A reader, Russell Dawson, has bravely stepped forward to present a nomination for the Made By Masters category.... The SEGA Megadrive, a game-changing device that redefined electronics games consoles:Launched in Europe at the latter end of 1990 and famed for its slogan "To be this good takes AGES, to be this good takes SEGA!", the Megadrive (or Genesis for our US friends) was part of the 4th generation consoles using 16 bit architecture.
Initially sold two years previously in the US and with a host of games to back the UK launch, it went on to sell over 29 million units worldwide.
At the time of release in Europe, the Mega Drive's only competitor was NEC's Turbografx-16 and with the delayed release of the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), Sega had a strong start in the market. With a line of 3rd party developers writing quality games for the MD, it gave young gamers a catalogue of attractive hit games. It wasn't long before the MD was considered the console of choice for young hardcore gamers.
The release of the iconic Sonic the Hedgehog in 1992 pushed the MD to global attention, giving SEGA a powerful marketing icon backed by the fact it demonstrated the MD's cutting edge of colourful graphics and sound along with super fast game play.
The console has recently come back into public view with the PS3 & XBOX Ultimate Collection with the bonus of all titles upgraded to vivid hi-def (720p) visuals. Despite the many add-ons and upgrades, the MD was discontinued in Europe in '97.
Specs
Processor & Memory:
Display:
Sound:
RAM: 64KB
Sprites: 80
Titles
What are your thoughts on the SEGA Megadrive? And what would you nominate to stand in our newly constructed and rather makeshift Pantheon?
Previous Made By Masters posts:
* Made By Masters #3 - The LM10
* Made By Masters #2 - The Motorola RAZR
* Made By Masters #1 - The iPod
(Picture - amrufm, under Creative Commons Attribution Licence)
The release of the iconic Sonic the Hedgehog in 1992 pushed the MD to global attention, giving SEGA a powerful marketing icon backed by the fact it demonstrated the MD's cutting edge of colourful graphics and sound along with super fast game play.
The console has recently come back into public view with the PS3 & XBOX Ultimate Collection with the bonus of all titles upgraded to vivid hi-def (720p) visuals. Despite the many add-ons and upgrades, the MD was discontinued in Europe in '97.
Specs
Processor & Memory:
- Motorola M68000 16 bit processor running at 7.67Mhz
- Memory: 64 Kb RAM / 20 Kb ROM
Display:
- Palette 512
- Onscreen colours 64
- Maximum onscreen sprites 80
- Resolution 320 x 224
Sound:
- 6 channel stereo. TI 76489 PSG, Yamaha YM 2612 FM chips
RAM: 64KB
Sprites: 80
Titles
- Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
- Alien Storm
- Altered Beast
- Beyond Oasis
- Bonanza Bros.
- Columns
- Comix Zone
- Decap Attack starring Chuck D. Head
- Dr. Robotnik's MBM
- Dynamite Headdy
- Ecco the Dolphin
- Ecco II: The Tides of Time
- E-SWAT
- Fatal Labyrinth
- Flicky
- Gain Ground
- Golden Axe I
- Golden Axe II
- Golden Axe III
- Kid Chameleon
- Phantasy Star II
- Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
- Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
- Ristar
- Shining in the Darkness
- Shining Force
- Shining Force 2
- Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
- Sonic 3D Blast
- Sonic and Knuckles
- Sonic Spinball
- Sonic The Hedgehog
- Sonic The Hedgehog 2
- Sonic The Hedgehog 3
- Streets of Rage
- Streets of Rage 2
- Streets of Rage 3
- Super Thunder Blade
- Vectorman
- Vectorman 2
What are your thoughts on the SEGA Megadrive? And what would you nominate to stand in our newly constructed and rather makeshift Pantheon?
Previous Made By Masters posts:
* Made By Masters #3 - The LM10
* Made By Masters #2 - The Motorola RAZR
* Made By Masters #1 - The iPod
(Picture - amrufm, under Creative Commons Attribution Licence)
Subscribe to this blog's feed
