‘Paca Picks’

August 1st, 2014 Paca Picks 1 Comment »

Paca Picks: PlayStation DTL-H1001 Blue Debugging Station

This is a PlayStation “debugging station”. These were released as DTL-H100x (blue) and DTL-H120x (green) in the United States, Japan, and Europe – my version is DTL-H001 (NTSC-U). Unlike Net Yaroze systems which were purchasable by public hobbyists, debug systems were used by development studios to quickly test games. As such, the console plays burned discs and is also region free.

How did I come upon this unit? It was sitting alongside 20 other PlayStation systems at my local thrift store. In contrast to the grey exteriors they all had I was immediately drawn to and curious about the blue version. After taking it home I learned it was a debug unit and was incredibly pleased since it had only cost $5. Unfortunately, the blue controller was nowhere to be found.

Who is VNM-Chicago? Presumably they owned all the systems that were unceremoniously dumped off at Goodwill. Maybe one day a Net Yaroze will pop up there too…

July 4th, 2014 Paca Picks No Comments »

Paca Picks: Hello Kitty Limited Edition Pink Dreamcast

Hey there and welcome to the first ever Paca Picks! This is a new article series where random tidbits of our video game collections (mine or Leah’s) will be showcased.

First up is the Hello Kitty Limited Edition Pink Dreamcast. This was a Japanese exclusive console that launched in 1999 – a year after the system’s launch there. It came in pink as well as blue, with both colors using transparent plastic. Sources state there were 1,500 made of each color meaning this was actually “limited” unlike many modern games and systems that use the same verbage.

What’s inside the box? The Hello Kitty Dreamcast includes: Dreamcast, controller, VMU, keyboard, AC adapter, AV cable, Hello Kitty Dream Passport (ハローキティドリームパスポート), Hello Kitty Garden Panic (ハローキティのガーデンパニック), various pamphlets. Unfortunately, I don’t have the keyboard but do have the rest! The photo showcasing all the goodies together gives the best example of the console’s pink tone.

Hello Kitty Garden Panic is a Picross game and was only available for purchase via this bundle. Hello Kitty Dream Passport is just a specially branded version of Sega’s Dream Passport software which let users access the internet via a Dreamcast (hence the inclusion of a keyboard with this bundle). As I already have a working Dreamcast, and they are region free, I tend to keep my Hello Kitty Limited Edition Pink Dreamcast on display.