Editing GD-ROM (section)

== Dreamcast console ==
The Dreamcast was considered by the [[video game industry]] as one of the most secure consoles on the market with its use of the GD-ROM,<ref name="Wired">{{cite magazine |title=Sega Crushes Dreamcast Pirates |url=https://www.wired.com/2000/07/sega-crushes-dreamcast-pirates/ |access-date=June 15, 2024 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |date=July 20, 2000}}</ref> but this was nullified by a flaw in the Dreamcast's support for the MIL-CD format, a [[Mixed Mode CD]] first released on June 25, 1999, that incorporates interactive visual data similarly to [[CD+G]].<ref name="Kohler">{{cite book |last1=Kohler |first1=Chris |chapter=Retro-Hack the Dreamcast |chapter-url=https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/retro-gaming-hacks/0596009178/ch04s20.html |title=Retro Gaming Hacks |date=October 2005 |publisher=[[O'Reilly Media]] |isbn=9780596009175 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="MIL-CD release - IGN">{{cite news |title=First MIL CDs released in Japan |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/06/29/first-mil-cds-released-in-japan |access-date=June 15, 2024 |work=[[IGN]] |date=June 28, 1999 |language=en}}</ref>{{efn|The MIL-CD is only compatible with Japanese Dreamcast consoles due to [[regional lockout]].<ref name="Kitahe - IGN">{{cite web |last1=Gantayat |first1=Anoop |title=Soundtrack Review: Kitahe - Pure Songs and Pictures |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/06/08/soundtrack-review-kitahe-pure-songs-and-pictures |website=IGN |access-date=June 17, 2024 |language=en |date=June 7, 2000}}</ref>}}{{efn|Unlike other mixed mode CDs, MIL-CD was capable of muting its data section from playback on typical [[CD player]]s, preventing potential damage to connected speakers.<ref name="MIL-CD release - IGN" /><ref name="Kitahe - IGN" /> Some GD-ROM titles include such a warning as an audio track.<ref name="EGM115">{{cite magazine |title=Hands On: Dreamcast |last=Johnston |first=Chris |date=February 1999 |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |issue=115 |page=26}}</ref>}} A [[hacker group]] self-named Utopia released their exploit in June 2000, having discovered that they could replace the visual data with Dreamcast code, enabling games burned onto [[CD-R]]s to run on the console without any [[modding]];<ref name="Kohler" /><ref name="Hackers">{{cite news |last=Borland |first=John |date=June 30, 2000 |title=Hackers break Dreamcast safeguards, distribute games online |url=http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-242686.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029093337/http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-242686.html |archive-date=October 29, 2014 |access-date=October 28, 2014 |work=[[CNET]]}}</ref> boot discs were initially used to facilitate this effort, but hackers subsequently discovered the ability to have burned games self-boot without the need for a boot disc.<ref name="Hackers" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Carless|2004|page=217}}</ref> While copying Dreamcast games onto a CD-ROM sometimes required the removal of certain game features, this did not affect their playability; such games were typically distributed on [[file sharing]] networks such as [[Internet Relay Chat]].<ref name="Hackers" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Sega Shuts Down Computer Game Pirates |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=119647 |access-date=July 4, 2024 |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=July 21, 2000 |language=en}}</ref> Sega initially responded by aggressively pursuing [[cease and desist]] orders against online marketplaces selling pirated games, announcing the effort a month after the exploit's release;<ref name="Wired" /> the company eventually released a new revision of the Dreamcast hardware that removed MIL-CD support towards the end of 2000, closing the loophole.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carless|2004|page=199}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Gantayat |first1=Anoop |title=Sega Kills MIL CD Format |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/01/17/sega-kills-mil-cd-format |access-date=June 10, 2024 |work=IGN |date=January 16, 2001 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Zackheim |first1=Ben |title=The Dreamcast never dies |url=https://www.engadget.com/2005-01-27-the-dreamcast-never-dies.html |access-date=June 13, 2024 |work=[[Engadget]] |date=January 27, 2005}}</ref> Games released around that time also began to incorporate a more robust copy protection system to thwart illegitimate use.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bramwell |first1=Tom |title=Sega Fights Piracy |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/article-29995 |access-date=June 15, 2024 |work=[[Eurogamer]] |date=January 18, 2001 |language=en}}</ref>

Before the Dreamcast was released, Sega "confirmed that Dreamcast owners will one day be able to upgrade the GD-ROM drive to DVD" as part of its general expansion system to keep it competitive against more powerful contemporaries.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/2/26/EGM_US_122.pdf |title=Dreamcast Expandability |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly |publisher=Ziff Davis |volume=122 |date=September 1999 |page=204}}</ref> In June 1999, ''[[The Nihon Keizai Shimbun]]'' reported on the development of a DVD distribution system by Sega alongside [[Hitachi]], [[Nippon Columbia]], and an additional partner; one known planned use for it involved encrypted multi-title releases that were to be accessed via downloadable [[product key]]s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sega to Co-Develop DVD Technology for Use with Dreamcast? |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/06/09/sega-to-co-develop-dvd-technology-for-use-with-dreamcast |access-date=June 11, 2024 |work=IGN |date=June 8, 1999 |language=en}}</ref> Despite displaying a Dreamcast DVD display unit at E3 2000,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Justice|first=Brandon|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/05/12/e3-2000-first-look-a-dreamcast-dvd-player?amp=1|title=E3 2000: First Look – Dreamcast DVD Player|work=IGN|date=May 12, 2000}}</ref> the plans for a DVD add-on or fully separate unit never materialized during the short production run of the Dreamcast, rendering it the only [[sixth generation console]] to not adopt the format.