The original intent for creating this site was to digitally showcase my own PAL Dreamcast collection within an organised, visually appealing and informative way...a way which similar like-minded collectors and enthusiasts would appreciate and find beneficial

At least that was the idea

For many, Dreamcast collecting is about more than just owning the console and a few games — it's about acquiring a piece of gaming history!

Prior to 2013, I had a very mediocre collection of Dreamcast games and my own console had stopped working a long time back

Both the console and games had been 'archived' in the loft for years, forgotten about and unloved

And then one day, the box was retrieved and opened and a renewed interest for Sega's final home console was reborn

From late 2013, I actively started purchasing game titles in order to obtain the kudos of 'owning a full PAL Dreamcast set'

Whilst a collector’s obsession might start with securing the big titles first, expanding to find limited editions, imports, rare peripherals, and promotional materials, I was trying to achieve 'full-set' nirvana in both an unstructured and disorganised way

The likes of Cannon Spike, MoHo, Evolution 2 and Streetfighter Alpha 3 had been left towards the end of my 'full set' journey and, when the time came to purchase them, these titles inevitably came with premium prices

It was this kind of self-justification that I would have to acknowledge and accept. If I was to become a truly dedicated collector, then I would have to convince myself that their purchase was an absolute necessity and that I was fully committed to the collecting cause

I continued to procure titles intermittently and by 2018 i had achieved my goal...I had acquired all 216 licensed Dreamcast PAL titles!

Except, as is often the case, it wasn't over. The journey had now turned into a personal quest

The collecting bug had bitten hard and there were rogues within the ranks of the blue spines. Like why did my version of 'Marvel vs Capcom Clash of Super Heroes' state 'Not for sale in the UK'? And why did 'Conflict Zone' have English on the back cover but a manual that was in French and Spanish?

I felt the need to delve significantly deeper into the murky water of collecting regional releases

At the time, the only resources that I had to hand for European variants were a number of non-UK websites to which I was cross-referencing various information and images. However, within this data there was a lot of conflicting information and it soon became apparent that there were other, many other, variants of licensed Dreamcast games out in the wild

Other questions started to surface...like why did some Acclaim titles appear to have 5 regional variants whilst others had only 3 or 4? Why would Acclaim not have published all their games in similar Countries? Well it turns out that they actually did

Then there was the topic of regional coding which was a minefield of information to process

And thats when I became aware of even more Dreamcast desirables and collecting sub-quests, many of which now adorn the pages within this site for reference and informative purposes. Bundled variants, rebundled variants, promotional and white label variants...the list goes on

So in hindsight, I guess this site is an extension of not only the collection itself but also my personal collecting habits from over the years...a sort of collectors retrospective. A place where licensed game titles (including regional variants) have been cross-referenced, verified and presented in such a way to benefit and provide consolation to any like-minded collector, enthusiast, aficionado or just plain hard-core Dreamcast junkie!

I have spent countless hours scouring game websites, online selling platforms and online stores across most European Countries to verify and confirm that the items listed within the pages of this site exist

Whilst 'pleading' with sellers to ship to a post-Brexit UK has been both challenging and frustrating (especially for non-UK released variants), building a network of trusted 'game handlers' has been invaluable, resulting in what you now see. However, what is more important and what you won't see from these pages, are the life-long friendships that have been made as part of my journey...a journey which is still far from over!

Nick

Blue Spine Games

Over 1800 product images on this site!

Image galleries can be accessed via the drop-down lists within the site navigation tabs

Within each image gallery, key information is displayed such as game title, European Article Number (EAN / barcode), product region code, game language(s) and any additional notes:

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All images and text appearing on this site are copyright of ©BLUE SPINE GAMES, unless otherwise stated or credited. 

Any reproduction, electronically or otherwise, without the expressed written permission of the owner (that’s me) is strictly prohibited. 

SEGA, DREAMCAST and the SEGA and DREAMCAST wordmarks are trademarks of SEGA CORPORATION.

The DREAMCAST logo (swirl) is licensed by SEGA CORPORATION.

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All trademarks appearing on this site are respected, including those of the developers and publishers.

Blue Spine Games is not associated or affiliated with SEGA CORPORATION, SEGA, SEGA JAPAN, SEGA EUROPE, SEGA AMERICA, SEGA SAMMY, ACCLAIM ENTERTAINMENT or any respective developer and/or publisher in any way, shape or form whatsoever.

All content available on this site is provided purely for leisure (non-commercial), visual and informative purposes only.