Question about the Genesis Launch

[NeoZeedeater]

You mean the GG Shinobi games weren't the best portable action games around? News to me.

The Shining Force, Sonic, and Mickey series' weren't high quality?

And the Aleste games weren't the best Japanese shooters on portable?

The GG didn't have quite as many games I liked as the Lynx or GB but it deserves credit for the stuff it did well. I don't think game quality was an issue for it.

[Bastardcat]

That's the problem, you can count all of the "Must Haves" on one(two if you count imports) hand.

[ItellYaHuat]

Hmm, actually . . . I'm a bit confused by that commercial, it features Joe Montanna (which wasn't released until January of 1991), which would imply that's a 1991 ad. (but it features the Altered Beast bundle still . . . or was that still the standard during early fall 1991?) And if it is 1991, that would be under Kalinske and not Katz too.

Yeah, I forgot about the "We Bring the Arcade Experience Home" ads. As for "Genesis Does", Michael Jackson's Moonwalker was released in 1990 so that may give some insight. MJ was featured in one of the later iterations of the commercial.

[Black_Tiger]

That's the problem, you can count all of the "Must Haves" on one(two if you count imports) hand.

People have different taste, but I prefer quality over quantity and Shining Force alone makes the Game Gear much more fun for me, let alone the other games I like that Gameboy doesn't have anything to match.

[Bastardcat]

I'm one of those nutty people who buy a console/handheld for more than a handful of games.
Its one of the reasons I never took up collecting the Atari 7800.

[NeoZeedeater]

That's the problem, you can count all of the "Must Haves" on one(two if you count imports) hand.

I didn't list every good game for the system. I guess everyone defines "must have" differently but I don't think a Game Boy game list of must haves would be very big either.

[ApolloBoy]

Its one of the reasons I never took up collecting the Atari 7800.

I take it you haven't been keeping up with the incredible homebrew scene for that system?

[Bastardcat]

No, not really. I did knock around one of the homebrew pages though.
I must say that "Beef Drop" is the funniest game title ever, considering its slang for slapping someone in the face with your junk.

[Gunstar Zero]

I want a Game Gear but seeing how horribly faded all the screens are now means I won't be getting one. I can't afford what these modders charge to get a brand new screen installed and I don't have the technical skill to do it myself.

[sheath]

I've seen a ton of Game Gears come and go and the only problem I have seen was the audio problem, which requires one capacitor replacement. It is actually the easiest repair I have ever done on an electronics device.

[eddiespruce]

I've seen a ton of Game Gears come and go and the only problem I have seen was the audio problem, which requires one capacitor replacement. It is actually the easiest repair I have ever done on an electronics device.

Unfortunately, most Game Gears now have video problems, like mine, where you have to hold it at a 90 degree angle just to see the picture. I would have replaced the caps on it by now, but I have no idea how to use a soldering iron.

[sheath]

I wouldn't experiment on a Game Gear either. I tried doing a full cap replacement on a completely broken one and ended up lifting the pads under one of the capacitors. I wasn't even confident that a full cap replacement would help, I just wanted the practice. The only way I have found to avoid this happening again is to heat the board simultaneously from both sides. But since these are surface mount caps I am not sure how that applies.

Caps on Master System's Genesis and Game Gears are relatively simple to replace, I just wouldn't want to change them all out with nothing but a soldering iron. I also wouldn't want to have to figure out which corresponding electrolytic capacitor works without some expert advice.

All that said, I thought holding a Game Gear at 45 degrees was normal, and all of the ones I have tested were fully playable at this angle.

[kool kitty89]

kool kitty89, although I have to admit that Revenge of Shinobi is a great game (it's my personal favorite game by a wide margin), quite possibly Golden Axe may have been a better option. If we consider both the male and female demographic, could Golden Axe appearl to both boys and girls alike?

If you mean due to the female characters in Golden Axe . . . I don't think that's really a big factor. (the big issue is the gameplay/genre in general . . . and in that case, I don't think either one fares particularly well for the average female gamer audience -kids or otherwise- -speaking in general/on average, I think puzzle games, some types of adventure/action-adventure/RPGs and run-and-jump style platform games were more appealing to women/girls -cutesie/cartoonie style graphics may help too on average -and I'm not talking "girl gamers" in the "hardcore/dedicated" "gamer" sense, but more average/casual game players typical of the time -or today for that matter)
And given run and jump platformers were the most universally popular at the time in general, that would (again) put Castle of Illusion near the top (prior to Sonic).

Alex Kidd fits the genre, but the actual quality of the game is the problem. (which wasn't the case with Miracle World)

Maybe, SEGA could have increased sales if they had to center their pack in game around a character that would appeal to both boys and girls. Mario was a cute character that was loved by kids of all ages! I imagine if you had to ask any young woman who owned a Nintendo product back in the day what was their favorite video game character at the time, I would half hazard a guess that most would say Mario.

Alex Kidd might have fit that with the right marketing . . . and with consistently good quality games in the series, but it got neither. (well, the SMS games were pretty popular in Europe)
They also didn't pack that in with the SMS until fairly late in its life.

And again, Sega could complement the common/standard pack-in with alternate arcade and sports pack bundles. (with the SMS or MD for that matter)
For that matter, the 7800 also had a lacking pack-in. (in terms of universal appeal of the available 1986 launch games, Ms Pac Man was probably the best -arguably old hat, but a very good version of a very popular game that remains a timeless classic -certainly a better choice than Pole Position II)

Touting the color screen was a smart move, but a smarter move would have been releasing higher quality games. Two things have always stopped me from owning a Game Gear: The terribly short battery life, and the fact that there is nothing on it I particularly find worth spending money on.

Take away all GB games released after ~1996 and all not published by Nintendo and you might get a more realistic comparison. (the more limited market share of the GG made 3rd party support inherently limited . . . and the GB's much longer life obviously extended the software advantage even further)

The battery life issue is a purely technical one though (as is the bulk), and something that could have been solid by around 1994/95 when reflective color LCD screen were reaching reasonable contrast levels for the GG's minimum needs. (so you'd have a smaller, cheaper, and much less power hungry system possible)
And with that technical limitation addressed (and resulting increase in competitiveness), the software support (and life span) would almost certainly improve considerably. (plus, with both lit and unlit models, you'd cater to both ends of the market -people who can't stand the dark screens and those who cant stand the poor battery life . . . on top of the color/graphics advantages)

Yeah, I forgot about the "We Bring the Arcade Experience Home" ads. As for "Genesis Does", Michael Jackson's Moonwalker was released in 1990 so that may give some insight. MJ was featured in one of the later iterations of the commercial.

They were definitely running Genesis Does ads in 1990, but my question was whether that specific ad (with the free game offers) was from 1991. (if it was from 1990, then I guess it would be for pre-ordering Joe Montana -which I believe ended up delayed until January of 1991)

The $30 rebate ad should definitely be from 1990 though. (so, pack-ins aside, the Genesis had -at least temporarily- been dropped to $159.99 under Katz)

[sheath]

I got a free game with my launch Genesis in 1989. I think Katz was responsible for launching the Genesis and was replaced by Kalinske when it didn't sell a million in one year. I am pretty sure that the Genesis Does campaign was Katz' swan song at Sega. I could open up this book over here to check, but it's all the way over there.

[Bastardcat]

Take away all GB games released after ~1996 and all not published by Nintendo and you might get a more realistic comparison.

Yeah, if you're going to put Nintendo's first party handheld games against Sega's first party handheld games of that era, it is still a one sided fight in Nintendo's favor.