So, today I went to a shop that still sells retro games and found two copies of Sonic Adventure, both in beautiful condition. One of them had a white Sonic Adventure sample disc inside. Now, I tried to look it up (white label, promo disc, sample disc, demo) but only found a few pictures of a Sonic Adventure 2 disc that looks almost the same (except I guess for the number). Anyone out there knows what this disc is, what it contains and is worth roughly $15 dollars with a full copy of the game (which I plan to buy eventually, since it would look nice on my shelf + emulation ahoy).
Get a snapshot next time your inand show us, I'm sure 1 of us can pin it down on what it is. Might as well get it. it would be a nice momento even if its something we have seen before.
Sounds like a white label to me. A lot of DC games got these. Nothing too special, just the final game for magazines or whatever. I think some people collect them, but I never see them sell for too much. (usually around $20, but since it's SA it might go for more.)
It is definitely a white label, since it looks like other white label discs. However, after hours of search, I couldn't even find a picture of it. Not even a website mentioning it. Well, not that I know what it's really called. Either way, I'll probably go back and buy it, I just wanted to know what I'm getting beforehand.
That's the most I can do with it. I don't own a Dreamcast. My PC is not functioning presently and I don't think a regular DVD burner could do anything with the disc. I also don't know anyone who would be interested in ripping it if I end up buying it. I think I do have a friend who owns a DC, but it's been ages since I talked to her, I don't even know if she still has it/it still works.
http://segaretro.org/Category:Dreamcast_EU_white_label_disc_scans These white label discs can be interesting... but they're usually nothing super-duper special. My understanding is that they were used (as the discs suggest) as promotional copies of the game, I.e. short demos of finished products, often for magazines, etc. For preservation's sake, yes, it's probably worth looking into... but I very much doubt you'll be finding something juicy like an early prototype. White label discs were only used in Europe and tend to be fairly unremarkable, mostly because they came from Sega themselves. for prototypes this sort of thing is what you're looking for. That or an old Dreamcast Dev.Box that's sat untouched for more than ten years.
Alright, if I do end up buying it (my only reason to do so would be to play the game with the original and -in my opinion- better looking models, since no one seems to be able to import them into SADX) I'll scan the disc. I guess I could technically see what's on the smaller side of the disc, but I don't think it'll have wallpapers or anything like some of the DC games.
Once upon a time, Truner went to a shop. He looked around, retro games everywhere. As he searched the many games, he found a game called Sonic Adventure. He opened it and it nearly fell apart. Disappointedly, he put it back on the shelf and continued to look around some more. And he looked. And looked. And looked. And after a grand total of 2 seconds, he found another Sonic Adventure. He opened it, it didn't fell apart, so he gladly bought it. The rest can only be shown through pictures: Sorry for the double post, but I think this is kind of worth it.
Which is also included and both discs are in perfect condition! I'm very happy with this, even though I can't use them. Both discs have the same files with the same dates (10 .bmp wallpapers and 3 .txt files). I have a feeling that the White Label disc is just the full game. Oh well, who cares, I don't even have a Dreamcast. XD BTW buying this made me realize how many different reasons can I come up with to hate this game and yet, it still feels so nostalgic and nice to even look at the package...
You don't have a Dreamcast? Pro tip: get one. They're cheap as hell second hand and its probably the only console out there where its hard to find a genuinely bad game.
Protip: emulation. As long as I get crystal clear picture on a monitor of my preference and at a stable speed, I'm fine without the console. Been doing this for a while and quite honestly, I never felt the need to own a Dreamcast. Aside from a handful of games, I really can't find anything worthy in its software library... :/
Well done Truner. Right, there's a couple of things that need doing now that you have this disc. 1. I know you mentioned you don't have a Dreamcast but if you have a way of dumping it by other means, then do so. Even if this sample disc "looks" the same as the final, there's always a chance it might be different within it's coding. 2. Try to get a good scan of that disc. Even if it ends up being the final copy, we don't have a scan of that disc on the wiki The thing to note is that this particular disc is hard to come by.
I don't have any means to do that. I looked for drivers that could somehow add GD-ROM support to my regular DVD drive, but the only thing I found is for some kind of Linux thingy. I don't do Linux, so I'm not going to try, unless there's some kind of guide for it. I also don't know anyone with a Dreamcast and even if I did, ripping isn't as easy as putting in the disc probably. It also doesn't help that in recent years, the main postage service in Hungary went downhill and unless you pay the maximum amount of money you can, your package has an 50% of not arriving. So tracking down someone outside of Hungary just to rip this is kind of beyond my wallet. As for the scan, I'll see what I can do. That picture I took was right after I came home, with shitty lights and everything. From looking at other White Label discs, aside from the release-specific information (like the title), it doesn't look different. But yeah, I'll scan it whenever I get a chance. I think Sega Retro is actively collecting Sega-releated game/console scans, so it would be worth the effort.
I'm surprised you found something like this in one of those shops. Pretty neat too, but kinda sad if the last owner didn't think much of the white disc and sold it off with the original. Some people don't really understand what they have til its gone. Anyway once you finally somehow manage to get it running, let us know what it is (though its probably a magazine demo showcase like the guys mentioned)
If someone is willing to rip it, I'm not against it. Last time I bought something rare (PSP Firmware on a UMD), I managed to rip it myself, so releasing that was a lot easier. Though it also didn't have ANYTHING new to it, aside from a picture of some kind of flower. Dunno if ripping this would be worth the effort for anyone, but I'm willing to send it away if such a thing ever kicks off.
We do need it out there just for the sake of research, all betas, samples, demos, etc. no matter how insignificant are still ripped and dumped just for the reason that they are on dying technology and while carts and CDs eventually die off to age & time, the internet is forever. Were running on borrowed time, we gotta make use of it.
I'm able to rip any Dreamcast game and yes it's as simple as putting a disc into the console; as long you have an Dreamcast SD Adapter and the Dreamcast DC SD Ripper program. It's the best alternative if you don't have a Dreamcast BroadBand Adapter (even then, it doesn't make any difference if you were to use either or). That's how I was able to dump both the "Sonic Adventure AutoDemo" and "Sonic Adventure 2 Trial Version" disc. I'm the closest person you could send the disc to Truner (unless of course, there's someone else closer to you who can dump the disc). Not only would I be able to dump the disc, I could do a good scan of it and all. The question is, what sort of postage price are we looking at if you were send something like that to the UK?
