Name: Dreamcast
Brand: Sega

03

Overview

A home console released by Sega in 1998, using a Hitachi SH-4 CPU, PowerVR2 graphics and GD-ROM discs of about 1 GB. An analog modem for internet access was built in as standard.

Name in Japan: ドリームキャスト
Name in North America: Dreamcast
Name in Europe: Dreamcast

04

Industrial Design

Industrial design

The console measures 195.8 × 190 × 75.5 mm and weighs 1.5 kg; the VMU memory card, with its own LCD screen, docks into the controller.

A disassembled Dreamcast — Dreamcast disassembled

Inside a Dreamcast — Dreamcast internals

05

Technical Specifications

Technical specifications

CPU: Hitachi SH-4 @ 200 MHz
Memory: RAM 16 MB / VRAM 8 MB / audio RAM 2 MB
Graphics: NEC PowerVR2 @ 100 MHz
Display: Composite, S-video, RF, SCART, VGA (adapter)
Generation (Wikipedia): 6th generation

Values are from the sources below. Where sources differ, see the notes under Sources.

06

Controller

Analog stick, D-pad, four face buttons and two analog triggers, with two expansion sockets for the VMU memory card.

07

Media Format

Media format

GD-ROM
CD-ROM

CD-ROM
Optical discs sharing the audio CD format, used for data. Sources describe the PC Engine's CD-ROM² (1988) as the first use of CD-ROM as a home console game medium.
GD-ROM
A proprietary optical disc developed by Sega and Yamaha for the Dreamcast. It could be mass-produced at a cost similar to CD-ROM, avoiding the expense of DVD-ROM.

08

Launch & Context

Launch & historical context

Release (Japan): 27 Nov 1998[1]
Release (North America): 9 Sep 1999[1]
Release (Europe): 14 Oct 1999[1]
Release (Australia): 30 Nov 1999[1]
Launch price (Japan): ¥29,000[1]

Released in Japan on November 27, 1998, when more than half of its limited stock had been pre-ordered. In January 2001 Sega announced its withdrawal from home console hardware, making the Dreamcast its last home console.

09

Notable Games

Notable games

10

Gallery

Dreamcast with controller
Dreamcast controller and Visual Memory unit
Dreamcast disassembled
Dreamcast internals

11

Timeline

12

Related Consoles

Related consoles

About Sega →

13

Sources

[1]
Dreamcast
Wikipedia (EN)
ReferenceAccessed 2026-09-26
[2]
ドリームキャスト
Wikipedia (JA)
ReferenceAccessed 2026-09-26
[3]
沿革
株式会社セガ
ManufacturerAccessed 2026-09-26

Notes on conflicting sources

bits omitted (SEGA history says only '家庭用ゲーム機『ドリームキャスト』発売'). Model number (HKT-3000) not verified. JP price ¥29,000 from EN only (not confirmed on JA fetch). Units ~9.13M worldwide (2.86M Japan per JA) but shipped/sold unspecified, so unitsSold omitted. Modem speed 33.6 kbps per JA (Japan model).

14

Image Credits

Image credits

Dreamcast with controller
SEGA Dreamcast console with controller
PhotoEvan-Amos
Wikimedia Commons·CC BY-SA 3.0
Dreamcast controller and Visual Memory unit
Dreamcast controller with a Visual Memory Unit
PhotoEvan-Amos
Wikimedia Commons·Public domain
Dreamcast disassembled
A disassembled Dreamcast
PhotoEvan-Amos
Wikimedia Commons·Public domain
Dreamcast internals
Inside a Dreamcast
PhotoEvan-Amos
Wikimedia Commons·Public domain

Dreamcast