Memories of Winter 89

[DeckardBr]

As a new forum poster (I guess we're all showing up in January!) I thought I'd share some of my memories of being a first gen Genesis adopter to this great site.

In August 1989, the gaming scene consisted of the Nes, an 8 bit console, the sega master system, which wasn't being sold or sold at discount, and the commodre 64 computer which was a great 8 bit gaming machine. The must have system though was the Amiga.

The Amiga was a 16 bit computer built off the 680000 processor. It was amazing graphically and the arcade ports looked great. But it had a pretty
high price tag at the time ($600 to $1,000) so it was out of reach of many including my family.

But that August, the JC Penny or Sears holiday catalog came out. It was always fun to look through the catalog to see what cool new stuff
was coming out. Towards the back were all the gaming consoles. And there it was. Sega Genesis. 16 bit. 680000 processor And screenshots of about 12 games. The Turbo Grafix was in the same catalog but was nowhere as impressive, just by looking at the games they were showing.

The games from that catalog I remember distinctly were Space Harrier 2, Ghouls and Ghosts, Super Hang On and Thunder Blade. I'm blanking
on the others as it was so long ago but I probably remember those from staring at them so long.

I convinced my dad to get me the genesis for my birthday which was luckily in September. I guess he knew I had wanted the amiga for so long that this was the next best thing and cheaper. I had called around and the local Toys R Us had it. I'm not sure why we didn't order it from the catalog, probably because I wanted it immediately. We picked up the genesis and Space Harrier 2.

I have many fond memories of the genesis. Sonic, Flashback, Rolling Thunder 2...an amazing system. I never picked up a snes as I never felt I needed it. Over the years I read on alot of sites how amazing the snes was but going back and playing the games, the genesis to me had the much stronger lineup. I eventually bought a nomad as well. What was so awesome about the Nomad was by the time it came out all the genesis games were discounted, so I was able to catch up on tons of games that were too expensive or I didn't bother to rent etc.

So I've been lurking here abit, realizing I had one of the "HD graphics" models. Playing some genesis and sega cd games lately, its almost tough going back to the next gen ps 3 titles. They just aren't the same.


Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear some of your stories if your not bored with sharing them.

[JAFP78]

Welcome!

One quick memory I´ve got from the time I got the Mega Drive is that at first I tought at the time the Master System was superior
I guess it was the name..."Master", luckly my parents did give us (it was my little brother´s also) the Mega Drive.

Besides that, because at the time the Mega Games cart was not avaiable instead we got World Cup Italia 90, Super Hang On and Last battle all in their own boxes, besides Sonic of course. I later liked columns but at the time coming from old tvgames Last Battle was a very cool game and I still played a lot of columns because my cousin bought also a Megadrive shortly after and his did come with the Mega Games cart

[Zz Badnusty]

But that August, the JC Penny or Sears holiday catalog came out. It was always fun to look through the catalog to see what cool new stuff
was coming out. Towards the back were all the gaming consoles. And there it was. Sega Genesis. 16 bit. 680000 processor And screenshots of about 12 games. The Turbo Grafix was in the same catalog but was nowhere as impressive, just by looking at the games they were showing.

Did the department store catalog actually detail that the system had a 68000 processor?
That would be pretty impressive if they did!

I don't ever remember tech specs being prominent, or published at all, in general advertisements.
Now of course enthusiast magazines like Computer Gaming & Entertainment were certainly known for being a bit more informative.

---

And thinking back, my memories of winter of '89 were that after Thanksgiving the television advertisements for TG16 and Genesis really hit a fever pitch. I was still undecided which console I wanted for Christmas and was busy asking my videogaming peers for their opinions. Many stores had display kiosks and I was frequently dragged away from one by my mother who wanted to continue on with her shopping.

That autumn (of '89) a new strip-mall was built in a huge farm field near our house, a "Wall to Wall Sound and Video" was one of the stores which opened in time for the holiday sales rush. Being a 5-10 minute bicycle ride from my house I went there many weekends to play the Genesis and TG-16 displays. Strangely I don't remember what game was on the Genesis display, though I imagine it must have been Altered Beast. Keith Courage in Alpha Zones was the TG-16 game, and the one that I spent the most time with.

I ended up not receiving a console for Christmas (my parents have always dis-approved of videogames), and it was up to me to save up enough money to purchase a console. It wasn't until early February that I able to purchase my very own game console (grew up with my brother's Atari 5200).

I remember being very interested in the TG-16, and I distinctly remember all the accessories for the TG-16 being the deciding factor to go with the Genesis. The TG-16 required an accessory for multilayer games, an accessory for "enhanced sound and video", and of course the advertised CD-ROM drive.

It was a bright and sunny day that February 7th when I purchased my Genesis from Toys R Us for a hefty $201.39. As soon as I got home I called up my friends in the neighborhood and we all sat around on the carpet in my parents living room playing Altered Beast.
I can't remember exactly how quickly, but I do remember the disappointment when we completed the game that very afternoon.
My brand new system didn't offer nearly the gameplay or challenge that we experienced sitting around playing NES games.

[Zz Badnusty]

....and Welcome to the forums!

[DeckardBr]

Thanks for the greetings! Nice that you caught my screenname, one of my favorite movies ever.

Thats a good question on whether the catalog mentioned the 680000 processor. At that time I was reading lots of computer magazines (the commodore ones) so I may have recognized the 16 bit label and the graphics and assumed it was 680000, its been too long now. I wouldn't be surprised if the product description had it. It was a two page spread. The left page showed the Genesis itself and the master system adapter. The second page on the right was all the game screenshots.

Last Battle was definitely in that ad, I had forgotten that game. Not sure about Keith Courage. I may have to start hunting to see if I can find that ad anywhere on line, I'll post it if I find it.

The tv ads I think started October for Genesis, definitely after launch and not before. I know for sure the Turbo Grafix ads were first. We didn't have cable so not sure if the sega ads appeared there before regular tv.

[AngelaBelmont]

Hello and welcome! I like your name. Blade Runner is a great movie.

[DeckardBr]

This is the closest I came to finding the ad. Its the 1990 entry from the Sears catalog. The 1989 is just not on the internet that I could find.

The pictures at the bottom of the ad for Tommy Lasorda Baseball, Super Thunder Blade, Ghouls and Ghosts, Last Battle, World Soccer, and Space Harrier 2 are all reused from the 1989 ad, same screenshots. The rest are screenshots of new games for that year.

http://www.huguesjohnson.com/feature...nesis_full.jpg

[Orchid87]

I envy you guys because I haven't got Genesis until like 1993

[genesisguy]

Winter of '89? I was 7 years old and had absolutely no idea the Genesis existed. It wasn't until I played Sonic 1 at a friends house that I finally heard of Sega. 1989 I was still burried in the NES.

[Olls]

I cried a little after reading the OP.

[Mista_Ed]

reading the OP(P)

..yeh, you know me

reading the OP(P)

..yeh, you know me!

reading the OP(P)

....yeh, you know me!!

whos reading the OP(P)

.....every last homie!!!!

[Mr Smith]

I got my first real 6-string,
bought it at the five and dime,
Played it 'til my fingers bled,
Was the winter of '89... bugger, wrong year

[gavica]

I got mine in 93 too I think

[Tasuke]

i too am a 1st gen Genny adopter. got mine, X-mas of '89, with the pack in, ALTERED BEAST, and one of the launch titles, THUNDER FORCE II. that was actually my very first experience with video games!

welcome!!

[old man]

Dammit I forgot my meme. It's cars for I'm-a-here threads.