The Sega Dreamcast may not have had the longest lifespan of a mainstream game console, but it punched well above its weight in influence, and it still sparks nostalgic mutterings today from those lucky enough to have experienced it in its prime.

If you happen to be based in Europe and have a younger member of the family who is a fan of the animated TV series and multimedia IP Paw Patrol, then you should be prepared to hear some very familiar sounds filling your household.

As spotted by The Dreamcast Junkyard, the Paw Patrol 'Storytime with Marshall' interactive toy features a couple of sound effects which were also used in the Dreamcast Dreamkey / Dreamarena web browser software.

Does this mean that someone at LeapFrog, the makers of the toy, is a long-time Sega fan? The Dreamcast Junkyard's Tom Charnock offers a more plausible explanation:

"My best guess is that these effects are from some kind of licensable stock library and it just so happens that Sega Europe used them back in the day for Dreamkey/Dreamarena; and they have subsequently gone on to be used by LeapFrog in their Paw Patrol toys."

That certainly sounds more realistic to me, even if it's nowhere near as exciting as some other explanations. My personal favourite (and one that I have concocted all by myself) is that Sega is about to re-enter the home console market and is using children's toys as a Trojan Horse to subconsciously generate interest.