How to Start Playing Old-School Dreamcast Games on Your PC Using NullDC

As retro gaming is making a rapid comeback, more and more players start looking for emulators to turn their personal computers into vintage consoles. Nintendo fans are scouring the Internet for Nostalgia.NES, PlayStation fans are looking for PCSX, and Wii fans take advantage of Dolphin Emulator, rubbing their hands together in anticipation of megafun gaming. But what about those players who fell in love with the Dreamcast at first sight? Is there a reliable Dreamcast emulator that can allow fans of Sega’s last console to play their favorite titles? There definitely is. NullDC is the only time-tested emulator you can use to run lots of commercial Sega Dreamcast games on your computer. We cannot promise that your emulation experience will be flawless. The emulator is not immune to glitches, which may interfere with the normal operation of the program and lead to lags and crashes. Still, those crashes are not so much serious as annoying. Neither are they frequent. Minor faults do not prevent users from downloading and installing NullDC on their machines. If you’re also eager to reunite with your favorite Dreamcast characters, but don’t have a vintage console at your disposal, opt for NullDC. Together with Dreamcast ROMs, the NullDC emulator will take you down memory lane and make you re-experience the happy moments. If you’re ready to embark on a retro journey, go on reading our article. 

Downloading the NullDC Emulator

Just like any software, NullDC can be found on the Internet. To find the necessary program, open your favorite browser and find a reliable website. Note that NullDC is open-source software that can be downloaded for free. So, if the online resource attempts charging you for downloading the emulator, don’t hesitate to find another one to get it for free.

• Though there are many third-party websites offering NullDC for download, we highly recommend that you download the tool from NullDC’s official website, which is the safest option. 

To download the emulator, click on the most recently updated version. You’ll find the new software in your default Downloads folder.

Installing NullDC

Once you get your emulator downloaded, head to your Downloads folder and locate the new file there. It’s very likely that the file will come in a compressed .zip format. It’ll be necessary to decompress the obtained file. You can use any decompression program you have at hand for this purpose. Still, if you have never unzipped files before and don’t have any unarchiver installed, consider using 7-Zip. Not only is this handy utility free, but it also enables you to unpack any required file with literary two clicks.

Furthermore, you’ll need to download a special BIOS file for your NullDC to run smoothly and seamlessly. If you start searching for Dreamcast BIOS, you’ll see that there are two files you can avail yourself of, namely, dc_boot.bin and dc_flash.bin.

Make sure to place the downloaded BIOS into a data directory within your emulator. 

Once you’re done, navigate to the File menu and select the “Normal Boot” option from there.

Getting Dreamcast Games

After you launch your emulator, it will automatically prompt you to select a Dreamcast game to run on your computer. Alas, there is nothing you can offer your emulator so far, as there is no suitable Dreamcast ISOs (games) in your “Games” folder. Still, it can be fixed easily. All you need to do is to visit a reputable abandonware website (we recommend RomsMania), pick your favorite games, and download them onto your computer. Make certain to save their contents to the “Games” folder and get ready for a deep dive into retro gaming.

Related: More Windows Updates

Playing Games

Now nothing prevents you from playing your favorite classic games anymore. Fire up your NullDC and select the “Games” folder from the File Menu. Choose the titles and click “Open.”

That’s all! Enjoy your game!