the myth of the sega cd

[Black_Tiger]

The saturn is a great system but I really like low-tech cd based systems, the pc engine cd is my favourite cd console just because it's so weak it can't even do fmv.

It doesn't require strength to handle fmv. The SNES could do fmv just fine. The PCE CD is the same speed as the Sega-CD and can do fmv at a higher color count than the Genesis can do graphics at all.

[Sean697]

Sherlock Holmes consulting detective on Turbo Cd. FMV.

[retro nick]

Sherlock Holmes consulting detective on Turbo Cd. FMV.

Was about to say the this. I prefer system generated visuals though.

[Da_Shocker]

Churning out FMV games on the SCD with 64 colors was a bad idea. And SCD library I think only 18-22 of the games were FMV games. But SoA did market the hell out of them and magazines were praising them for releasing FMV games.

I luv this site right here

http://www.superpcenginegrafx.net/blueshadows1.html

[Drakon]

FMV was all the rage back then. I remember buying wing commander 3 the ultimate in fmv-ness and regretting it not long after. I'm not going to hate on an early cd system for having a lot of fmv stuff. I'll just avoid fmv titles and find the good stuff for the segacd which IS out there.

[bultje112]

This is ridiculous. The senate hearings had no effect on SCD at all. SCD failed because no one gave a flying fuck about FMV. And much less about FMV in 16 colors, at 20fps and in a tiny 110x55 window.

absolute bullshit. the senate hearings during christmas 93, gave the sega cd a horrible image, which it never recovered from. sega genesis had the same problem, but it already had a huge consumer base, still post 1993, the genesis took a big hit as well.

[Chilly Willy]

absolute bullshit. the senate hearings during christmas 93, gave the sega cd a horrible image, which it never recovered from. sega genesis had the same problem, but it already had a huge consumer base, still post 1993, the genesis took a big hit as well.

This is absolute bullshit. If anything, the Senate hearings HELPED FMV by making people aware that there were "cool" games out with FMV. After all, if the Senators hated them, they HAD to be good!!

I never looked twice at Night Trap until after the hearings, at which point I rushed out to find a copy.

[Black_Tiger]

So then the senate hearings must have caused Mortal Kombat II to bomb so bad that it was the last game in the series.

[GohanX]

FMV was all the rage back then. I remember buying wing commander 3 the ultimate in fmv-ness and regretting it not long after. I'm not going to hate on an early cd system for having a lot of fmv stuff. I'll just avoid fmv titles and find the good stuff for the segacd which IS out there.

Which version of WC3 were you playing? IMO, the PS1 version kinda sucked, the PC version was decent and the 3do version was awesome, although missing some stuff from the PC game.

[bultje112]

This is absolute bullshit. If anything, the Senate hearings HELPED FMV by making people aware that there were "cool" games out with FMV. After all, if the Senators hated them, they HAD to be good!!

I never looked twice at Night Trap until after the hearings, at which point I rushed out to find a copy.

night trap thanked it good sales on teh hearings yes, same with mortal kombat. but keep in midn videogamign was still 90% parents buying for their kids and you see why it hurt so much. I suggest you read the history of videogames by steven kent

[Drakon]

PC version, and I hated it.

Which version of WC3 were you playing? IMO, the PS1 version kinda sucked, the PC version was decent and the 3do version was awesome, although missing some stuff from the PC game.

[Black_Tiger]

night trap thanked it good sales on teh hearings yes, same with mortal kombat. but keep in midn videogamign was still 90% parents buying for their kids and you see why it hurt so much. I suggest you read the history of videogames by steven kent

How can anyone come up with a number like that? By polling 1% of the population? I was 15/16 years old at the time and bought myself over 90% of my 16-bit games. All the teens and adults into games that I knew of also bought most of their own games. Most younger kids in my hometown had much fewer games too, because they couldn't buy anything and parents don't buy new games for their kids for no good reason.

[retrospiel]

eep in midn videogamign was still 90% parents buying for their kids and you see why it hurt so much

I agree with you on this statement. I just don't think it had much effect on SCD sales in light of 10 billion of other mistakes they made in regards to SCD.

But I agree the Senate hearings would come to haunt them later, so yeah, let's step back as to why Sega got successful with Genesis. At the launch of the Genesis the general public perceived Sega as a better, more American, more mature version of Nintendo. At that time the media had demonized Nintendo to the point where they were seen about as bad as the Japanese Mafia.
The moment Sega had the upper hand however they did everything in their power to ruin their own image as a manufacturer of quality hard- and software. They flooded the market with shovelware (which they published under their own name no less), sent out mixed signals about their future directions in regards to hardware (CDs, FMV, Activator, Virtual Reality glasses, 32X - on cartridges!, Saturn), produced TV commercials that were insulting the customers (see SCD commercials), and generally came off like greedy bastards (not only) during the Senate hearings.
By the time Sega launched their 32X and Saturn campaigns resp., they had basically weeded out anyone who was not a die-hard fan of Sega's hard- and software. Everyone else played Super Nintendo, Windows PC and PlayStation.

[StarMist]

But I agree the Senate hearings would come to haunt them later, so yeah, let's step back as to why Sega got successful with Genesis. At the launch of the Genesis the general public perceived Sega as a better, more American, more mature version of Nintendo. At that time the media had demonized Nintendo to the point where they were seen about as bad as the Japanese Mafia.

I approve this perception. It's hard to see the court ruling against Nintendo's "illegal" 3rd party practices as anything but an inroads for American video game business. Nintendo's exclusivity restrictions were scarcely different from any music publisher's deals with his recording artists. Sega in turn brought EA to the fore and had their own sports division so they became the American choice for those who viewed things nationalistically.

[Moirai]

You know what the sega CD needed to be more successful in the US?

MOAR SPORTS GAMES!