GTA 3 has been ported to the SEGA Dreamcast
Grand Theft Auto 3 was once in development for the SEGA Dreamcast, but was then released for the Sony PlayStation 2 console. A fan is now porting the game to the SEGA Dreamcast consoles modified with 32 MB of RAM.
Grand Theft Auto 3 (GTA) was released for the Playstation 2 console in October 2001. The game from Rockstar Games was once in development for the last SEGA console, however that version never materialized because the production of the Dreamcast ended early that year in March.
Fans are now developing a version of the game for the Dreamcast and the iconic open-world game can run on a SEGA console for the first time. After all, it was a game that was pioneering for later open-world titles and is one of the best-selling and highest-rated video games of all time.
Most players will likely never experience the new Grand Theft Auto 3 port on original SEGA hardware, as it requires 32 MB of memory, while the retail Dreamcast console only has 16 MB. To play the game on actual hardware, a modification is necessary to install an additional RAM bank.
GTA 3 initially launched exclusively for the Playstation 2. Versions for PC and Xbox were later released. Recently, the cult game has been made available also for smartphones. A Playstation 4 version was added later, which was replaced by the (less popular) "Definitive Edition." This last version is normally called the "horror" version, not because of any horror mode, but because of the many technical issues. Rockstar had to intervene to try to fix it as the port was done by a third-party developer.
In the fan port for the Dreamcast, Rockstar will not be involved.
The new Dreamcast game is not a port of the Playstation 2 version. It is instead a port of the computer (PC) version, that was disassembled and the assets swapped with Playstation 2 assets. Models are further optimized in Blender to cut down on resource usage. Audio is not working at the moment.
GTA 3 for the SEGA Dreamcast – A Piece of History (That Never Was)
The iconic title was actually planned for the Dreamcast console first, therefore, the new port is actually more than a fan project: it's more someone trying to repair a timeline. It's unimaginable what would have happened if GTA 3 had been released exclusively for the Dreamcast. Perhaps today many of us would have a SEGA console at home. Thus, Grand Theft Auto 3 is one of the many planned, but never implemented projects for the SEGA console. A console that only had a lifespan of about 1 year and 5 months in the European market!
A few days ago it has been shown that the game can also run on a standard retail Dreamcast (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNDTwbMsxSg), but the major issue remains the Dreamcast's limited 16 MB of RAM (the Playstation 2 has 32 MB of RAM).
The project is an unofficial initiative and is not endorsed or supported by Rockstar Games. GTA III remains the intellectual property of Rockstar Games.
