| 16-bit Era |
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In the History Of Video Games , the 16-bit era was '''the fourth generation''' of Video Game Console s. It was dominated by the rivalry between the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Mega Drive (also called the Sega Genesis ), making it one of the most intense periods of competition in North America n Video Game History . The TurboGrafx 16 was also part of this era; it had little success breaking into the fray in the North American market, but was quite successful in Japan. The 16-Bit generation is widely considered the "Golden Age" of the video game industry. THE BEGINNING '']] Sega and NEC simultaneously released the Genesis and TurboGrafx 16 just before Christmas . The two systems did very brisk business despite the fact that Nintendo had about a 90% share of the market for the Nintendo Entertainment System , proving that the market was ripe for new technologies. The more powerful Genesis quickly outpaced the TG-16's sales, and took a commanding lead starting in early 1990. In 1991 , Sega released '' Sonic The Hedgehog '', in response to the impending release of Nintendo's updated system, the Super NES. Sega advertisements during the 1991 holiday season underscored the speed of their new mascot. Also in late 1991, Nintendo released the 16-bit Super NES to compete with the Genesis. Packaged with the new system was '' Super Mario World '', a new game from the very popular Mario franchise. This was the true beginning of the 16-bit war. THE SEGA VS. NINTENDO " CONSOLE WAR " riding on Yoshi in '' Super Mario World '' for the SNES ]] Sega and Nintendo pushed hard for advantages in the marketplace. The Sega mascot Sonic The Hedgehog was swiftly marketed as the "cooler" alternative to Nintendo's Mario. Sega coined a marketing term called " Blast Processing " that posed as a technical advantage for the Genesis. Sega advertising was very confrontational in this time, with slogans like "Sega does what Nintendon't" and the " Sega Scream ". Nintendo countered with franchise games such as the Mario series, '' The Legend Of Zelda '', '' Star Fox '', '' Super Metroid '', and later '' Donkey Kong Country '', and many others for the Super NES and Game Boy . Sega released ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' in 1992 amidst a huge marketing push (in the UK and US, it was released on "Sonic 2sday"), which became more popular than the first game. Less than a year later, Nintendo released Enhanced Remake s of the original NES ''Super Mario'' games on the Super NES titled '' Super Mario All-Stars ''. ]] NEC pushed the TurboGrafx 16 using their mascot Bonk . This head-banging caveman was used in most of the TurboGrafx advertising from 1990-1994. The platform was well received initially especially in larger markets in the US. In smaller metropolitan areas, the TurboGrafx was difficult to find as NEC did not have as many store representatives or as focused in-store promotion as in the larger urban areas. The Japanese version of the TurboGrafx, the PC Engine , was quite successful in Japan through the popularity of its titles available on the at the time new CD-ROM format. NEC released a CD add-on in 1990 and by 1992 had released a combination TurboGrafx and CD-ROM system known as the TurboDuo . '' was released on both the SNES and Genesis , but the Nintendo version featured censorship]] When the '' Mortal Kombat '' controversy hit the consoles, Nintendo decided to censor the game's gore, while Sega kept the content in the game, allowing players to access it via a special code. Nintendo has had a long-standing policy of Censorship , but now Sega began to position itself as the more "mature" console, willing to give gamers the content Nintendo deemed "not family friendly". Sega's gamble paid off, and their version of ''Mortal Kombat'' was often given higher and more favorable reviews in the gaming press. As a result of this, Nintendo reconsidered its position, and when '' Mortal Kombat 2 '' was ported to the console, all of the violence was intact. Many (particularly younger) gamers labelled themselves as either a Nintendo fan or a Sega fan, and the two were mutually exclusive. Even single-format magazines got in on the rivalry, with poorly constructed attacks at each other's hardware and software fuelling the flames of Fanboyism . By 1994 the TurboGrafx 16 and its CD combination system the Turbo Duo were out of manufacture in North America, though a small amount of software continued to trickle out for the platform. NEC released the 32-bit PC-FX console the same year in Japan . Plans were underway for a US release of the PC-FX but an already flooded market of platforms including the far more powerful 3DO and Atari Jaguar systems caused TTI (who had taken over running the TurboGrafx platform) to halt their North American release plans. ADD-ONS ]] Nintendo, NEC and Sega also competed with hardware (Sega CD in the US) and the Sega 32X , neither of which were very successful. The Sega CD was plagued by a high price tag ($300 at its release) and a limited library of games. The 32X faced a number of problems, primarily technical and commercial. (The peripheral would occasionally not work with some consoles. Additionally, some retailers were not able to meet the initial demand for the add on, leading to shortages.) Nintendo made an attempt with their successful Satellaview and Super Game Boy . The former was a satellite service released only on the Japanese market and the latter an adapter for the Super Nintendo that allowed Game Boy games to be displayed on a TV in color. Interestingly, Nintendo, working along with Sony, also had plans to create a CD-ROM Drive for the Super NES, similar to the Sega CD, but eventually decided not to go through with that project, opting to team with Philips in the development of the less than successful CD-i system. The Super NES CD-ROM project was cancelled, and Sony used the name (" PlayStation ") for their own stand-alone CD-based console, overseen by former SNES sound-chip engineer, Ken Kutaragi . PlayStation went on to badly hurt CD-i sales, and Philips dropped the product line in 1998. EUROPEAN IMPORTING The 16-bit era was also the era when the act of buying imported US games became more established in Europe, and regular stores began to carry them. This was especially popular with SNES games, due to several reasons:
So-called multi-x chips ( Modchip s), which were installed in the consoles and converters, were common at this time. The chips were accessories that bypassed the built-in lockout mechanism. However, due to Super FX chips and different copy protection techniques, European consumers were often forced to buy new converters at regular intervals or "mod" (''i.e.'' install a modchip) their consoles in order for the imported games to function properly. Popular US games imported at this time:
THE RISE OF FRANCHISES While their seeds were sown in the 8-bit era, many of the major franchise titles came of age and solidified in the 16-bit era. Metroid , Zelda , Star Fox , F-Zero , Dragon Quest , Final Fantasy , Seiken Densetsu ( Secret Of Mana ), Sonic The Hedgehog , Front Mission , Donkey Kong , Street Fighter , Mortal Kombat , and many others had either their first releases or some of their most popular titles during the 16-bit era. Metroid Zelda Dragon Quest Star Fox F-Zero Final Fantasy Seiken Densetsu Street Fighter Seeking to follow the example of the above titles, several more franchises were born during this era, many of which have not survived to the present day. While game sequels were far from uncommon during the 8-bit era and even before, it was at this time that the potential of series games was realised. IN THE END By 1995, the 16-bit craze had started to die down due to Nintendo and Sega both having new consoles in the works, as well as "outsider" manufacturers such as Sony and Philips . These machines were referred to in the specialist press as the "superconsoles" due to their use of then-innovative 3D graphics, and are known as the 32-bit Era . CONSOLES OF THE 16-BIT ERA |
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| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Sega_Mega_Drive/Sega_Genesis" class="copylinks">Sega Mega Drive / Genesis <br>''1988-1996: Japan 1989-1998: US'' <br>''1990-1998: Europe'' |
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| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/SNK" class="copylinks">SNK Neo-Geo <br> ''1989-2004: Japan 1990-2003: US'' <br>''1991-1996: Europe |
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| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Super_Nintendo_Entertainment_System" class="copylinks">Super Famicom / Super Nintendo Entertainment System <br> ''1990-2003: Japan'' ''1991-1999: US 1992-1998: Europe'' |
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| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Sega_CD" class="copylinks">Sega CD (add-on)<br> ''1991-1996: Japan 1992-1996: US 1993-1996: Europe '' |
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| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Virtual_Boy" class="copylinks">Virtual Boy <br>''1995-1996: Japan, US'' |
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| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Game_Boy_Pocket" class="copylinks">Game Boy Pocket <br> ''1996-1998: Japan, US, Europe'' |
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