Are Dreamcast discs really that fragile?

I've been grabbing more games for my DC collection recently and have been buying quite a few games on eBay as no local retro shops have a copy. I always pay just a little extra for games that are CIB and have no cracks on the jewel case. Most of the time theses discs are resurfaced, which i don't really mind. The issues is that 3/5 games i get have damage on the top data layer of the disc, which isn't repairable. This is really annoying because most of the time it's not worth the shipping costs to send the game back.

Am i just having bad luck or are dreamcast games more prone to this than other games? I had similar issues to this with Sega CD games, but not as bad.

 

Have you noticed any significant damage with white label ones? Mines seem particularly sensitive to crack and peeling, thought they're kept at regular temperature, light and moist conditions. This particular one, DreamOn vol. idk , started to cause some weird issues. I once taped it with a nontranslucid black tape and it seemed to work ok. I didn't got back to it since, maybe it was a thing of the moment or just suggestion. Idk if it added any significant reflective effect.
On the other hand, I've got some pretty beaten black label ones that don't toss any fuss (same console/laser unit)...

 

I've never had one peel, but it seem like a lot of these disks have pit like holes in the aluminum layer. Maybe Sega cheap on on them considering i have had the same issues with Sega CD games?

 

Considering the high temperatures we get here in Australia, my two Dreamcast games never seem to have any issues with durability at this stage.

Able to share some evidence photos of the crime scene?

 

Same in Japan. We have heat and humidity yet all my DC discs are just fine. Maybe it's just the Euro discs?

 

I've noticed the the discs often have cracks around the spindle hole

 

I notice that you are also in the UK so I'm assuming that the problem is only with Euro discs. As said, Japanese weather is far more harsh than the UK when it comes to heat, humidity and even the cold yet every one of my discs are fine. Saying that I do own a few Euro DC games. I should check them to see if they are fine.

 

GD-ROMs are pretty similar to DVDs and CDs when it comes to scratches, I think. I don't remember ever having issues with a disc, except for my Shenmue discs - but that's only because I've played the shit out of the game, and I was careless with the discs in the past. Can't blame the format for that. Even in that case, the game still runs - you just can't play Hang On.

 

Yeah, I've never had a problem with any of the DC games I have.

 

All Dreamcast discs were by and large printed from the same factory from Japan.

What AlexRMC92 has here is a classic case of European owners, who treat their games like s***. Face scratches are the worse as that is the data side this often mean the disc is not useable or suffer from a fatal crash later in the game. I suspect you have just been very unlucky as GD-ROM aren't really any different to CDs or DVDs for scratching.

Resurface discs are a sure sign the disc was scratched to pieces, prior to cleaning. If you are buying online always ask the seller for a photo or to describe the disc.

 

I know all about Euro owners treating their games like shit. I own 5 PAL discs and they are all in shit condition considering they were ment to be mint. One even has pen on it from shitty EB Games! I always thought PAL discs were pressd in Germany?

 

except some dreamkey and dreamon collection, all PAL discs were pressed at EMI Uden (Netherlands). the quality of their CDs was known to be mostly awful

 

I am actually from the US, i've attached a picture of a copy of Sonic Adventure i recently received. You can see the holes in the data layer where light is shining through. Ive received 3-4 games like this in the past week, all from different US sellers.

 

Media rot?

 

I think that's mainly print coming off the disc. A few of my Xbox discs are like that, previous owners were just careless. I've copied the whole disc and data seems unaffected so hopefully it's the same case for your Dreamcast games.

 

Unfortunately thats not the case. All of these games become unplayable at some point in the game, i have a copy of MSR with only a few tiny holes in the data layer that refuses to boot past the title screen.

I think full printed discs like Xbox / PS2 games are less prone to this as the printing provides an extra layer of shielding. It seems like many dreamcast games are just single color silk screened on top of the aluminum data layer leaving a lot of the aluminum exposed.

I've tried multiple consoles and resurfacing all of the discs to try to rule out any other possibility.

 

If you are experiencing difficulty with the games, the "pinholes" are letting light completely through the disc... All seems to indicate media/disc rot. If the label was coming off, light wouldn't be fully going through the disc itself.

 

Anyone with Japanese games that have issues? All of mine are just fine.

 

I believe my copy of Sonic Adventure has the same problem. If I can find it I'll post a picture.

 

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that it seems like it is easier to damage Dreamcast discs, or possibly other Sega console discs, this way. From my experiences i am starting to think that the actual data layer of these Discs are more fragile than disc for other consoles.

I was wanting to see if anyone else has had issues with physical damage to Dreamcast discs, or if i was just unlucky multiple times in a row. I have yet to come across any discs for other consoles that have this issue reoccurring multiple times.