When was the Sega Genesis made?
Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the in regions outside of North America, is a 16-bit home video game console developed and sold by Sega. The Genesis was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released the console as the Mega Drive in Japan in 1988, followed by North America as the Genesis in 1989. In 1990, the console was distributed as the Mega Drive by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe, Ozisoft in Australasia, and Tec Toy in Brazil. In South Korea, the systems were distributed by Samsung as the Super Gam*Boy and later the Super Aladdin Boy.
History of Sega
Sega experienced success with arcade games during the years it was supporting the Genesis. At the end of the 1980s, with the arcade game market once again in good shape, Sega was one of the most recognized brands in gaming. In the later part of the decade, it focused on releasing titles to appeal to diverse tastes, including racing games and side-scrollers. Some time after the release of "Power Drift", Sega realigned its arcade development divisions into the Amusement Machine Research and Development teams, or AM teams, which were strictly segregated and often had rivalries with each other and with the consumer development divisions. In 1992 and 1993, the new Sega Model 1 arcade system board showcased Sega AM2's "Virtua Racing" and "Virtua Fighter" (the first 3D fighting game), which played a crucial role in popularizing 3D polygonal graphics. In particular, "Virtua Fighter" garnered praise for its simple three-button control scheme, with strategy coming from the intuitively observed differences between characters that felt and acted differently rather than the more ornate combos of two-dimensional competitors. Despite its crude visuals—with characters composed of fewer than 1,200 polygons—"Virtua Fighter"'s fluid animation and relatively realistic depiction of distinct fighting styles gave its combatants a lifelike presence considered impossible to replicate with sprites. The Model 1 was an expensive system board, and bringing home releases of its games to the Genesis required more than its hardware could handle. Several alternatives helped to bring Sega's newest arcade games to the console, such as the Sega Virtua Processor chip used for "Virtua Racing", and eventually the Sega 32X add-on.
Sega Genesis
In 1993, Sega introduced a smaller, lighter version of the console, known as the Mega Drive 2 in Japan, Europe, and Australia and simply sold as Genesis (without the Sega prefix) in North America. This version omits the headphone jack in the front, replaces the A/V-Out connector with a smaller version that supports stereo sound, and provides a simpler, less expensive mainboard that requires less power.
Video game console
Sega scaled down and adapted their Sega System 16 (used to power arcade hits like Altered Beast and Shinobi) into the Mega Drive (sold as the Genesis in North America) and released it with a near arcade-perfect port of Altered Beast. Sega's console met lukewarm sales in Japan, but skyrocketed to first place in PAL markets, and made major inroads in North America. Propelled by its effective "Genesis does what Nintendon't" marketing campaign, Sega capitalized on the Genesis's technological superiority over the NES, faithful ports of popular arcade games, and competitive pricing. The arcade gaming company SNK developed the high end Neo Geo MVS arcade system which used interchangeable cartridges similar to home consoles. Building on the success of the MVS, SNK repackaged the NeoGeo as the Neo Geo AES home console. Though technologically superior to the other fourth-generation consoles, the AES and its games were prohibitively expensive, which kept sales low and prevented it from expanding outside its niche market and into serious competition with Nintendo and Sega. The AES did, however, amass a dedicated cult following, allowing it to see new releases into the 2000s. Fourth generation graphics chips allowed these consoles to reproduce the art styles that were becoming popular in arcades and on home computers. These games often featured lavish background scenery, huge characters, broader color palettes, and increased emphasis on dithering and texture. Games written specifically for the NES, like "Megaman", "Shatterhand", and "Super Mario Bros. 3" were able to work cleverly within its limitations. Ports of the increasingly detailed arcade and home computer games came up with various solutions. For example, when Capcom released "Strider" in the arcade they created an entirely separate Strider game for the NES that only incorporated themes and characters from the arcade.
Sonic X-treme
The original "Sonic the Hedgehog" was developed by Sonic Team in Japan. Released in 1991, it greatly increased the popularity of the Sega Genesis in North America. After its release, developer Yuji Naka and other Japanese staff relocated to California to join Sega Technical Institute (STI), a development division led by Mark Cerny. Cerny aimed to establish an elite development studio combining the design philosophies of American and Japanese developers.
List of Sonic Team games
Sonic Team is a Japanese video game development division of Sega. The initial team was composed of developers from Sega's Consumer Development division, including programmer Yuji Naka, artist Naoto Ohshima, and level designer Hirokazu Yasuhara. The team took the name Sonic Team in 1991 with the release of "Sonic the Hedgehog" for the Sega Genesis. The game was a major success, and started the long-running "Sonic the Hedgehog" franchise.
32X
Unveiled by Sega at June 1994's Consumer Electronics Show, the 32X was presented as a low-cost option for consumers looking to play 32-bit games. Developed in response to the Atari Jaguar and concerns that the Saturn would not make it to market by the end of 1994, the product was conceived as an entirely new console. At the suggestion of Sega of America executive Joe Miller and his team, the console was converted into an add-on to the existing Genesis and made more powerful. The final design contained two 32-bit central processing units and a 3D graphics processor. To bring the new add-on to market by its scheduled release date of November 1994, development of the new system and its games was rushed. The console failed to attract third-party video game developers and consumers because of the announcement of the Sega Saturn's simultaneous release in Japan. Sega's efforts to rush the 32X to market cut into available time for game development, resulting in a weak library of forty titles that could not fully use the add-on's hardware, including Genesis ports. By the end of 1994, the 32X had sold 665,000 units. After price reductions in 1995, it was discontinued in 1996 as Sega turned its focus to the Saturn.
Sega Genesis
Sega released a combined, semi-portable Genesis/Sega CD unit called the Genesis CDX (marketed as the Multi-Mega in Europe). This unit retailed at $399.95 in the U.S. (roughly $100 more than the individual Genesis and Sega CD units put together, since the Sega CD dropped its price to $229 half a year before), and was bundled with "Sonic CD", "Sega Classics Arcade Collection", and the Sega CD version of "Ecco the Dolphin". The CDX features a small LCD screen that, when the unit is used to play audio CDs, displays the current track being played. With this feature and the system's lightweight build (weighing two pounds), Sega marketed it in part as a portable CD player.
Beggar Prince
An English translation of the Sega Genesis version was produced by the North American company Super Fighter Team. A prototype version was first shown to the public on August 20, 2005 at the Classic Gaming Expo in Burlingame, California. The completed game began shipping to pre-order customers on May 22, 2006, at the price of $40USD per copy. "Beggar Prince" was the first game for the Sega Genesis to be commercially released in North America since 1998.
Sega Genesis
Working with Sega Enterprises, JVC released the Wondermega on April 1, 1992, in Japan. The system was later redesigned by JVC and released as the X'Eye in North America in September 1994. Designed by JVC to be a Genesis and Sega CD combination with high quality audio, the Wondermega's high price ($500 at launch) kept it out of the hands of average consumers. The same was true of the Pioneer LaserActive, which requires an add-on known as the Mega-LD pack, developed by Sega, in order to play Genesis and Sega CD games. Although the LaserActive was lined up to compete with the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, the combined price of the system and the Mega-LD pack made it a prohibitively expensive option for Sega players. Aiwa released the CSD-GM1, a combination Genesis/Sega CD unit built into a boombox. Several companies added the Mega Drive to personal computers, mimicking the design of Sega's TeraDrive; these include the MSX models AX-330 and AX-990, distributed in Kuwait and Yemen, and the Amstrad Mega PC, distributed in Europe and Australia.
Sega Genesis
Late in the 16-bit era, Sega released a handheld version of the Genesis called the Genesis Nomad. Its design was based on the Mega Jet, a Mega Drive portable unit featured on airplane flights in Japan. As the only successor to the Game Gear, the Nomad operates on 6 AA batteries, displaying its graphics on a 3.25-inch (8.25-mm) LCD screen. The Nomad supports the entire Genesis library, but cannot be used with the Sega 32X, the Sega CD, or the Power Base Converter.
Mega Man 2
In 1990, Tiger Electronics produced a handheld electronic version with abridged gameplay. "Mega Man 2" was remade in 1994 for the Sega Genesis game "", featuring updated graphics and sound. In 1999, "Mega Man 2" was rereleased for the PlayStation as the second of six "Rockman Complete Works" discs, though only in Japan and under the original title "Rockman 2". It is largely identical to the original NES release, but had a number of bonuses, such as a "navi mode" for beginners that presents the player with a slightly remade version of the game, detailed encyclopedic content, image galleries, and remixed music. "Mega Man 2" was included with nine other games in the series in "Mega Man Anniversary Collection" for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox, released between 2004 and 2005. The game's emulation is identical to the re-release contained in "Rockman Complete Works". Also in 2005, "Mega Man 2" was released alongside other Capcom games as part of a "Plug It In & Play TV Games" peripheral by Jakks Pacific. "Mega Man 2" made its way to mobile phones in 2007. The game was added as a part of the Wii Virtual Console service in PAL regions on December 14, 2007. In celebration of the ninth game's release in September 2008, Capcom Japan released the game on August 26, 2008 in Japan and a North American release on September 15, 2008. In March 2009, Capcom released the game for iPhone OS, while in September of the same year the Complete Works version of "Mega Man 2" was released on the Japanese PlayStation Store, making it available for download on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. Inafune expressed a desire to remake "Mega Man 2", similar to "Mega Man Powered Up", but stated that such a project was dependent on the commercial success of the latter. A tech demo for the Nintendo 3DS called "Classic Games" was shown at E3 2010, displaying more than a dozen classic games, including "Mega Man 2", using 3D effects. Reggie Fils-Aime announced that the games were slated for release on the 3DS and would possibly use the 3DS' features, such as 3D effects, analog control, or camera support. The game was released on the 3DS via the Virtual Console in Japan on August 8, 2012 and was released in Europe and North America on February 7, 2013.
Sega Ages
Sega Ages is a series of compilations and rereleases of classic Sega video games across several platforms, primarily developed by M2. The first set of games was released for the Sega Saturn primarily in Japan, and another set was released on the PlayStation 2 in Japan, known as "Sega Ages 2500". Some of the 2500 titles were released in North America and Europe in "Sega Classics Collection". There is also the "Sega Ages Online" series on the PlayStation Store for PlayStation 3 in Japan, and a new series for the Nintendo Switch will be released on the Nintendo eShop in 2018. The "Sega Ages" series differs from most "retro" video game rereleases in that rather than compiling a number of games, most of them contain only one game and are instead sold at a very low price.
32X
The Sega Genesis, initially released in Japan as the Mega Drive in 1988, was Sega's entry into the 16-bit era of video game consoles. The console was then released as the Genesis in 1989 for the North American market, with releases in other regions following a year later.
Sega CD
The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis video game console designed and produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991 in Japan, October 15, 1992 in North America, and 1993 in Europe. The Sega CD lets the user play CD-based games and adds hardware functionality such as a faster central processing unit and graphic enhancements. It can also play audio CDs and CD+G discs.
Sega Genesis
After the Genesis was discontinued, Majesco Entertainment released the Genesis 3 as a budget version in 1998. In 2009, AtGames began producing two new variations: the Firecore, which can play original Genesis cartridges as well as preloaded games, and a handheld console preloaded with 20 Genesis games. Companies such as Radica Games have released various compilations of Genesis and Mega Drive games in "plug-and-play" packages resembling the system's controller.
Sega
Sega released its next console, the Sega Genesis (known as the Mega Drive outside North America), in 1988. Although it was a distant third in Japan, the Genesis found major success after the release of "Sonic the Hedgehog" in 1991 and briefly outsold its main competitor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, in the U.S. However, later in the decade, Sega suffered commercial failures such as the 32X, Sega Saturn, and Dreamcast consoles. In 2001, Sega stopped manufacturing consoles to become a third-party developer and publisher, and was acquired by Sammy Corporation in 2004. In the years since the acquisition, Sega has been more profitable, but has been criticized for prioritizing quantity of game releases over quality.
Educational games in the Sonic series
"Sonic the Hedgehog" is one of the bestselling video game franchises ever, selling over 80 million units for the combined series as of 2011. The original game, a side-scrolling platform game, was developed by Sonic Team in Japan. Released by Sega in 1991, it greatly increased the popularity of the Sega Genesis in North America and established Sega as Nintendo's main rival in the console market. With the game's popularity, the series began to expand into other genres. While "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" began development in late 1991, the Manchester-based Tiertex Design Studios began to work on an educational video game set in the "Sonic" universe called "Sonic's Edusoft" for the Master System. "Edusoft" was made using sprites ripped from the original game. Despite having been nearly finished, it was canceled. The game was not licensed by Sega, but the company did express interest in it and could have potentially published it jointly with US Gold.
Sega Genesis
In 1987, Sega faced another threat to its console business when Japanese computer giant NEC released the PC Engine amid great publicity. To remain competitive against the two more established consumer electronics companies, Ishikawa and his team decided they needed to incorporate a 16-bit microprocessor into their new system to make an impact in the marketplace and once again turned to Sega's strengths in the arcade industry to adapt the successful Sega System 16 arcade board into architecture for a home console. The decision to use a Motorola 68000 as the system's main CPU was made late in development, while a Zilog Z80 was used as a secondary CPU to handle the sound due to fears that the load to the main CPU would be too great if it handled both the visuals and the audio. The 68000 chip was expensive and would have driven the retail price of the console up greatly, but Sega was able to negotiate a sale with a distributor for obtaining the chips for a tenth of their price on an up-front volume sale with the promise of potentially more if the console was successful.
History of Sega
In what has been called "a brief moment of remarkable creativity", in 2000, Sega restructured its arcade and console development teams into nine semi-autonomous studios headed by the company's top designers. Studios included United Game Artists, Hitmaker, Smilebit, Overworks, Sega AM2, Sonic Team, WOW Entertainment, Amusement Vision, and Sega Rosso. Sega's design houses were encouraged to experiment and benefited from a relatively lax approval process. This resulted in games such as "Rez","The Typing of the Dead", "Seaman", and "Segagaga". Sega also revived franchises from the Genesis era, such as "". AM2 developed what Sega hoped would be the Dreamcast's killer app, "Shenmue", a "revenge epic in the tradition of Chinese cinema." Incorporating a simulated day/night cycle with variable weather, non-player characters with regular schedules, and the ability to pick up and examine detailed objects (also introducing the Quick-time event in its modern form), "Shenmue" went over budget and was rumored to have cost Sega over $50 million. As the first fully 3D platforming game starring Sega's mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Team's "Sonic Adventure" was considered "the centerpiece of the [Dreamcast] launch". "Adventure" garnered criticism for technical problems including erratic camera angles and glitches, but was praised for its "luscious" visuals, "vast, twisting environments" and iconic set pieces. It has been described as the "Sonic" series' creative apex. However, it failed "to catch on with players in nearly the way that [Nintendo's] "Mario 64" had done", perhaps due to a perceived lack of gameplay depth. In sports, Visual Concepts' "NFL 2K" football series and its "NBA 2K" basketball series were critically acclaimed. Additionally, with the release of Sega's NAOMI arcade system board, the focus of the arcade divisions shifted to produce titles that could easily be ported to the Dreamcast.
Sega Genesis
The Mega-CD sold only 100,000 units during its first year in Japan, falling well below expectations. Although many consumers blamed the add-on's high launch price, it also suffered from a tiny software library; only two games were available at launch. This was due in part to the long delay before Sega made its software development kit available to third-party developers. Sales were more successful in North America and Europe, although the novelty of FMV and CD-enhanced games quickly wore off as many of the system's later games were met with lukewarm or negative reviews. In 1995, Sega announced a shift in focus to its new console, the Saturn, and discontinued all advertising for Genesis hardware, including the Sega CD. The add-on sold 2.24 million units worldwide.
ToeJam &amp; Earl
ToeJam and Earl became "one of Sega's second tier mascots, alongside Sonic", and one of the Sega Genesis's "key exclusive franchises". The characters appeared in a spin-off light gun game, "Ready, Aim, Tomatoes", developed by Johnson Voorsanger Productions as one of six mini-games for the Menacer 6-game cartridge. In early 1992, the developers began work on a sequel to "ToeJam & Earl", and spent three months expanding on the original game's concept by adding indoor areas and more terrain types. Sega was not impressed by the sequel, and believed it to be unmarketable. The team redesigned it as a platform game, as Sega was inclined to publish games in this genre. The game, titled "ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron", was highly anticipated, and was a commercial and critical success when it released in 1993. However, fans of the original game were disappointed by the change in design to a perceived generic style. Due to poor North American sales of the Sega Saturn, Sega's next generation video game console, the "ToeJam & Earl" franchise was neglected. A "ToeJam & Earl" game planned for the Dreamcast was cancelled (a beta of the game was preserved, and on Christmas Day 2013 released on the internet by enthusiasts), but a third installment, "", was released for the Xbox in 2002. The release returned to the concepts of the original game, but generated mixed reviews and poor sales. A new "ToeJam & Earl" game is currently in development by HumaNature Studios.
Mega Man: The Wily Wars
Following the success of "" on the Mega Drive/Genesis, rumors began circulating in the United States early 1994 that a "Mega Man" title was in the works for Sega's 16-bit system, the Sega Genesis. "The Wily Wars" was displayed by Sega of America at the Sega Summit sales meeting in May of that same year. "The Wily Wars" was first released in Japan on October 21, 1994. It was the first "Mega Man" game to be released on a non-Nintendo console. The United States magazine "Game Players" reported in its October issue that the North American release "The Wily Wars" was put on hold indefinitely due to graphical problems. The April 1996 issue of "GamePro" reported that it had been cancelled. However, the game was ultimately released in a non-cartridge format on the Sega Channel, a paid subscription service for Genesis games.
List of Sonic the Hedgehog video games
"Sonic the Hedgehog" is a video game series. It is published by Sega, with entries developed by Sega, Sonic Team, Dimps, SIMS Co., Ltd., BioWare, and Sumo Digital. The series debuted in 1991 with the video game, "Sonic the Hedgehog", released for the Mega Drive video game console (named Genesis in North America). Most "Sonic the Hedgehog" games have either been platform games or released for Sega video game consoles and handheld game consoles (handhelds) dating from the Genesis to the eighth generation of video game consoles (2012–present). However, some of the original games were ported into versions on third-party home consoles and developed by several companies. As of February 2013, the series has collectively sold over 85 million copies worldwide across both the platform games and spin-offs.
1990s
The console wars, primarily between Sega (Mega Drive, marketed as the Sega Genesis in North America, introduced in 1988) and Nintendo (Super NES, introduced in 1990), sees the entrance of Sony with the PlayStation in 1994, which becomes the first successful CD-based console (as opposed to cartridges). By the end of the decade, Sega's hold on the market becomes tenuous after the end of the Saturn in 1999 and the Dreamcast in 2002.
Gain Ground
It was re-released in Radica Games' "TVPlay Legends Vol. II TV Games" compilation. In 2004, the game was remade for the PlayStation 2 as part of Sega's Japan-only "Sega Ages 2500" series as "Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 9: Gain Ground". The Mega Drive/Genesis version was released on the European and Australian Wii Virtual Console on February 2, 2007, and was made available in North America on February 5, 2007. "Gain Ground" was included in "Sega Genesis Collection" on the PlayStation 2 and the PSP in 2006 and in "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2009. On June 1, 2010 the game became available on Steam as part of "Sega Mega Drive Classics Pack" (Sega Genesis Classics in the United States). On May 29, 2018, it was included in the console version of the Mega Drive/Genesis Classics Pack.
Flicky
Numerous Sega video game compilations feature "Flicky". The Genesis version was compiled into "Game no Kanzume Vol. 1" (1994), a Sega CD compilation in Japan which featured CD quality remixes of the original soundtrack. The Genesis port was also featured in "Sonic Mega Collection" (2002), "Sega Genesis Collection" (2006), "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" (2009), "Sega Mega Drive Classic Collection" (2010), and even Genesis-based plug and play devices. The arcade version has been released in Japan on the "Sega Ages: Memorial Collection Vol. 1" (1996) for the Sega Saturn, and the "Sega Memorial Selection" (1998) for Windows"." "Flicky" has also been ported to mobile devices. The first port was in 2001 for the "Sega Ages" line in Japan. In March 2003, a similar variant appeared on the Sonic Cafe service, again exclusive to Japan. In 2007, the Sonic Cafe port was upgraded with better graphics and ported to North America for the Sega Mobile service. The Genesis port was released on Steam in 2010.
The Flicky character has made cameo appearances in several other Sega arcade games, effectively becoming a mascot for Sega's early arcade years. In "Teddy Boy Blues" (1985), she appears as a shooting target among other Sega mascots such as Pengo. In the puzzle game "Bloxeed", she can be used as a special weapon to drop blocks on the playing field. She is also playable in "SDI" (1987) with the use of a cheat code. Flicky has a minor cameo appearance in "Flash Point", where she will wish the player good luck before each round, and in the racing game "Super Monaco GP" (1989), where she appears on the racetrack banners and the game over screen. Flicky has also become an entire species and reoccurring minor character in the "Sonic the Hedgehog" series and is featured most prominently in "Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island" (1996). Flicky has continued to have minor cameo appearances in other Sega titles, including "Shenmue" (1999), "Gunstar Super Heroes" (2005), and "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games" (2007).
History of Sega
To compete with Nintendo, Sega was more open to new types of games than its rival, but still tightly controlled the approval process for third-party games and charged high prices for cartridge manufacturing. Technicians from American third-party video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA) reverse engineered the Genesis in 1989, following nearly one year of negotiations with Sega in which EA requested a more liberal licensing agreement than was standard in the industry before releasing its games for the system. As a result, EA signed what founder Trip Hawkins described as "a very unusual and much more enlightened license agreement" with Sega in June 1990: "Among other things, we had the right to make as many titles as we wanted. We could approve our own titles ... the royalty rates were a lot more reasonable. We also had more direct control over manufacturing." The first Genesis version of EA's "John Madden Football" arrived before the end of 1990, and became what EA creative officer Bing Gordon called a "killer app" for the system.
Handheld game console
Following Sega's success with the Game Gear, they began development on a successor during the early 1990s, which was intended to feature a touchscreen interface, many years before the Nintendo DS. However, such a technology was very expensive at the time, and the handheld itself was estimated to have cost around $289 were it to be released. Sega eventually chose to shelve the idea and instead release the Genesis Nomad, a handheld version of the Genesis, as the successor.
Analogue Mega Sg
The Analogue Mega Sg is an FPGA-based aftermarket Sega Genesis and Sega Mega Drive compatible game console designed and manufactured by Seattle-based company Analogue, Inc. Mega Sg was designed to explore Sega's entire 8 and 16 bit 16-bit console era. It is compatible with original Sega Genesis / Sega Mega Drive, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, Sega Mark III, Sega SG-1000 and Sega SC-3000 (Both NTSC and PAL region). It features 1080p HDMI, digital audio (48 kHz 16-bit), and original Genesis/Mega Drive-style controller ports. Kevin Horton engineered Mega Sg to run in an Altera Cyclone V with 100% accuracy and also provided extra features like the possibility to scale the original 240p video output to different resolutions up to 1080p 60 Hz. Phil Fish, the designer of "Fez", designed the Mega Sg's user interface.
Sega Genesis
Nakayama received permission to proceed with this project, leading to the release of Sega's first home video game system, the SG-1000, in July 1983. The SG-1000 was not successful; while it had sold 160,000 units in Japan, far greater than any of Sega's arcade platforms, sales at stores were dominated by Nintendo's Famicom which had been released the same day. Sega estimated that the Family Computer outsold the SG-1000 by a 10-to-1 margin. The SG-1000 was replaced by the Sega Mark III within two years. In the meantime, Gulf & Western began to divest itself of its non-core businesses after the death of company founder Charles Bluhdorn, so Nakayama and former Sega CEO David Rosen arranged a management buyout of the Japanese subsidiary in 1984 with financial backing from CSK Corporation, a prominent Japanese software company. Nakayama was then installed as CEO of the new Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Sega Genesis
As a result of the Congressional hearings, "Night Trap" started to generate more sales and released ports to the PC, Sega 32X, and 3DO. According to Digital Pictures founder Tom Zito, "You know, I sold 50,000 units of "Night Trap" a week after those hearings." Although experiencing increased sales, Sega decided to recall "Night Trap" and re-release it with revisions in 1994 due to the Congressional hearings. After the close of these hearings, video game manufacturers came together to establish the rating system that Lieberman had called for. Initially, Sega proposed the universal adoption of its system, but after objections by Nintendo and others, Sega took a role in forming a new one. This became the Entertainment Software Rating Board, an independent organization that received praise from Lieberman. With this new rating system in place, Nintendo decided its censorship policies were no longer needed, and the SNES port of "Mortal Kombat II" was released uncensored.
Game Gear
Before the Game Gear's launch in 1990, Sega had success marketing its 16-bit home console, the Sega Genesis, by advertising it as a "more mature" option for gamers. In keeping with this approach, Sega positioned the Game Gear as a "grown-up" option compared to the Game Boy. While Sega's marketing in Japan did not take this perspective, instead opting for advertisements with Japanese women featuring the handheld, Sega's worldwide advertising prominently positioned the Game Gear as the "cooler" console than the Game Boy.
Sega Genesis
In mid-1990, Nakayama hired Tom Kalinske to replace Katz as CEO of Sega of America. Although Kalinske initially knew little about the video game market, he surrounded himself with industry-savvy advisors. A believer in the razor and blades business model, he developed a four-point plan: cut the price of the console, create a U.S.-based team to develop games targeted at the American market, continue and expand the aggressive advertising campaigns, and replace the bundled game "Altered Beast" with a new game, "Sonic the Hedgehog". The Japanese board of directors initially disapproved of the plan, but all four points were approved by Nakayama, who told Kalinske, "I hired you to make the decisions for Europe and the Americas, so go ahead and do it." Magazines praised "Sonic" as one of the greatest games yet made, and Sega's console finally took off as customers who had been waiting for the release of the international version of Nintendo's Super Famicom—the Super Nintendo Entertainment System or SNES—decided to purchase a Genesis instead. Nintendo's console debuted against an established competitor, while NEC's TurboGrafx-16 failed to gain traction, and NEC soon pulled out of the market. In large part due to the popularity of "Sonic the Hedgehog", the Sega Genesis outsold the SNES in the United States nearly two to one during the 1991 holiday season. This success led to Sega having control of 65% of the 16-bit console market in January 1992, making it the first time Nintendo was not the console leader since December 1985.
Sega Genesis
Initially, the Genesis suffered from limited third-party support due to its low market share and Nintendo's monopolizing practices. Notably, the arcade hit "Street Fighter II" by Capcom initially skipped the Genesis, instead only being released on the SNES. However, as the Genesis continued to grow in popularity, Capcom eventually ported a version of "Street Fighter II" to the system known as "", that would go on to sell over a million copies. One of the biggest third-party companies to support the Genesis early on was Electronic Arts. Trip Hawkins, founder and then president of EA, believed the Genesis faster drawing speed made it more suitable for sport games than the SNES, and credits EA's success on the Genesis for helping catapult the EA Sports brand. Another third-party blockbuster for the system was the port of the original "Mortal Kombat". Although the arcade game was released on the SNES and Genesis simultaneously, the two ports were not identical. The SNES version looked closer to the arcade game, but the Genesis version allowed players to bypass censorship, helping make it more popular. In 1997, Sega of America claimed the Genesis had a software attach rate of 16 games sold per console, double that of the SNES.
Sega
In order to advance the company, Rosen had a goal to take the company public, and decided this would be easier to accomplish in the United States than in Japan. Rosen was advised that this would be easiest accomplished by Sega being acquired by a larger company. In 1969, Sega was sold to American conglomerate Gulf and Western Industries, although Rosen remained CEO following the sale. Rosen continued to develop his relationship with Gulf and Western chairman Charles Bluhdorn, and in 1974 Gulf and Western made Sega Enterprises, Ltd. a subsidiary of an American company renamed Sega Enterprises, Inc. Sega released "Pong-Tron", its first video-based game, in 1973.
Sega
For the North American market, where the console was renamed Genesis, former Atari executive and new Sega of America CEO Michael Katz developed a two-part approach to build sales. The first part involved a marketing campaign to challenge Nintendo head-on and emphasize the more arcade-like experience available on the Genesis,with slogans including "Genesis does what Nintendon't". Since Nintendo owned the console rights to most arcade games of the time, the second part involved creating a library of recognizable games which used the names and likenesses of celebrities and athletes. Nonetheless, Sega had difficulty overcoming Nintendo's ubiquity in homes. Tasked by Nakayama to sell one million units in the first year, Katz and Sega of America sold only 500,000.As Sega sought a flagship series to compete with Nintendo's Mario series, and a character to serve as a company mascot, artist Naoto Ohshima designed "a teal hedgehog with red shoes that he called Mr. Needlemouse". This character was renamed Sonic the Hedgehog, creating one of the best-selling video game franchises in history. The gameplay of "Sonic the Hedgehog" originated with a tech demo created by Yuji Naka, who had developed an algorithm that allowed a sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with a dot matrix. Naka's prototype was a platform game that involved a fast-moving character rolling in a ball through a long winding tube; this concept was fleshed out with Ohshima's character design and levels conceived by designer Hirokazu Yasuhara. Sonic's blue color was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo. His shoes were inspired by Michael Jackson's boots, and his personality by Bill Clinton's "can-do" attitude.
Sega Genesis
On December 5, 2007, Tec Toy released a portable version of the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive with twenty built-in games. Another version called "Mega Drive Guitar Idol" comes with two six-button joypads and a guitar controller with five fret buttons. The "Guitar Idol" game contains a mix of Brazilian and international songs. The console has 87 built-in games, including some from Electronic Arts based on the mobile phone versions.
Sega v. Accolade
As a result of the piracy and unlicensed development issues, Sega incorporated a technical protection mechanism into a new edition of the Genesis released in 1990, referred to as the Genesis III. This new variation of the Genesis included code known as the Trademark Security System (TMSS), which, when a game cartridge was inserted into the console, would check for the presence of the string "SEGA" at a particular point in the memory contained in the cartridge. If and only if the string was present, the console would run the game, and would briefly display the message: "PRODUCED BY OR UNDER LICENSE FROM SEGA ENTERPRISES LTD." This system had a twofold effect: it added extra protection against unlicensed developers and software piracy, and it forced the Sega trademark to display when the game was powered up, making a lawsuit for trademark infringement possible if unlicensed software were to be developed. Accolade learned of this development at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in January 1991, at which Sega showed the new Genesis III and demonstrated it screening and rejecting an "Ishido" game cartridge. With more games planned for the following year, Accolade successfully identified the TMSS file. They later added this file to the games "HardBall!", "Star Control", "Mike Ditka Power Football", and "Turrican".
Sega Genesis
Sega sold 30.75 million Genesis units worldwide. Of these, 3.58 million were sold in Japan, and sales in Europe and the U.S. are roughly estimated at 8 million and 18–18.5 million as of June 1997 (at which time Sega was no longer manufacturing the system) respectively. In 1998, Sega licensed the Genesis to Majesco Entertainment in North America so it could re-release the console. Majesco began reselling millions of formerly unsold cartridges at a budget price, together with 150,000 units of the second model of the Genesis. It released the Sega Genesis 3, projecting to sell 1.5 million units of the console by the end of 1998. An estimated 3 million Genesis units were sold by Tec Toy in Brazil.
Sonic Generations
Sonic Generations is a 2011 platform video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS, and Microsoft Windows. An installment in the "Sonic the Hedgehog" series, the game—which was produced in commemoration of its twentieth anniversary—follows Sonic and his sidekick Tails as they form an alliance with their past selves to stop an evil entity from erasing all time. It features two gameplay styles: "Classic", which plays from a side-scrolling perspective like that of the original Sega Genesis "Sonic" games, and "Modern", 3D levels similar to those in "Sonic Unleashed" and "Sonic Colors".
Sega Genesis
With the release of the Sega Saturn slated for 1995, Sega began to develop a stop-gap solution that would bridge the gap between the Genesis and the Saturn, and would serve as a less expensive entry into the 32-bit era. At the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in January 1994, Sega of America research and development head Joe Miller took a phone call from Nakayama, in which Nakayama stressed the importance of coming up with a quick response to the Atari Jaguar. One potential idea for this came from a concept from Sega Enterprises, later known as "Project Jupiter," an entirely new independent console. Project Jupiter was initially slated to be a new version of the Genesis, with an upgraded color palette and a lower cost than the upcoming Saturn, as well as with some limited 3D capabilities thanks to integration of ideas from the development of the Sega Virtua Processor chip. Miller suggested an alternative strategy, citing concerns with releasing a new console with no previous design specifications within six to nine months. At the suggestion from Miller and his team, Sega designed the 32X as a peripheral for the existing Genesis, expanding its power with two 32-bit SuperH-2 processors. The SH-2 had been developed in 1993 as a joint venture between Sega and Japanese electronics company Hitachi. At the end of the Consumer Electronics show, with the basic design of the 32X in place, Sega Enterprises invited Sega of America to assist in development of the new add-on.
Game Gear
Plans for a 16-bit successor to the Game Gear were made to bring Sega's handheld gaming into the fifth generation of video games, but a new handheld system never materialized for Sega, leaving only the Genesis Nomad, a portable version of the Genesis, to take its place. Moreover, the Nomad was intended to supplement the Game Gear rather than replace it; in press coverage leading up to the Nomad's release, Sega representatives said the company was not dropping support for the Game Gear in favor of the Nomad, and that "We believe the two can co-exist". Though the Nomad had been released in 1995, Sega did not officially end support for the Game Gear until 1996 in Japan, and 1997 worldwide.
Sega Genesis
In the early 1980s, Sega Enterprises, Inc., then a subsidiary of Gulf & Western, was one of the top five arcade game manufacturers active in the United States, as company revenues surpassed $200 million between July 1981 and June 1982. A downturn in the arcade business starting in 1982 seriously hurt the company, leading Gulf & Western to sell its North American arcade manufacturing organization and the licensing rights for its arcade games to Bally Manufacturing. The company retained Sega's North American R&D operation, as well as its Japanese subsidiary, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. With its arcade business in decline, Gulf & Western executives turned to Sega Enterprises, Ltd.'s president, Hayao Nakayama, for advice on how to proceed. Nakayama advocated that the company leverage its hardware expertise gained through years working in the arcade industry to move into the home console market in Japan, which was in its infancy at the time.
QuackShot
"QuackShot" was developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis as part of a series of games that were based on Walt Disney cartoon characters. By May, Sega presented the game at the Consumer Electronics Show. The game was released in Europe in 1991, in North America on December 19, 1991 and in Japan on December 20, 1991. "QuackShot" was later released as part of a bundle called "The Disney Collection for Genesis" in 1996 alongside "Castle of Illusion". The game was also ported to the Sega Saturn and released exclusively in Japan alongside "Castle of Illusion" again as part of the Sega Ages series in 1998, entitled "Sega Ages: I Love Mickey Mouse".
List of Sega Genesis games
Sega Meganet, also known as the Net Work System, was an online service for the Mega Drive in Japan. Utilizing dial-up Internet access, Meganet was Sega's first online multiplayer gaming service, and functioned on a pay to play basis. The system functioned through the use of a peripheral called the Mega Modem and offered several unique titles that could be downloaded, and a few could be played competitively with friends. In addition, it shared technology and equipment with more serious services such as the Mega Anser, used for banking purposes. Though the system was announced for North America under the rebranded name "Tele-Genesis", it was never released for that region.
Video game console
In 1990, Nintendo finally brought their Super Famicom to market and brought it to the United States as the Super NES (SNES) a year later. Its release marginalized the TurboGrafx and the Neo Geo, but came late enough for Sega to sell several million consoles in North America and gain a strong foothold. The same year the SNES was released Sega released "Sonic the Hedgehog", which spiked Genesis sales, similar to Space Invaders on the Atari. Also, by 1992 the first fully licensed NFL Football game was released: "NFL Sports Talk Football '93", which was available only on the Genesis. This impact on Genesis sales and the overall interest of realistic sports games would start the trend of licensed sports games being viewed as necessary for the success of a console in the US. While Nintendo enjoyed dominance in Japan and Sega in Europe, the competition between the two was particularly fierce and close in North America. Ultimately, the SNES outsold the Genesis, but only after Sega discontinued the Genesis to focus on the next generation of consoles.
Sega Genesis
Although the new unit was a stronger console than originally proposed, it was not compatible with Saturn games. Before the 32X could be launched, the release date of the Saturn was announced for November 1994 in Japan, coinciding with the 32X's target launch date in North America. Sega of America now was faced with trying to market the 32X with the Saturn's Japan release occurring simultaneously. Their answer was to call the 32X a "transitional device" between the Genesis and the Saturn. This was justified by Sega's statement that both platforms would run at the same time, and that the 32X would be aimed at players who could not afford the more expensive Saturn.
Sega Genesis
In addition to accessories such as the Power Base Converter, the Sega Genesis supports two add-ons that each support their own game libraries. The first is the Sega CD (known as the Mega-CD in all regions except for North America), a compact disc-based peripheral that can play its library of games in CD-ROM format. The second is the Sega 32X, a 32-bit peripheral which uses ROM cartridges and serves as a pass-through for Genesis games. Sega produced a custom power strip to fit the peripherals' large AC adapters. Both add-ons were officially discontinued in 1996.
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
The Sega Genesis version was developed by Avalanche Software and published by Williams Entertainment in June 1996 in North America and by Acclaim Entertainment on November 28, 1996, in Europe (Mega Drive version). Due to the limitations of the system's hardware, the Sega Genesis port featured inferior graphics and sound to these of the SNES port. Like on the SNES, Sheeva was removed, Shao Kahn's treasure chest has only 10 boxes, the announcer no longer says the characters' names, Kitana's "Kiss of Death" only inflates heads, Scorpion's "Hellraiser" Fatality is different, Sonya's Friendship from "Mortal Kombat 3" is used, and the game retains the Bank stage. There were, however, several differences. Unlike the SNES version, the Genesis version features more stages: with the addition of the five new ones, it also feature six of the original ones from "MK3", including the Subway, Bank, Rooftop, Soul Chamber, The Temple, and The Pit 3. There are several additional cuts regarding special and finishing moves: both Animalities and Mercy were removed; Rain and Noob were given a Brutality, but no other finishing moves; Human Smoke shares Scorpion's combos, rather than having unique ones; in Stryker's Friendship, the running characters are replaced by dogs. It did, however, have exclusive features in comparison to the arcade. Again, like the SNES port, Rain and Noob Saibot are made playable characters along with bosses Motaro and Shao Kahn, and Mileena, Ermac and Classic Sub-Zero are playable without any need of codes; Brutalities are also included in this version. Shang Tsung can morph into Robot Smoke, Noob Saibot, and Rain, which is not possible in the arcades, while Nightwolf is given the Red Shadow shoulder move that was later used in "MKT". This version also features a rendition of "Pong" entitled "MK4", which is the same as the one that appeared in the Genesis/Mega Drive port of "MK3".
Sonic Gems Collection
"Sonic Gems Collection" is a compilation of obscure video games published by Sega for various consoles, such as the Sega CD, Sega Saturn, and Game Gear. It primarily focuses on "Sonic the Hedgehog" games, such as "Sonic CD" (1993) and "Sonic the Fighters" (1996). It also includes six of the twelve "Sonic" games released for the Game Gear. These games encompass various genres, such as platforming, fighting, pinball, and puzzle. Additionally, players can unlock several Sega Genesis games unrelated to "Sonic", including the two "Vectorman" games (1995 and 1996). Four games in the international version, "Bonanza Bros." (1990) and the "Streets of Rage" trilogy (1991—1994), are not included in the North American version. Each game is mostly identical to its initial release, but some were changed; for example, "Sonic R" runs at a higher frame rate.
Fourth generation of video game consoles
In the history of computer and video games, the fourth generation (more commonly referred to as the 16-bit era) of games consoles began on October 30, 1987 with the Japanese release of NEC Home Electronics' PC Engine (known as the TurboGrafx-16 in North America). Although NEC released the first fourth generation console, this era's sales were mostly dominated by the rivalry between Nintendo and Sega's consoles in North America: the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (the Super Famicom in Japan) and the Sega Genesis (named the Mega Drive in other regions).
Golden Axe II
Golden Axe II is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed and published by Sega, first released on the Sega Genesis in December 1991. It is the home console sequel to the popular game "Golden Axe", marking the second game in the series, though the arcade did see a sequel of its own in 1992, titled "". "Golden Axe II" was only released on the Mega Drive, while the original was released on many other platforms. The game later appeared in "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and as an iOS port on iTunes.
Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis has often ranked among the best video game consoles. In 2009, IGN named it the fifth best video game console, citing its edge in sports games and better home version of "Mortal Kombat", and lauding "what some consider to be the greatest controller ever created: the six button." In 2007, GameTrailers named the Sega Genesis as the sixth best console of all time in their list of top ten consoles that "left their mark on the history of gaming," noting its great games and solid controller, and writing of the "glory days" of "Sonic the Hedgehog". In January 2008, technology columnist Don Reisinger proclaimed that the Sega Genesis "created the industry's best console war to date," citing Sonic the Hedgehog, superior sports games, and backward compatibility with the Sega Master System. GamingExcellence also gave the Sega Genesis sixth place in 2008, declaring, "one can truly see the Genesis for the gaming milestone it was." At the same time, GameDaily rated it ninth of ten for its memorable games.
List of Sonic Team games
In addition to the "Sonic" series, the company has developed other games for Sega, such as "Nights into Dreams" (1996) and "Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg" (2003). The 1991 release of "Sonic the Hedgehog" is considered significant in video game history, as it increased the Sega Genesis's sales and Sega displaced Nintendo as the leading video game company. Some of Sonic Team's games, such as the Genesis-era "Sonic" games and "Nights", are considered by critics to be among the greatest video games ever released.
Sega Genesis
The standard controller features a rounded shape, a directional pad, three main buttons, and a "start" button. Sega later released a six-button version in 1993. This pad is slightly smaller and features three additional face buttons, similar to the design of buttons on some popular arcade fighting games such as "Street Fighter II". The third model of the controller, MK-1470 was released with the Sega Genesis Model 3, with a switch between Normal, Turbo, and Slow while also having the Mode button. Sega released a wireless revision of the six-button controller, the Remote Arcade Pad.
History of Sega
After the release of the Sega Genesis in 1989, video game publisher Accolade began exploring options to release some of their PC games on the console. At the time, Sega had a licensing deal in place for third-party developers that increased the costs to the developer. According to Accolade co-founder Alan Miller, "One pays them between $10 and $15 per cartridge on top of the real hardware manufacturing costs, so it about doubles the cost of goods to the independent publisher." To get around licensing, Accolade chose to seek an alternative way to bring their games to the Genesis. As a result of piracy in some countries and unlicensed development issues, Sega incorporated a technical protection mechanism into a new edition of the Genesis released in 1990, referred to as the Genesis III. This new variation of the Genesis included a code known as the Trademark Security System (TMSS). Accolade successfully identified the TMSS file. It later added this file to the games "HardBall!", "Star Control", "Mike Ditka Power Football", and "Turrican". In response to the creation of these unlicensed games, Sega filed suit against Accolade in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, on charges of trademark infringement, unfair competition, and copyright infringement. In response, Accolade filed a counterclaim for falsifying the source of its games by displaying the Sega trademark when the game was powered up. Despite winning an injunction in the initial district court case, as a result of Accolade's appeal, the Ninth Circuit overturned the district court's verdict and ruled that Accolade's decompilation of the Sega software constituted fair use. Ultimately, Sega and Accolade settled the case on April 30, 1993. As a part of this settlement, Accolade became an official licensee of Sega, and later developed and released "Barkley Shut Up and Jam!" while under license. The terms of the licensing, including whether or not any special arrangements or discounts were made to Accolade, were not released to the public. The financial terms of the settlement were also not disclosed, although both companies agreed to pay their own legal costs.
List of 32X games
Unveiled at June 1994's Consumer Electronics Show, Sega presented the 32X as the "poor man's entry into 'next generation' games." The product was originally conceived as an entirely new console by Sega of Japan and positioned as an inexpensive alternative for gamers into the 32-bit era, but at the suggestion of Sega of America research and development head Joe Miller, the console was converted into an add-on to the existing Genesis and made more powerful, with two 32-bit central processing unit chips and a 3D graphics processor. Despite these changes, the console failed to attract either developers or consumers as the Sega Saturn had already been announced for release the next year. In part because of this, and also to rush the 32X to market before the holiday season in 1994, the 32X suffered from a poor library of titles, including Genesis ports with improvements to the number of colors that appeared on screen. Originally released at US$159, Sega dropped the price to $99 in only a few months and ultimately cleared the remaining inventory at $19.95. At least 665,000 units were sold.
Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 video game)
Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske wanted reassurance that the character would not fail. The global head of marketing, Al Nilsen, became involved, and playtested the game across the United States with Mario fans: they were shown "Mario" and then played "Sonic the Hedgehog". 80 percent preferred "Sonic the Hedgehog", and the game was shown at the 1991 Summer Consumer Electronics Show. It was released in North America on June 23, 1991, and in the PAL regions and Japan the following month. Sega of America packaged it with American Genesis consoles, replacing "Altered Beast". This tactic enabled Sega of America to sell 15 million Genesis units. Genesis owners who bought their consoles before the switch could request free copies of "Sonic the Hedgehog" by mail. Sega of America created a large-scale marketing campaign, promoting Sonic as its mascot.
Sega Visions
Sega Visions was a video game magazine focusing on games made for Sega video game machines such as Sega Master System, Game Gear, Genesis, and Sega CD. Its premiere issue in June/July 1990 was sent free to registered Master System and Genesis owners. It was created by Sega and was initially published by The Communique Group. In 1992, Infotainment World (who also published the popular game magazine GamePro) took over publishing for the rest of its lifespan. The Editor in Chief for Issues 8 through 17 was Nic Lavroff. For Issues 18 through 25 the Editor in Chief was Kurt Busch. The magazine had a rather sporadic release schedule, some issues being two months apart, others four months. Sega Visions ended its run after 25 issues with its September 1995 issue being the last published. Nowhere in the magazine was there any reference made to it being the final issue and text in a caption told the reader to check out the next issue of Sega Visions for more information on mind-blowing theme parks featuring Sega games.
Sega Channel
Sega Channel was an online game service developed by Sega for the Genesis video game console, serving as a content delivery system. Launching in December 1994, Sega Channel was provided to the public by TCI and Time Warner Cable through cable television services by way of coaxial cable. It was a pay to play service, through which customers could access Genesis games online, play game demos, and get cheat codes. Lasting until July 31, 1998, Sega Channel operated three years after the release of Sega's next generation console, the Sega Saturn. Though criticized for its poorly timed launch and high subscription fee, Sega Channel has been praised for its innovations in downloadable content and impact on online services for video games.
List of Sega CD games
The Sega CD, originally released as the in most regions outside of North America and Brazil, is an add-on device for the Sega Genesis video game console, designed and produced by Sega. It was released in Japan in 1991, North America in 1992 and in PAL regions in 1993. The device adds a CD-ROM drive to the console, allowing the user to play CD-based games and providing additional hardware functionality. It can also play audio CDs and CD+G discs. While the add-on did contain a faster central processing unit than the Genesis, as well as some enhanced graphics capabilities, the main focus of the device was to expand the size of games. Known for several games such as "Sonic CD" and for the controversy of violent video games including "Night Trap", the Sega CD sold 2.24 million units worldwide. It was officially discontinued in 1996.
Gain Ground
"Gain Ground" started off as an arcade game. Released in Japan and the United States in 1988, "Gain Ground" ran on the Sega System 24 architecture. The developers have stated that their original inspiration was "Gauntlet". "Gain Ground" was ported to the Sega Master System in 1990 and the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1991. Renovation Products released the Genesis version in the United States. Both conversions were handled by SIMS. In 1992, a PC Engine Super CD-ROM² version ("Gain Ground SX") was released by NEC Avenue.
Sega Genesis Collection
Sega Genesis Collection (Sega Mega Drive Collection in PAL regions) is a compilation of video games developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Sega for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. The collection includes twenty-eight Sega Genesis games from a variety of genres, as well as unlockable classic Sega arcade games, with different sets of arcade games for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions. A sequel was released in 2009 called "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Sega Meganet
Sega's 16-bit console, the Sega Genesis (known as Mega Drive in most areas outside of North America) was released in Japan on October 29, 1988, though the launch was overshadowed by Nintendo's release of "Super Mario Bros. 3" a week earlier. Positive coverage from magazines "Famitsu" and "Beep!" helped to establish a following, but Sega only managed to ship 400,000 units in the first year. In order to draw a larger audience, Sega began work on an Internet service, similar to what Nintendo had attempted with the "Famicom Tsushin" for the NES.
Genesis Nomad
The Genesis Nomad (also known as Sega Nomad) is a handheld game console by Sega released in North America in October 1995. The Nomad is a portable variation of Sega's home console, the Sega Genesis (known as the Mega Drive outside North America). Designed from the Mega Jet, a portable version of the home console designed for use on airline flights in Japan, Nomad served to succeed the Game Gear and was the last handheld console released by Sega. In addition to functioning as a portable device, it was designed to be used with a television set via a video port. Released late in the Genesis era, the Nomad had a short lifespan.
Sega Genesis
Designed by an R&D team supervised by Hideki Sato and Masami Ishikawa, the hardware was adapted from Sega's System 16 arcade board, centered on a Motorola 68000 processor as the CPU, a Zilog Z80 as a sound controller, and a video system supporting hardware sprites, tiles, and scrolling. The system plays a library of more than 900 games created by Sega and a wide array of third-party publishers and delivered on ROM-based cartridges. The Genesis has benefited from several add-ons, including a Power Base Converter to play Master System games, as well as multiple first and third party licensed variations of the console. Sega created two network services to support the Genesis: Sega Meganet and Sega Channel.
History of Sega
By 1991, compact discs had gained in popularity as a data storage device for music and software. PCs and video game companies had started to make use of this technology. NEC had been the first to include CD technology in a game console with the release of the TurboGrafx-CD add-on, and Nintendo was making plans to develop its own CD peripheral as well. Seeing the opportunity to gain an advantage over its rivals, Sega partnered with JVC to develop a CD-ROM add-on for the Genesis. Sega launched the Mega-CD in Japan on December 1, 1991, initially retailing at JP¥49,800. The CD add-on was launched in North America on October 15, 1992, as the Sega CD, with a retail price of US$299; it was released in Europe as the Mega-CD in 1993. In addition to greatly expanding the potential size of its games, this add-on unit upgraded the graphics and sound capabilities by adding a second, more powerful processor, more system memory, and hardware-based scaling and rotation similar to that found in Sega's arcade games. The Mega-CD sold only 100,000 units during its first year in Japan, falling well below expectations. Although many consumers blamed the add-on's high launch price, it also suffered from a small software library; only two games were available at launch. This was due in part to the long delay before Sega made its software development kit available to third-party developers. Sales were more successful in North America and Europe, although the novelty of full motion video (FMV) and CD-enhanced games quickly wore off as many of the Sega CD's later games were met with lukewarm or negative reviews.
List of Sega video game consoles
Sega was one of the primary competitors to Nintendo in the video game console industry. A few of Sega's early consoles outsold their competitors in specific markets, such as the Master System in Europe. Several of the company's later consoles were commercial failures, however, and the financial losses incurred from the Dreamcast console caused the company to restructure itself in 2001. As a result, Sega ceased to manufacture consoles and became a third-party video game developer. The only console that Sega has produced since is the educational toy console Advanced Pico Beena in 2005. Third-party variants of Sega consoles have been produced by licensed manufacturers, even after production of the original consoles had ended. Many of these variants have been produced in Brazil, where versions of the Master System and Genesis are still sold and games for them are still developed.
Educational games in the Sonic series
In 1994, Sega released the Sega Pico, an "edutainment" device powered by the same hardware used by the Genesis. The system was designed appear similar to a laptop, a stylus called the "Magic Pen", and a pad to draw on. As Sonic had become Sega's mascot, Sega released two educational games featuring characters from the "Sonic" franchise, "Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld" and "Tails and the Music Maker". "Gameworld" was developed by Aspect Co., the studio that produced the majority of the Game Gear "Sonic" games. Another educational game, "Wacky Worlds Creativity Studio", was released for the Genesis in 1994. Though it is not a "Sonic" game, Sonic does feature in it.
Sega Genesis
In 2014, USgamer's Jeremy Parish wrote, "If the Atari generation introduced video games as a short-lived '70s fad ... and the NES generation established it into an enduring obsession for the young, Sega's Genesis began pushing the medium toward something resembling its contemporary form," expounding that the system served as "the key incubator for modern sports franchises," made "consoles truly international" by providing Western third-parties previously put at a disadvantage by Nintendo's restrictive licensing policies with a more profitable alternative, created "an online subscription service" that foreshadowed "PlayStation Plus more than 15 years early" with the Sega Channel, and "played a key role in ensuring the vitality and future of the games industry by breaking Nintendo's near-monopolistic hold on the U.S. and awakening the U.K. to the merits of television gaming."
Sega
In January 1994, Sega began to develop an add-on for the Genesis, the 32X, which would serve as a less expensive entry into the 32-bit era. The decision was made by Nakayama and widely supported by Sega of America employees. The 32X would not be compatible with the Saturn, but Sega executive Richard Brudvik-Lindner pointed out that the 32X would play Genesis games. Sega released the 32X on November 21, 1994 in North America, December 3, 1994 in Japan, and January 1995 in PAL territories, and was sold at less than half of the Saturn's launch price. After the holiday season, however, interest in the 32X rapidly declined.
Sega released the Sega Saturn in Japan on November 22, 1994, at ¥44,800. "Virtua Fighter", a faithful port of the popular arcade game, sold at a nearly one-to-one ratio with the Saturn console at launch and was crucial to the system's early success in Japan. Sega's initial shipment of 200,000 Saturn units sold out on the first day, and was more popular than the PlayStation in Japan. In March 1995, Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske announced that the Saturn would be released in the U.S. on "Saturnday" (Saturday) September 2, 1995. However, Sega of Japan mandated an early launch to give the Saturn an advantage over the PlayStation. At the first Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles on May 11, 1995, Kalinske gave a keynote presentation in which he revealed the release price of US$399 (including a copy of "Virtua Fighter") and described the features of the console. Kalinske also revealed that Sega had shipped 30,000 Saturns to Toys "R" Us, Babbage's, Electronics Boutique, and Software Etc. for immediate release. The Saturn's release in Europe also came before the previously announced North American date, on July 8, 1995, at a price of ₤399.99. Within two days of the PlayStation's American launch on September 9, 1995, the PlayStation sold more units than the Saturn had in the five months following its surprise launch. Within its first year, the PlayStation secured over 20% of the U.S. video game market. Sega also underestimated the continued popularity of the Genesis; sales of 16-bit games and consoles accounted for 64% of the market in 1995. Despite capturing 43% of the dollar share of the U.S. market and selling more than 2 million Genesis units in 1995, Kalinske estimated that Sega could have sold another 300,000 if they had been prepared for the demand.
32X
The Sega Neptune is an unproduced two-in-one Genesis and 32X console which Sega planned to release in fall 1995, with the retail price planned to be something less than US$200. Sega cancelled the Neptune in October 1995, citing fears that it would dilute their marketing for the Saturn while being priced too close to the Saturn to be a viable competitor. "Electronic Gaming Monthly" used the Sega Neptune as an April Fools' Day prank in its April 2001 issue. The issue included a small article in which the writers announced that Sega had found a warehouse full of old Sega Neptunes, and were selling them on a website for $199.
List of commercial failures in video gaming
The Nomad, a handheld game console by Sega released in North America in October 1995, is a portable variation of Sega's home console, the Genesis (known as the Mega Drive outside of North America). Designed from the Mega Jet, a portable version of the home console designed for use on airline flights in Japan, Nomad served to succeed the Game Gear and was the last handheld console released by Sega. Released late in the Genesis era, the Nomad had a short lifespan. Sold exclusively in North America, the Nomad was never officially released worldwide, and employs regional lockout. The handheld itself was incompatible with several Genesis peripherals, including the Power Base Converter, the Sega CD, and the Sega 32X. The release was five years into the market span of the Genesis, with an existing library of more than 500 Genesis games. With the Nomad's late release several months after the launch of the Saturn, this handheld is said to have suffered from its poorly timed launch. Sega decided to stop focusing on the Genesis in 1999, several months before the release of the Dreamcast, by which time the Nomad was being sold at less than a third of its original price. Reception for the Nomad is mixed between its uniqueness and its poor timing into the market. Blake Snow of GamePro listed the Nomad as fifth on his list of the "10 Worst-Selling Handhelds of All Time," criticizing its poor timing into the market, inadequate advertising, and poor battery life.
Sega Genesis
Shortly after its launch in North America, Sega began shipping the Sega CD with the pack-in game "Sewer Shark", a full motion video (FMV) game developed by Digital Pictures, a company that became an important partner for Sega. Touting the benefits of the CD's comparatively vast storage space, Sega and its third-party developers produced a number of games for the add-on that include digital video in their gameplay or as bonus content, as well as re-releasing several cartridge-based games with high-fidelity audio tracks. In 1993, Sega released the Sega CD 2, a smaller and lighter version of the add-on designed for the Genesis II, at a reduced price compared to the original. A limited number of games were later developed that use both the Sega CD and the Sega 32X add-ons.
Sega
The company was formed as Nihon Goraku Bussan in 1960, which became known as Sega Enterprises, Ltd. after acquiring Rosen Enterprises, an importer of coin-operated games. Sega developed its first coin-operated game with "Periscope" in the late 1960s. In 1969, Sega was sold to Gulf and Western Industries. Following a downturn in the arcade business in the early 1980s, Sega began to develop video game consoles, starting with the SG-1000 and Master System, but struggled against competitors such as the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Sonic Team
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, a rivalry formed between Sega and Nintendo due to the release of their 16-bit video game consoles: the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Sega needed a mascot character that would be as synonymous with their brand as Mario was to Nintendo. To distinguish themselves from Nintendo, Sega wanted a killer app and character that could appeal to an older demographic than preteens, demonstrate the capabilities of the Genesis, and ensure commercial success in North America.
List of Sega video game consoles
Sega is a video game developer, publisher, and hardware development company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with multiple offices around the world. The company has produced home video game consoles and handheld consoles since 1983; these systems were released from the third console generation to the sixth. Sega was formed from the merger of slot machine developer Service Games and arcade game manufacturer Rosen Enterprises in 1964, and it produced arcade games for the next two decades. After a downturn in the arcade game industry in the 1980s, the company transitioned to developing and publishing video games and consoles. The first Sega console was the Japan-only SG-1000, released in 1983. Sega released several variations of this console in Japan, the third of which, the Sega Mark III, was rebranded as the Master System and released worldwide in 1985. They went on to produce the Genesis—known as the Mega Drive outside of North America—and its add-ons beginning in 1988, the Game Gear handheld console in 1990, the Sega Saturn in 1994, and the Dreamcast in 1998.
Sega Genesis
On May 22, 2006, North American company Super Fighter Team released "Beggar Prince", a game translated from a 1996 Chinese original. It was released worldwide and was the first commercial Genesis game release in North America since 1998. Super Fighter Team would later go on to release two more games for the system, "Legend of Wukong" and "Star Odyssey". In December 2010, WaterMelon, an American company, released "Pier Solar and the Great Architects", the first commercial role-playing video game specifically developed for the console since 1996, and the biggest 16-bit game ever produced at 64 Mb. "Pier Solar" is the only cartridge-based game which can optionally use the Sega CD to play an enhanced soundtrack and sound effects disc. In 2013, independent programmer Future Driver, inspired by the Disney film "Wreck-It Ralph", developed "Fix-It Felix Jr." for the Genesis.
Sega
The Saturn failed to take the lead in the market as the Genesis had. After the launch of the Nintendo 64 in 1996, sales of the Saturn and its games fell sharply, while the PlayStation outsold the Saturn by three-to-one in the U.S. in 1997. Following five years of generally declining profits, in the fiscal year ending March 31, 1998, Sega suffered its first parent and consolidated financial losses since its 1988 listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Shortly before announcing the losses, Sega announced that it was discontinuing the Saturn in North America to prepare for the launch of its successor. The Saturn lasted longer in Japan and Europe. The decision to abandon the Saturn effectively left the Western market without Sega games for over one year. Sega suffered an additional ¥42.881 billion consolidated net loss in the fiscal year ending March 1999, and announced plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs, nearly a quarter of its workforce. With lifetime sales of 9.26 million units, the Saturn is considered a commercial failure, although its install base in Japan surpassed the Nintendo 64's 5.54 million.
Sega CD
The Sega CD received several variations during its lifetime, of which Sega constructed three. The original model utilized a front-loading motorized disc tray and sat underneath the Genesis. Sega later released the second model of the Sega CD, which was redesigned to sit next to the Genesis console and featured a top-loading disc tray in place of the motorized tray of the original model. In addition to the add-on models, Sega also released the Genesis CDX (Multi-Mega in Europe). This console was a combination of the Genesis and Sega CD in one unit and initially retailed at US$399. Unique to this model was its additional functionality as a portable compact disc player.
List of Sega Genesis games
The Genesis library was initially modest, but eventually grew to contain games to appeal to all types of players. The initial pack-in title was "Altered Beast", which was later replaced with "Sonic the Hedgehog". Top sellers included "Sonic the Hedgehog", its sequel "Sonic the Hedgehog 2", and "Disney's Aladdin". During development for the console, Sega Enterprises in Japan focused on developing action games while Sega of America was tasked with developing sports games. A large part of the appeal of the Genesis library during the console's lifetime was the arcade-based experience of its games, as well as more difficult entries such as "Ecco the Dolphin" and sports games such as "Joe Montana Football". Compared to its competition, Sega advertised to an older audience by hosting more mature games, including the uncensored version of "Mortal Kombat".
History of Sega
For the North American market, where the console was renamed "Sega Genesis", former Atari executive and new Sega of America CEO Michael Katz instituted a two-part approach to build sales in the region. The first part involved a marketing campaign to challenge Nintendo head-on and emphasize the more arcade-like experience available on the Genesis, summarized by slogans including "Genesis does what Nintendon't". Since Nintendo owned the console rights to most arcade games of the time, the second part involved creating a library of instantly recognizable games which used the names and likenesses of celebrities and athletes. Nonetheless, it had a hard time overcoming Nintendo's ubiquitous presence in consumers' homes. Tasked by Nakayama to sell one million units within the first year, Katz and Sega of America managed to sell only 500,000 units.
List of Sega Genesis games
A total of 897 game titles are known to have been released for the console:
Kid Chameleon
Kid Chameleon is a 1992 platform game released for the Sega Genesis. The plot of the game is that the boss of the new virtual reality video game "Wild Side" begins abducting players and the main character, Casey, goes to beat it and rescue them. He does this by using masks to change into different characters in order to use different abilities. It was later released in Japan as . After its initial release in 1992 for the Genesis, it was later re-released a number of times in the 2000s, including part of the "Sega Smash Pack 2" for the PC in 2000, the "Sega Genesis Collection" for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 in 2006, as a digital release on the Wii's Virtual Console in 2007, "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2009 and is included in The Sega Forever collection release for iOS and Android (operating system) in 2017.
Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 video game)
With its sequels for the Genesis, "Sonic the Hedgehog" has been ported for a wide range of home and handheld consoles and personal computers through compilations. The first collection it appeared in was "Sonic Compilation" (1995) for the Genesis. It has since appeared in "Sonic Jam" (1997) for the Sega Saturn, "Sonic Mega Collection" (2002) for the Nintendo GameCube, "Sonic Mega Collection Plus" (2004) for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, "Sega Genesis Collection" for the PlayStation 2 and PSP, "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" (2009) for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, "Sonic Classic Collection" (2010) for the Nintendo DS, "Oculus Arcade" for the Oculus Rift, and "Sega Genesis Classics" (2018) for the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.
Pocahontas (franchise)
"Disney's Pocahontas" is a video game based on the 1995 film of the same name, was released on the Sega Genesis in 1996. The Sega title was developed by Funcom on contract with Disney. It was followed by a later release for the Game Boy and PlayStation on June 10, 1996, nearly a year after the film's premiere. A Super NES version of the game was under development around the same time as the Genesis version, but was canceled due to development being too far behind to coincide with the Genesis release.
Sega Genesis
In 1986, Sega redesigned the Mark III for release in North America as the Sega Master System. This was followed by a European release the next year. Although the Master System was a success in Europe, and later in Brazil, it failed to ignite significant interest in the Japanese or North American markets, which, by the mid-to-late 1980s, were both dominated by Nintendo. With Sega continuing to have difficulty penetrating the home market, Sega's console R&D team, led by Masami Ishikawa and supervised by Hideki Sato, began work on a successor to the Master System almost immediately after that console launched.
History of Sega
Sega released the Saturn in Japan on November 22, 1994, at a price of ¥44,800. "Virtua Fighter", a faithful port of the popular arcade game, sold at a nearly one-to-one ratio with the Saturn console at launch and was crucial to the system's early success in Japan. Fueled by the popularity of "Virtua Fighter", Sega's initial shipment of 200,000 Saturn units sold out on the first day, and was more popular than the PlayStation in Japan. In March 1995, Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske announced that the Saturn would be released in the U.S. on "Saturnday" (Saturday) September 2, 1995. However, Sega of Japan mandated an early launch to give the Saturn an advantage over the PlayStation. At the first Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles on May 11, 1995, Kalinske gave a keynote presentation in which he revealed the release price of US$399 (including a copy of "Virtua Fighter"), and described the features of the console. Kalinske also revealed that, due to "high consumer demand", Sega had already shipped 30,000 Saturns to Toys "R" Us, Babbage's, Electronics Boutique, and Software Etc. for immediate release. The announcement upset retailers who were not informed of the surprise release, including Best Buy and Walmart; KB Toys responded by dropping Sega from its lineup. The Saturn's release in Europe also came before the previously announced North American date, on July 8, 1995, at a price of ₤399.99. European retailers and press did not have time to promote the system or its games, harming sales. The Saturn's U.S. launch was accompanied by a reported $50 million advertising campaign that included coverage in publications such as "Wired" and "Playboy". Early advertising for the system was targeted at a more mature, adult audience than the Sega Genesis ads. Because of the early launch, the Saturn had only six games (all published by Sega) available to start as most third-party games were slated to be released around the original launch date. "Virtua Fighter"'s relative lack of popularity in the West, combined with a release schedule of only two games between the surprise launch and September 1995, prevented Sega from capitalizing on the Saturn's early timing.
Sega Genesis
While Sega was seeking a flagship series to compete with Nintendo's Mario series along with a character to serve as a company mascot, several character designs were submitted as part of a company-wide contest, including "an anime-inspired egg and a teal hedgehog with red shoes created by Naoto Ohshima that he called Mr. Needlemouse." This character won the contest and was renamed Sonic the Hedgehog, spawning one of the best-selling video game franchises in history. The gameplay of "Sonic the Hedgehog" originated with a tech demo created by Yuji Naka, who had developed an algorithm that allowed a sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with a dot matrix. Naka's original prototype was a platform game that involved a fast-moving character rolling in a ball through a long winding tube, and this concept was subsequently fleshed out with Ohshima's character design and levels conceived by designer Hirokazu Yasuhara. Sonic's blue pigmentation was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo, and his shoes were a concept evolved from a design inspired by Michael Jackson's boots with the addition of the color red, which was inspired by both Santa Claus and the contrast of those colors on Jackson's 1987 album "Bad"; his personality was based on Bill Clinton's "can do" attitude.
Sega CD
Retrospective reception of the Sega CD is mixed, praising certain games but criticizing its low value for money and limitations on the benefits it provides to the Genesis. "GamePro" listed the Sega CD as the 7th-worst selling video game console of all time, with reviewer Blake Snow noting that "The problem was threefold: the device was expensive at $299, it arrived late in the 16-bit life cycle, and it didn't do much (if anything) to enhance the gameplay experience." Snow went on to note, however, that the Sega CD did have in its library "the greatest "Sonic" game of all time" in "Sonic CD". IGN's Levi Buchanan criticized Sega's implementation of CD technology for the Genesis, noting, "What good is the extra storage space if there is nothing inventive to be done with it? No new gameplay concepts emerged from the SEGA CD—it just offered more of the same. In fact, with few exceptions like "Sonic CD", it often offered some of the 16-bit generation's worst games, like "Demolition Man"." Jeremy Parish of USgamer pointed out that "Sega was hardly the only company to muddy its waters with a CD add-on in the early '90s" and highlighted some "gems" for the system, but cautioned "the benefits offered by the Sega CD had to be balanced against the fact that the add-on more than doubled the price (and complexity) of the [Genesis]." Writing for "Retro Gamer", Damien McFerran cited various reasons for the Sega CD's limited sales, including the add-on's high price, lack of significant enhancement to the Genesis console, and lack of ability to function without a console attached. "Retro Gamer" writer Aaron Birch, however, defended the Sega CD and wrote that "the single biggest cause of the Mega-CD's failure was the console itself. When the system came out, CD-ROM technology was still in its infancy and companies had yet to get to grips with the possibilities it offered... quite simply, the Mega-CD was a console ahead of its time."
Sega Genesis
In Japan, the Mega Drive did not fare well against its two main competitors, Nintendo's Super Famicom and NEC's PC Engine, but it achieved considerable success in North America, Brazil, and Europe. Contributing to its success were its library of arcade game ports, the popularity of Sega's "Sonic the Hedgehog" series, several popular sports franchises, and aggressive youth marketing that positioned the system as the cool console for adolescents. The release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System two years after the Genesis resulted in a fierce battle for market share in the United States and Europe that has often been termed as a "console war" by journalists and historians. As this contest drew increasing attention to the video game industry among the general public, the Genesis and several of its highest-profile games attracted significant legal scrutiny on matters involving reverse engineering and video game violence. Controversy surrounding violent games such as "Night Trap" and "Mortal Kombat" led Sega to create the Videogame Rating Council, a predecessor to the Entertainment Software Rating Board.
Sega
In 1990, Sega launched the Game Gear, a handheld console, to compete against Nintendo's Game Boy. The console was designed as a portable version of the Master System, and featured more powerful systems than the Game Boy, including a full-color screen, in contrast to the monochrome Game Boy screen. However, due to its short battery life, lack of original games, and weak support from Sega, the Game Gear did not surpass the Game Boy, selling approximately 11 million units. Sega launched the Mega-CD in Japan on December 1, 1991, initially retailing at JP¥49,800. In North America, it was renamed the Sega CD and launched on October 15, 1992, with a retail price of US$299. It was released in Europe as the Mega-CD in 1993. The add-on greatly expanded the potential size of Genesis games and upgraded the graphics and sound capabilities with a second, faster processor, vastly expanded system memory, a graphics chip that performed scaling and rotation similar to Sega's arcade games, and an additional sound chip. The Mega-CD sold only 100,000 units during its first year in Japan, falling well below expectations. However, Sega had success with arcade games; in 1992 and 1993, the new Sega Model 1 arcade system board showcased Sega AM2's "Virtua Racing" and "Virtua Fighter" (the first 3D fighting game), which played a crucial role in popularizing 3D polygonal graphics.
Sega Genesis
Exclusive to the Japanese market was the TeraDrive, a Mega Drive combined with an IBM PC compatible computer. Sega also produced three arcade system boards based on the Mega Drive: the System C-2, the MegaTech, and the MegaPlay, which support approximately 80 games combined.
Fourth generation of video game consoles
The console was never popular in Japan (being regularly outsold by the PC Engine), but still managed to sell 40 million units worldwide. By late 1995, Sega was supporting five different consoles and two add-ons, and Sega Enterprises chose to discontinue the Mega Drive in Japan to concentrate on the new Sega Saturn. While this made perfect sense for the Japanese market, it was disastrous in North America: the market for Genesis games was much larger than for the Saturn, but Sega was left without the inventory or software to meet demand.
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe. The successor to the successful Sega Genesis, the Saturn has a dual-CPU architecture and eight processors. Its games are in CD-ROM format, and its game library contains several arcade ports as well as original games.
Sega Genesis
To compete with Nintendo, Sega was more open to new types of games than its rival, but still tightly controlled the approval process for third-party games and charged high prices for cartridge manufacturing. Technicians from American third-party video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA) reverse engineered the Genesis in 1989, following nearly one year of negotiations with Sega in which EA requested a more liberal licensing agreement than was standard in the industry before releasing its games for the system. The clean room reverse engineering was led by Steve Hayes and Jim Nitchals, lasting several months before EA secretly began game development. EA founder Trip Hawkins confronted Nakayama with this information one day prior to the 1990 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), noting that EA had the ability to run its own licensing program if Sega refused to meet its demands. Sega relented, and the next day EA's upcoming Genesis games were showcased at CES. EA signed what Hawkins described as "a very unusual and much more enlightened license agreement" with Sega in June 1990: "Among other things, we had the right to make as many titles as we wanted. We could approve our own titles ... the royalty rates were a lot more reasonable. We also had more direct control over manufacturing." After the deal was in place, EA chief creative officer Bing Gordon learned that "we hadn't figured out all the workarounds" and "Sega still had the ability to lock us out," noting "It just would have been a public relations fiasco." EA released its first two Genesis games, "Populous" and "", within the month. The first Genesis version of EA's "John Madden Football" arrived before the end of 1990, and became what Gordon called a "killer app" for the system. Taking advantage of the licensing agreement, Gordon and EA's vice president of marketing services Nancy Fong created a visual identifier for EA's Genesis cartridges: A yellow stripe on their left side added during manufacturing.
List of Sega Genesis games
This is an alphabetical list of released games for the Sega Genesis. Titles listed do not include releases for the Sega CD and Sega 32X add-ons. Included in this list are titles not licensed by Sega, including releases in Taiwan by several developers such as Gamtec, as well as releases by Accolade before being licensed following the events of "Sega v. Accolade". This list also includes titles developed by unlicensed third-party developers after the discontinuation of the Genesis, such as "Pier Solar and the Great Architects".
Fatal Labyrinth
Fatal Labyrinth, titled in Japan, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Sega. Originally available exclusively on the Sega Meganet multiplayer gaming service in 1990, it was later remade for the Sega Genesis in . The game appears in "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game was also released for Microsoft Windows on September 13, 2010. The game is similar to and shares assets with "Dragon Crystal", which was also released around that time.
Sega Channel
In early 1995, Sega CEO Hayao Nakayama decided to end development on the Sega Genesis and its add-ons, the Sega CD and Sega 32X. This decision was made to support the Sega Saturn, which had been released in Japan already. This placed the release of the Sega Channel right at the height of the Genesis' decline from the market. At its peak, Sega Channel had over 250,000 subscribers, but by 1997, the number of subscribers had dropped to 230,000, two years after Nakayama made the decision to shift focus from the Genesis to the Saturn. Though Sega looked at options to bring the service to PCs, the service was eventually discontinued by July 31, 1998.
History of Sega
Rosen continued to develop his relationship with Gulf and Western chairman Charles Bluhdorn, and in 1974, Gulf and Western made Sega a subsidiary of an American company renamed Sega Enterprises, Inc. During 1973, Sega would release "Pong-Tron", its first video-based game. Despite late competition from Taito's hit arcade game "Space Invaders" in 1978, Sega profited heavily from the arcade gaming boom of the late 1970s, with revenues climbing to over  million by 1979. During this period, Sega acquired Gremlin Industries, a manufacturer of microprocessor-based arcade games. In 1979, Sega also acquired Esco Boueki (Esco Trading), founded and owned by Hayao Nakayama. This brought Nakayama into the company, where he was placed in charge of Sega's Japanese operations. Rosen later admitted that he mainly purchased Esco Trading for Nakayama's leadership. In the early 1980s, Sega was one of the top five arcade game manufacturers active in the United States, as company revenues rose to $214 million. In 1979, the company released "Head On", which introduced the "eat the dots" gameplay Namco later used in "Pac-Man". During 1981, Sega licensed and released "Frogger", its most successful title up until then. In 1982, Sega introduced the first game with isometric graphics, "Zaxxon".