SEGA Mega Modem: Ahead of Its Time

In 1989, Sunsoft came to SEGA with a proposal: What if people could play Mega Drive games online? Wanting to make a splash in the market, the two companies teamed up and created the Mega Modem. The device brought online gaming, downloadable games, news, contests, and even financial transactions to the SEGA Mega Drive.
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:17 - Development History
12:55 - Games & Software
21:59 - Legacy
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#SEGA #MegaDrive #GamingHistorian

[@GamingHistorian]

Really don't know what to say except thanks for watching and see you next time!

[@SynGirl32]

Don't worry Norm, the video itself was enough, thanks for being my favorite channel!

[@justaspectator9762]

Amazing videos

[@eskanda3434]

See you in next 6 months my guy!

[@larrygarry3725]

This video rides Dummy Hard Boi! Keep up the good work and don't leave me waiting so long.

[@mattb9664]

Thank you for generating such great content for us!

[@DarthCrust66]

“People complained about lag during gameplay” looks like not much has changed

[@tanyaharmon6739]

Nooooope

[@DragonhunterJareth]

Yeah

[@kjrayofficial]

Not for me most of the time

[@VibeVixen02]

The complaining or the lag? 👀

[@cadeanderson422]

@@VibeVixen02 both...

[@Animenji]

"SEGA's Mega Modem was not a success, but it was ahead of it's time." Man...I think that statement kind of sums up most of SEGA's home console history.

[@atre5763]

Too bad it wasn't as high tech as people thought, and it was more desperate than anything.

[@Animenji]

@@atre5763 I don't think it was desperation necessarily. They had planned it very early in the Genesis' life.

[@gothicm3rcy450]

saturn was primarily a 2d machine, the dreamcast stuck with cds. Hardly ahead of their time.

[@r.u.s.e3586]

@@gothicm3rcy450 Both the Saturn and the Dreamcast had online functionality. For the DC it was built in, the first console to do so. And the Saturn despite being a "Primarily 2D machine" was still able draw poly's just as fast if not faster than it's main competition, without the distorted textures and shaky geometry. Just because something isn't so advanced in one way doesn't negate it's accomplishments.

[@russellgxy2905]

It _really_ does. Either ahead of their time (Genesis and Dreamcast) or poor timing (Saturn and also Dreamcast)

[@eddiecarrion6176]

I never get tired of learning about these strange but extremely interesting pieces of hardware that I had no idea existed around the time I was just simply playing and enjoying my Genesis and SNES

[@journeyman1218]

It's do weird that as we just sat and played our games on original hardware all this was going on halfway around the world!

[@EchoRhythmMusic]

The most I had was the Power Pad lol

[@PotatoeSnow]

If like Japanese stuff, this guy knows little if anything, GTV Japan is where it's at.

[@SynGirl32]

No matter how obscure these are, I'm still thoroughly entertained.

[@noctemknight8359]

Yep. I love every single one of these videos

[@josephyn89]

same! it cheered up my day. Learning about these gadgets is so entertaining.

[@astyanax905]

agreed, makes my day when i see these come out

[@n1njahawkssecondchannel84]

I remember the first video I watched of his The video game crash one of my favorite episodes of his

[@ShanGamer1981]

Great stuff

[@Grindhead_Jim]

I submit that the longest part of this production involved trying to find a phone wall jack that appeared functional.

[@Str8Gee973]

🤣 agreed

[@GamingHistorian]

Fun fact (well, I dunno about fun but whatever): My house has several telephone jacks! None of them work, of course.

[@blunderingfool]

@@GamingHistorian This is why you don’t install a new jack for every single ISP switch-over.

[@Grindhead_Jim]

@@GamingHistorian Yes, but they LOOK functional. I figured those were from your house, and, sure, they aren't THAT hard to find. Jokes, though.

[@Canadas_Very_Own]

@@GamingHistorian Same here lol.

[@gatorboymike]

Kids: "Buy me this thing! It lets you play games on the internet!" Parents: "What the hell is an internet?" - everyone, 1989

[@gothicm3rcy450]

well yea.... there was no public internet til 1991

[@retardray5701]

Makes sense that most of the media talked about "playing over phone lines"! To be honest, when speaking with parents, using the mystery word "internet" was probably better than the more comprehensible "hour-long phone call".

[@vascomanteigas9433]

Proprietary networks accessible by a phone line was avaliable during the 1980's decade, such as the French Minitel, the BBS around the world. Many of those ancient networks uses ASCII codes and POSIX terminal interfaces that uses the RS-232C serial hardware protocols. In a nutshell, the era of an myriad of proprietary network protocols before TCP/IP replaces them, which is the Core Internet protocol.

[@Kodeb8]

@@gothicm3rcy450 There were sort of proto-internet services though. Email was already a thing since the 80s, and BBSes were pretty popular.

[@allanolley4874]

Note while The Internet as we know it was not a thing, ARPAnet (which developed and used some of the core networking protocols?) had been around since the 60s and various forms of e-mail since the 70s. Popular on-line services (networks you dialed into) in North America of the 80s included CompuServe and Prodigy. Edit: slight correction there was something called "the Internet" in 1989, see my other comment below for more.

[@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVE]

Norman, additional info: The Mega-Net would not die with the Mega-Modem. Brazil's Tectoy would revive it in '95, selling a cartridge that allowed you to send E-Mails to your friends. The second (and very rare) model,the Mega-Net 2 allowed you to even play with your friends. It worked the same as the previous Mega-Modem,via telephone cables.

[@evdestroy4121]

There was also X-Band, which had a similar purpose and was also a licensed product on the Genesis

[@evdestroy4121]

@@K8SRGL Interesting, source?

[@subifyouhatetiktokandreddit234]

Brazil sure loves outdated games

[@evdestroy4121]

@@K8SRGL Seems it wasn't "based" on it, it's simply the same product and was just released under that name for marketing sake. I was gonna say that's weird because X-Band was on SNES as well.

[@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVE]

@@subifyouhatetiktokandreddit234 The newer consoles are usually super expensive here.

[@JonGon005]

You've got to admire the timeline of online gaming. We've gone from the days of using a modem and getting charged by the minute, on top of the uncertainty of how long these modem services would last, to today where matchmaking with over 100 players through broadband/fiber optic servers are expected these days. It's nice to know that SEGA really dove headfirst into this industry back in the 90s and paved the way for online gaming to explode exponentially in the early 2000s to what it is now!

[@TheUncommonValley]

It always impresses me every time there was tech from SEGA. Seemed like they were always ahead of the curve, even when it didn't succeed sales wise.

[@GamingHistorian]

SEGA was willing to take risks, for sure.

[@atre5763]

More like trying too hard to be high tech, but failed to be restraint!

[@atre5763]

@@GamingHistorian and look what happened :/

[@maxxdahl6062]

At least they were willing to experiment. I could have lived without 32x, but the CD (Despite the FMV game stereotype.) was a really good add on that had some absolute classics. (Lunar 1 and 2, shining force cd, sonic cd, etc.)

[@customsongmaker]

NES had 4 controller buttons, Master System had 2. SNES had 8 buttons, Genesis/Mega Drive launched with 4. Sega later released a controller with 7 buttons to catch up. N64 had an analog stick, Saturn controller was basically the same as the Genesis. Sega later released a controller with an analog stick to catch up. GameCube had 2 analog sticks and the first official wireless controller. Dreamcast had 1 analog stick. Sega never released anything again. Sega was usually behind and never caught up. The Dreamcast was the best console ever made when it launched, but sadly it didn't get enough support from consumers.

[@316whatupz]

The fact that online gaming concept came from the beginning of time of video game console development is pretty wild

[@INOA_GAMES]

Played Sega master system since it first released in 1986. Its 2021 now and just finding out Sega had online play since 1989 wow 😱. Really goes to show how truly special Sega truly was and still is. Wish they would come out with a new Sega Console it would be magical!

[@segaunited3855]

That's why Sega United/UNG and our business affiliates at MK have been working tirelessly for 5 years to build and design a Next Generation Console that will be pitched Exclusively to SEGA!

[@claytonbyrd6134]

@@segaunited3855 lmao

[@segaunited3855]

@@claytonbyrd6134 Phase 1, "Project Utopia" will be announced this fall.

[@Mikejones-vy9dx]

@@claytonbyrd6134 lmao

[@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVE]

And technically the Master System is still alive. Tectoy still manufacture those since 1989.

[@coreymyers5321]

This channel is way better than History channel. Keep it up Gaming Historian!

[@jarrettrodriguez5341]

💯 he’s the best!

As long as he doesn't say "Aliens did it"..

[@Chriserino]

idk.. needs more aliens. Maybe Game chasers could help :P

[@Benjamillion]

Too bad new uploads feel like an eternity to wait for.

[@REALMARCHINADER]

@@Benjamillion quality > quantity. The production value of his videos are impeccable

[@songoku9348]

He’s back! Been a while Norman, hope you’ve been well.

[@eskanda3434]

He'll be gone for another 6-8 months.

[@MightyMarshall]

@@eskanda3434 let's hope not. He's class

[@kanishkparmar]

He said on his Patreon in March that he was having some Grad school semester, and because of that he was not able to make any progress on the video for 1 month.

[@GamingHistorian]

Thank you! Been doing fine.

[@sonicfan101sonic6]

I'm glad he's back

[@sneakyskunk1]

Something I always respected about Sega was how forward thinking their leadership was. It seems like they would embrace trends that failed for them, but then became industry standard later on. Thank you for this video. It was very informative.

[@mikatu]

Looks like Sony, that even canibalize their own products. Laserdisc, Mini-Disc, etc

[@dizzydee4889]

arguably too forward thinking, seemingly projecting ahead an assumed buyer/support base that could never be matched in reality, instead of responding to actual core trends of the market. ambitious, yes, but ultimately arrogant. you might like. Sega to Icarus, flying too close to the sun, spectacular failures born on the backs of their most dedicated fans.

[@rugbyguitargod]

@@dizzydee4889 exactly. So forward thinking, they almost consistently rushed products to market before they were really ready; including the Dreamcast which was the nail in the coffin for Sega and their venture into console development.

[@Luschan]

I don’t know why, but I find Sega and their consoles so fascinating. I wasn’t even a Sega kid growing up, but my Sega-CD, Saturn, and Dreamcast are some of my most prized possessions. There’s just something about their products that have such a powerful energy and design to me, especially the weirder things like the 32x.

[@reapersritehand]

I still no idea how Gameboy beat out segas game gear that thing was awesome

[@atre5763]

@@reapersritehand Because game boy was actually good

[@reapersritehand]

@Detective Joshua said noone who's ever played the game gear

[@atre5763]

@@reapersritehand Many people like the Gameboy more dude.

[@nicolasjonasson4820]

I agree with you partly, mainly the genesis and the dreamcast were groundbreaking. But I find the Playstation far more fascinating than the Saturn. We sheer amount sold was unheard of at that point in time + Sony basically made video gaming mainstream.

[@andrethegiant6969]

Sega was always ahead when it came to internet play. I remember using Sega Channel for ages when I was younger. And then playing Phantasy Star online and Quake 3 Arena with Sega Dreamcast Online.

[@Ebstarrunner]

Sega Channel was *amazing* it was where I first played California Games and Kid Chameleon and many many more!! I miss those days some times...

[@Weaponized_Poutine]

@@Ebstarrunner IMHO California Games is what allowed Tony Hawk games to be as big as they were, and I remember 12 year old me loving that and Boogerman on Sega Channel

[@WrestlingWithGaming]

I think this may be one of your best videos, Norm. Thanks for letting me have a small part in it. Somewhere, Toad is looking down on you with a smile on his face.

[@bigpapapage7165]

I love how Sega’s decades old online plan was stronger than the current Nintendo one (no chat option on the switch)

[@LermaBean]

You're forced to use their app and voice chat is through your phone, bruh...

[@Rexowogamer]

The fact that Nintendo charges almost £20/year for _peer to peer_ online play is, frankly, ridiculous - the other benefits are kinda neat but I do still feel that the price is too high

[@thetrophygamer3606]

@@Rexowogamer compared to the 60 of Sony and Microsoft it’s not that bad plus with stuff like discord you don’t really need to put in a voice chat option when other options already exist

[@nitinanku]

@@thetrophygamer3606 I’d rather pay 60 for a good service than 20 for an awful one

[@thetrophygamer3606]

@@nitinanku fair though I haven’t had problems online on my switch. Maybe I’m just lucky

[@MrAxelStone]

One of the only YT creators where I don't flinch if I see a long video time. Love GH's mini-docs.

[@JessP1]

In an alternate universe, the year is 2021 and we have cracked thru playing at 9600 BPS and videogaming life is good.

[@RabiesTheBeagle]

Games would be full of micro transactions and developers thinking they can reproduce reality instead of conjuring what makes a game just simple fun!

[@Absolutely_Nobody]

I would love to see a collaboration between Gaming Historian, GVMERS, and strafefox. Their down to earth, genuine documentry styles would mesh really wll.

[@MattBorchert]

All of your content is so thoughtful and well produced. Appreciate what you do!

[@lunarmodule6419]

So true!

[@orangejjay]

Coming from one of the great NFT scam bros! Heck yeah!

[@WigWoo1]

How would talking to other players work? You can't use a phone while using dial up internet and 1200bps is WAY too slow for any kind of VoIP. So how was there enough bandwidth to play a game and send and receive audio voice data at the same time?

[@fixedfunshow]

I assume the quality of the voice was the worst and that no one could really talk

[@milesfoxling]

Found an actual answer. Turns out it's really simple. Voice chat only was available at certain times during the game. You'd press a button and the data transmission would switch to just a regular voice line. Release the button and it would go back to sending data instead. Pretty basic all things considered.

[@WigWoo1]

@@milesfoxling ohhh ok awesome thank you. Guess no raging in the mic during a game

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@milesfoxling that’s pretty sweet actually. I had to deal with the phone cutting off my dialup until 2005 or 06.

[@Nordlicht05]

@@kaitlyn__L gladly we had ISDN dualchannel.

[@MoonRabbitCook]

Back then, Sega always used a cool name for their product.

[@Transgender-ProphetMohammed]

Just like Batman!🦇

[@Halbmond]

In Japan, at least

[@yee4618]

@@Halbmond pretty much the rest of the world except USA got the Japanese naming conventions, we did in the UK anyways with mega drive

[@Halbmond]

@@yee4618 You’re right! In Germany, we had the Mega Drive as well. And I just looked it up and apparently, we had the MEGA CD as well! Yay! (At least, officially we had the MEGA CD - I didn’t know anybody who actually had it, that’s why I didn’t even know it was named correctly here)

[@yee4618]

@@Halbmond oh that's awesome to hear! Yeah I didn't know anybody with the megaCD either but then again 90% of my friends were Nintenkids! At the time I cared more about my jurassic Park rampage edition more then anything else 🤣

[@Tsukomasi]

I find it incredibly fascinating how far ahead of their time SEGA really was back then. I wasn't around for the tech, but learning about it is certainly interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[@MrMarinus18]

Or how blind they were. They really should have focused their efforts and resources on things that actually worked.

[@samholdsworth3957]

So far ahead of their time they just turned into a black hole...

[@nitehawk9270]

I do remember my mate on the dreamcast playing online, that was foreign to me as a Nintendo user.

[@NuFrontierVS]

This is some incredible information, as someone who grew up in the 90s with all of these consoles! I'm 33 and not once in my entire existence have I ever heard of, or even come across the Sega Mega Modem! Now I live in Japan and so my next mission is to track this down just for collection purposes! Thank you for all the years you've made wonderful content Norman!

[@yashmandla1234]

Sega really was ahead of their time, having online play, downloadable games, and even dlc for some games, and first party wireless controllers back in the mid 90s, online play has only been standard for about 20 years but here was sega doing it first

[@JimmyTurner]

I remember my friend having sega channel when we were kids. Staying up till like 2 in the morning and falling asleep waiting for the next game to load

[@Rage_RT345]

My friend had that channel too i enjoyed playing mortal kombat on it before it hit stores

[@eyeconqueror1185]

Lol we were awful kids 2 am way too early

[@frownieclownie]

IT ACTUALLY MAKES ME REALLY HAPPY I GOT A NOTIF FROM THIS CHANNEL

[@GamingHistorian]

Well that's rare, I'm glad it worked this time!

[@ricardopurnell3923]

@@GamingHistorian I love your stuff!

[@anonamatron]

I just complained about it in a comment since I never see this channel in my sub box, and it looks like KZbin auto deleted my message... I said some bad words, maybe that causes it these days. KZbin sucks. Really really really sucks.

[@MichaelMolina0390]

Never ceases to amaze me how amazing these videos get. Had a show like this existed back in the G4 days of cable, I'd be obsessed with it. Keep up the fantastic work!

[@AR7271]

it is a lot easier to source videos nowadays than it was back then. also he doesn't have to worry about getting releases for using different footage which would have driven up budgets astronomically.

[@The90sGamingGuy]

I was an avid player of the latest Genesis and SNES games back in the 90s and didn't hear about or remember hearing of the Mega modem or X-band cartridge for both devices. Great video.

[@Gatorade69]

Never heard of the Mega Modem or Telegenesis but I remember seeing X Band ads and I really had no idea just what it even did.

[@brycevo]

This was truly ahead of its time

[@hulksmash8159]

No shit.

[@miguelalves7333]

I miss the good old SEGA when they were in the hardware market

[@retrokonami9042]

Makes me wonder what console they would've made today

[@southendbusker7534]

i really think nintendo took up their mantel with innovation, probably a bunch of sega people there now

[@retrokonami9042]

@The Iced Coffee God Totally agree, but moving technology forward was inevitable. I feel console gaming reached it's peak at the 7th and 8th generations, and it shows.

[@atre5763]

@@southendbusker7534 Nintendo has ALWAYS innovated!! Sega was just desperate.

[@johnbowles5399]

@@atre5763 You've been posting the same untrue crap about Sega in every single thread under this video! Nintendo fanboy much?! We get it, you don't like Sega and find it impossible to give them any credit at all as a company even when credit is due.

[@janocronismo]

Everytime Norm uploads a video, it doesn't matter if it is long, short, Nintendo, Sony or whatever, I just smile and enjoy. Thank you for everything you do for us, good sir.

[@twithnell]

I always love your videos. It makes me feel nostalgia for watching PBS documentaries back in the day. They are always thoroughly researched and very entertaining. I have learned more about the games and hardware I love than the knowledge I thought existed about them. I am glad you are still able to make videos. Cheers man!

[@ghostmouthzach56]

I had Sega Channel back in the 90's and loved it. Could play so many games, especially exclusive ones that would come out early for it or only for it, and was neat to see all the cool tips and tricks that would pop up for games during loading or whenever. Would keep my parents from having to buy me new games or take me to Blockbuster to rent ones every weekend. lol Xbox Game Pass is the only modern equivalent I can think.

[@figgynewton5664]

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of their time.

[@triobros98]

@@figgynewton5664 waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of there time

[@kdash20002]

It's pretty wild how much Sega was ahead of it's time, sparking standards for today.

[@ItsMeMattCarter]

I had SEGA Channel from the start of the service until the day it shut down. To this day that is the best experience I ever had. It let me play things like Shining Force 2 that I couldn't find to buy and if I remember correctly you could send in fan art and they would post it every month. It was amazing man.

[@velvetpilot2008]

I can't believe how high the production values are in your videos. Edit: I see there is a team involved but it doesn't change anything. TV these days doesn't have documentaries even close to the quality of your efforts. I appreciate it deeply. This channel is invaluable.

[@MedalionDS9]

Sega was often ahead of its time but made too many choices to put their fingers into too many pies and lost consumer trust

[@atre5763]

More like they were desperately trying to be cool and high tech without any restraint!!

[@GamingHistorian]

Sadly, yes. As you see in the video, consumers complained about this even in 1992!

[@AlexRN]

Agreed. The Genesis had barely launched and they were already talking about the future Sega CD add-on. Give consumers a second to breathe!

[@BAKU2K2]

Desperate? How is bringing online multiplayer to an early 16 console that was also the first to use an FM sound chip as a primary audio source just desperate cash grab? Although to be fair, the home console market was never really Sega's top priority. To this day, they're more focused on the arcade industry. (sadly Sega of America seems to have little to no interest in doing the same)

[@Turbulation1]

@@AlexRN NEC was more terrible in that case because they launched their CD Addon only a few months after the TurboGraphx16 launched, meanwhile the Sega CD didn't come out to NA until 2 years later.

[@SegaAges]

_Mega Modem (Sega Toshokan)... a device far ahead of its time! This was the SEGA Enterprises at TOP of innovations..._

[@remakeyourself]

I swear you are the perfect 'KZbinr'. Production, rare content, not too much content, but I always immediately watch when you post, and you're an incredible storyteller.

[@jasonschneider4874]

Truly some of the best content on KZbin. Norm always makes high quality content and it’s always so fascinating. Thanks for all your hard work, Norm!

[@roastpork5437]

Some youtubers pump out 10 mins rinse and repeat videos (for that algorithm) and beg for likes and subs and comments constantly. Over here... it's quality. Quality speaks for itself.

[@nsgames24]

Sega was really ahead of their time when they were still making traditional home consoles, back then. Yeah, some ideas they had may have performed better than others, but still.

[@aaronsudasna]

I like how there was a complaint about lag. People still complain about lag 😂

[@gameboyandres3419]

Norm you are one of the main reasons I am a retro game collector and I now have a KZbin channel so I want to say thank you for everything

[@Excalibur9905]

The historian of gaming is BACK! LETS GOOO!!!

[@AxxLAfriku]

My name: AxxL My job: Superstar I like: Handsome girls I have: 2 handsome girlfriends My dream: Have more subs than my 2 girlfriends Your name: ris

[@thenameless3271]

I'm not sure your strategy is working AxxL. Best of luck I guess.

[@Fourrandomidiots]

lEz gOoO!

[@samuelthehobo4441]

It’s so cool that Sega dipped their fingers into so many different technologies long before they were mainstream. Many of the products that came out of it weren’t great, but at least Sega tried it.

[@segaunited3855]

Sega Channel wasn't great?

[@samuelthehobo4441]

@@segaunited3855 no, I was talking about stuff like the Sega Activator. I think Sega Channel was a cool idea.

[@segaunited3855]

​@@samuelthehobo4441 SEGA Master System had 3D Glasses too. Saturn even had a Modem AND Online games. Dreamcast was also technically the first indie game console.

[@samuelthehobo4441]

@@segaunited3855 I think Sega was extremely creative and forward-thinking. Most of their ideas were good but there’s always bad apples. I don’t want to say otherwise since I’m a huge fan of what they do and it would make me seem like a hypocrite.

[@segaunited3855]

@@samuelthehobo4441 SEGA was always forward thinking. It was the fact that they were managed by the WRONG Parent Company that prevented them from becoming a Household name.

[@Evan.280]

Sega has always been ahead of the curve with this kind of stuff. Love on how forward-thinking they were even if it didn't pan out as expected

[@thetrophygamer3606]

I think the phrase “So far ahead of the curve you miss it entirely.” Sums up sega in the 90s pretty well I think

[@Saerek]

My family was one of those Sega Channel subscribers. Amazing service. I never rented or bought another cartridge again without having already played it on Sega Channel.

[@humbertopalacios7172]

It's always a good day when gaming historian uploads

[@chrisfit]

They actually cancelled it because the players online during testing kept insulting each others' mothers.

[@99TB.]

The 90s equivalent of doing a little trolling

[@segaunited3855]

Nope. It was discontinued because it was TOO ahead of its time and because other Overseas divisions were disinterested in bringing Mega Modem to their territories.

[@michaelmcgee2026]

@@segaunited3855 yeah that joke went WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over your head

[@figgynewton5664]

@@segaunited3855 They were disinterested in it cause they didn't like all the teens making fun of their moms, and not getting layed for their high scores.

[@Khazrihl]

I was born in 89', though I feel like I've lived through a lot of gaming history, it's still good to learn about things that happened when I was too young to know about it.

[@Ebstarrunner]

I remember going next door to my Aunt/Uncles house, and my Uncle worked for our local cable company. Well, one day he brought home something I had no understanding of that allowed us to access the 'Sega Channel' and it was the coolest thing I had seen at the time. It was how I first played California Games and Kid Chameleon. It was awesome! Yeah, it took a bit to load up, but so didn't everything at that time; We thought nothing of that.. I'll never forget that night, it being the first time I had ever played a game "online"... Great video Gaming Historian!!!!!

[@hi_tech_reptiles]

Would love something on the PC Engine CD and its iterations. First CD console that was expensive but somehow did well in Japan. If they didnt change the design for the US and released earlier, the TG16/PCE could have done well and allowed earlier CD adoption in the US, since there were much fewer if any FMV games compared to Sega CD. PCE CD2 was awesome, imo, especially playing the games now looking back etc. Lot of collections, but still better assets compared to HuCard etc. Great vid, interesting as hell as is the NEC stuff. Love your content!

[@DigiPen92]

I didn't see that Sega Mega Modem existed and even was the one used for connecting the internet before the Sega Channel appeared to began connect to the internet to play games like Mega Man: The Wily Wars. Also @Gaming Historian, can you do a History video of TurboGrafx-16 please?

[@RabiesTheBeagle]

I had one and a buddy of mine knocked the gaphics saying that atari 5600? had better graphics. I kind of agree. The historical significance of the system is that it luanched 1989 within months of the genesis. It introduced the first cd based system with 2 games. The original Street Fighter might be the first commercial release of a cd game! I think sherlock holmes was the other. As a TG16 owner no games I owned felt like they were not NES games with bigger sprites and more colors but the Genesis did a better job overall at an in home "arcade experience" Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog and it was over for TG16. Sad I think cause no devs actually used the systems power. Just NES with bigger sprites and some more color?

[@segaunited3855]

@@RabiesTheBeagle PC Engine was a Dual 8-bit Powered Console. The problem with TG16 is that it was only a few steps ahead of the NES. Considering that it came out in Japan in 1987, PC Engine did hit the domestic market at the right time, it just hit the US market 2 years too late.

[@BuPan]

Every time you release one of these, it proves it's worth the wait. Thank you for producing high quality mini documentaries about these products

[@dmoehling]

This is why I love your channel! As an avid gamer in the 90s, I never knew this even existed. Keep up the amazing work.

[@TroyBlackford]

VERY fascinating! These early online implementations are truly trailblazing. Such a great exploration of the topic, you have a very broad yet focused way of doing videos that covers everything relevant in exactly the level of detail required.

[@USAandokay]

Sega always did everything first. Their competitors would then make use of their own resources to refine the technology and usually (unfortunately) provide a more popular product at a more appropriate time.

[@kenosabi]

The blueprint to the modern era. Fascinating.

[@cabbusses]

Interesting to hear of Sunsoft's role in the MegaModem. It explains why archival footage notably has Sunsoft promotional material scattered throughout. kukun kun's archival videos in particular has some neat Hebereke art.

[@noahboat580]

It mustve been so cool playing OG Genesis online against another store. Meanwhile Nintendo was going to put a satellite in orbit to do their Satelleview online play. Crazy times

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

I thought Nintendo partnered with St. Giga to launch the Satellaview in Japan...

[@noahboat580]

@@Justin-Hill-1987 either way it involved a giant Satellite to play their games. And thats a certain part of the day!

[@livefreeprintguns]

The thing I think you're missing is that on a lot of "slower, older" modems is they typically don't use any sort of compression when transferring data over phone-lines. This was an incredible thing the makers of the X-Band had to figure out the hard way when they tried using their product with a 9600bps modem chipset that used compression and ended up having to downgrade to a 2400bps modem chipset that didn't use compression.

[@sw204me]

I just recently stumbled onto this channel and it's my new addiction. The videos are insanely informative, well made, and the narrators voice is perfect.

[@ianeons9278]

It still amazes me that online gaming has existed since 1974 (Maze War) but didn't even become mainstream until the late 2000s.

[@neoasura]

Sega in a nutshell: Products ahead of their time, but bad timing.

[@781stino]

Their competitors would always watch what sega would do and not repeat sega mistakes

[@gothicm3rcy450]

sega in a nutshell..... very strange decisions..... the worst being not keeping track of the competition. They messed up making the saturn INITIALLY a 2d machine.... then rushing a 3d changed design.... making development for games tricky. the 32x and mega cd were, well,.... strange (rspecially the 32x) They should have learnt, but they created the dreamcast which used cds not dvds. Sega have themselves to blaim.... they didnt learn from their mistakes.

[@gothicm3rcy450]

@@781stino noooo... segas mistakes were based on not watching sony enough

[@781stino]

@@gothicm3rcy450 Sony didn’t exist back then

[@arthurm.358]

Isn't it funny how the genesis was the ONLY system Sega released at the right time and it was the only one that sold very well ☠☠☠

[@SirenoftheVoid]

Thanks for this nice look into innovations of the past, Norman :) it felt good to learn about this. I did not grow up with the Sega Genesis much but i still enjoyed it.

[@lindseycassella3015]

How have I only now just found this channel? I've been binge watching these videos for the past couple days.

[@JugheadJones03]

One of my most anticipated channels for new posts. Another great vid. Thanks for your work on this.

[@jaredabrahamcidfda4840]

I think the famicom played a part in online gaming as well. Also I think the Atari 2600 was the first console that worked like a phone

[@crabcrabhathat]

you consistently produce the highest quality gaming content on youtube, great stuff!

[@Markimark151]

Sega was ahead of their time with online gaming, you should do a video on Sega Channel and XBand, I know some people did a video on those online peripherals, but it would make a fun episode!

[@JAGO_Tech]

As someone who works in technology, I find these retro tech documentaries, especially around then emerging tech, fascinating.

[@mix3k818]

Dang. I miss when Sega was this creative.

[@samuel-wankenobi]

It ended when they stopped making consoles

[@miguelalves7333]

Maybe even too creative at times for their own good

[@atre5763]

They were never creative.

[@Wis_Dom]

@@atre5763 Sonic would disagree.

[@alienalibi2382]

That's why they lost so hard. Spent too much money on peripherals for old consoles and their failed followed up consoles

[@mspeter97]

The fact that his had a way to do voice chat is utterly insane

[@meetoo594]

The way it worked was pretty simple. As the modem was just using a directly dialled analogue line to the other player pressing the button stopped all the data communication and just let the players talk like a normal phone call, because thats all it was.

[@T0MJD1]

I often have KZbin videos on in the background or whilst I'm doing other things but I always sit down and settle in for The Gaming Historian. Best gaming content on KZbin bar none.

[@IamGilgamesh]

Just finished watching every video on your whole channel just to top it off at the end with this great new piece! You're amazing, keep killin it!

[@thatoneguyyasha]

He’s such a perfect narrator

[@ClassicGameSessions]

Always interesting and insightful videos - the historical storytelling and production quality is engaging!

[@danilhaes]

Side note: Sega Channel was also available in South America. At least in Chile and Argentina (I'm from Chile). I still have the main cartridge as a good and lovely memory. For what I have seen on youtube, our service was an incomplete version of what you had in the United States. We had 25 games per month, and no gaming news service. Still amazing and ahead of its time! Thank you for another amazing video!

[@MatthewRosario]

I'm absolutely blown away at the detail and thoroughness of the research. This channel is easily one of the best sources for video game history. I've learned soooo much.

[@brodown64]

imagine if these old services were still useable today, sounds super mega unrealistic but would be very fascinating

[@overlordalfredo]

Me, looking for a nice video to watch while eating dinner. Sees Norman uploaded a new video: "oh, sure, I'm in for a little wisdom!" Still hoping there will be a second Blu-ray coming at one point.

[@Tsunkuotaku]

cant believe this just appeared in my feed almost a month after release. oh well, was worth the wait. excellent job, as always!

[@stevemeters3090]

The content you produce is just incredible. Thank you for all the fascinating histories and stories, and for all the time you obviously put into each video.

[@No-Me3]

"We'll expand our market by not selling the item."

[@Kanzuki]

This is pretty impressive. Imagine being one of the first to ever play a video game online?

[@wchan39]

And then be the first to complain about lag.

[@GrandMasterLynx]

I guess I was 1st to have a super high phone bill 😂

[@dayvancubensis]

Another phenomenal video! I hope you know that me (and many others) are always looking forward to your next video. Your documentary style in particular is a big influence on me.

[@DoktorSpakur]

A blessing to have another episode of gaming historian. I could watch and listen to this dude for hours :)

[@8thLife]

It's wild to think of things like this being available then!

[@charlesoliviera]

One of my all-time favorite KZbinrs.

[@realcyphox5919]

this moment when you click a video because of the title, and when the talking begins you realize its from gaming historian. every video from you feels like a gift.

[@cosmickatamari]

I really love how you find the respective footage for your videos and don't resort to showing gameplay captures.

[@Absolutely_Nobody]

Your content is always enjoyable!

[@AlexanderFort]

Sega always got in their own way. Nintendo was always so safe and constrained but Sega just threw everything at the wall and was all in all the time. It often times didn’t work but there is something to be admired in the Sega approach.

[@yee4618]

Pretty much how I've lived my life, the SEGA way, better to burn out then fade away!

[@mothmanevolved8748]

Between the Gaming Historian and My Retro Life just wow you guys bring us to a new level. Both you guys bring us gamers in to whole new dimensions

[@ryansokolosky2680]

Sega Channel was incredible. If it was still running, I'd still be playing it to this day. I was introduced to so many great games through it.