Genesis, Mega Drive, Super Gam*Boy…
Great Console. Period.
Most know the console by the name Mega Drive. North Americans know it by the name of Genesis. South Koreans know it as the Super Gam*Boy. But everywhere it is known as the console that challenged Nintendo and carved out a piece of the market all for itself. It was the second 16-bit console, though the first to be successful. The Mega Drive is the successor to the Master System, and while the Master System was popular in Brazil and Europe, Sega wanted a piece of the larger North American and Japanese markets. They got what they wanted.
From The Arcades to Your Home
Sega decided to make an all-new console, one that would blow the NES out of the water. Sega had experienced a large amount of success in arcades with their 16-bit System 16. Many of their games, like Shinobi, were very popular and attracted the quarters of many gamers. So, the CEO of Sega, Hayao Nakayama, decided that it was time to bring those games to the home console market.
Sega acted quickly and this was fortuitous for them, as this head start may very well have had a major effect on their success. Had they waited much longer, Nintendo would have released the SNES before the Mega Drive was able to establish itself, further strengthening Nintendo’ powerful grip on the home console market.
The Great Console Wars
The first major console war was between Sega and Nintendo in North America during the fourth generation of consoles. Sega adopted the slogan “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t” a direct attack on the NES.
Alas, the Genesis was still at a great disadvantage. Nintendo had restricting contracts with all of the best and well-known developers for the console market. No matter how powerful the Genesis was, no matter how great its games looked, the games just weren’t quite as fun. However, an American company would come to the rescue in the form of Trip Hawkins and his company Electronic Arts. Trip Hawkins decided that Sega would be the next big system and approached Sega. However, Sega didn’t want to give EA the deal they wanted. They wanted to be able make as many games as they wished and they wanted a reduction in licensing fees.
It was around this time that Sega finally was able to establish itself in a niche. Older children, but especially teenage boys. Having grown up playing video games, these children wanted more sophisticated, more grown-up games, not the family oriented games that Nintendo thrived on. They began to view Nintendo as a console for ‘baby games’. If you wanted to play some ‘real’ games you had to have a Mega Drive. Thus, the hardcore gamers, and hardcore systems, were born.
A Mascot of Love…
Originally the packaged game available with the Mega Drive was a game called Altered Beast. The game features you as a centurion who was killed. Zeus needs someone to rescue his daughter from the Demon God Neff. So, he resurrects you and you have to fight through armies of undead and demons. Not only that, but if you attack the white two-headed wolves, they will drop a ball. If you pick up the ball, your character changes and gets much more powerful. Pick up three, however, and your character will change into a beast form! The form differs by stage and features forms such as a werewolf, a werebear, and a weredragon. It was a new concept for many gamers, and they loved it. Despite the game being fairly popular it was not to remain the packaged game for very long. The reason for this?
Sonic the Hedgehog.
This was the game that Sega would use to finally usurp Nintendo’s domination of the video game market. The lead character would become Sega’s mascot and the two would become inseparable – and still are, by all accounts. Sonic the Hedgehog was one of the fastest platformers, if not the fastest, of it’s time. Not only that, but you were meant to go very fast through the game and many of the games features, like springs, slopes and other devices, allow you to accelerate through the game very quickly.
Also, when you were going very fast you got to take advantage of other things like loop-de-loops. Another mentionable feature of Sonic was his attack. He could attack whenever he was in a ball, whether rolling on the ground or jumping through the air.
The plot of the game features the hero, Sonic, trying to prevent Doctor Ivo Robotnik, also known as Doctor Eggman, from collecting the Chaos Emeralds, which would allow Eggman to rule over the world. Sonic has to run throughout different areas defeating ‘badniks’ and finally, defeating Eggman. You can collect the Chaos Emeralds and see a different ending by finishing each act with at least 50 rings and then successfully playing through the special stages – this ending was sought after by many gamers who craved more of the game.
A Loser, But Not in Our Eyes.
The Sega Mega Drive may have lost to Nintendo in the end, the SNES managed to gain enough momentum to finally regain control of the market for Nintendo, but it was the Mega Drive that finally broke Nintendo’s monopoly. It may be this which allowed other companies to be able to enter the market, such as Sony with the PlayStation. Titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog still remain popular, especially with the emergence of emulation. The Mega Drive is another classic in gaming, and for hardcore gamers and traditionalists alike, the console is well-remembered.
