NTSC-J Oddities
This disc was included as an appendix within the August 2000 edition of 'Cawaii!' magazine
Cawaii! was a Japanese fashion/style magazine published from March 1996 to June 2009
Aimed at young women and the Japanese fashion subculture of 'Gyaru' (a term derived from the Japanese pronounciation of the word "gal"), it was associated with gaudy fashion styles, dyed hair (most often blonde) and dark tanned skin characteristics of its readers
In a time before social media Cawaii! magazine was seen as a key influencer, often promoting 'reader' models and holding 'Gyaru' events
This odd disc and its even odder contents was released in August 2000, right in the middle of the Gyaru subculture boom which peaked between the 1990's and 2010's
In 2000, and despite the launch of Sony's Playsytation 2, the Dreamcast was already established in Japan. However the Dreamcast's popularity and user-base appeared heavily weighted towards male gamers and audiences. In light of this, Sega seems to have made an attempt to engage with (and possibly influence) a more female demographic by releasing EXTRA Cawaii!, thus tapping into a ready made audience of 350000+ Cawaii! reading 'gals'
The premise...bundle a disc within a popular magazine, include features and content aimed at Gyaru fans (who were nearly all female), and ensure the content could only be accessed interactively using a Dreamcast console...surely this was a no-brainer, right?
Well lets take a look at what was on the disc...
Firstly, Dreamcast Idol Club (DIC)
DIC (is that really the most appropriate anagram!?!) was an exchange site for girls created by Sega and Cawaii! whereby you could join for free, exchange messages with similar DIC members and even chat with 'handsome' guys (although only for 2 hours on a Friday night!)
On joining DIC as a member, you would be sent an entry sheet to register for 'Dream Girls' whereby on completion of the said entry sheet, you could enter various auditions, be 'adopted' as a reader model, go on model shoots and be eligible for other once in a lifetime opportunities
However, DIC appears to be as short-lived as its concept, ending in Spetember 2000 after only 3 months (and only a month after the EXTRA Cawaii! disc was released)
But wait, theres more to EXTRA Cawaii!...
The disc also contained a mini adventure game entitled 'Let's play with Reiko!' (yes, that IS the name of the game) where you could go on a double date with Reiko Nakane who, apparantly, was a charismatic clerk at Tokyo shopping mall SHIBUYA109. The main character would choose an option from the female's point of view and the result would influence what kind of date would subsequently pan out
Other parts include 'Dreams Come True' which basically involves turning a girl with a slightly 'dull' appearance into a 'surprisingly beautiful woman' and the 'Diet Course' where the user is introduced to exercises that can be performed (some with a partner!) under guidance from a fitness instructor (so like an early celebrity workout video!)
This all seems innocent, socially and politically correct, right? Well there's even more digital nonsense...
'Hyper Love Counselling Room' which is some sort of pre-recorded questions and answers session for discussions on love and relationships. There is also an interactive section called 'Check the degree of boyfriend's cheating' which seems self-explanatory
'Handsome Message Board' and 'I Want a Friend' are web page shortcuts for existing DIC members. The former is where you would be able to chat to handsome men every Friday between the hours of 19.00 - 21.00. No idea what happened after the 9pm watershed though...were they just cut off? And what constitutes the criteria 'handsome'? More questions than answers here it seems
Finally, a section which featured 3 Cawaii! reader models who respond to questions like 'is work fun?', hints and tips pages from previous back issues (appearance being similar to an early e-book), an interview with the then magazines editor-in-chief and a behind the scenes look at the production of 'Making of Cawaii!'
Oh and not forgetting a memory quiz (where you could apply for a lottery prize if you answered all the questions correctly), Super Prom 2000 (I have no idea what this is about - looks like some sort of talent show paegant) and a section on what looks like self-introduction movies from about 20 people who are around 20 years of age...again, I have no idea who or what this is about!
So there you have it...EXTRA Cawaii! in a nutshell
An impressive mix of quite frankly pointless and useless outdated crap which, despite being bizzare (and possibly even creepy), remains a rare and historical piece within the collection!
Back in 2000, Sega developed this 'experimental' software with the purpose of using the Dreamcast to connect homes and schools together via the internet. At the time, 10 elementary and junior high schools had signed up from a nationwide perspective to participate in the experiment, with each receiving software tailored to its own particular requirements
It is unknown how many discs were actually produced by Sega in respect of this innitiative, nor is it known how many discs each school would have actually received. However, given that each school would have had its own specific 'version', for most hardcore Dreamcast software collectors these discs are amongst the rarest of all discs to own (and find). Even when this software does come up for sale (of which it seldom does), it is pretty evident from the insane prices that its also amongst the most expensive pieces of software available for the Dreamcast
Safe to say there's no examples of these in the collection!