Difference between revisions of "Sega Channel"

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Revision as of 06:04, 20 August 2011

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Sega Channel
Made for: Sega Mega Drive
Manufacturer: Sega, Scientific Atlanta, General Instrument

Sega Channel was a project developed by Sega for the Sega Mega Drive video game console. The idea was that for a monthly subscription, gamers would get a special adapter for the console, which, once connected to their cable television connection would provide them with unlimited access to over fifty downloadable Mega Drive games, with new games appearing every two weeks. The games would be downloaded in about a minute and play just like the normal versions. Though available in other regions of the world, the Sega Channel saw the most success in North America, mostly due to a lack of competition from Nintendo and heavy advertising of the service.

As well as games, Sega also ran several promotions through the service. Special previews for up-and-coming titles were provided; some import games not found in the United States were exclusive to the service and cheats and tips were handed out. Within the first two years, the Sega Channel was distributed to over 20 million homes in North America.

The Sega Channel service began in 1994, but by 1996, Sega rolled out a new "wireless" version of the Sega Channel too, which lasted about a year. The entire Sega Channel service was shut down on July 31, 1998 because by this point the Mega Drive was seen as obsolete and its successor, the Sega Saturn did not take advantage of the service.

In North America (and possibly other regions), the music used across the Sega Channel was composed by John Baker, who had supplied the music for ToeJam & Earl. Much of the Sega Channel's graphical style is similar to that game.

International

The service was also available in some parts of the United Kingdom, Canada, South America, and Japan on certain cable services. For one reason or another it failed to pick up as much steam as in North America, and was abandoned much sooner.

In Japan, the Sega Channel had a unique BIOS screen featuring Sonic the Hedgehog, and some exclusive content made for that region, including Dyna Brothers 2 Special. This game was eventually released on the Wii's Virtual Console. Another game that is seemingly connected to the Sega Chanel, Game no Kanzume Otokuyou, was discovered in the Sega Dreamcast online disc, Dream Passport 3.

List of Games

(Note: List is preliminary. As little has survived from the days of Sega Channel and no official list has been released, games may be missing.)

Demo Cartridges

Early Sega Channel logo, seen in Demo Cartridge #1.

In addition to retail Sega Channel units, a number of prototype "demo cartridges" have also been spotted. As the name suggests, the demo cartridges exist to demonstrate what the Sega Channel service was intending to offer, though none physically connect to the Sega Channel network to download games, and contain little more than menus - no playable content.

As of 2011 four demo cartridges have been identified, three of them have been dumped. The first to be spotted, "Sega Channel Demo Cartridge #6", appeared for sale on eBay in 2009. Later that year, "Sega Channel Demo Cartridge #4" was spotted and purchased by a resident of Lost Levels, who generously lent the cartridge to LocalH to ROM dump. In 2011 two more prototypes were identified, labeled #1 and #2.

The earlier cartridges show a work in-progress Sega Channel in various stages of production, featuring intro sequences, graphics that would be used in the early days of it's broadcasting, a simulated downloading sequence, and in the case of cartridge #4, a background/sound test. Looking into the #4 ROM in a hex editor also shows various "SEGATV" error messages, as well as strange code snippets.

In the menus of the Sega Channel Demo #4's "Test Drive" section, you can see a listing for "The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse, Capcom". The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse was not released on the Sega Mega Drive in any region, though did appear on the Super Nintendo.

Gallery

  • US Adaptor (Scientific Atlanta)

  • Sega Genesis II with US Adaptor (Scientific Atlanta)

  • US Adaptor (General Instrument)

  • JP Adaptor

Physical Scans

  • Front of box (JP)

Template:Scanflyer

External links

  • Archive.org - Archive of the Sega Channel official homepage
  • Business Wire - Sega Channel Cited by "Popular Science" as Among 1994's Outstanding Products and Technological Achievements
  • Sega Channel - Technical details on Sega Channel and its game delivery method.
  • [1] - Gamesniped lists Sega Channel Demo 6.
  • [2] - "Dyna Brothers 2 Special" on Wii Virtual Console.
  • [3] - Japanese Blog entry which shows the boxart, cartridge and AC Adapter for Japanese Sega Channel
  • [4] - Japanese blog entry which shows some screenshots for the Japanese Sega Channel.


Sega Mega Drive
Topics Technical specifications (Hardware comparison) | History | List of games | Magazine articles | Promotional material | Merchandise | Cartridges | TradeMark Security System
Hardware Japan | North America | Western Europe | Eastern Europe | South America | Asia | South Korea | Australasia | Africa
EZ Games | LaserActive | Mega Jet | Mega PC | Mega Play | Mega-Tech System | Nomad | Teradrive | Mega Drive Mini | Mega Drive Mini 2
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Add-ons Game Box | Power Base Converter | Mega-CD | 32X (Mega-CD 32X) | Mega Modem | Demo System DS-16
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Controllers Control Pad | Six Button Control Pad | 6 Button Arcade Pad | Arcade Power Stick 6B | Konami Justifier | MK-1470
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