The Mega-CD is a peripheral intended for the Console of video game Mega Drive of Sega. It is about a reader of CD-ROM and was marketed fine 1991 with the Japan, into 1992 in the United States and 1993 in Europe. The North-American version is called Sega CD .

History

The peripheral makes it possible to read plays with format CD-ROM, the Audio CD and CD-G.

The development of Mega-CD was signal-secrecy, the Programmeur S of plays did not know for which product they conceived until Mega-CD was finally shown with the exposure of toy of Tokyo to Japan. Mega-CD was designed to compete with in Japan the PC Engine, which had a unit of reader of separate CD-ROM.

At the beginning, Mega-CD was a unit of CD on plate, which was under the console. Mega-CD 2 was smaller, cheaper, and connected beside the Megadrive.

Japan

Mega-CD leaves initially to Japan on February 1st 1991. Its price is then of ¥49,800. At the beginning, it is a great success because of the advantages inherent in CDs (high storage capacity and reduced price). The fact that there is an interesting catalog of RPG it also helped. The system was sold with 100  000 units during the first year after its exit with the Japan. However, the price prevented better sales.

The United States

Sega-CD is announced with THESE Chicago in November 1992.

In the final analysis, Sega-CD did not convince the American players, mainly because of the price of the console.

The reader CD simple speed adding of times of loading to the plays, graphics 64 colors and a under-powerful processor (for made video) will be the large weaknesses of this system.

Sega wanted to present the power of Sega-CD while concentrating on the “FMV”, rather than to import “extended” plays, plays which were only ordinary plays but which benefitted from the additional memory capacity of the medium CD. These plays seemed “pretty” in FMV, but they annoyed the players by their Gameplay limited. For all these reasons, the descent started in 1993, and finishes with the abandonment of the console in 1996.

Europe

In Europe Mega-CD was out of price. It leaves in April 1993 to the United Kingdom for £270. Only 4% of the European owners of Megadrive bought Mega-CD. With the difference of Megadrive, which was a success in Europe, only 60  000 with 70  000 Mega-CD sent in Europe were sold in August 1993. Some European countries (the Spain, for example) did not have original Mega-CD, but Mega-CD 2, which also slows down the sales.

Australia

The Australian ones had their Mega-CD the April 19th 1993.

Models

The following models were produced:
  • Sega Mega-CD I (Sega MINOR ROAD I in North America).
  • Sega Mega-CD II (Sega MINOR ROAD II in North America). Conceived for MegaDrive/Genesis II and to reduce the manufacturing costs.
  • JVC Wondermega (Xeye in North America, never left to Europe), was a unit all-in-a Sega-CD.
  • Sega Multimega (Sega CDX in North America). A portable CD reader which plays of the Megadrive plays and Mega-CD.
  • Module Pioneer LaserActive Sega-CD, an additional peripheral which you can add to a Laserdisc Pionnier Laseractive.

Technical specifications

  • principal processor: Motorola 68000 given rhythm with 12,5 MHz

  • Graphics processors: ASIC
    • Many simultaneous colors on screen 64 (this limit climbs up to 128 colors via the mode “Hold And Modify” HAM;).
    • 128 to 256 colors available in the modes Cinepak and of TruVideo
    • effects of sprite such as the enlarging and rotation,
    • updated Software
  • main Memory: 750 KB
  • Read-only memory (BIOS): 128 KB
    • Average access time: 800 ms
  • Rate of transfer of the reader CD: 150 Ko/s (1X)
    • Mémoire hiding place of the reader CD: 128 Kbits
  • Memory of safeguard: 64 Kbits
  • Storage: CD-ROMs of 500 Mo (equivalents at 62 minutes of audio data)
  • between 1.5 and 4 hours of video of 1/4 of screen in black and white, and 45 minutes colors
  • sound: Mega-Cd adds 10 additional sound channels to the existing SPU of Megadrive (the Z80).
    • 8 channels PCM Stereo
    • sound Memory PCM: 64 KB.
    • maximum Rate of sample: 32 kilocycles (44.1 Khz for CD-DA) 16 Bit
    • numerical filter of internal oversampling, 8X
    • Beach of frequency: 20Hz - 20 kilocycles, signal-to-noise report/ratio: >900db with 1 Khz, separation of the channels: 900 dB
    • left: Stereo RCA, taken péritel
  • Dimensions: 301mm X 212.5mm X 112.5mm
  • weight: 1.4 kilogram

See too

  • List of Megadrive plays and Mega-CD
  • List of plays to the launching of consoles of video game

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