New vs Old?

[Dirk Funk]

Red Stripe: Defines the brand. You see a game with no red stripe, no obvious genesis markings and you see just that, a game. You see a game with a red stripe on it saying Genesis and you immediately relate the game to the Genesis.

This.

Also, Sega had to color code their products for consumers so they didn't try to plug a 32X game into a Genesis or a Sega CD into their Genesis. The Red, Yellow, and Blue made it easy enough for the most simple of simpletons to understand.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

Don't forget the Striped pattern was also used on US Saturn games (Gray and White).

[Obviously]

Getting rid of the grid might have also had something to do with the SNES using black on their box spines.

[Guntz]

Yep, color coding is pretty useful I'd say.

Genesis = Red
Sega CD = Blue
32X = Yellow (best IMO)
Game Gear = Pink
Saturn = White

Now all we needed was a black and grey stripe to make it complete.

[108 Stars]

yeah, pink definately made it so much cooler to buy Game Gear games.^^

Nah, you´re all wrong. The black/white grid does not look dated at all imo, it´s pure awesomenes.

The stripes always remind me of the Gameboy, which had the grey stripe.

[tz101]

Yep, color coding is pretty useful I'd say.

Genesis = Red
Sega CD = Blue
32X = Yellow (best IMO)
Game Gear = Pink
Saturn = White

Now all we needed was a black and grey stripe to make it complete.

They still had green, orange, and fuscia to go, yet they opted for no stripes with Dreamcast. Maybe this is s hint to Sega's secret hardware re-entry plan. After all, they have not exhausted their colored stripe options...

[TheFace]

I always thought of the GG as purple.

[Guntz]

Or Sega as a whole could be too in love with laundering piles of money off garbage games to bother spending more than $0 to make a decent game system with acceptable marketing.

SegaSammy can go to hell for all I care. I realize that as long as they keep their current management staff around, Sega's good name will continue to be crapped upon.

[kool kitty89]

The model 2 was for cost reduction (as had been done on the Model 1 many times already -with the final model revision VA7 motherboard being virtually identical to the early model 2 boards -a slightly different shape, kept the headphone jack, had only mono AV out with the old DIN8 connector, and used the old power supply connector/polarity, but the board was smaller and used mostly the same custom chips and other components -RAM, 68k, Z80- as the early model 2s -it's the only model 1 to use a PLLC package 68k), but it was also a new look and a more convenient compact size and form factor. (especially handy in context of the Sega CD)

The consolidation has nothign to do with changes in audio and video quality though. In fact, the Sega clone of the YM2612 embedded in the VDP ASIC is BETTER than the yamaha one (no bugs, higher res DAC with less noise, etc), but the problem comes from external analog amp/mixing circuitry used on the model 2s. (that's also why CCAM works as it does -replaces the crappy amps Sega used- and why late model 2s and model 3s sound pretty good -better amps/mixing circuits)

Oddly, Sega briefly went back to using a discrete YM2612 for the VA2/2.3 model 2 revisions (the YM2612 may still be in the VDP as well -for common production), but I'm not sure why they did that. (it seems to imply they recognized the audio problems but had problems fixing it on the analog side -which seems rather odd in general and I'm not sure why using a discrete YM2612 would help things -and the VA2/2.3 screwed up PSG volume too and that's no good -it's also un-CCAM-able)

Yep, color coding is pretty useful I'd say.

Genesis = Red
Sega CD = Blue
32X = Yellow (best IMO)
Game Gear = Pink
Saturn = White

Now all we needed was a black and grey stripe to make it complete.

Mega Drive in Europe was blue too though.

[tehflah]

Oddly, Sega briefly went back to using a discrete YM2612 for the VA2/2.3 model 2 revisions (the YM2612 may still be in the VDP as well -for common production), but I'm not sure why they did that. (it seems to imply they recognized the audio problems but had problems fixing it on the analog side -which seems rather odd in general and I'm not sure why using a discrete YM2612 would help things -and the VA2/2.3 screwed up PSG volume too and that's no good -it's also un-CCAM-able)

Random guy in Sega parts warehouse: "Oh shit Bill, I just popped open that unlabeled crate in the back and found these..."

*Holds up handfuls of YM2612 chips.

Bill: "Oh man, we better go use them in something..."

And thus, the random smattering of leftover parts in Genesis model 2's began...

;p

~FlaH

[ItellYaHuat]

They still had green, orange, and fuscia to go...

They used green (or teal, whatever) for the Genesis 3 along with the peripherals (I don't have a picture of the controller box on me).

[retrospiel]

I think the theory about them noticing the problems with the early model 2s but not knowing how to fix it seems to be among the more plausible scenarios. It does require them to test the naked hardware parts under laboratory conditions only though, and never with the final product.

[Guntz]

Mega Drive in Europe was blue too though.

Oh hush! So what if in some unknown country it was given a contradicting color. Everybody knows only the U-S-A matters on this planet. That's why Sega called it the Genesis first. Then they had to call the console "Megadriver" in backwards countries that couldn't understand what Genesis meant.

EVERYBODY WITH ME!! YOU ESS EH! YOU ESS EH!

[BLAST PROCESSOR]

I think the grid design looked ust classy, and I absolutely prefer it from blue stripe/red stripe designs of later years.

Classy, you mean like your signature photos?

[Obviously]

They used green (or teal, whatever) for the Genesis 3 along with the peripherals (I don't have a picture of the controller box on me).

I like how it's still called the core system even though none of the add-ons work with it so what's the point? What is it the core of exactly?