Sega is 60! | "Go Sega" | Share your Sega memories

The legendary Sega company is sixty years old! To celebrate, Sega has launched a new website called "Go Sega".

SEGA Group's mission is to continue to create moving experiences. On the occasion of our 60th anniversary,
we have adopted the key message "GO SEGA" to express our determination to forge ahead as a company that delivers compelling experiences to everyone.

Click here to join the celebrations! You can post a message to Sega and have the chance to win some exclusive prizes. The "history" section of the site is well worth a look; you can view stuff like this early Sega jukebox!


> What are your memories of Sega? Have you owned a Sega console? Maybe you still have one? Please talk here!

yes jawa

i had a hernia operation when i was in primary school and came home in some pain to find a Megadrive and Sonic 2 hooked up. awesome memories

My Sega memories are largely focused around my childhood Mega Drive mk2 (the Asian version, I believe) - it was the first (and only) contemporaneous Sega console I owned, I got it for Christmas in what must have been '90 or '91 and it was amazing. Streets of Rage 1 & 2, Sonic, Cliffhanger, Aladdin, Jurassic Park, Sol Deace and some others that have faded from memory, what a time to be alive

More recently I went through a retro collection period and purchased a second-hand Dreamcast, having never owned one I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. It's a beautiful machine and the games that I have played are great, but I don't hold any actual nostalgia for it as I was a PS2 player during when it got released and rarely saw much of it at the time.

I don't have much to comment on the Sega arcade scene, I played all of the big releases but wasn't ever really into arcades for some reason - probably didn't have enough pocket money growing up

Despite only properly owning 1 console from them, the one that I did have during that peak nostalgia period of my life means that I'll forever hold them close to my heart. The Mega Drive was such a big part of such a memorable part of my life (living in the Middle East, as I've probably mentioned too many times now ) that it's just always going to be there in my mind.

Sega

Sega is 60 years old and was founded in Hawaii...? I never knew this.

Tomous wrote:Sega is 60 years old and was founded in Hawaii...? I never knew this.

Yes, SErvice GAmes was originally a supplier of arcade machines to military bases.

Anyway my first SEGA memory was getting a Master System for christmas in 1989, was the MK1 model with 2 built-in game's (3 if you include the hidden 3rd 'Snail Maze' game), 2 pads and lightgun.

Have a vivid memory of playing Hang-on with my dad listening to Led Zeppelin in the living room , this is the exact moment my love of gaming (and 70' rock music) was born.

Great to read these fantastic memories .

I think my first experience of Sega was Pengo, an arcade machine that I played in late 1983. I was at secondary school and every month or so I used to get my hair cut on the way home. The place had a cocktail cabinet (i.e. a small table unit with a TV screen built in) which played Pengo. I always chucked a few ten pences into the machine whilst waiting... great fun!

A few years later, Sega was a dominant player in the arcade with hits such as Out Run, After Burner and Space Harrier. I was so impressed by the graphics and sound; they really were fantastic experiences. This led me to pick-up the Sega Master System at launch in autumn 1987 and I could then enjoy Sega games at home! It was my first console (having used computer systems before that) and the cartridges and chunky plastic boxes seemed so slick. Hang-On, Out Run, Ghost House, World Soccer, Space Harrier... it was a neat system with a large catalogue of games available.

I upgraded to the Mega Drive in early 1991, picking up an imported Asian PAL model that could play games from UK/Europe, USA and Japan. It was terrific and technically very impressive for the time. Early stuff like Alien Storm, Golden Axe and Sonic were so slick and paved the way for excellent third-party support.

Then Sega started down a few roads that didn't lead to sales success. The Mega CD was cool but under-utilised and expensive whilst the 32X was a good idea but clunky and niche in reality. I switched over to the newly-launched PlayStation rather than the Saturn and never tried the Dreamcast even though it was vibrant and impressive. These consoles were neat but they just couldn't compete with Sony's machines in terms of publicity and support.

In subsequent years I picked up the Mega CD, 32X and a few games and it was fun to experience them in action. There was something about Sega that was exciting; a bit different. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo grew to become the slicker and more popular options but I'll always consider Sega to be the cool kid of the group.

Can't believe it's been 60 years since I played Sonic on the Master System

Master System > NES

Raise a glass to Alex the Kidd, Psycho Fox and Wonder boy - I still adore those games.

Superfurryfox64 wrote:Can't believe it's been 60 years since I played Sonic on the Master System

One of the things I love about the Master System is that they had their own completely different version of games playing to the strengths of the system rather than down rated version of mega drive Sonic and Ristar etc.

I actually prefer Master System Sonic 1 to the Mega Drive version. I think it was the first game to use ideas such as the slow left to right panning across the screen which would later become tropes in side scroller games.

My first ever console was a Master System II with Alex Kidd in Miracle World built in. Such a wonderful game, it's a shame Alex Kidd isn't really a thing any more. If anyone deserves a new game, it's that little fella.

Barnsy! wrote:...One of the things I love about the Master System is that they had their own completely different version of games playing to the strengths of the system rather than down rated version of mega drive Sonic and Ristar etc...

Definitely, Barnsy! The MS remained popular in the UK and Europe for quite some time after the launch of the Mega Drive and the console received a large number of ports from the newer format. Considering the difference in tech capabilities, the MS was home to some decent versions that often, as you say, had a twist or a few changes to make them unique.

Oh, and a sudden thought - one of the things I find nostalgic about the MS is the case art. That white chequered design with small, simple, colourful drawings... artistically they were often a wee bit weak but they were bold and made for an attractive set. The case appearance always takes me right back to '87 :-)

Barnsy! wrote:Master System > NES

Raise a glass to Alex the Kidd, Psycho Fox and Wonder boy - I still adore those games.

Superfurryfox64 wrote:Can't believe it's been 60 years since I played Sonic on the Master System

One of the things I love about the Master System is that they had their own completely different version of games playing to the strengths of the system rather than down rated version of mega drive Sonic and Ristar etc.

I actually prefer Master System Sonic 1 to the Mega Drive version. I think it was the first game to use ideas such as the slow left to right panning across the screen which would later become tropes in side scroller games.

So much so you can't even get one of its biggest game characters names eight.



BTW, it's Alex Kidd.

Pedz wrote:BTW, it's Alex Kidd.

Hee! I reckon at least fifty percent of folk say "Alex the Kid" . Funnily enough, Miracle World is now a relatively hard game to get for the MS. With some popular later versions of the console having the game built-in, the cart version wasn't around in large numbers for long.

Ha ha cheers Ped[ant]z

jawa4 wrote:
Oh, and a sudden thought - one of the things I find nostalgic about the MS is the case art. That white chequered design with small, simple, colourful drawings... artistically they were often a wee bit weak but they were bold and made for an attractive set. The case appearance always takes me right back to '87

I love the boxes and rectangular guide books in the case.

They had some awesome version of Disney and tie-in games; Lion King, Castle / Land of Illusion, Donald Duck Lucky Dime Caper, Taz spring to mind.

There was also an adaptor so you could play Master System games on the game gear. Playing Master system games on the game gear plugged into the car cigarette lighter on long trips was as cool to me as being able to play Alien Isolation on the Switch on the train.

Sega Game Gear was my first contact with the brand. Putt and Putter and GG Shinobi (together with Mickey Mouse and the Castle of Illusion) kept me happy for many an hour. I actually got it for Christmas in....91 i guess? I will never forget it, because my parents left the bag with my xmas presents in at home (we had xmas at my grandparents that year and it was a 170 mile drive between the two locations). So happy xmas, you've got nothing. I took it in a less than adult fashion (i was only 11 to be fair).

I picked up a Dreamcast around 2000. Great system, i still have it and still hook it up from time to time with a VGA adapter. It still looks super crisp and still feels more like playing an arcade machine at home than any other console i have ever owned (note i have not owned a neo geo).

Sega has always been a distant second to Nintendo for me, but i do still have a lot of love for the brand, and have many happy memories playing Night Trap on my friends Mega CD.

Oh, and i recently played Snatcher (i guess about 3 years ago), and it is absolutely brilliant.

jawa4 wrote:

Pedz wrote:BTW, it's Alex Kidd.

Hee! I reckon at least fifty percent of folk say "Alex the Kid" . Funnily enough, Miracle World is now a relatively hard game to get for the MS. With some popular later versions of the console having the game built-in, the cart version wasn't around in large numbers for long.

My copy is built in, I think. I say I think because I'm sure I had a Master System years ago and something happened to it and then I got another around 16, and then when my missus moved in with me she brought one with her when I was around 20. I think one of them has Super Hang-on (or something similar) and I'm unsure if Alex Kidd or Sanic is on the other. WIll have to check, and check the games I have, though there's only like 3 to check

Pedz wrote:

jawa4 wrote:

Pedz wrote:BTW, it's Alex Kidd.

Hee! I reckon at least fifty percent of folk say "Alex the Kid" . Funnily enough, Miracle World is now a relatively hard game to get for the MS. With some popular later versions of the console having the game built-in, the cart version wasn't around in large numbers for long.

My copy is built in, I think. I say I think because I'm sure I had a Master System years ago and something happened to it and then I got another around 16, and then when my missus moved in with me she brought one with her when I was around 20. I think one of them has Super Hang-on (or something similar) and I'm unsure if Alex Kidd or Sanic is on the other. WIll have to check, and check the games I have, though there's only like 3 to check

I had the mk1 Master System which had Hang-on and Safari Hunt built in , didn't play Alex Kidd until a couple of years later while in hospital for a few days (on the wards Master System II on a black and white TV no less).

I ended up with nearly 70 games for it (started buying loads of dirt cheap 2nd hand ones around 20 years ago but eventually sold the lot as they were just gathering dust on a shelf).

Ironhide wrote:...I had the mk1 Master System which had Hang-on and Safari Hunt built in...

Yeah, that's the model that I have now, Ironhide. My original system just had the secret maze game built-in.

IIRC the Alex Kidd in Miracle World inclusion started with the arrival of the Master System II model.

One of the things I liked about the MS was the card format. It was relatively low memory - 64Mb, I think - but the cards themselves were good quality and I was impressed by just how thin they were; they were pretty neat for 1987. They weren't around for long as the need for memory space led to carts taking off and the MS II didn't even have a card slot. The first version of the MS Converter for the Mega Drive still had a card slot, though. Two quirky points about that adaptor: the only card game that it wouldn't play was F-16 Fighter (I think some unusual coding stopped it from working through the adaptor); and the adaptor itself merely allowed for the different shaped carts and cards to be plugged into the MD; the MD had the MS tech built in already.

jawa4 wrote:One of the things I liked about the MS was the card format. It was relatively low memory - 64Mb, I think - but the cards themselves were good quality and I was impressed by just how thin they were; they were pretty neat for 1987. They weren't around for long as the need for memory space led to carts taking off and the MS II didn't even have a card slot. The first version of the MS Converter for the Mega Drive still had a card slot, though. Two quirky points about that adaptor: the only card game that it wouldn't play was F-16 Fighter (I think some unusual coding stopped it from working through the adaptor); and the adaptor itself merely allowed for the different shaped carts and cards to be plugged into the MD; the MD had the MS tech built in already.

According to Wikipedia, the Sega Card had a maximumcapacity of 32 KB.

Interestingly, the same article mentions that the Master System/MKIII was backwards compatible with the cards used by the SG-1000.

Sega

Always loved their arcade games (Daytona USA is the best arcade game ever).

First system was a megadrive. I then got the 32x at launch, and much later I got a mega CD to complete the tower of power

I picked up a dreamcast shortly after launch, and thanks to my HDMI adapter, I play it now and it doesn't feel like it's as old as it is, with that great chunky 60fps feel.

Ironhide wrote:According to Wikipedia, the Sega Card had a maximumcapacity of 32 KB...

Oops - I mixed up MB and KB! Good shout, Ironhide.