Post a Comment On: The Dreamcast Junkyard

[Image]In 2022, Dreamcast fans the world over were buzzing at the announcement of a “next-gen” Visual Memory Unit - the VM2. The news even reached the likes of Yahoo! Japan. Created by Chris Diaoglou, who brought us the very impressive DreamConn Bluetooth controller back in 2016, the VM2 blasted past its goal on IndieGoGo. Congratulations, Chris! Including a backlit LCD screen with higher resolution, along with Micro-SD storage internal storage of 128KB (200 blocks), and a rechargeable high-capacity internal battery with USB-C charging; the VM2 looks to be the VMU to end all VMUs. No more having to swap VMUs around when you run out of space, or running through CR2032 batteries every two seconds. Woo!Anyhow, our friend Derek Pascarella shared some photos on our Discord (as well as his Twitter), courtesy of Chris, of the first test production run of the VM2, and it's looking damn good. Note the larger screen that includes icons for the battery and the SD card, along with a power button (instead of a sleep button).[Image][Image][Image][Image][Image]If you still want to get your hands on a VM2, all hope is not lost despite the campaign having ended. The project has moved to "InDemand", meaning you can still order yourself one. Just head on over to the campaign page and select the VM2 perk you want! It will also be available on Chris’ website DreamMods at some point.
Update: Since putting this article up, Chris has returned to wow us yet again, this time with video footage of the early production units in action. Donning surgical gloves, Chris shows off the many bells and whistles of the VM2. He starts off showing the VM2's many settings options, before diving into some games, all presented on the beautiful backlit display. Some of the options that stood out to me the most included the ability to turn the backlight on and off, view the files contained on the SD card, increase VMU game speed, and change the system's region/language. One of the most notable options that grabbed my attention is one that allows you to turn off the VMUs sound (including toggling the famous startup beep on/off!), which is interesting as it wasn't really made clear if the VM2 was going to include a speaker. While I'm sure many wouldn't miss the VMU's death knell of drained CR2032 batteries, games like Skies of Arcadia use the speaker as a sonar, so good to know one is included on the VM2. Check the footage out below!

Anyway, thanks again to Derek and Chris for the photos and videos. Have you ordered or are planning to order a VM2? Let us know in the comments below!