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Just a general message: The console's name is "Mega Drive". Not "Megadrive", not "MegaDrive", just "Mega Drive". The same goes for the European 32x: It's a Sega "Mega Drive 32X", not "Mega 32X". I know that because I own several consoles and it's printed on all of them that way. Thank you for your patience.
shadow dancer is the best game ever
There is a discussion about Genesis v Megadrive at User_talk:WhisperToMe. - Nommo 00:16, 19 Aug 2003 (UTC)
I have another question. What if I made "Sega Megadrive" into a completely separate article as Famicom and Nintendo Entertainment System are. I found a webpage with a list of differences between the Japanese and European editions of the Megadrive, and the Genesis - WhisperToMe
There are several points in this article that need some facts to back them up:
What proof is there that the Genesis/MegaDrive was going to be named "MK-1601"? This is simply the product number of the console.
What proof is there that the Genesis/MegaDrive is somehow derived from the System 16 arcade hardware? It's not just the similar hardware; in that time period many arcade games utilized a 68000, Z80, and FM sound chip. The only remaining unique part is the VDP, which is clearly an extension of the SMS VDP and has no resemblance to the System 16 video hardware except for the inclusion of a shadow/hilight coloring mode (not Sega specific; other arcade hardware like Namco's System 2 had this feature)
What proof is there that the term "MegaDrive" had been copyrighted in the US prior to Sega's creation of the original MegaDrive product? It's more likely that the name change was a result of localization by Sega's US marketing staff.
Given that the Mega Tech, Mega Play, and System C/C-2 arcade hardware were released at very different points in time with (in some cases) radical changes to the hardware it is more likely that Sega was simply re-using existing techology developed for the Genesis in their later arcade games. Just like Nintendo and the Playchoice-10 system. It is doubtful that the Genesis "fit in" with Sega's existing plans for these systems which did not exist until *after* the Genesis was developed and sold commercially.
This section was originally written by 69.85.146.61 at 02:39 on August 6, 2005, as part of the main article. It was moved from the main article to this page by Celzrro. Celzrro 17:10, August 11, 2005 (UTC)
I personally think the Mega Drive and Genesis articles need to be consolidated. Seeing as how they are functionally identicle to one another, there's no reason why they need to be seperate. The page could have a joint title (Sega Genesis/Sega Megadrive) and could simply explain thet Sega of Japan chose to call the system Mega Drive and their European counterpart chose to stick with the Mega Drive name. It's simple and would prevent people from having to navigate two seperate pages. As long as we're voicing our opinions on the subject - I think the NES/Famicom and Super NES/Super Famicom pages should be merged as well.
I agree with the above about Mega Drive & Genesis merging. The articles are basically clones of one another with only very minor differences. The hardware and specifications also seem to be identical; the only reason for the discrepancy in nomenclature appears to be a marketing problem in the USA with the phrase "Mega Drive". Eric 04:50, September 6, 2005 (UTC)
It seems like the consensus vote is to have one page for both the Megadrive and Genesis. I'd be happy to help fill in some of the details but I'm not sure I know how to merge the two articles in a jointly titled page. I'd like to see a new page with the title "Sgea Megadrive/Sega Genesis" that searches for either system would link to. Maybe someone can handle the merger?
I don't know who created this article, but its origin is clearly a move of the original Genesis article, so I've attempted to merge in a bunch of information from the old Mega Drive text.
For archived discussions of those pages, see Talk:Sega Mega Drive and Talk:Sega Genesis. ThomasHarte 18:49, 8 September 2005 (UTC)
I think it might be a good idea to split off something from here, into it's own article. Perhaps the "Genesis-derived" hardware section (a.k.a. "Other variations of the Mega Drive and Genesis"), in which those specific devices can be detailed a little more by themselves. That way we can lighten the article a bit. Arekku 21:08, 18 September 2005 (UTC)
I can see this has been brought up before, but I dont think that is reason enough to hault all discussion on the topic.
I propose this article be renamed Sega Mega Drive.
- UnlimitedAccess 06:44, 31 December 2005 (UTC)
No, I disagree. The current name is already a compromise between the two names (and a merge between two seperate articles). Also, if my memory is correct, the U.S. was not at all a trivial part of the Mega Drive/Genesis market. As for the "country of origin" argument... "Super Famicon" directs to the Super Nintendo article. It's already a contentious issue, IMO, the current name is pretty close to a NPOV. Arekku 06:32, 15 January 2006 (UTC)
No. This entire WIkipedia is U.S centered. The Japanese SMB2 is Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, its USA name. The USA release of Super Mario Bros. 2 takes the real title. This example shows just how US-centered Wikipedia is. I believe this article is a good compromise between the two names. Let's keep it that way. - Hbdragon88 21:55, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
You know, I MIGHT be able to support the whole name thing if it wasn't for the fact that "Mega Drive" is such a boring name. And yeah, it will confuse a bunch of people and we'll just end up having the name changed again.-- SeizureDog 15:26, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
For the US market being bigger: definatly not. At the time of the mega drive Japan was clearly the biggest market, the USA has never been the outright biggest market to the extent it can dictate what the others do (well except maybe in the 70s but thats a different story altogether)- Japan has popularity over it, Europe population. And then that's not to mention Australasia and South America who whilst not equal with the big 3 are certainly not ignorable.-- Josquius 15:58, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
I'm not sure where this should be placed in the article, so I'll toss it here and let you guys decide. Iwata just announced in his GDC keynote speech that the Nintendo Revolution would offer some Sega Genesis games, similar to how they'll be offering NES, SNES and N64 games. They won't have the complete library, but they'll carry the best/most popular. Ladlergo 20:22, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
As this article is almost entirely dedicated to the console hardware, I don't believe the Nintendo/Sega bit should be headlined at the top of the page and probably should be removed. It's mention later in the 'History' section is fine, though. -- Millbrooky 02:26, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
Erased: "The console was very successful, but only overcame the Master System in 1996" I really can't buy this story. In Brazil, as early as 1992/93, everybody was playing Genesis and SNES. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 201.31.229.219 ( talk • contribs) .
We need proof of this statement: "Since the System 16 made by Sega were very popular, Hayao Nakayama, Sega's CEO at the time, decided to make their new home system utilize a 16-bit architechture." Was this really Hayao's decision, when it would almost certainly be the decision of the engineers? Was System 16 truly *that* popular at the time? (Sega had multiple 16-bit arcade platforms in existance, why System 16 in particular?)
And again: "Signetics 68K only found in early revisions as this CPU is known to be inefficient." I have seen *many* Genesis consoles and tons of arcade games using the Signetics-manufactured 68K with zero problems (same with any other 68000 manufacturer: Hitachi, Motorola, Toshiba, etc.). Additional information to back this statement up is needed. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.110.36.224 ( talk • contribs) .
The current version of the article fails to note why the Master System and then the Sega Genesis struggled to build marketshare until a certain point and why the NEC TurboGrafx never overcame this problem.
This is quoted from the Wiki entry on Nintendo:
By the end of the 1980s the courts found Nintendo guilty of anti-trust activities because it had abused its relationship with third-party developers and created a monopoly in the gaming industry by not allowing developers to make games for any other platforms. They changed this rule during the Super NES era, allowing Sega to start a massive console war against Nintendo with the Sega Genesis and Game Gear. This would occur once more in 1996, when Sony released the PlayStation.
In more detail, a third party publisher getting ready to release a US NES game for manufacturing had to sign a contract with Nintendo of America covering a variety of things. One of these was a clause that obligated the publisher not to allow this game to be published on any competing platform for a minimum of two years. I encountered this contract myself when my then employer, Cinemaware, was readying some NES ports from our C64 titles.
This was a devastating weapon against Sega, NEC, and anyone else who wanted to be in the game system business. During the Master System era, Sega failed to understand the critical need for third party support anddidn't really accept this until the Mega Drive/Genesis was being readied for a US launch. NEC understood this, especially since the PC Engine was rapidly grabbing marketshare. Much of that came from having highly superior version of popular third party hits seen solely on the NES in the US market.
NEC's semiconductor operation sold a lot of memory and other chips to Nintendo. The complaints from the video games division were overruled by the much larger semiconductor business' need not to upset a major customer.
Sega didn't have any such restraints and brought suit against Nintendo. The details of the settlement have never been made public (to my knowledge) but the effects were immediate and dramatic. Capcom shipped a version of Street Fighter II for the Genesis within weeks of the settlement's annoucement. For the first time, Sega had a level playing field in the US market. Nintendo's marketshare has never approached the NES peak or the high level it had before the settlement.
Sonic and Madden helped but Sega never had a chance until they broke Nintendo's stranglehold on third party publishers. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Epobirs ( talk • contribs) .
Okay, I can understand why the entire section of screenshots was removed. They had no written commentary and thus were not allowable under fair use laws.
However, those pictures spoke more than a thousand words about the capabilities and limitations of this machine. The article is seriously lacking without them.
I propose we create a new section which will highlight a few MegaDrive games (maybe half a dozen?) and include screenshots with critical commentary. To keep the list short, we should strive for a good cross-section, not just a most popular list.
Everyone: provide nominations here for games that ought to be included as demonstrating something unique about the MegaDrive. Please be sure to describe why the game is important or unique.
Note: this section is temporarily here until it is complete enough to put into the main article.
Although the Mega Drive had hundreds of games developed for it, the gamut can be expressed with a few examples. Note that these games were not necessarily the most popular or well known, but each represents a unique facet of the Mega Drive.
While essentially a 2D "jump-and-run platform game", similar to the earlier Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog used the Mega Drive's advanced hardware to provide better graphics and speed. Often used for sales demonstrations, this title came to signify the great leap that the 16-bit Mega Drive had made over contemporary 8-bit consoles, such as the NES.
The Mega Drive was designed as a 2D machine with fast sprite blitting, but no 3D hardware. To simulate 3D on the Mega Drive, game programmers would usually pre-scale the sprites based on their distance (viz., Space Harrier). Porting the arcade hit Virtua Racing to the Mega Drive was possible only through a special graphics co-processor built into the cartridge which performed the 3D polygon operations. [1] Virtua Racing is notable because it shows the design limitations of the Mega Drive. Even with the co-processor, Virtua Racing on the Mega Drive had a disappointingly low polygon count compared to the original arcade version (put actual numbers here) and sales were low citation needed because the coprocessor made Virtua Racing one of the most expensive cartridges on the market at the time ($99). The graphics coprocessor technique was never used again for any other Mega Drive game. citation needed
Phantasy Star is the most famous RPG for Sega consoles and Phantasy Star IV has been cited as one of the most influential computer Role Playing Games on any platform. citation needed
As Nintendo's SNES became more popular, and Sega faced more competition in the genre of RPGs, Sega attempted to differentiate the Mega Drive by heavily developing sports titles. [1] John Madden Football was one of those high-quality sports series. When it was first released in 1991, it created a whole new type of football game. [2] The series was so popular that Sega was able to release nine versions of the game from 1991 to 1998.
[I'm not sure if this game is noteworthy enough to highlight; the only characteristic that redeems it is that it was the last professionally released video game for the Sega Genesis (2006).]
![]() | This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 | Archive 2 | Archive 3 | → | Archive 5 |
Just a general message: The console's name is "Mega Drive". Not "Megadrive", not "MegaDrive", just "Mega Drive". The same goes for the European 32x: It's a Sega "Mega Drive 32X", not "Mega 32X". I know that because I own several consoles and it's printed on all of them that way. Thank you for your patience.
shadow dancer is the best game ever
There is a discussion about Genesis v Megadrive at User_talk:WhisperToMe. - Nommo 00:16, 19 Aug 2003 (UTC)
I have another question. What if I made "Sega Megadrive" into a completely separate article as Famicom and Nintendo Entertainment System are. I found a webpage with a list of differences between the Japanese and European editions of the Megadrive, and the Genesis - WhisperToMe
There are several points in this article that need some facts to back them up:
What proof is there that the Genesis/MegaDrive was going to be named "MK-1601"? This is simply the product number of the console.
What proof is there that the Genesis/MegaDrive is somehow derived from the System 16 arcade hardware? It's not just the similar hardware; in that time period many arcade games utilized a 68000, Z80, and FM sound chip. The only remaining unique part is the VDP, which is clearly an extension of the SMS VDP and has no resemblance to the System 16 video hardware except for the inclusion of a shadow/hilight coloring mode (not Sega specific; other arcade hardware like Namco's System 2 had this feature)
What proof is there that the term "MegaDrive" had been copyrighted in the US prior to Sega's creation of the original MegaDrive product? It's more likely that the name change was a result of localization by Sega's US marketing staff.
Given that the Mega Tech, Mega Play, and System C/C-2 arcade hardware were released at very different points in time with (in some cases) radical changes to the hardware it is more likely that Sega was simply re-using existing techology developed for the Genesis in their later arcade games. Just like Nintendo and the Playchoice-10 system. It is doubtful that the Genesis "fit in" with Sega's existing plans for these systems which did not exist until *after* the Genesis was developed and sold commercially.
This section was originally written by 69.85.146.61 at 02:39 on August 6, 2005, as part of the main article. It was moved from the main article to this page by Celzrro. Celzrro 17:10, August 11, 2005 (UTC)
I personally think the Mega Drive and Genesis articles need to be consolidated. Seeing as how they are functionally identicle to one another, there's no reason why they need to be seperate. The page could have a joint title (Sega Genesis/Sega Megadrive) and could simply explain thet Sega of Japan chose to call the system Mega Drive and their European counterpart chose to stick with the Mega Drive name. It's simple and would prevent people from having to navigate two seperate pages. As long as we're voicing our opinions on the subject - I think the NES/Famicom and Super NES/Super Famicom pages should be merged as well.
I agree with the above about Mega Drive & Genesis merging. The articles are basically clones of one another with only very minor differences. The hardware and specifications also seem to be identical; the only reason for the discrepancy in nomenclature appears to be a marketing problem in the USA with the phrase "Mega Drive". Eric 04:50, September 6, 2005 (UTC)
It seems like the consensus vote is to have one page for both the Megadrive and Genesis. I'd be happy to help fill in some of the details but I'm not sure I know how to merge the two articles in a jointly titled page. I'd like to see a new page with the title "Sgea Megadrive/Sega Genesis" that searches for either system would link to. Maybe someone can handle the merger?
I don't know who created this article, but its origin is clearly a move of the original Genesis article, so I've attempted to merge in a bunch of information from the old Mega Drive text.
For archived discussions of those pages, see Talk:Sega Mega Drive and Talk:Sega Genesis. ThomasHarte 18:49, 8 September 2005 (UTC)
I think it might be a good idea to split off something from here, into it's own article. Perhaps the "Genesis-derived" hardware section (a.k.a. "Other variations of the Mega Drive and Genesis"), in which those specific devices can be detailed a little more by themselves. That way we can lighten the article a bit. Arekku 21:08, 18 September 2005 (UTC)
I can see this has been brought up before, but I dont think that is reason enough to hault all discussion on the topic.
I propose this article be renamed Sega Mega Drive.
- UnlimitedAccess 06:44, 31 December 2005 (UTC)
No, I disagree. The current name is already a compromise between the two names (and a merge between two seperate articles). Also, if my memory is correct, the U.S. was not at all a trivial part of the Mega Drive/Genesis market. As for the "country of origin" argument... "Super Famicon" directs to the Super Nintendo article. It's already a contentious issue, IMO, the current name is pretty close to a NPOV. Arekku 06:32, 15 January 2006 (UTC)
No. This entire WIkipedia is U.S centered. The Japanese SMB2 is Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, its USA name. The USA release of Super Mario Bros. 2 takes the real title. This example shows just how US-centered Wikipedia is. I believe this article is a good compromise between the two names. Let's keep it that way. - Hbdragon88 21:55, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
You know, I MIGHT be able to support the whole name thing if it wasn't for the fact that "Mega Drive" is such a boring name. And yeah, it will confuse a bunch of people and we'll just end up having the name changed again.-- SeizureDog 15:26, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
For the US market being bigger: definatly not. At the time of the mega drive Japan was clearly the biggest market, the USA has never been the outright biggest market to the extent it can dictate what the others do (well except maybe in the 70s but thats a different story altogether)- Japan has popularity over it, Europe population. And then that's not to mention Australasia and South America who whilst not equal with the big 3 are certainly not ignorable.-- Josquius 15:58, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
I'm not sure where this should be placed in the article, so I'll toss it here and let you guys decide. Iwata just announced in his GDC keynote speech that the Nintendo Revolution would offer some Sega Genesis games, similar to how they'll be offering NES, SNES and N64 games. They won't have the complete library, but they'll carry the best/most popular. Ladlergo 20:22, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
As this article is almost entirely dedicated to the console hardware, I don't believe the Nintendo/Sega bit should be headlined at the top of the page and probably should be removed. It's mention later in the 'History' section is fine, though. -- Millbrooky 02:26, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
Erased: "The console was very successful, but only overcame the Master System in 1996" I really can't buy this story. In Brazil, as early as 1992/93, everybody was playing Genesis and SNES. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 201.31.229.219 ( talk • contribs) .
We need proof of this statement: "Since the System 16 made by Sega were very popular, Hayao Nakayama, Sega's CEO at the time, decided to make their new home system utilize a 16-bit architechture." Was this really Hayao's decision, when it would almost certainly be the decision of the engineers? Was System 16 truly *that* popular at the time? (Sega had multiple 16-bit arcade platforms in existance, why System 16 in particular?)
And again: "Signetics 68K only found in early revisions as this CPU is known to be inefficient." I have seen *many* Genesis consoles and tons of arcade games using the Signetics-manufactured 68K with zero problems (same with any other 68000 manufacturer: Hitachi, Motorola, Toshiba, etc.). Additional information to back this statement up is needed. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.110.36.224 ( talk • contribs) .
The current version of the article fails to note why the Master System and then the Sega Genesis struggled to build marketshare until a certain point and why the NEC TurboGrafx never overcame this problem.
This is quoted from the Wiki entry on Nintendo:
By the end of the 1980s the courts found Nintendo guilty of anti-trust activities because it had abused its relationship with third-party developers and created a monopoly in the gaming industry by not allowing developers to make games for any other platforms. They changed this rule during the Super NES era, allowing Sega to start a massive console war against Nintendo with the Sega Genesis and Game Gear. This would occur once more in 1996, when Sony released the PlayStation.
In more detail, a third party publisher getting ready to release a US NES game for manufacturing had to sign a contract with Nintendo of America covering a variety of things. One of these was a clause that obligated the publisher not to allow this game to be published on any competing platform for a minimum of two years. I encountered this contract myself when my then employer, Cinemaware, was readying some NES ports from our C64 titles.
This was a devastating weapon against Sega, NEC, and anyone else who wanted to be in the game system business. During the Master System era, Sega failed to understand the critical need for third party support anddidn't really accept this until the Mega Drive/Genesis was being readied for a US launch. NEC understood this, especially since the PC Engine was rapidly grabbing marketshare. Much of that came from having highly superior version of popular third party hits seen solely on the NES in the US market.
NEC's semiconductor operation sold a lot of memory and other chips to Nintendo. The complaints from the video games division were overruled by the much larger semiconductor business' need not to upset a major customer.
Sega didn't have any such restraints and brought suit against Nintendo. The details of the settlement have never been made public (to my knowledge) but the effects were immediate and dramatic. Capcom shipped a version of Street Fighter II for the Genesis within weeks of the settlement's annoucement. For the first time, Sega had a level playing field in the US market. Nintendo's marketshare has never approached the NES peak or the high level it had before the settlement.
Sonic and Madden helped but Sega never had a chance until they broke Nintendo's stranglehold on third party publishers. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Epobirs ( talk • contribs) .
Okay, I can understand why the entire section of screenshots was removed. They had no written commentary and thus were not allowable under fair use laws.
However, those pictures spoke more than a thousand words about the capabilities and limitations of this machine. The article is seriously lacking without them.
I propose we create a new section which will highlight a few MegaDrive games (maybe half a dozen?) and include screenshots with critical commentary. To keep the list short, we should strive for a good cross-section, not just a most popular list.
Everyone: provide nominations here for games that ought to be included as demonstrating something unique about the MegaDrive. Please be sure to describe why the game is important or unique.
Note: this section is temporarily here until it is complete enough to put into the main article.
Although the Mega Drive had hundreds of games developed for it, the gamut can be expressed with a few examples. Note that these games were not necessarily the most popular or well known, but each represents a unique facet of the Mega Drive.
While essentially a 2D "jump-and-run platform game", similar to the earlier Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog used the Mega Drive's advanced hardware to provide better graphics and speed. Often used for sales demonstrations, this title came to signify the great leap that the 16-bit Mega Drive had made over contemporary 8-bit consoles, such as the NES.
The Mega Drive was designed as a 2D machine with fast sprite blitting, but no 3D hardware. To simulate 3D on the Mega Drive, game programmers would usually pre-scale the sprites based on their distance (viz., Space Harrier). Porting the arcade hit Virtua Racing to the Mega Drive was possible only through a special graphics co-processor built into the cartridge which performed the 3D polygon operations. [1] Virtua Racing is notable because it shows the design limitations of the Mega Drive. Even with the co-processor, Virtua Racing on the Mega Drive had a disappointingly low polygon count compared to the original arcade version (put actual numbers here) and sales were low citation needed because the coprocessor made Virtua Racing one of the most expensive cartridges on the market at the time ($99). The graphics coprocessor technique was never used again for any other Mega Drive game. citation needed
Phantasy Star is the most famous RPG for Sega consoles and Phantasy Star IV has been cited as one of the most influential computer Role Playing Games on any platform. citation needed
As Nintendo's SNES became more popular, and Sega faced more competition in the genre of RPGs, Sega attempted to differentiate the Mega Drive by heavily developing sports titles. [1] John Madden Football was one of those high-quality sports series. When it was first released in 1991, it created a whole new type of football game. [2] The series was so popular that Sega was able to release nine versions of the game from 1991 to 1998.
[I'm not sure if this game is noteworthy enough to highlight; the only characteristic that redeems it is that it was the last professionally released video game for the Sega Genesis (2006).]