Playing Sega Dreamcast disks (original games) w/ an emulator?

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smartcomputernerd

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Recently, I found 4 REAL (not ROM rips) Dreamcast games lying around our house. I don't know exactly how they got there, but I don't have a Sega Dreamcast. So, here's my question:

1. Is there an emulator that could play dreamcast game disks on my PC? (The PC has 500gb Hard Drive and 3gb RAM)

2. Is it legal to have an emulator used to play dreamcast games? (Official Game Disks, not ROMS) (Dreamcast Systems are no longer factory sold)

3. Would it (like other shifty programs) have some kind of virus?

Please only answer if you can ACTUALLY answer my question with evidence, and if it seems ok and legal, give me a link to the emulation site.

Thank You,
Smartcomputernerd
I found out one of the disks, the one I most wanted to play, Sonic Adventure 2, crashes before the 1st level ends on NullDC from their forums. Any others that won't do this?
 
First - every other answer so far is stupid and wrong.

1 - NO! You can not play real DC game disks on your PC. Sega used a proprietary disk format (GDrom) that your cd or dvd drive can't read. The disk also contains more data than will fit on a normal cd.

2 - Since you can't play official game disks on an emulator, I can't answer this. Depending on your location & laws there, an argument could be made that having roms of the original disks you own constitute a legal backup copy which you could legally play on an emulator. However, probably a moot point since it is illegal to modify the coding of the original games - which is what has to be done in order to fit the game on a standard cdrom.

3 - Yes, some shifty programs have viruses. If you are careful as to where you download an emulator and scan the files with a decent antivirus program, you should be fine.

4 - Chankast is another emulator, but again, you'd have to use a ROM of Sonic Adventure 2, not your original.

So what can you do if you want to play Sonic Adventure 2?

Option 1 - buy a DC console. Basic system can be found in the $20 range on ebay in the US. If you don't like ebay, try kijiji.com or craigslist.org, I've had success with both finding cheap dreamcast systems and games.

Option 2 - be an evil illegal downloader of roms and play them using an emulator. http://www.underground-gamer.com/ is bar none the best site for DC roms.

I would suggest option 1 - no emulator beats the actual console, plus you don't have to do anything illegal.
 
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