Retro Experience
closer to the heart
Predjudice is defined as 'an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual or group'. There will undoubtably be those to whom such a statement applies. Those that still feel the burn from the Mega CD, THE 32X or even Saturn. But to love the Mega Drive - to understand its role - is to accept these errors, erase them from the mind and realise that ,
had Sega failed to take the U.S. and never came to realise it's famous blue mascot, the current videogame pantheon would be very different. Backwards compatibility, online play, analogue controller's, simultaneous global release's, urban chic and a remarkable brand strenght - all came out of Sega
(albeit with varying level's of success).
Of course, the real factors are hardware and,
more importantly, software.
Arguably, this is where the industry peaked, as the finest titles by the greatest developers are all products of the 16 bit era. Where the current crop of game mongers spill out their wares based on technical infalibility or photorealistic accuracy, the late 80's and early 90's came to represent the domain of the imagination and of the careful balance between arcade immediacy and armchair depth.
But it was a slow start.
In 1987, Nintendo's NES was in its fourth year, alledged to be in one in every three US homes and with 90 per cent of the market share. Sega's own 8 bit unit, the Mark III/Master System, was trailing badly, with sales of 230,000 in Europe and a virtual shunning
in Japan and the US. Despite its technical superiority over
the NES, a lack of thirdparty support ensured that
Sega would remain the underdog.
By the end of the year NEC's PC Engine had launched in Japan, and during 1988 it would go on to sell more units than any other console. Despite being part misnomer - the machine's 16 bit GPU still ran under the command of an 8 bit Hu6280 CPU - the Engine's specification put it leagues ahead of the NES, introducing the first notions of a true - to - life arcade experience for the home.
Sega CEO Hayou Nakayama took the potential for accurate arcade ports one step further and the decision to develop a domestic System 16 - Sega's then coin-operated technology - was cemented.
Within weeks of the PC Engine arriving in Japan, Sega unveiled its sucessor to the Mark III/Master System, codenamed Mk - 1601, complete with a launch slot of autumn 1988. Where Nintendo had triumphed by being the first to launch in the 8 bit era, there were those who proposed the same would be true for Sega in the forthcoming 16 bit console war. It was a prediction
that would ring true.
On October 29th, 1988, Sega launched the Mega Drive in Japan for yen 21,000 (114 GB pounds), alongside four software titles: Altered Beast, Super Thunderblade, Yu Suzuki's popular Space Harrier II (an exclusive sequel to the arcade game) and Osomatsu - kun.
It was clear that the hardware was superior to the competition, accommodating recent arcade ports with relative ease. The impression made on Japanese gamer's was muted, it wouldn't be until the US launch that the Mega Drive would really flourish.
To this end, Sega president Nakayama-san charged the US wing of the company with a Japanese mandate: "Haku Mandai," or "Sell one million consoles". A tall order by anyone's standard's. More important was the name-change for the Mega Drive. Head of marketing, Al Nilsen, state's that there were copyright
issues with the name under US law.
so instead "Mega Drive" was rechristened "Genesis". Holding connotation's of development, progress and, more significantly, a renaissance, Sega was making no bones about its total commitment to the console, a fact reinforced by an aggressive advertising campaign. The assumption that gamers who had joined the Nintendo camp five year's earlier were older and more mature would pay off when the decision was made to include both arcade and sport's title's in the US software launch. This approach, coupled with an extended thirdparty recruitment plan , saw Sega ready for business, and during the Summer Consumer Electronics Show the company announced a September 1989 US debut for the Genesis.
Unfortunately, US retailers didn't share Sega's enthusiasm, believing instead that NEC would win the upcoming console race, as the PC Engine (renamed the TurboGrafx - 16) was due to hit the shelves during the same month. The atmosphere was of complete damnation, one retailer opining that NEC was "...going to blow you (Sega) out of the water". It couldn't have been more wrong.
SEGA MEGADRIVE
pay dirt
Come August 14, Sega shipped a limited quantity of consoles to stores in New York and Los Angeles, priced at $199.99 (125 GB POUNDS). By September 15 - the rest of the country recieved
its allocations, complete with a $10 price drop.
The twinning of Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf and Tommy Lasorda Baseball with arcade behemoth's Golden Axe and Altered Beast hit Pay Dirt and within one week, the industry figures quoting Sega as owning 65 percent market share.
It was all NEC could do to stay in the game. Christmas of that year saw Sega achieve 90 per cent market share for console sales, propelling it to the overall number two slot, but Nintendo still had the greater overall user base and calmly claimed to be working on a successor for the NES.
The next year saw Sega achieve substantial sales with Genesis software, titles such as Moonwalker, Joe Montanas Sport's Talk Football and ToeJam and Earl proving popular by virtue of their cross age appeal. An advertising campaign claiming "Sega does what Nintendon't' constantly reminded the US public that the Genesis offered a more applicable and up to date software catalogue.
During this time , SNK unveiled its monumental Arcade Entertainment System for US Consumption. However, arcade-perfect versions of triple-A titles were never going to justify a $600 (379 GB POUNDS) price tag and the machine quickly fell into the realms of the luxurious curio - a status it still enjoys today.
With NEC's PC Engine and add-on Super CD-ROM 2 still underperforming, the real threat was from Nintendo. Inevitably the Kyoto giant countered Sega's front with an annoncement that it would release a 16 bit replacement for the NES in November 1990. Things were starting to pick up speed.
Eager to expand on its US success, Sega pushed the Genesis into Europe, returning the console to its original Japanese name, Mega Drive. November of 1990 saw the Uk release at 190 pounds with Altered Beast and some 30,000 units arriving at the larger retail chains. Sales were good and the steady path of third party developers, such as Acclaim, helped clarify the name of Mega Drive as the brightest new star in the videogame heavens. Mickey's Castle of Illusion, Strider, Revenge of Shinobi, Populous - the list of great games goes on. Great software was becoming greater.
By November of 1990, Nintendo's 16 bit console, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, finally arrived in Japan to a borderline - hysterical public - rumours of muggings, mass sick leave and gross under-supply go some way to back up the sentiment that Sega was never going to beat Nintendo at its own game in Japan.
Meagre sales of the Mega Drive were ample proof of this,
so Sega concentrated all its efforts on smashing the enemy in the US. With a window of just one year, the Stateside D - Day was set for September 1, 1991.
PRICE REDUCTION
But the US wing needed rallying and no one was more matched
to the task than Mattel saviour - Tom Kalinske.
Within weeks of joining the company, the new CEO was on the offensive, making several changes to Genesis, in particular removing Altered Beast from the bundle, which allowed a reduction in price to $130 (82 gb pounds). The $50 saving was incredibly attractive to those gamers on the brink of a purchase.
Yet despite Genesis' mounting popularity and a stay of execution before SNES arrived, Sega still had nothing with which to defend against the Goliath - like stature of Nintendo's forthcoming Super Mario World. The rapidly rising heat of 1991 required something stronger, something more charasmatic to act as mascot for Sega's dark powerhouse. That something was Sonic The Hedgehog.
There are several stories covering the inception of the character, but the upshot is that, upon its release on July 26, 1991, Sonic The Hedgehog became a success beyond the wildest dreams of Sega - with the subsequent hardware bundle leading the company to what many consider its halycon days.
bitter pill
In the US , Genesis was selling furiously, often outnumbering the recently launched SNES at a factor of 2 : 1, notching up
sales of 7.5 million units TO the SNES 1.6 million.
For Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi this was a bitter pill to swallow - one publiciation had quoted a particulary spiteful retort of his, claiming "Sega is Nothing". Kalinske's decision to pin a copy on every door of the Sega offices had the desired effect.
Within a year, Sega's biggest coup emerged with the release of Sonic The Hedgehog 2. The first title to be shipped simultaneously
around the world, Sega built up massive expectation with
the famous 'Sonic 2's day' campaign,
the launch date marked for Tuesday, November 24, 1992.
Sonic 2 was a triumph, reaching the height
of best selling videogame ever.
But 1992 also saw a dip in corporate fortunes, as several
ill - recieved peripherals for Mega Drive saw the light of day. Menacer, a customisable infra-red lightgun supplied with
an atrocious six - game cartridge. died almost instantly,
racking up a total of nine games - including the cart's six. Most memorable however was the Sony Manufactured Mega CD which had debuted in Japan during October of 1991, then both the US and UK, the latter with its horrendous 270 gb pounds price tag and mostly poor software (Lunar, Sonic CD, Thunderhawk, Final Fantasy and Snatcher excluded). The machine was a dismal failure and, understandably, memories of it would come back to haunt Sega.
Ironically, as sales levelled out , 1993 and 1994 saw the appearance of some of the Mega Drive's greatest releases, including the eventual porting of Street Fighter II (Special Championship Edition). Konami entered the fray with its excellent Probotector and Castlevania (The New Generation) and there was a re-branded, remoulded Mega Drive II and the SVP powered , Virtual Racing cartridge, with its resplendent polygon power and
henious price taggery.
The arrival of Mars, which became the disastorous 32X add-on with only a couple of decent games (Virtua Fighter and Doom), plus the never to be released Neptune added more doubt and confusion to
even the most stalwart of Sega afficionados, shortly
before Saturn debuted in Japan during November 1994.
The Mega Drive was offically superseded but would manage to eke out an existance through a third US only incarnation in 1997, before the terminal game release of Madden NFL '98.
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