Wipeout Shocks Fans with Surprising Dreamcast Port!

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Summary

  • Wipeout is being ported to the Dreamcast.
  • Porting enthusiast Jnmartin84 recently managed to get the PS1 racer to run on Sega’s classic console.
  • The current version of the port still has some notable bugs, including issues with music and crashes.

Wipeout is being transferred to the Dreamcast. The legendary racing game from PlayStation 1 is designed to operate on Sega’s discontinued console, about three decades after its initial launch.

More recently, there’s been a surge in fan initiatives aiming to adapt numerous games for the Dreamcast. A notable instance of this trend emerged in January 2025, as Russian developer Maximqad made strides towards making games like Counter-Strike and Half-Life: Deathmatch compatible with the Dreamcast by using the Xash3D engine.

In March 2025, another fascinating project surfaced. Modder Jnmartin84 revealed updates on their mission to adapt the classic game Wipeout to run seamlessly on Sega’s 1999 console, the Dreamcast. Remarkable footage of this project, shared by YouTube channel The Sega Guru (via Time Extension), demonstrates that one of the best PS1 racers can operate at a speedy pace, frequently surpassing 100 frames per second on the Dreamcast.

Doom 64 Dreamcast Port Informed Jnmartin84’s Wipeout Project

After examining their success, Jnmartin84 disclosed that the project was heavily influenced by an earlier Dreamcast version of the Nintendo 64 exclusive title, Doom 64, which they had completed previously. The past project involved developing tools for adjusting polygon headers and performing fast mathematical operations, techniques they also applied to make Wipeout compatible with Sega’s classic console. This endeavor marks their second attempt at porting Wipeout to the Dreamcast, following a 2023 project that resulted in a functional game but one plagued by sound issues and graphical glitches. The latest port isn’t without its own challenges; Jnmartin84 has mentioned that the music stops functioning after playing several tracks, and occasionally attempting to exit to the main menu causes the entire game to crash.

On March 19, the initial operational version of the port was effectively built, according to jnmartin84’s recollection. It remains unclear whether they plan to further refine the game or if this is a single, standalone project. One factor potentially influencing their porting endeavors could be that the original Wipeout’s source code has been publicly accessible online since mid-2022, courtesy of archival group Forest of Illusion. Access to such source codes greatly enhances comprehension of the game’s internal workings and streamlines tasks like asset extraction and management.

In just a few weeks after someone began transferring Grand Theft Auto: Vice City onto the Dreamcast, Jnmartin84’s version of Wipeout also appeared online. Notably, this Dreamcast project is being led by SKMP, who was previously successful in getting GTA3 to run on the same console.

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2025-03-23 14:34