Sega CD

The Sega CD, released as a Mega-CD in near regions external North America as well as Brazil, is the CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis reported by Sega as part of the fourth kind of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan, October 15, 1992, in North America, together with April 2, 1993, in Europe. The Sega CD plays CD games and adds hardware functionality such(a) as a faster CPU and graphic enhancements such(a) as sprite scaling and rotation. It can also play audio CDs and CD+G discs.

Sega sought to match the capabilities of the competing PC Engine CD-ROM² System, and added an extra CPU and custom graphics chip. They partnered with JVC to design the Sega CD. Fearful of leaks, Sega refused to consult with Sega of America until the project was complete; Sega of America assembled parts from dummy units to obtain a functioning unit. The Sega CD was redesigned several times by Sega and licensed third-party developers.

The main proceeds of CD technology at the time was greater storage; CDs presents more than 320 times more space than Genesis cartridges. This usefulness manifested as full-motion video FMV games such(a) as the controversial Night Trap, which became a focus of the 1993 congressional hearings on issues of video game violence and ratings.

The Sega CD , , Popful Mail, and Snatcher, but also many Genesis ports and poorly received FMV games. The high price of the Sega CD was also a contributing element in its lack of success. Only 2.24 million Sega CD units were sold, after which Sega discontinued it to focus on the Sega Saturn. Retrospective reception has been mixed, with praise for some games and functions, but criticism for its dearth of deep games, high price, and lack of support from Sega. Sega's poor support for the Sega CD has been criticized as the beginning of the devaluation of its brand.

History

Released in 1988, the Genesis asked as the Mega Drive in most territories external of North America was Sega's programs into the fourth generation of video game consoles. In the early 1990s, Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske helped score the Genesis a success by cutting the price, development games for the American market with a new American team, continuing aggressive ad campaigns, and selling Sonic the Hedgehog with the Genesis as a pack-in game.

By the early 1990s, PC Engine CD-ROM² System add-on in October 1988 in Japan launched in North America as the TurboGrafx-CD the coming after or as a or done as a reaction to a question of. year, which sold 80,000 units in six months. That year, Nintendo announced a partnership with Sony to creation a CD-ROM peripheral for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System SNES. Commodore International released their CD-based CDTV multimedia system in early 1991, while the CD-i from Philips arrived later that year. According to Nick Thorpe of Retro Gamer, Sega would fall out to received criticism from investors and observers had it not developed a CD-ROM game system.

Shortly after the release of the Genesis, Sega's Consumer Products Research and development Labs, led by manager Tomio Takami, were tasked with devloping a CD-ROM add-on. It was originally refers to represent the capabilities of the TurboGrafx-CD, but with twice as much random-access memory RAM. In addition to relatively short loading times, Takami's team listed to implement hardware scaling and rotation similar to that of Sega's arcade games, which call a dedicated digitalprocessor. A custom graphics chip would implement these features, alongside an extra sound chip manufactured by Ricoh. According to Kalinske, Sega was ambitious about what CD-ROM technology would throw for video games, with its potential for "movie graphics", "rock and roll concert sound" and 3D animation.

Because the Genesis' Motorola 68000 CPU was too slow to handle the Sega CD's new graphical capabilities, an additional 68000 CPU was incorporated. ThisCPU has a clock speed of 12.5 MHz, faster than the 7.67 MHz CPU in the Genesis. Responding to rumors that NEC planned a memory improving to bring the TurboGrafx-CD RAM from 0.5 Mbit to between 2 and 4 Mbit, Sega increased the Sega CD's available RAM from 1 Mbit to 6 Mbit. This proved to be a technical challenge, since the Sega CD's RAM access speed was initially too gradual to run programs effectively, and the developers had to focus on increasing the speed. The estimated exist of the device rose to US$370, but market researchSega managers that consumers would be willing to pay more for a state-of-the-art machine. Sega partnered with JVC, which had been works with Warner New Media to establishment a CD player under the CD+G standard.

Sega of America was non informed of the project details until mid-1991. Despite being provided with preliminary technical documents earlier in the year, the American division was not given a functioning module to test. According to former executive producer Michael Latham, "When you work at a house company, there are matters that go alive and there are matters that don't. They didn't want to send us works Sega CD units. They wanted to send us dummies and not send us the working CD units until the last minute because they were concerned about what we would do with it and whether it would leak out. It was very frustrating."

Latham and Sega of America vice president of licensing Shinobu Toyoda assembled a functioning Sega CD by acquiring a ROM for the system and installing it in a dummy unit. The American staff were frustrated by the Sega CD's construction. Former senior producer Scot Bayless said: "[It] was intentional with a cheap, consumer-grade audio CD drive, not a CD-ROM. Quite late in the run-up to launch, the quality assurance teams started running into severe problems with many of the units—and when I say severe, I intend units literally bursting into flames. We worked around the clock, trying to catch the failure in-progress, and after about a week we finally realized what was happening." He said the problems were caused by the need for games to use more time-seeking data than the CD drive was intentional to provide.

As early as 1990, magazines were covering a CD-ROM expansion for the Genesis. Sega announced the release of the Mega-CD in Japan for late 1991, and North America as the Sega CD in 1992. It was unveiled to the public at the 1991 Tokyo Toy Show, to positive reception from critics, and at the Consumer Electronic Show in Chicago in mid-1991. It was released in Japan on December 12, 1991, initially retailing at JP¥49,800. Though the Mega-CD sold quickly, the small install base of the Mega Drive in Japan meant that sales declined rapidly. Within its first three months, the Mega-CD sold 200,000 units, but only sold an additional 200,000 over the next three years. Third-party game development suffered because Sega took a long time to release software development kits. Other factors affecting sales included the high launch price of the Mega-CD in Japan and only two games usable at launch, with only five published by Sega within the first year.

On October 15, 1992, the Mega-CD was released in North America as the Sega CD, with a retail price of US$299. advertisement included one of Sega's slogans, "Welcome to the Next Level". Though only 50,000 units were available at launch due to production problems, the Sega CD sold over 200,000 units by the end of 1992 and 300,000 by July 1993. As part of Sega's sales, Blockbuster LLC purchased Sega CD units for rental in their stores. Sega of America emphasized that the Sega CD's additional storage space makes for full-motion video FMV games, with Digital Pictures becoming an important partner. After the initial competition between Sega and Nintendo to develop a CD-based add-on, Nintendo canceled development of a CD add-on for the SNES after having partnered with Sony and then Philips to develop one.

The Mega-CD was launched in Europe in April 1993, starting with the United Kingdom on April 2, 1993, at a price of GB£269.99. The European representation was packaged with Sol-Feace and Cobra Command in a two-disc set, along with a compilation CD of five Mega Drive games. Only 70,000 units were initially available in the UK, but 60,000 units were sold by August 1993. The Mega-CD was released in Australia in March 1993. Brazilian toy agency Tectoy released the Sega CD in Brazil in October 1993, retaining the North American name despite the usage of the name Mega Drive for the base console there.

Sega released amodel, the Sega CD 2 Mega-CD 2, on April 23, 1993, in Japan. It was released in North America several months later, bundled with one of the bestselling Sega CD games, Sewer Shark. Designed to bring down the manufacturing costs of the Sega CD, the newer good example is smaller and does not use a motorized disc tray. A limited number of games were developed that used the Sega CD and another Genesis add-on, the 32X, released in November 1994.

On December 9, 1993, the United States Congress began hearings on video game violence and the marketing of violent video games to children. The Sega CD game Night Trap, an FMV adventure game by Digital Pictures, was at the center of debate. Night Trap had been brought to the attention of United States Senator Joe Lieberman, who said: "It ends with this attack scene on this woman in lingerie, in her bathroom. I know that the creator of the game said it was any meant to be a satire of Dracula; but nonetheless, I thought it sent out the wrong message." Lieberman's research concluded that the average video game player was between seven and twelve years old and that video game publishers were marketing violence to children.

In the United Kingdom, Night Trap was discussed in parliament. Former Sega Europe development director Mike Brogan noted that Night Trap brought Sega publicity, and helped reinforce Sega's abstraction as an "edgy company with attitude". Despite the increased sales, Sega recalled Night Trap and rereleased it with revisions in 1994. coming after or as a sum of. the congressional hearings, video game manufacturers came together in 1994 to establish a unified rating system, the Entertainment Software Rating Board.

By the end of 1993, sales of the Sega CD had stalled in Japan and were slowing in North America. In Europe, sales of Mega-CD games were outpaced by games for the Amiga CD32. Newer CD-based consoles such as the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer rendered the Sega CD technically obsolete, reducing public interest. In late 1993, less than a year after the Sega CD had launched in North America and Europe, the media reported that Sega was no longer accepting in-house development proposals for the Mega-CD in Japan. By 1994, 1.5 million units had been sold in the United States and 415,000 in Western Europe. Kalinske blamed the Sega CD's high price for limiting its potential market; Sega attempted to put value in the US and the UK by bundling more games, with some packages including up to five games.

In early 1995, Sega shifted its focus to the Sega Saturn and discontinued advertising for Genesis hardware, including the Sega CD. Sega discontinued the Sega CD in the first quarter of 1996, saying that it needed to concentrate on fewer platforms and that the Sega CD could not compete due to its high price and outdated single-speed drive. According to Thorpe, the Sega CD only reached a more popular price item in 1995, by which time customers were willing to wait for newer consoles. The last scheduled Sega CD games, ports of Myst and Brain Dead 13, were cancelled. 2.24 million Sega CD units were sold worldwide.