Information AboutSega Cd |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SEGA MEGA-CD | |
| sega consoles | |
| sega mega drive | |
| fourth-generation video game consoles | |
| 1991 introductions | |
| 1992 introductions | |
| 1993 introductions | |
| video game failures | |
The is an add-on device for the Sega Mega Drive released in Europe , Australia , New Zealand and Japan . The Genesis add-on for the North America n market was called Sega CD. The device allowed the user to play games, audio CDs, and CD+G discs. The development of the Mega-CD was confidential; game developers were not made aware of what exactly they were working on until the add-on was finally revealed at the Tokyo Toy Show in Japan. The Sega Mega-CD was designed to compete with the PC Engine in Japan, which had a separate CD-ROM drive. The Sega Mega-CD was not meant to compete with the Super Famicom ( Super Nintendo Entertainment System outside Japan). This posed a problem in the markets outside of Japan, where the PC Engine did not fare very well, and the expectation was that the Mega-CD would be in competition with Nintendo. The first version of the system sat under the Mega Drive console and loaded CDs via a motorized tray. The second version of the system, dubbed Mega-CD 2, had the CD-ROM drive relocated to the right of the Sega Mega Drive system, changed to a top-loading CD-ROM drive with a lid, and was meant primarily to be used with the redesigned Sega Mega Drive 2. However the original model of the Sega Mega Drive could still be used with the addition of an extension that allowed the system to firmly sit on the add-on without overhanging the edge (the Sega Mega Drive still sat on top of the system, but to a much lesser extent than before). MARKETS Japan ]] The Sega Mega-CD was released first in Japan in December 1 1991 . Its retail price was about ¥49,800. Initially, it was a great success because of the inherent advantages of CDs (high storage capacity and the low cost of media). The fact that it had a large RPG catalog also helped. Despite having been on sale for over 2 years, by March 1994 the MEGA-CD had only sold 380,000 units in Japan, which meant that only 11% of Japanese Mega Drive owners had purchased the add-on unit. North America Sega of Japan did not speak to Sega of America about their Mega-CD plans for that market until a few months later. The Sega CD had been announced at the Chicago CES on January 1992. Early reports had suggested that hardware in the system would allow it to display more on screen colors (from a larger palette) than the Sega Genesis or the Super Nintendo, which was an important technical concern for consumers. In the end, the Sega CD was unable to convince North American gamers, mostly due to the cost of the console, and the lack of any hardware advancements. Many people felt there was not enough value for the price. Moreover, the game experience was little improved. Players came to have high expectations for the add-on, and Sega even promised that the Sega CD would allow a higher color palette than the Genesis. However, the end result was somewhat lackluster compared to expectations. Graphically, most games ended up looking not much better than normal Sega Mega Drive games, though the sound quality was higher, owing to the CD format of the games. Sega wanted to showcase the power of the Sega CD, and so focused on "FMV" Games rather than taking advantage of the extra storage space of the CD media. Sega insisted on licensing and producing primarily "full motion video" games similar to earlier Laserdisc games, that were universally panned by game reviewers. The limited 64-color palette of the system, combined with the processor not being well-suited for video, did not lend itself well to reproducing video, resulting in grainy video in most games. Another criticism of the software library was that most titles consisted of Shovelware , in which a developer takes an existing title and adds minor new content (usually a CD audio soundtrack, or video sequences) while not expanding the original game itself. Few titles received major changes, but two exceptions were '' Earthworm Jim '' which featured additional levels and game changes, and '' The Amazing Spider-Man Vs. The Kingpin '', which featured many changes, which drastically restructured the game, making it less linear, and adding animated cut scenes. Despite a somewhat lackluster library of games, the console introduced very famous franchises. The '' Lunar '' series, which despite the relatively narrow circulation the two titles on the Sega CD received, went on to be critically acclaimed and became a cult classic, with both games receiving remakes for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in the late 90's; and a prequel to the series for the Nintendo DS in 2005. The English publisher of the two Lunar titles, Working Designs , also published another RPG for the platform, entitled ''Vay''. While it received generally positive reviews, the game did not obtain the same popularity as the ''Lunar'' titles. Another notable title was the cult-classic '' Snatcher '', a Cyber-punk Digital Comic released by Konami and designed by Hideo Kojima and the only version of the game released in English. One exclusive game that was published for the Sega CD is the now famous Sonic The Hedgehog CD , or Sonic CD. Sonic CD is praised for having good graphics, superior CD quality sound to the Genesis/Mega Drive games, and an innovative style of stages, having four versions of each of the three zones in each stage. Many fans praise the game as the best of the series for these reasons. Sonic CD is the most well known non-Sonic Team game at this point. Europe In Europe the Mega-CD was thought to be overpriced. It was released in April 1993 in the United Kingdom for £270. Unlike the Mega Drive , which was a very successful console in Europe, only 60,000 of the 70,000 Mega-CDs shipped to Europe were sold by August 1993. Some European countries ( Spain for instance), would not get the original Mega-CD, but the Mega-CD 2, which also slowed sales. Australia The Mega-CD was released on 19 April , 1993 in Australia . Brazil The Sega-CD 2 was launched in the Brazilian market exactly at the same time of the U.S. Release. Since the original Sega-CD was never released there, it was simply called "Sega-CD". However, because several Mega-CD units imported from Japan were already in the market, it was informally known as "Mega-CD". It was manufactured locally by Tec Toy . MODELS The following models were released:
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS The Sega Mega-CD specifications were as follows: CPU The main CPU is a 12.5- MHz 16-bit Motorola 68000 processor. The Mega Drive/Genesis has the same processor, but at a lower Clock Rate of 7.67 MHz (NTSC) / 7.61 MHz (PAL). Graphics
RAM
Storage
''(Above specs prior to compression)'' BIOS
Audio ''The Mega-CD adds 10 extra sound channels to the Mega Drive's YM2612 SPU .''
Other
Accessories
Graphic trivia While the system was in development, several US video game magazines such as Electronic Gaming Monthly and Gamepro had published reports that the Sega CD was going to be able to display more on-screen colors than the Sega Genesis. It appears that there had been some discussion about upgrading the hardware in the Sega CD to compete with the color capabilites of the Super Nintendo , but it was vetoed. A common myth surrounding the Mega-CD is in regard to the number of colors it can display on-screen. Like the unexpanded Mega Drive/Genesis, the published specifications of the Mega-CD indicate that the system can produce up to 64 colors on-screen out of a global palette of 512. However, many people claim that some games, such as '''', exceeded the on-screen limit with the use of programming tricks, achieving 112, 192, even 256 colors simultaneously. Some versions of this rumor claim that there was a version of the Cinepak video codec that could render FMV in 256 colors on the Mega-CD as well. The idea of displaying more than 64 colors at once in Mega-CD games is not groundless. What is not widely realized, however, is that the Mega-CD breaks this limit with the same methods that can be executed on an unexpanded console, and also that these methods are all severely limited in practical use. The most common way of displaying extra colors is with the use of raster effects, which involve simply changing the on-screen color palette in between TV scanlines as the picture is being drawn. Sonic games use this to make underwater effects. A lesser known trick is to use the priority bit of a pixel for color purposes, allowing any color to have 3 shades (normal, bright and dim) and effectively tripling the number of colors available onscreen. However, this trick compromises the video display processor's capabilities so drastically that it was rarely ever used, especially for in-game graphics. Finally, many developers simply relied on Dithering , a simple artist's method of drawing pixels of two similar colors in an alternating, checkerboard-like manner, and relying on the inaccuracy of composite or RF video signals to blend the colors together into a third color. On a side note, this same method could be used to make a fake transparency just by leaving every other pixel blank. The programming trick which many mistakenly believe can be used to display extra colors on the Mega-CD is called HAM, or Hold And Modify . This complicated trick was used with the Commodore Amiga line of computers with the same goal of raising the on-screen color limit. However, the Amiga could also use raster effects, and this is where the confusion most likely started. At some point, it was probably said that a trick similar to one used on the Amiga could be used with the Mega-CD to display extra colors on-screen. Since people knew there was a trick to get extra colors out of the Amiga called HAM, they may have then assumed that the Mega-CD could use HAM as well. However, the Mega-CD has no support for this or a similar function at all whereas the Amiga's graphic chip was designed for it. CONTROVERSY On October 15 , 1992 , the system received one of the most controversial titles of that time, '' Night Trap '', developed by Digital Pictures . The game was a Full Motion Video title, and starred Dana Plato as one of a group of young girls having a slumber party in a house whose family were secretly vampires. The action consisted of playing the part of a "security guard" and watching cameras inside the house. The player has control over various traps in the house, and when "Augers" (men in black outfits) threatened one or more of the girls, the player has to time the springing of the trap to successfully trap the "Auger." The title received widespread criticism (and controversy) due to several scenes where the girls could be seen in skimpy clothing/underwear, in addition to the violence. This lead many public figures to condemn the game and demanded it be pulled off store shelves. Along with ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Night Trap'' led to the formation of the ESRB . On December 16, 1993 the game was pulled, and the offending scenes edited out, the game was then re-released under the new "M" rating, for Mature. In reality, the scenes in question were not as graphic as they were made out to be (some people were claiming the game featured actual nudity, which it did not.) The game was also released for several other systems, including the PC , 3DO , and even updated for the Sega 32X . MEGA DRIVE/GENESIS TITLES RE-APPEARING ON CD Several Mega Drive/Genesis titles (As well as franchises appearing on other platforms) were ported to Sega's CD format. Referred to as "shovelware," many saw these ports as negative points for Sega's platform. However, the CD versions usually offer added stages, new full motion video (oftentimes illustrating the storyline), or reworked/completely re-developed soundtracks. Some of these titles and their differences:
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