Sega CDThe arrival of the
Sega CD was announced in the U.S. in September 1991, an entire year
in advance of its actual release date. Nintendo had just released
the Super NES and Sega was proclaiming the superiority of the
Genesis console to consumers. Sega contended that with the
introduction of the Sega CD, the Genesis would become the system of
the future.
In October 1991, the Sega CD was released as the "Mega-CD" in Japan
where the Genesis was called the "Mega-Drive." It initially retailed
for $380. Adding to its appeal to consumers in the East, Sega
engineered the Mega-CD system to play karaoke CDs.
On October 15, 1992, the Sega CD was finally released in American
stores. Its original retail price was $299. It sat underneath the
Genesis console and featured a front-loading CD tray. Though they
both contained the same 68000 microprocessor, the Sega CD ran at
12.5 MHz, a full 5 MHz faster than the Genesis. Working in
conjunction, the two processors virtually eliminated any pauses for
loading.
Two graphics chips in the Sega CD introduced scaling and rotation to
Genesis games (the Super NES was also capable of this). It doubled
the Genesis' available RAM and could also play sound right off of
the CD-ROM.
The original pack-in titles included: Shinobi, Streets of Rage,
Columns, Golden Axe, Sherlock Holmes, Sol Feace, a music sampler and
a karaoke CD+G (Compact Disc + Graphics) sampler. Sega sold 200,000
units in 1992.
In 1993, Sega released the Sega CD 2. It was built to sit alongside
the Genesis in a specially designed extension plate. In place of the
motor-driven front loading tray, the Sega CD 2 featured a
top-loading lid that players manually raised to insert a game. This
feature helped lower the retail price to $229.
In September 1994, JVC released the X'Eye system in the United
States. Called the Wondermega in Japan, the X'Eye was a Sega CD and
Genesis combined into one console. It sold for $500 and was packaged
with both Compton's Multimedia Encyclopedia and Prize Fighter, and a
CD+G disc. Sega's utimate strategy in working with JVC was to
introduce its system to a more adult crowd. Sega wanted the X'Eye to
be placed on shelves alongside laser disc players or computers,
while the Genesis would be found near the Super NES in the toy
department.
The success of the Sega CD was hurt by the lack of quality games.
One reason for this is that Sega delayed access to development kits
to third party designers before the system was released. Many Sega
CD games turned out to be mere variations of their cartridge
counterparts, with a few extra levels, CD-quality music and full
motion video.
With the CD format's huge storage capacity, Sega of America chose to
explore new territory with its game development. Sega put a heavy
emphasis on the design of interactive movies and games based on full
motion video. While this idea may have seemed groundbreaking at the
time, it never generated overwhelming consumer interest.
In 1995, Sega changed its focus to the release of the 32-bit CD-ROM
based Saturn system. It discontinued all advertising for the Sega
CD, and in early 1996 Sega announced its discontinuation.
Over 140 game titles were released in the U.S.
— Dave Beuscher
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