The Dreamcast VGA Box is an accessory for the Dreamcast, a video game console produced by Sega, that allows it to output to a computer monitor or a high-definition television (HDTV) set through a VGA connector in 480p, otherwise known as progressive scan.^[1][2] The Dreamcast was one of the first consoles to support 480p and HDTV in general.^[3][4] Sega released the VGA Box as an official accessory in Japan on January 14, 1999, at an MSRP of ¥7000;^[5] it was only available in the United States via Sega's online store, retailing between $30 and $50.^[6][a] Though the VGA Box did not receive a release in Europe,^[10][11] PAL consoles can use it since it has no regional lockout.^[12]

The official VGA Box includes a VGA connector for video output and a headphone jack for stereo audio output; it also includes an S-Video connector and RCA connectors^[13] for composite video and stereo audio.^[14][15] Most third-party versions are functionally identical to Sega's model,^[16][17] but some designs like Performance's add features such as VGA passthrough.^[15][18]

Most Dreamcast games are compatible with the VGA Box so long as they display in 640×480; this applies to most 3D titles.^[19][20] Games marked as incompatible typically present an error message upon boot;^[14] such a designation was determined via a simple toggle switch in the game's code.^[19] As such, VGA output from most incompatible games can be forced via having the VGA Box unplugged while booting a game,^[21][22] temporarily switching the VGA Box into TV mode while booting a game,^[16] or using a boot disc such as DC-X.^[23] This loophole is not possible for games that only display in lower resolutions, with most sprite-based games rendered fully incompatible with VGA output as a result.^[19][24] Though a handful of sprite-based games supported VGA, most notably ones from Capcom, at least some, if not all of their sprites were originally designed for lower-resolution displays and may resultingly appear less detailed when displayed through VGA due to poor image scaling.^[19][25]

• List of Dreamcast games

• Dreamcast Hardware Peripheral Information - VGA Box (Official) at the Wayback Machine (archived May 15, 2015) (in Japanese)
• DCTP - Dreamcast VGA Box
• Dreamcast VGA Audio/Video Adapter at the Wayback Machine (archived April 5, 2010)