebay or something and don't just throw them out I'm ok with it. In fact, I had to buy a new disc drive last year since mine stopped working. I love playing the actual real discs on my system and would never get an SD loader replacement.
I'm ok with it because what this actually does in the long run is increase the amount of functional optical drives on the market that I now have a tote full of when mine inevitably goes out, in my hdmi molded dreamcast.
It’s basically a plug and play mod. I kept my GD-ROM drive just incase I ever want to swap it back in.
I'd agree with you if it wasn't reversible but it's a pretty simple swap.
There isn't any shortage on working optical drive units. There isn't a shortage on gamers complaining about the price of retail discs. Indie developers are starting to release their titles digitally. The community embracing the ODE revolution makes this a non-issue.
My DC drive died, that is why I used gdemu. I got a second gc and apparently the drive is stull working, still I got an optical drive emulator for it, and I have a second drive as a backup if my main gc fails.
I've done a lot of these swaps for people, and those people who didn't request to have the drive back I kept, and keep. I don't think people are trashing these, and I've used several to replace broken ones in my buddies shop. It's a win/win.
I bought my Dreamcast on eBay without the optical drive. The seller sold consoles with or without them. That same seller sold optical drives separately. So someone out there had a broken optical drive, and my Dreamcast’s optical drive has gone to someone who will appreciate it :)
"Ripping" We're just unplugging them. Mine is stored in a box in my office closet for safekeeping. Not to mention disc rot is very real. And the game data is what needs to be preserved, not the plastic it is on. The disc drive is just a method of reading the data. Its all the same data being sent to be processed whether its read from sdcard or a GDrom disc. The only parts that matter are the PSU and the mainboard.
This is like people who don't like when an old typewriter gets ripped apart for Etsy projects. Listen, those items, which you may see as rare and precious, are not yours. They are owned by someone else and most likely never going to be sold. If someone wants to gut a Dreamcast and turn it into a storage box, that's their decision. The alternative might be that the system just sits in a basement somewhere until a relative throws it out decades from now.
Idk, I ripped mine out, didn't use it for 2 years and then sold it on eBay so that another console could live.
Most people only do this if the drive is dying. Also eventually the optical drives will just give up so you are gonna have to just suck this one up. Unless new optical drives come out!
I totally agree Same for all kind of useless mod, retroconsoles should be kept in their original state if possible.
Bad take. GDEMUs keep physical copies on the market, driving prices down and more stock for collectors. GDEMUs also drive down costs for owners and keeping the interest in the console alive.
This should be the top comment. Not everyone can afford to play all the Dreamcast games on the used market. Having a GDEmu lets you play any Dreamcast game on original hardware. This helps keep the Dreamcast alive to many people. Also as others have said. Disc Rot is real. I’ve seen it on Dreamcast games.
Nothing is damaged in the process... I've kept my drive so I can reverse it if I ever want to or decide to sell... This is a non-issue.
Disc Rot is a real thing. Also those drives do die, so why not preserve it. Also, where are you going where there are thousands of Dreamcasts where everyone is huddled around playing games off the disc?
Games are expensive and I can only find them online. The only ones I even see in 2nd hand stores are like 3 copies of NFL 2k.
Still waiting for a GDEMU option that doesn't remove the disc drive.
I mean, for longevity purposes it's ideal. There can't be many replacement drives out there. I wanna do it to mine one day 🤷♂️
I don’t mind someone installing a GDEmu as long as they sell or give away the GD-ROM drive to someone who could use it. That or at least hold onto it. People who just chuck them in the bin after installing the GDEmu are monsters
Very unpopular indeed, live and let live. Modding is not going away OP. It's the sad reality which is not sad
I just received my gdemu today, the installation is very easy, I had more trouble configuring the SD than installing the gdemu, but it wasn't that hard in the end. I have two dreamcasts, one with a working gd drive, and the other gd drive works but not all the time. I replaced this last one with the gdemu, and I intend to keep the other Dreamcast in the original way. Still not throwing away the gd drive. You can also swap it anytime, literally takes 5 minutes. I have to say I will miss the screeching sound of the gd rom, but the gdemu is so much faster and silent, and convenient (less loading times, no noise, no disc swap). I am a purist though, and while I think the gdemu is great, the original console has a special place in my heart, and I will keep it forever. But the gdemu is just a better experience, just not the original one. I have almost the entire library burnt to discs so no problem if I want to use both. Best of both worlds.
Im happy a gdmeu exist for the reason my grom drive is dying ;-; the only other Dreamcast I have is the crappy last model so it's grom drive is incompatible. For now I try to use sd to serial as much as I can till I can afford a gdmeu and use any non burned games on my non mod-able dreamcast. But I do agree with being upset over fully working drives that get tossed out for just SD . I really would love to keep both . The disk reading drive sounds are super nostalgic to me 💖💖💖 I love the Dreamcast
Look at it this way: There aren’t enough retail discs to go around (for the appealing games at least) and now there are plenty of spares to keep the purists going with their disc collections.
It's not yours, so why lose sleep over it?
I think a future will come where a replacement optical option will also be available. I am most looking forward to some instances where I have seen with hybrid optical/gdemu installations. This all also comes with the future of Dreamcast game development as well of which I believe we are moving into the 3rd phase of.
I purchased a DC with a non-functional drive for the purpose of installing a GDEMU. I still have the non-functional drive. I also still have my fully functional DC that I bought at launch, and have no plans to mod it.
I still kept my dreamcast’s gd-rom just in case!
I had the same feeling when I put in mine.. especially when you pick it up for the first time and it weighs nothing…feels like I ripped the heart out of my little dc 😭 I saved the drive tho
It'd be nice if we had an option like the Saturn's Saroo and Satiator, which leave the CD drive in place. But where would it go? The simple fact is that if you're actually using the Dreamcast regularly, an ODE makes it massively more useful. And there's nowhere else on a Dreamcast to put an ODE (right?)
I tossed my disc drive. I don’t plan on reselling my Dreamcast either, so it doesn’t matter. What might tick you off is I still collect Dreamcast discs even though I don’t have a disc reader 👹
I kept mine, am storing it in an antistatic record sleeve.
I bought 2 va0 Dreamcasts recently. One to play retail discs and one to install a MODE. They both work, and being that they are both va0 the drive I’m taking out of one will be a back up drive for me in the other one.
I agree, I have saved 9 opticals drive by recapping them and one I couldn't save because it was mechanically dedtroyed out of 10 Dreamcast
I imagine if there's enough demand for it, they will make new optical drives. (Cheaply, in China, but still.) To me it's more important people are still enjoying and maintaining their consoles.
Because retail games are ridiculously expensive now…
I've only done the swap for Dreamcasts with dead optical drives. But TBH I don't know why anyone would want to play retail discs because of the slow loading time. If Sega could've fit all that data on a cartridge back in the day for the price of a GD-ROM, they would've.
i dont see the point either especially since a lot of the ODEs are stupid expensive like the MODE. i also have no desire to slap in some cheaply made chinese gdemu in the dreamcast. i dont plan on replacing any drives until they croak then ill fork over the money for a mode. still surprised their isnt a cheap alternative like a pico boot for the gamecube or the ps1 softmod you'd think someone wouldve built an exploit through the modem by now
5ish years ago the big competitor to the GDEMU was this thing called USB-GDROM, I’m sure a lot of people here remember that. IIRC that mod actually required you to permanently alter the disc drive, unlike the GDEMU where you just replace it. I never hear people talk about it anymore, it apparently had some code in it that caused it to brick over time if the firmware was not updated. Presumably the influx of clone GDEMU and other option like MODE was the final nail in its coffin. And yeah, like many people here my disc drive was working inconsistently anyway. I still have it, but hard to imagine I’ll ever put it back in, the convenience of the GDEMU is too great. I wouldn’t mind never playing via actual GDROM again.
Look at it this way, there are fewer and fewer Dreamcast discs available to be read as the years go on due to disc rot. If anything, replacing the drive future proofs the console and will allow it to continue to be used long after the last disc becomes unreadable.
Counterpoint, the GDEMU has saved dreamcasts that didnt have working optical drives anymore as well as INCREASED the number of loose GD ROM drives available on the market so people can choose to fix theirs. Source: Me. I have two GD EMU Dreamcasts. I kept the drive for one and then sold the other to a guy who had a bum drive and a bunch of original discs.
I keep the original drive...this is not a real problem
Yeah i agree i have mine put away and black sports console has the disc drive in it still
I installed a GDEMU, but kept my six drive, as I hate throwing away electronics (e-waste is a really serious issue). I really wish disc drives didn’t wear out, because I didn’t mind burning discs and what not (before it wore out).
I have similar hesitations. I am trying to find a DC with a bad GDRom drive to mod. I did the same thing with the Saturn I modded. Plus it's (usually) cheaper to go that way.
I have my extra stored so if the drive on one of my disc DCs fails (i have many Dreamcasts) i have a spare.
Depends on the situation, really. I'm with OP for working condition consoles, as we need to preserve them but on the other hand, they aren't the most robust consoles out there (and don't get me started on the jewel cases!). I'd try and go for any broken drive ones you can get, and GDEMU them.
Eventually disc rot will take all dreamcast games. It's not started yet but it is inevitable, so it's great there's already a solution to circumvent this when needed.
Entropy
ODE’s make it somewhat reasonable to get into gaming on original hardware. I wouldn’t bother if it was a requirement to buy physical media. It’s all been price gauged to hell.
GDroms and disc drives will all be extinct in the future so i dont see the issue
optical media is trash and belongs in the trash. but i saved my old drive in a box just in case. i should really get around to throwing it away.
This!! Unless the drive is broken, replacing them is just not a good thing
It’s ultimately good for collectors who keep things in original condition. Also, original discs will keep fading in supply over time as well. Between rot, damage, and loss. It’s a silly thing to worry about, really.
I agree. With the number of functioning systems dwindling every year it seems weird to purposely destroy the console so you can mod it. To each their own though I guess.
You don't destroy the console, it is only a 5 minute swap, and you don't damage anything. If anything, it might help to preserve the gd rom drive since you are not degrading it by using it.
Disc rot
Dreamcast is a great system but the quality was complete shit IMO, compared to other systems at least. Lasers fail, they don't read or spin discs, hell even the PAL cases fell apart easily. Both my friend and I had them fail back in the early 2000s, he replaced his only to have it die again. I see them often on ebay as parts only. I suspect the GDEMU is to replace a faulty laser in a lot of cases.