Sega and Sony: New Insight into the Partnership That Never Came to Be

That second ad is not from September 1994. It’s not even showing the newer clamshell model that launched in October of 1993 for $229. My cousin sold his SNES in December of 1994, got a Genesis and my aunt got him a SEGA CD for $99. He wanted one, after seeing all of the games I’d brought home with me, along with the SEGA CD. I most certainly did not pay $229 for it and had it for quite some time.

I looked through all of my EGM and Gamefan magazines from October 1993 to December 1994. People weren’t even advertising selling prices for the SEGA CD in the later half of 1994, and had moved on. There were still plenty of ads for Working Designs SEGA CD games, along with reviews for upcoming games.

TA, I don’t know why you are trying to deflect by bringing up RAM prices for the Saturn. Your original point on why the Saturn was more expensive was because of the CD drive, while I pointed out that the CD drive wasn’t the main reason. The Saturn only has 512KB more RAM than the PlayStation and the SEGA CD, itself, has 756KB of RAM. Even with the 68k, scaling hardware, 1Mb of ROM and 6Mb of RAM, SEGA was selling the SEGA CD for $229 in October of 1993.

But, if you want a more apples to apples comparison, the Jag CD used a Philips 2x speed CD drive, came with 2 games and was sold for $150 in September of 1995. I doubt Atari got a better deal on double speed CD Rom drives with only 20,000 units, over what SEGA got for orders in the millions.

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Originally Posted by gamevet

That second ad is not from September 1994. It’s not even showing the newer clamshell model that launched in October of 1993 for $229. My cousin sold his SNES in December of 1994, got a Genesis and my aunt got him a SEGA CD for $99. He wanted one, after seeing all of the games I’d brought home with me, along with the SEGA CD. I most certainly did not pay $229 for it and had it for quite some time.

I looked through all of my EGM and Gamefan magazines from October 1993 to December 1994. People weren’t even advertising selling prices for the SEGA CD in the later half of 1994, and had moved on. There were still plenty of ads for Working Designs SEGA CD games, along with reviews for upcoming games.

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You're really going to insist that Sega released the Sega CD Model 2 in the latter half of 1993 for $229 and within 6 months dropped the price to $99? Really? Because something about your cousin?

You must not have looked very hard at those ads. Here is a brief selection:

GamePro 12/94:

http://u.cubeupload.com/gryson/GamePro129401.jpg

http://u.cubeupload.com/gryson/GamePro129402.jpg

EGM 11/94:

http://u.cubeupload.com/gryson/EGM119402.jpg

http://u.cubeupload.com/gryson/EGM119401.jpg

Prices from $219 to $229. All other system prices listed there are accurate. There are many more ads showing this, but I think the point is clear. Retailers were selling the Sega CD for over $200 at the end of 1994. I don't really care what you remember your cousin paying for his.

I said my cousin got his for $99 in December of 1994. That’s 14 months after the $229 launch of the SEGA CD2.

Also, I’ve been sick all week, so I haven’t had the luxury of nerding out for hours through my magazines after work to prove a silly point. I’d spent about an hour briskly looking through EGM and Gamefan yesterday, and there was no way I was going to drag out a 50 pound bin to look through my Gamepro issues. I haven’t even had the energy to play a fuckin’ game.

If you aren't sure, can you refrain from stating as fact that the Sega CD's drive was super cheap to manufacture? That doesn't seem to be the case at all.

And you said, last page:

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Originally Posted by gamevet

The model 2 launched in October of 1993 with a suggested retail price of $229, which I believe was in place to help move the unsold model 1 units. I recall getting mine in very late 1993 (with Lunar:TSS) for $149 and I believe by early spring of 1994, they were dropped down to $99.

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By the way, you were the one to initiate discussion of this "silly point". And I agree - it's silly to suggest that the Sega CD was $99 in 1994.

Also, all of these scans are readily available online:

https://retrocdn.net/Category:Electr..._Monthly_scans

Took about 3 minutes to find the necessary info.

The Sega CD was bizarre itself. Sega stopped internally accepting bids for new Sega CD software in late 1993, a few months after the Sega CD2 launched in Japan. What was the point of redesigning the hardware then??!

The PSX was easier to manufacture, but I don't think it would've thrived as it did if Sony had to buy everything instead of manufacturing in-house like Sega did. Sony was huge back then. The custom-designed fast (inaccurate) GPU in the PSX was the smoking gun. The engineering and architecture of the PSX won the market, not anything else IMO, just like the Genesis. The things Saturn was good at didn't matter.

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Originally Posted by gamevet

That second ad is not from September 1994. It’s not even showing the newer clamshell model that launched in October of 1993 for $229. My cousin sold his SNES in December of 1994, got a Genesis and my aunt got him a SEGA CD for $99. He wanted one, after seeing all of the games I’d brought home with me, along with the SEGA CD. I most certainly did not pay $229 for it and had it for quite some time.

I looked through all of my EGM and Gamefan magazines from October 1993 to December 1994. People weren’t even advertising selling prices for the SEGA CD in the later half of 1994, and had moved on. There were still plenty of ads for Working Designs SEGA CD games, along with reviews for upcoming games.

TA, I don’t know why you are trying to deflect by bringing up RAM prices for the Saturn. Your original point on why the Saturn was more expensive was because of the CD drive, while I pointed out that the CD drive wasn’t the main reason. The Saturn only has 512KB more RAM than the PlayStation and the SEGA CD, itself, has 756KB of RAM. Even with the 68k, scaling hardware, 1Mb of ROM and 6Mb of RAM, SEGA was selling the SEGA CD for $229 in October of 1993.

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All CD-based system needed RAM to store and hold the data and in the early '90s that was very expensive and that was reflected in the high cost of all CD-based systems around in the mid to early 90's. CD drive and RAM was not cheap in those days.
Maybe you need to flick through those EGM mag's again and you might be surprised at the list price of the SEGA CD because with the greatest of respect, yes it's from September 1994 .

https://i.imgur.com/hY4Tk0X.jpg

That image you posted TA was not from that issue, even if you are showing me the cover. It never showed the old image of the SEGA CD Model 1 in the ad.

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Originally Posted by Gryson

If you aren't sure, can you refrain from stating as fact that the Sega CD's drive was super cheap to manufacture? That doesn't seem to be the case at all.

And you said, last page:



By the way, you were the one to initiate discussion of this "silly point". And I agree - it's silly to suggest that the Sega CD was $99 in 1994.

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Yes, and I also said I was a little off on my date with my initial comment. I damn sure know my Aunt didn't pay $229 for a Sega CD in December of 1994. They were lower middle class.

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Also, all of these scans are readily available online:

Took about 3 minutes to find the necessary info.

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Why look at scans, when I readily have EGM and Gamefan Magazines readily available in order on my shelf? Like, I said, I was pretty ill and it was tough enough to even look through my mags for an hour, before having to rest. Thursday was the 1st time I'd turned on my computer that week. The only other response I made was from my phone, while at work.

With that being said, using Chips & Bits as a reliable source for pricing is just wrong. Those ass monkeys were trying to sell the Sega CD in March of 1996 for $229. Are you even familiar with that company's history?

December 1995
http://www.sega-16.com/forum/attachm...5&d=1557019127

March 1996
http://www.sega-16.com/forum/attachm...4&d=1557019154

And, look at the price of the Atari Jaguar CD, that also came with 2 free games. It's amazing how Atari could somehow sell a CD unit with a 2X speed Philips CD player along with 2 games for ($150) so cheap. They have must have had some magic deal with Philips to get that CD drive for their device for so cheap. There's no way Sega was paying more than a $100 for the CD ROM drive in the Saturn by 1995, and why was the 32X (with its 2 CPU setup) more expensive than the Jag CD? I think that the answer is pretty clear.

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Originally Posted by gamevet

With that being said, using Chips & Bits as a reliable source for pricing is just wrong. Those ass monkeys were trying to sell the Sega CD in March of 1996 for $229. Are you even familiar with that company's history?

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Which is why I posted other ads that confirm it... And there are more, but I think the point is made. You, on the other hand, have yet to present a single piece of evidence to support a $99 price tag on the Sega CD in 1994 (and no, your aunt being lower middle class is NOT evidence).

It is truly amazing how many times on this forum I have seen you presented with clear evidence contrary to what you're saying, yet you simply refuse to acknowledge that you are wrong. It's almost impressive, in a twisted sort of way.

Edit: Just because I'm curious how you're going to explain away all of this:

JCPenney 1994 Christmas catalog (p. 591):

http://u.cubeupload.com/gryson/JCPenneyChristmas94.jpg

http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1994_J...asCatalog/#590

I did find a Toys R Us catalog from Christmas 1995 that shows the Sega CD at $99. Maybe you've got your years confused?

I'm not going to try explain it away.

I can say with most certainty that I'm not confusing years, because I sold off my entire Sega CD collection to Die Hard GameClub in August of 1995, to buy an Action Replay and the import version of Wing Arms for my Saturn. DHG gave me a pitiful $30 in credit towards my Sega CD2 and a woeful $15 for Snatcher.

I bought a CDX for $400 CAD in July of 1994.

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Originally Posted by gamevet

That image you posted TA was not from that issue, even if you are showing me the cover.

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I do some times wonder what's the point. You've yet to post a document that shows the list price of a SEGA CD below $99 and all CD-based systems at that time cost a lot of money, even the Duo which was based on old tech.

Let's have a look at June 1994 Gamefan

https://i.imgur.com/6v2jhae.jpg







And in the UK in March 1994 this was the price one had to pay for the Mega CD (and mail order made it cheaper too)

https://i.imgur.com/7qhCN4H.jpg


Not cheap at all. Unless you want to post links mid-1995 when shops were looking to sell discounted stock

I don't really know who's arguing which side, but for the sake of reference here's a post made on February 13, 1994 in rec.games.video.3do.

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The Jaguar will drop to $200 around June. The Sega CD is currently priced
at $225 or so, and the Genesis itself is $80-$90.

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Like, I said, I was pretty ill and it was tough enough to even look through my mags for an hour, before having to rest. Thursday was the 1st time I'd turned on my computer that week. The only other response I made was from my phone, while at work.

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Sorry to hear that.

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Originally Posted by Blades

The Sega CD was bizarre itself. Sega stopped internally accepting bids for new Sega CD software in late 1993, a few months after the Sega CD2 launched in Japan. What was the point of redesigning the hardware then??!

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That can't be true or was it just in the USA? Core was happily making a new software in 1994 with the announcement of Soul Star and BC racers. You also had Eternal Champions, the USA release of Lunar II, The Adventures of Batman & Robin, Dracula Unleashed, Flink, Fahrenheit, coming late 1994 to 1995.

And in keeping in the thread, maybe magazine speculation like this is what got SEGA spooked and made that call

https://i.imgur.com/NBDzkNo.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5jnfqVX.jpg

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Originally Posted by Team Andromeda

I do some times wonder what's the point. You've yet to post a document that shows the list price of a SEGA CD below $99 and all CD-based systems at that time cost a lot of money, even the Duo which was based on old tech.

Let's have a look at June 1994 Gamefan

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Dude, I was pointing out that whatever Chips & Bits ad you had posted, did not match how it appeared in that month's issue of EGM, nothing more.


You still haven't acknowledged the point I had brought up about Atari's Jag CD having a 2X speed drive, bundled with 2 games and it was only $150. It came out around the time when the US Saturn was originally planned to launch. 2x speed CD ROM drives were actually getting phased out for quad speed drives (PC) in 1995.

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/13/s...t-survive.html

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Originally Posted by nytimes

"By the end of 1995, most computers will ship with quad-speed drives," said Bruce Ryon, an analyst at Dataquest Inc., a market research company in San Jose, Calif. "Most of the manufacturers have stopped making double-speed drives already."

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