SEGA Mega Drive Modem - Unboxing + Review - Game Toshokan Bundle セガゲーム図書館

[@SpartanFromSpain]

Incredible, I thought society wasn't ready for the innovations offered by the Dreamcast and to think this went back to the Genesis/Megadrive days is breathtaking Sega was truly ahead of their time...oh the possibilities!

[@DannyCD]

Agreed, Sega future proofed all their consoles too unlike Nintendo. The fact that every Sega console going all the way back to the Master System is RGB capable is astounding because RGB is great for modern TVs with component inputs and HDTVs!

[@girlsdrinkfeck]

C. Danny D. and thats what killed sega ,people bought the upgrades ,then they broken ,and then sega released a new console a year later anyway which pissed off half their fans ..

[@DannyCD]

***** That's a completely different topic. I was just stating how awesome it was for Sega to implement RGB video in all their consoles so that those who had expensive home theatre systems at the time could get much more out of their Sega console which also future proofed them for modern TVs using RGB SCART upscalers rather than Nintendo who just thought about the casual buyer who used RF and composite. Even to this day they don't care, the Wii Mini is proof of this, they made it have composite video only.

[@SpartanFromSpain]

well the snes comes with RGB and the gamecube can output RGB as well i believe component should've been produced in larger quantities like everyone else did there's no reason to pay $150 for a gamecube component cable, but i agree with you 100% sega was serious about their production. I can't afford to buy all the equipment to output RGB so S-video will have to do until then.

[@girlsdrinkfeck]

SpartanFromSpain if youre from spain ,ud know nintendo consoles had proper RGB SCART connectors available which is MUCH better ,than americas shitty S-video :)

[@ZakkHung]

That full Mega Drive setup with the CD, 32X, and wireless adapter looks bloody gorgeous!

[@CashMoneyCrane]

home boy really typed out "boobies" on that sega phone. lol

[@SurvivingTheApocalypse]

I have a copy of Cyberball, a Jap Megadrive & the Modem sitting here ready to play anytime you (or anyone else) fancy it.

[@KevinTwiner]

Awsome..i have been wanting too see you show this since your first video. This was even better than I anticipated thank you so much Bro.And keep up the great & interesting video's!

[@superbracey]

Online gaming from before I even knew what the Internet was.

[@GiuseppeGaetanoSabatelli]

Blows my mind since it's technically not even internet - it just connects via phone (same DELIVERY as the internet). America Online didn't even exist until 1991. Shit's insane how ahead of its time this was.

[@deckofcards87]

J Ríos That's right, and it was utilized only by gov and military I read.

[@RWL2012]

the *internet* has been around since the 70s but the *web* has only been around since the 90s

[@johnsimon8457]

Your megadrive and modem are museum quality, like “forgotten in a warehouse for thirty years”’ level of pristine!

[@paulrobhagan]

i like sega because if they say their gonna release periferals they do unlike nintendo.

[@generalofg3377]

Nintendo had something like this too you know

[@netako]

Nintendo already done this with the Famicom (same for the SNES and the N64).

[@PhirePhlame]

The issue is that they ended up having the exact opposite problem: they released too many peripherals and saturated their own market.

[@evoGage]

Sega was ahead of its time. If only they are still around, no doubt would bring out a beast of a console for today's market.

[@KevinTwiner]

This is so awsome! Cant wait too get one of these. Your Genesis/ megadrive is fucking solid bro..makes this old man smile! Peace and happy gameing

[@RetroGameTech]

Thanks :) . I would but don't always have the time or energy to make vids. I appreciate the support! :)

[@RetroGameTech]

Haha, Technically we still can. xD Just need to gather a community of people with modems and copies of CyberBall organised. :P But it would be cool if the SEGA servers were still up and you could download the games etc ;)

[@bmhedgehog2]

wow who knew that there was a Sega Modem before the Sega Channel? I learned something new today.

[@ASuwan22]

That's insane! Who knew mega drive had a modem!

[@RetroGameTech]

Thanks! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching the vids! :)

[@RetroGameTech]

It might just need its capacitors replaced. It's a pretty common fault with GameGears and not too difficult to fix. You can buy kits with all the parts you need online and there are a few tuts on youtube showing you how to do it. Maybe give it a shot yourself and make a project out of it? :P I'd like to help but I don't do repairs on anything other than my own stuff these days, sorry. Also, the postage alone would probably cost as much as the console anyway! :P Thanks for watching btw! :)

[@manuelink64]

i'm very jealous, you have the full "sega power tower" combo plus infrared controllers, cdx and now the megamodem. congratulations for show us this piece of history...finally know the reason of a hole in the back of Genesis. Regards!

[@kingsconsoles]

That is awesome thanks for sharing. I have a PAL Hong Kong system and on the back of the box there is a picture of the modem that was the first of me hearing of the device. This is the first video I have seen an it all makes sense the connections in the back even the screw hole lol. Great vid

[@Vienna3080]

It’s interesting how the US and European versions came with the port at launch and they never used it for anything else

[@XeonProductions]

From what I can tell, that Ext port that the modem hooked into was actually a 3rd controller port, just with a reversed connector. I'm looking into creating my own modem device for my model 1 and creating like an IRC client or something. Still not sure if it's possible, or if it'll be so incredibly slow that I won't be able to do much.

[@bganonimouse2754]

Wow, talk about ahead of its time. I had no idea about this modem or pack. I feel even more sorry that Sega is out of the hardware business. Hope they will be back someday...

[@RetroGameTech]

Thanks for watching. Glad you found it interesting :)

[@bravotwozero007]

Great vid, i never knew they done this for the mega drive, thanks for sharing it!!

[@DaveSimonH]

Its funny how Sega were innovating in the 90's with online play, whereas Nintendo struggle even now in 2013... :)

[@RetroGameTech]

I've heard of it but didn't know they supported it until 2000. That's pretty crazy! Thanks for watching! :)

[@BGL19283]

I haven't seen a console look this good since I was a kid, jesus.

[@Polaventris]

Way cool it still works! Can't say same thing with some of the newer discontinued online games.

[@RetroGameTech]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@garetholdman]

Been a while since the last vid. Missed you man!!

[@SPARKY832010]

Really informative video martin. Im a big fan of the mega drive too. As a kid it was one of my favourite consoles.

[@StuartHerrington]

I'm sure you guys know, but the Snes had one also, called Satellaview, a satellite modem that had a very similar interface to what is now on the Wii U, with the little online area you walk around.

[@RetroGameTech]

I'd love to get a DC BBA! But they're super expensive these days. It's a shame they weren't more common. I bet there'd be a pretty big online DC community if they were :/

[@CMM1215]

Really cool video! Does your Sega Game Library cart happen to have any of the downloadable mini-games saved on it? Or did you need to re-download the mini-games every time the console shut off?

[@YukoAsho]

I'm surprised they didn't make the damned thing have its own power supply.

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

Great video as always, your HD graphics model1 modded Megadrive is so awesome!!!

[@ghost909090]

wow sega was future

[@RetroGameTech]

Laying the groundwork for future generations of console ;-)

[@millgiass]

I've never heard anyone claim the Dreamcast was the first console to have internet. Just the first one to come with a modem built in.

[@StuartMarchetti]

Wow, that's the most stuff I've ever seen plugged into Genesis as one time!

[@RetroGameTech]

Not all Dreamcasts came bundled with the modem. Some of the Asian SKUs didn't. Instead they had a detachable dummy modem in it's place. I've got a couple of those sitting in my cupboard somewhere. The Euro and American units all came with modems though I think.

[@SegaCDUniverse]

great review man, never saw this. I knew the DC had the first one built in and I knew about x-band and the famicon one with the lottery ticket fiasco too LOL. but this is just great!

[@lpfan091989]

How does your megadrive look so clear on an hdtv? I'm guessing you're using a modded svideo megadrive. I ask bc my genesis looks blurry on an hdtv.

[@303HQ]

Awesome, been waiting for this one!

[@someinterwebguy]

What a neat piece of hardware. It's amazing how many things Japan got that we never did. Even if it didn't succeed, it would have been nice to have a chance at it. It's like the Nintendo's FDS never seeing light in America. It's a shame they didn't give it a chance.

[@SimmyBassline]

Nice little collection piece.

[@Curbsidecross]

I used to have mega drive mega CD setup 32x add on but I sold it worse mistake so it nice to see your setup looking nice keep up the good work mate

[@thaddeusmcgrath]

WOW great video, shocking that Sega had this for its system in 1990! The U.S. was left out such an advancement. If the modem sales did better in Japan, makes you wonder if it could have been released in the U.S.?

[@Rockythefishman]

Really nice bit of kit, if only Sega had pushed it harder things might have been vert different

[@RE_314]

Very interesting video about the Megadrive Modem. Thanks!

[@Utoobyourself]

Great video review Martin. Sega was sure way ahead of its time.

[@galacticzombie1942]

That's awesome. I have Cyberball. No modem though, so I never knew it had online capabilities.

[@darkinertia2]

its sad that sega left the console market considering how groundbreaking and innovative they were, way ahead of the game. sad thing is, if they just lagged behind 6 years like nintendo, maybe they would still be alive today.

[@freeformaniak]

awesome vid mate just got a mega drive 1 with the expansion port and was wandering what it was for. now i know :)

[@GRUSSNewton]

Hi Martin I'm trying to get in touch with you about getting this online 👍

[@raylyd]

Nice i see you have the official wireless controller box on your model one that's nice i should get a modem and try it out.

[@wooterz]

So THAT'S what the little hole on the back of my Genesis is for. Not the extension port, the little hole to the left of it. The model 2 has a small hole in the back too though, and I still have no idea what that's for.

[@jellevandegraaf825]

the powebase converter also had a screw, maybe it is for that

[@jonzinnel7539]

I always wondered what that hole was for too. Makes sense now.

[@RetroGameTech]

Thanks. Same here, grew up playing mostly Mega Drive :)

[@RetroGameTech]

Redonkulous isn't it? :P Online banking in the 90's using a Mega Drive!? Google the pics for Sega Mega Answer if you haven't seen it already, haha. Funny you mention the MS 3D. Was messing around with that the other day on the little Sony CRT. The phrase 'holy shitballs!' springs to mind! It works perfectly! Really surprising future consoles didn't adopt the tech and run with it.

[@RetroGameTech]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@adultmoshifan87]

I have a Mega Drive of that hardware revision but I have a problem: sounds in certain games can sometimes be missing (games like Golden Axe, The Smurfs and Micro Machines 2). Anyone know how to fix this? I've heard that some of the pins in the Mega Drive cartridge slot are for sound input.

[@perpetualcollapse]

The commonly forgotten piece of the tower of power.

[@mattnova18]

I wanna get one of those! Then I'll eventually get a land-line to try it out. Dial-up games were a blast back in the day! Monstertruck Madness for windows95 supported modem play. But 28.8k was too slow, so racing was really choppy. Kids these days have it so good with high-speed internet! We had busy signals as had to share a phone line. Lol

[@rugimpy]

Do you know if the modem would work on a Genesis in North America? I have the Sega Channel adapter and I love the old Sega peripherals. Thanks!

[@RetroGameTech]

Pretty crazy for a 1990 console game! :)

[@AmaroqStarwind]

They should have built the Mega Drive Modem and Sega Channel Adapter into the later models of Genesis/Mega Drive. They would have done a lot better that way because 1) More people would have been exposed to the functionality, and 2) More developers would have been encouraged to make use of it.

[@luke9511]

i wonder how hard it would be to figure out how it talks and everything and program a server for it and do home brew or something that you can download using the modem

[@RetroGameTech]

Not much. Under £40? Can't remember off the top of my head. You can usually get them loose for around £20-£30.

[@AceyMari]

dude u got one sick mega drive!!

[@samastbury4121]

Is that audio mod taking the sound directly fro the Yamaha chip? I'd love to figure that out on my Japanese model 1 - it's a beautiful console but it distorts through the headphone jack on certain loud games (SOR2 etc). This is apparently due to a dodgy amplifier which I'd really like to bypass.

[@RWL2012]

It's not only the Yamaha FM/PCM chip that produces sound, it also has a Texas Instruments PSG chip

[@RetroGeet]

How much did this set you back? If I pick one up myself will you be up for a game of cyberball? :)

[@mendyc158]

What do you have in front of the Mega Drive? at 6:30 (in the bottom, a semicircle that says SEGA) where it should have the cable cords for the controllers? Or Genesis had a Wireless version? How do you modded it for having PAL + NTSC? I want to do it with mine (and all my consoles but SNES and NES because I like the look of both... And TurboGrafx/PCEngine)

[@TheUlquiorra413]

Yes, is a wireless controller receiver it work's with infrared

[@mendyc158]

TheUlquiorra413 Ohh didn´t know it, thanks

[@crustycorollas]

Cool , you love your Mega drive :-)

[@Biomech011]

I have a Modem & Cyberball. Lets Game!

[@rodrigaoluzia01]

Master good morning, I have a Japanese mega drive that has two slots for cartridge 😳, one in the normal place and one right in front lying forward and hidden under the housing, I can't find any other like it, have you come across this model? On the board it is defined like this MD - 1095 G -1.5 ARG02

[@RetroGameTech]

It's definitely disappointing the way things are headed. Soon you'll only be able to digitally rent games. And when the publisher decides it's no longer profitable to support it, you'll loose all access :( . But as a retro gamer my backlog will take more than a lifetime to play through :P

[@RetroGameTech]

Thanks. Yeah, totally agree!

[@LovingGoodContent]

I wonder how hard it would be to code an emulation for these modems. Would love to experience it, or maybe even do the hardware mods to make it work on our phone lines.

[@dameons22]

Hey Martin sorry to bother you but I have been watching your videos for some time now, and you seem fairly knowledgeable about video game consoles, So if you wouldnt mind answer a question for me. I have a sega master system first gen. that has been sitting up for some time now almost 2 years, Recently I hooked it up and it works its just when i play games the colors change on every game. I have cleaned them and everything so if you have an idea please help.

[@114Levi]

Do you have any consoles you are waiting to sell/trade because i just got an old channel F and i have no idea what to do with it

[@DaiAtlus79]

this device plus someone who is enterprising enough to do a custom ROM to take advantage of this (the MD/Genesis Everdrive would do it) could do some interesting things with it ;)

[@KVGerudo]

will this only work on analog phone lines? not digital (thru cable) lines?

[@cristianovoa]

because they had real experience making arcades from long time ago...

[@studiokadaver]

Is it only the Euro Mega Drive that adds the “high definition graphics stereo sound”? The USA version only says “high definition graphics”.

[@RWL2012]

yes

[@KVGerudo]

that is so fucking cool that it still works.

[@johnnyfiveisking]

Awesome stuff, can you do a similar video on the Saturn modem?

[@romanianguy65]

whats that add-on in front of ur genesis and sega cd?

[@MoneyTreeCare]

Mowed who? Mowed them! Great channel btw. Love the accent.

[@niceguy60]

Damn that genesis is getting gang banged in literally every port at once.

[@richkawaiipikachu]

I find it a bit strange that they remove the rear ext port on later revisions of the hardware as they still could have used it with other peripherals thou personally have no idea what. Just that this was basicly way to ahead of it's time I suppose & & nobody really wanted to play a game with someone in separate houses in those days.

[@Chadsexington985]

You really need to complete your Sega tower by getting the Mega-CD Karaoke add on

[@RWL2012]

Can you imagine this guy singing? LOL

[@SeregaKassatkin]

with japanese songs? :)

[@SeregaKassatkin]

when all another countryes make tanks and rocket - Japan make consoles, video cameras and players... it is too shame that we see it only now, not in that 90s.

[@xantam23]

How much have you paid for your boxed set?

[@RetroGameTech]

Thanks! :) There's loads of those HD graphics Mk1 units on ebay. Dirt cheap too! Bit of a myth that they're rare :P

[@RetroGameTech]

How do you know we aren't already? Maybe right now you're actually playing a Dreamcast 2 game! ;-)

[@RetroGameTech]

Well you can still use the MD, Saturn and DC online today ;-) . I used my DC online just a few weeks back :-P

[@juniorfio1196]

i recognize your voice form somewhere. did you perhaps have another channel

[@juniorfio1196]

***** Maybe.

[@miaugato93]

love how people spelled NET WORK SYSTEM back then.

[@MetalTiger88]

lol that would be awesome if we could play online with that beast :D

[@insidious611]

@princeviny17 You silly young thing. A. Nobody has discontinued DSL. B. This is using dialup, not DSL. C. People in the rural US still use dialup all the time.

[@shenmeowzo]

it is utterly fuckin mental that the mega drive was online. chickin lickin', budgie flickin', granny brickin M.E.N.T.A.L. next you'll be tellin us the master system had 3D!! ;)

[@TitaniumFallout]

Mind blown wow you'd think that they would try this in the states I'm curious why they never tried

[@segaunited3855]

Actually they did try. TeleGenesis was going to be launched in 1991. But SOA couldn't get AT&T to get on board and GTE passed on the idea.