Why The Sega Megadrive FAILED in Japan! - Retro Console History

[@mscottjohnson3424]

I think you got it. Game systems usually do well in the West vs Japan because of the types of games available. At the time, Japanese console gamers really liked fighters (especially 2D fighters), shooters, and JRPGs (often based on popular Anime). The Japanese are less fond of platformers and generally don't like FPSs or sports games (with the exception of baseball games, especially those featuring Japanese baseball teams and players, games that would find no market in the west). In the west, we love our FPSs and sports games. In fact, I feel like you could almost split US gamers into two groups, perhaps it's the same in Europe, I don't know. My brother and I each had a PS2 when that was the current console. I had a really big library of games including RPGs, lots of fighting games, some racing games, and a bunch of 3D platform/adventure games like Metal Gear, Tenchu, and Tomb Raider. My brother, on the other hand, had a relatively small library consisting almost exclusively of FIFA and GTA titles. He fit into the category of US gamer we call "bro gamers". Bro gamers will always pick up the new John Madden NFL game, any Grand Theft Auto, and any Call of Duty. (If I'm describing anyone reading this, I don't mean it as an insult, just identifying a different kind of gamer that exists in the US that doesn't seem to exist in Japan).

[@willmistretta]

I figure the console market in Japan was more or less split into two camps at the tail end of '80s: One that wanted to upgrade to "next gen" graphics at the earliest opportunity (meaning the PC Engine) and another that was determined to wait and see what Nintendo would deliver. That didn't leave the MD much of a niche domestically.

[@wgmsa9208]

While I appreciate this episode and the work you put into it, I wouldn’t call the MD a “failure” in Japan. It’s huge games library and the sheer amount of time it was supported by SEGA and third party game devs shows that it was still a profitable system and was indeed selling units including games. Third place.. maybe, but a failure is quite a stretch imo.

[@Zontar82]

this. not to mention that the mega drive was the only way to play arcade sega games at home

[@realsitu6602]

Mega Drive is NOT a Failure, Well said

[@TheRealDustinNunn]

Failure or not, the Sega Genesis/Sega Mega Drive will always be one of my favorite video game consoles of all time.

[@segaunited3855]

Mega Drive was a Modest Success in Japan. And the PC Engine was DEAD by 1993. D-E-A-D. Mega Drive lasted until 1996.

[@segaunited3855]

@Apharmd Battler That is correct. The PC Engine sold 3.9 Million LTD and 2 Million Worldwide. Production Ended Globally for it on September 30,1993. Even domestically, NEC was done with PC Engine. They focused most of its new efforts on a Niche Market and on its new PCFX Console or "PC Engine Force X" which FLATLINED completely and imploded rather badly in Japan. SEGA didn't end Domestic production of the Mega Drive until May 1996. And Nintendo kept Super Famicom going until February 1998. It consolidated Super Famicom because Nintendo 64 had fallen into lackluster domestic sales with a slow and tedious building library.

[@armyofninjas9055]

I've noticed no one EVER says the Genesis is their actual favorite console of all time. But LOTS will say SNES without qualification. That tells you everything. Even Sega fans know SNES stomped it lol.

[@hitkid2456]

@@armyofninjas9055 Well I am going to tell you it is my favourite. It has several of my fav games of all time.

[@darrinlyons7291]

The streets of rage 2 music is appreciated.

[@AxelStone]

it was night to fight to

[@goldenfreddy4122]

Top Hat Gaming Man is Insulting to Sega Japan I got Sega Megadrive NTSC J Japanese Version im my Dad's House Next To Super Nintendo NTSC American Version. I Live in United Kingdom British West Cumbria My name is Corey. They can Play Super Famicom Games in NTSC Super Nintendo American. if you take Plastic pits Out to Play Super Famicom Games on NTSC Super Nintendo I'm British Top Hat Gaming Man insult My Sega Game Console!!!

[@ninjapirate47]

Plus it was better than turtles in time. Deal with it people! Yuzo Koshiro MADE that game.

[@paulpetroleum]

I think another major reason was that Sega wasn't a big console seller in Japan before the Megadrive either. Where as in Europe and South America, they already had a headstart with the Master System. We were being told about the Megadrive, and being rallied with excitement in all those MS magazines at the time. It's also why so many grey imports were available here. It was always going to sell well.

[@pillar81]

The forum posts about the Megadrive games being for “real men” seems to ring true. Especially when it came to men or boys playing at men. Perfect example is the movie Mallrats main character, Brody whose console of choice was the Genesis.

[@nomadicmonkey3186]

I was born in Japan in December 1987 and thus I was kinda late to the party when the 16 bit console war was at its peak. When I entered the world of gaming it had been pretty much over with SNES/Super Famicom's overwhelming victory as you nailed, and choosing any console other than that wasn't even an option at all for 8-year-old me as my first console, coupled with massively hyped Dragon Quest 6 which I got as my birthday gift. I was like, I suppose I wasn't even aware of the existence of other consoles (although in retrospect both Sony PSX and Sega Saturn had already been launched in 1994, their libraries were still small). Several years later at the heyday of the 32 bit consoles, slightly older me was on the PS camp, again casually dismissing Saturn as a losing console that nobody ever plays. The thing is, although statistically speaking Saturn fared much better in Japan than in the West, it was still viewed as a niche console with a very devoted but smaller fanbase, whose popularity as far as I recall didn't reach to average grade schoolers unless they had a cool teenage brother or something. One more factor that greatly contributed to the SNES' dominance over the Japanese market to which I was an eye witness as a kid in the 90s I guess is hard to grasp for anyone outside of Japan is the huge influence of manga magazines especially among young kids; more specifically, it was Shonen Jump that promoted SNES so hard. In fact, the editor to Toriyama the author of Dragon Ball at Shonen Jump, Kazuhiko Torishima, who is a legendary figure himself, was closely involved in the early days of Enix as a game developing firm. It was largely thanks to him that Shonen Jump vigorously advertised Dragon Quest series along with their own manga tie-in games mostly exclusive to SNES, to a monumental success. I couldn't stress their roll in the industry more as a former fanboy. On the other hand, as far as my childhood memories are concerned I don't remember any moment where Sonic or anything Sega took the centre stage. Perhaps they had significantly more appeal to arcade kids back then, but unfortunately I was a bit too young and also wasn't edgy enough to hit such venues so that's about it for me. It wasn't until a friend of mine in the junior high opened my eyes by introducing the Dreamcast and Phantasy Star Online that I got to know the whole legacy of an alternative gaming experience™ that is Sega. As an annoying hipster kind of guy as I am today I wholeheartedly resent I wasn't cool enough to be on that side as a kid. Looks like I've digressed too much from the topic about Genesis/Megadrive's relative lack of success in Japan so *TL;DR: It was more like SNES had an even bigger success here that sorta made Genesis/Megadrive pale in comparison.*

[@GoldStandardGames]

Thanks

[@funxiobolic]

Thanks for that story, it was interesting to read

[@EricAllenJett]

An amazing first-hand account of that era from the Japan perspective. Those were fun times and I'm glad today we all can experience everything those times had to offer in-full!

[@archibaldc.1833]

Great story.

[@swarthybullxxx]

Based

[@Julayla]

Gonna be honest about this: While I was one of those kids that did like the cutesy games when I was younger, I was more into "trying different variety console games" kind of person. I mean I loved all the consoles I had growing up: NES, SNES, Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Genesis, Dreamcast, PS1, PS2, PS3, Turbo Grafx, N64, GBA, Gamecube, they were games that helped me coped when I was down and depressed when I need cheering up. And I didn't mind most games growing up. But only if they were really good games that I liked.

[@ToxcynTV]

I love buying Megadrive games in Japan. They are so much cheaper. I got gunstar heroes for 40$ complete instead of paying 100$ for the same game in the US

[@GoldStandardGames]

One of the greatest games of all time

[@x8slider]

Im into Japanese car culture, and the answer for this can be seen at car meets... Look at a western car shows / car meets. Lots if black sunglasses, arms crossed. Egos. #Style rules. Then look at Japanese car meets (nikko, 1jz day etc). You will see the difference right there. #Substance rules.

[@Midekai]

I always wondered why japanese gamers always talk so much about the PC engine, since the western version Turbo GrafX16 was sort of a lukewarm success here in america.. I had no idea it came out so much earlier in japan. That definitely hurt sega in japan for sure along with the small library of games and no rpgs

[@hitkid2456]

Just try to envision a timeline in which PCE was never released (they never had any success in the subsequent generation anyway), and they instead backed SEGA. The latter's fortunes may very well have increased significantly for the long haul, and the gaming landscape looking very different.

[@timf7413]

It's probably also worth noting that Nintendo of Japan didn't really have the same policy (and definitely not the same reputation) for things like content censorship and being perceived as "a toy" as they did in North America and other markets which was a huge part of Sega's campaign to differentiate themselves and carve out a unique brand identity. .

[@typhoonth8689]

Worth noting that "kawaii" isn't considered "childish" or "girly" by Japanese standards. So, cute mascots were more popular here than cool commandos in Japan among all age and gender groups

[@thehumbleone1983]

Sega 4 Ever From Australia here feel the Mega Mega Drive Power 👍👍👍👍👍

[@jonasthiel6420]

The japan cover arts are amazing.

[@hitkid2456]

I truly think Ex-Ranza has THE best art of all time, no matter the platform.

[@zachcollins6883]

I love my Genesis! One of my favorite consoles.

[@rockjr7629]

Same

[@brilianairlangga1408]

Why American just keep slaping Genesis name on that megadrive

[@fentazen2677]

Because there was a company that actually had the rights to the mega drive name

[@EricAllenJett]

Didn't help that the massive Super Mario Bros. 3 was released a week prior to the MD's release. Talk about being overshadowed....

[@segaunited3855]

SMB 3 was released in Japan November 11,1988, MD launched With an October 28th Trial Release.

[@megagrey]

I remember one of the Genesis games that intrigued me most as a kid was Rocket Knight Adventures. Yeah, real gritty and realistic and for 'real men', that one.

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

A Japanese game by Konami... Who were not supporting the MD at launch.

[@megagrey]

@@TopHatGamingManChannel Oh there's no disputing what you said about different cultures and markets. That was just my personal experience, how I remember the RKA cover catching my eye.

[@segaunited3855]

@@TopHatGamingManChannel Konami didn't start developing for SEGA until 1991.

[@FastTquick]

I think I’ve read at one point that one of the reasons the Genesis/Mega Drive failed in Japan was because Sega of Japan didn’t bundle Sonic the Hedgehog with the system. Part of the reason the system was a success in western markets was because Tom Kalinske had the foresight to release Sonic the Hedgehog as a pack-in game knowing it would be a smash hit. Sega of Japan sadly did not heed this advice, which would unfortunately be one many instances of disagreements between Sega of Japan and Sega of America.

[@Dragonrider1227]

I think the comments you mentioned hit the nail. Westerners are often trying to make gaming more “grown up” or proving it’s not “kid stuff” so they make grittier, more hardcore looking games. Especially during the “in your face” 90s. Japan on the other hand LOVES it’s cute, colorful characters and Nintendo had that in abundance

[@ReinaHW]

I'm not a man and I loved the Mega Drive, I enjoyed games like Shining Force, Streets Of Rage 2, Sonic 3 and Knuckles and many more games. Such a great system for it's time. I was very much a Sega girl back then and moved onto being an Xbox girl, still fond of Xbox to this day.

[@mrmysterious8124]

For Halloween can you look at the original Splatterhouse trilogy💀🔪👹👻🎃

[@AspieGamer1986]

Others may buy consoles for Sports games, but not me. I don't care about that.

[@boonboy8333]

Sega should have gone with their wonderboy franchise to challenge mario, instead they chose a blue rat that runs fast. But anyway the best arcade platformer ever made is on the mega drive, Alisia Dragoon

[@ValisFan3]

Its Yuko Ahso from Valis in the thumbnail!

[@Chaos89P]

That's the game's name! Oddly, Valis's best outing was on the TurboGrafx-16. It won't be on the TurboGrafx-16 Mini, however.

[@chocobochick5390]

Yes!

[@FoxUnitNell]

The n64 had a lot of sports games with a lot of snow boarding and jet ski games cause the system was the best at it though the saturn had the best 2d graphics at the time for the most accurate anime games.

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

The "real men" things interesting. It's one reason I like the Genesis library more than SNES's- I like action games and SNES didn't really have many compared to Genesis. BUT then there's PC Engine which catered to both. I got my action platformers, my shmups and if I feel like an RPG it's also there. Of that generation PCE is my pick, just has all of what I want from a console

[@waltersobchak7275]

This channel is a gold mine

[@PaperBanjo64]

Yes it is, you actually learn something from Top Hat Gaming Man unlike the average gaming channel that just makes lame jokes that aren't funny.

[@wrayday7149]

Sega games always looked like they lack polish. Where games like Sonic stood out because they had a nice color palette, smooth gameplay, nice animations, the same couldn’t be said for the majority of Sega games. Then there was that horrible experience that Sega passed off as sound and music....

[@juiceala]

I dunno if yoy’re interested but back in the 90s we grew up with lesser known Mega Drive titles that were veeery popular in my country (due to piracy being legal back then) games like Tetris (MD version( and even that isometric car racing game by RARE which we grew up with on Mega Drive, I didn’t even know there was a NES version until much later on youtube, our culture was kinda weird when it comes to gaming in the 90s here in the middle east as it was a mixer of European and Japanese titles mostly.

[@andrewortiz9226]

Sega has a history of not doing good when a new console is launched: Sega Saturn, Sega 32X, Sega CD, Dreamcast etc.. But I'm still excited about Sega announcing Dreamcast mini for next year!!

[@andrewortiz9226]

@Serious Face what's up??

[@BlownMacTruck]

Uh, the Dreamcast was one of the most successful launches ever, and was the biggest launch to date when it did. The Genesis in the US also launched with very respectable numbers.

[@strykah92]

BlownMacTruck he might’ve meant the Japanese launches of those platforms. The Dreamcast bombed in Japan, even more than the Mega Drive.

[@Pan_Z]

You hit the nail on the head. If you look at the life cycle of the Mega Drive in Japan it goes: Competing with the PC Engine, a system with more games and a wider colour palette to Competing with the SNES, a system with games more suited for Japan and a wider colour palette. The lack of the games due to Nintendo's exclusivity rights early on hurt the system in Japan. The games gradually developed for the Genesis were more appealing to Western audiences. Consider Sega's marketing in the West too. I don't know if Japan had anything quite as memorable as "Genesis does what Nintendon't."

[@iiOmarSP]

Speaking of regions where the MD was popular, IIRC it was the only console worth buying in the Middle East due to two things: 1) Nintendo pretty much shot themselves with high prices when they tried to go against the MSX, so when the SNES came out, it kind of had no chance; since it came from a company with next to *no ground* to stand on, pretty much people remember the MD in that region only, and I've only seen like...4 people who actually owned a SNES in that region. 2) Had next to 0 support in the region, whereas Sega started out with translated manuals for some of their games, and all of their console manuals had translated manuals, which made them the only console manufacturer (*AT THE TIME*) ((other than Sony)) where people bought their consoles.

[@jesuszamora6949]

Similar thing happened in Europe/UK in the 8-bit generation. Nintendo handed off the NES to Mattel, who had no real idea how to push the system, so when Mastertronic brought out the graphically superior, and cheaper, Master System, they cleaned house, aided by European publishers, who'd become constrained by the limitations of the C64, Spectrum and CPC, which had become rather dated by the time the Master System hit. Basically, Nintendo had no presence and Sega built a loyal fanbase that stayed with them until the PlayStation came along.

[@Chedmond]

The Genesis/Megadrive was, and still is one of my all-time favorite consoles. I do think that one thing that limited Sega however, is that they always seemed reluctant to overshadow the arcade games they were making with their home consoles. Imagine if the Megadrive pretty much WAS a system 16 board with its color palette and superscaler technology. (They added that to the Sega CD later on, but only a few games really used it). It was a similar situation with the Saturn, as they were one of the companies that ushered in the 3D polygon racing and fighting games era of the mid to late '90s. However, they originally designed the Saturn to be a 2D graphics powerhouse, but the Sony Playstation specs is what made them add the RISC processors for 3D games in the late stages of development.

[@maroon9273]

Sega had made a lot of mistake along adding another Hitachi cpu during the development of the Saturn. Hitachi should have advise Sega to pair the sh2 with a powerful and fast RISC CoP or DSP. Or enhancing the Saturn DSP clock speeds to 28.6 mhz and making it program friendly with C programming and low level assembly. Also, VDP1 should use rectangle sprites along with quad support or just remove the quad support entirely and do it via aoftware. As for the genesis, I wish they found a way to increase the color pallete and on screens colors as close to the snes and 32x. Also, better expansion connectivity for the cart and expansion port. Last, Better and clearer pcm/adpcm/pwm sound quality. If that is not feasible at least they should thought about having expansion compatibility in the cart and expansion port for future purposes.

[@DeaDGoD_XIV]

The Mega Drive was built on the arcade architecture, though. That's one thing Sega did with their consoles, built them off of the improvements they made in the arcade, and their advertising (at least here in the states) constantly touted their "arcade perfect" home console ports.

[@segaunited3855]

@@maroon9273 Saturn doesn't use SH2. And Saturn doesn't use Warps for Polygons. PS1 does.

[@maroon9273]

@@segaunited3855 my made mistake on the warping sprites. Meant say rectangle sprites over quads. Ot have rectangle as the mean set up for sprites with quad support or make quads via software. However if you did your research the Sega Saturn main cpu is the SH2 while the CD/sound section had the sh1 and m68eck cpu.

[@sega_kid4288]

I disagree on the PC engine having better graphics. It has a few more colours, but it couldn't push as many sprites as fast. It could have never done a game like Streets of Rage 2, plus the Mega Drive had better sound. Also the Mega Drive was around for like 10 years in Japan. Just because it wasn't #1 doesn't make it a failure in my opinion, which is odd because I'm American and as every American knows if you ain't first you're last!!

[@jesuszamora6949]

... The Megadrive had better sound? Man, you need to re-examine what you just said. Sega made the absolute best of it, but the PCE had many games that sounded great.

[@ryzmaker11]

lol, what pc engine game sound better than the sonic series, the streets of rage series, the thunder force series, mega turrican or comix zone just to name a very few??? in fact, there are several mega drive cart games that sound better than pc engine *CD* counterparts, as with golden axe, hellfire or strider and while many of those mega drive games from back then already sounded awesome, in the meantime, people still push the system further! did you listen to the demo "overdrive 2" or the game "sonic the next level"? also tons of awesome music covers by the likes of savaged regime or chiptunedraijin. look after their youtube channels in case you're genuinely interested or check out my playlists "Mega Drive expanded universe" or "VGM | MD MD MD pt.7 - originals vs Mega Drive covers"

[@8bitwarrior]

The genesis was my first 16 bit experience and altered beast, columns and shinobi were my first games I got to play. I still loved my NES but this thing started innovation in games. Nintendo was resting on its laurels and this kicked off all the 16 bit era console wars :)

[@ryzmaker11]

And technically the Mega Drive is better than the PC Engine in most respects: CPU, resolution (most games in 320x224 pixels whereas most PC Engine games run in 256x224), scrollings and sprites capabilities, sound... the only area where the PC Engine has the edge is on-screen colors but this advantage is lessened by the fact that both systems have the same master palette reducing the possibilities on PC Engine side. Anyway while some multiplats have better graphics on PC Engine, others have better graphics on Mega Drive and the Mega Drive has games that look like next gen compared to what's on PC Engine: the whole Sonic series, Streets of Rage 2, Panorama Cotton, Gunstar Heroes, Alien Soldier, Kawasaki Superbikes, Batman & Robin... Also the Mega Drive has better connectivity (native RGB + two controller ports + even a phone jack on model 1) and better accessories (including the fact that it has light guns unlike the PC Engine). Now Mega Drive vs SNES is a closer call but personally I think that the Mega Drive technical advantages are more relevant (better CPU; higher resolution in most games; etc.) and I much prefer the Mega Drive overall style (the look, the sound, the game library...).

[@genstarmkg5321]

Not so much in the CPU. First of all, PCE's CPU performed a lot more efficiently when it came to basic operations, effectively being faster than the one on the MD. Where it trips really hard is when trying to do advanced operations (aritmehics and the likes). PCE's CPU maybe ideal for games that have a lot of ongoing but not for games that have complex things on it. To put an example, the PCE would perform better at shumps and run n' gun games, while on the other hand, the MD had amazing things as physics (Puggsy), effects only thought to be possible on the SNES (Red Zone) or even freaking 3D games and FPSes without chips (Hard Drivin', Race Drivin', LHX Attack Helicopter, F15, Star Cruiser, Zero Tolerance, Bloodshot, Tectoy's Duke Nukem 3D). So, different CPUs for different things. (On the other hand, what was really thinking Nintendo when they decide to take out the initially planned 10Mhz M68K to replace it with a crappy 3Mhz CPU for the supposed NES compatibility that never came out to be????)

[@maroon9273]

@@genstarmkg5321 also, pc engine did better with sega arcade games than the genesis. It's more flexible than the Genesis especially when it comes to expansion connectivity.

[@segaunited3855]

@@genstarmkg5321 That comment makes absolutely no sense at all. Do you know anything about the Mega Drive's CPU or PC Engine's? The PC Engine was WEAKER than the Mega Drive and a Generation BEHIND it. The PC Engine's CPU used a Dual 8-bit Data Register Bus and a 16-bit Address Register. the PC Engine even did a very poor job at DMA duties using Dual Instruction 8-bit data. The Notion that PC Engine had a Better CPU than Mega Drive is HILARIOUS and incredulous. Mega Drive's Motorola 68000 was a 32-BIT 16-bit Double Instruction Mirco Computer. The MD used a Dual 16-bit Data Register and 32 BIT Address Register. PC Engine was originally designed to outdo Famicom, when NEC saw that SEGA Mega Drive was a True 16-bit Console, they decided to double down and mislead people about its specs by LYING about it being a 16-bit Console when it wasn't. "What was Really Thinking Nintendo?". What? Super Famicom is a SoC Apple IIGS Computer converted into a Game Console. It uses MOS6502 language and even has DSP. Something not even Mega Drive has. Ricoh A522 relies on APU to make up for its 8-bit only Address Register, the SA-1 uses DSP and runs at 16-bits of Address Register Data. A522 overall has a 16-bit Data Register DMA, unlike the PC Engine.

[@atolm1]

First! Love Sega!

[@Jikyuu]

It interesting, I don't often see Mega Drive hardware and only a few games in Book Off and other second hand stores here.

[@malant2719]

One of the main reasons the mega drive didn't do as well in Japan is because they didn't have key companies working for it. Rpg specialist's Enix and squaresoft

[@hitkid2456]

Square has never released a single title for SEGA in all its history, and today they have reached all three console platforms. Just goes to show what a different beast they are today.

[@malant2719]

Enix before they merged with square did release a couple of saturn games

[@DanteCrowlley]

*It feels uncanny to see native english speakers saying Megadrive instead of Genesis, I always thought the English speakers only knew it by the Genesis name, while we down at South America find strange if someone says SEGA Genesis instead of Megadrive*

[@alexojideagu]

I'd argue apart from Street Fighter 2, the Mega drive was clearly graphically superior to the PC Engine. Most PC Engine games look in between the Master System and Megadrive.

[@jesuszamora6949]

Not really. The PCE could pump out more colors, leading to the games looking a hell of a lot more vibrant compared to the relatively drab appearance of Genesis titles.

[@segaunited3855]

@@jesuszamora6949 Nope. The PC Engine was FAR weaker than Mega Drive.

[@jesuszamora6949]

@@segaunited3855 Generally, yes, but it DID have a higher color palette compared to the Genesis. One can be MOSTLY weaker and still have a couple strengths. The Genesis was obviously able to push more on screen at once, for example.

[@segaunited3855]

@@jesuszamora6949 Motorola 68000 was capable of up to 20,000 Sprites and 512 Colors at once and averaged 4,000. NEC PC Engine maxed at 5,000 Sprites and had up to 200 Colors. PC Engine's Palette could be maxed out easily, but it its Average Color Palette was only higher than Master System/Mark III.

[@tHeWasTeDYouTh]

8:38 the marketing of the Sega Mega Drive in the West was done by Sega of America. The Mega Drive in Japan was headed by Sega of Japan and Americans had no say in that market, The failure of the Mega Drive in Japan was the fault of the Japanese team while the success in the west was because of people like Tom Kalinske and the guy before him but in the end Tom ruined everything by believing the future of games was FMV

[@midwestmonster9886]

So, basically, console success is like being a triathlon athlete - with Japan, North America, and Europe representing the individual competitions. You can win a medal in one field, but still come in third if you lose in the other two.

[@simonbutterfield4860]

This is partly the reason I hate Ninetendon't! I grew up in the 1980s and by the time the 16 bit era hit the high gear I had grown out of the cutsie platform games the the big N specialised in and I wanted something a little bit deeper and more adult. Nintendo largely ignored the more adult section of the market and those people who had reached their late teens or early 20s weren't really interested in just a toy. I know I'm gonna be in for a smack down here from Nintendon'ts fans but in the 80s I had a Acorn 8bit micro and the magazines that supported those micros weren't out and out kids comics that the Spectrum/Amstrad/Commodore mags mostly were.

[@NotaPizzaGRL]

@Dean Satan No love for Metroid or Zelda?

[@waifubreaks1572]

What about stuff like Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger? That's very much more teen and adult aimed.

[@zednotzee]

I'm actually surprised. I had never known that Sega failed to seriously compete with Nintendo in Japan the way it did here in North America. But as i say that, i realize that I was the only kid i knew who had a Genesis, and i only got it near the end of it's life after years of playing SNES

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

They won eventually. The Saturn was way more popular than the N64 in Japan.

[@zednotzee]

@@TopHatGamingManChannel I guess that shouldn't be surprising. Sticking with outdated cartridges really hurt Nintendos 3rd party support

[@MegaManNeo]

I wouldn't be surprised if the MegaDrive failed especially in its earlier years in Japan due to how Nintendo isolated all 3rd parties and forbid them to do games for the competition. Then again, that fate didn't just affect SEGA but NEC also and those had a better lineup initially. Seeing how Japan loves the Saturn compared to the west gives away its market is about everything Europe, America and Australia isn't and vice versa. That said, maybe the lack of launch titles as well as games barely fitting its audience was a reason for them to skip it? Japanese loves RPGs, Nintendo with Square and ENIX in their hands had plenty of that. Phantasy Star and Shining Force alone could never beat that.

[@StriderVM]

AFAIK. The exclusivity doesn't apply to Japan. At least, not the way Nintendo did it in the US.

[@corey2232]

That would make sense if Nintendo only isolated 3rd parties in Japan only....but they didn't. Nintendo's policy towards 3rd parties were effective in EVERY terrirtory in the world, so why would it only affect Japan? Not only that, but it didn't stop the PC Engine from beating out the Mega Drive in Japan too....even Sega's least popular system, the Saturn, doubled the sales of the Mega Drive. It had almost nothing to do with Nintendo's 3rd party policies, and everything to do with very poor game support for a long period of time.

[@segaunited3855]

Mega Drive broke even until 1991 and breezed past the PC Engine that year.

[@juiceala]

Hey top hat, I had an idea earlier this morning for an episode, why don’t you talk about the lesser known PC version of Sonic 3D Blast? I’m referring to the PC exclusive version not the one on Steam, it recently got a fan-made patch to work on modern computers, it’s slightly based on the Saturn version but is different as it’s its own version, I can hook you up if you want it, in fact maybe you can make a comparison video of all three versions (Mega Drive, Saturn, and PC). This can perhaps be a new series, like making a comparison of all three versions of Sonic Jump, the original Sonic Jump, Sonic Jump 2 (both lesser known and obscure) and the iOS Sonic Jump, I can hook you up with those as well alongside a working emulator, what do you say?

[@TheRestartPoint]

Cool and you can buy that version for pennies I often see it in charity shops - Xplosive Range yes?

[@SomeOrangeCat]

@@TheRestartPoint I loved Xplosive's PC releases of the Saturn games. I was inhaling their House of the Dead and Virtua Cop ports.

[@juiceala]

Sherbert's World of Schlock oh yeah thise were awesome, played a ton of Sega Rally Championship and House of the Dead back in the day!

[@brianoconnell6459]

Dammit, now I'm going to have to do some fansubs on Harmageddon Genma Wars, where the good guy is the Sega Megadrive, and the invading demon forces are based on classic NES characters and villains. Might even dub it. Damn youuuuu!

[@andrewmaasch1724]

Despite the Megadrive failing in Japan - they still got some pretty sweet exclusives over there! Vixen 357, Pulseman and Monster World 4 (not released in the west until the Wii era) are all games us manly westerners missed out on 🤔

[@amigaamigo5307]

Sega’s arcade present could have also played a part.

[@MrCalverino]

I got my genesis Christmas 93' with sonic 2...it was everything for a 8 yr old me

[@cristianandresfuenzalidahi4181]

Ok. One thing though. The mega drive won in terms of sales in South America only because of Brazil... (selling imported consoles there was too expensive and Sega struck gold by associating with Tectoy to manufacture the console locally and sell it at a decent price. Sega ran that race practically alone. This isn’t true for other countries in South America, though. In Chile for example, the Super Nintendo reigned supreme. I mean we had the genesis but I know virtually no one (ever) that owned one. All of my friends including myself were suckers for the SNES. There was no war in Chile, only long and peaceful SMW, Zelda or Super Metroid sessions. That said, I bought the Genesis mini and I’m loving it... it’s like being a kid again but in an alternate universe.

[@GeoNeilUK]

Europe and Japam share the same DVD region. We're both Region 2. However relevant that might be today, I do wonder what would have happened had Nintendo decided to market their home computer prototype (based on the Famicom/NES) in Europe as a home computer. Would the European game market have been more similar to the Japanese market?

[@bootmii98]

Yeah, the AES was a much better fit for Europe, just as the NES was a much better fit for America.

[@mopbrothers]

Nintendo ruled Japan with an iron fist. North America and Europe didn't have this problem and we loved the Genesis and SNES equally. Nintendo was all about anime, non-violent, Disney-eque, silly characters. Look at Mario. He fights turtles and evil mushrooms. Look at Sonic. He fights machines with heavy weaponry. Mario games don't cater to Pop Culture. Sonic games do. Nintendo is Disney. Sega is Warner Bros. Nintendo is CocaCola. Sega is Pepsi. Mario is Mickey Mouse. Sonic is Bugs Bunny. Mario is Classic, good natured. Sonic is Edgy, cool guy. I'm surprised no one has made these allusions.

[@mopbrothers]

@Stuart Dooley I'm glad you understand my video game business view perspective lol

[@Zontar82]

it dind't "failed". just didn't sell as much as the snes(which came later than the md by the way)

[@corey2232]

Some of the info is a bit misleading, North America pretty much carried the Mega Drive to a point where it could even compete with SNES, even if the SNES eventually beat it out. The SNES & Mega Drive almost sold the exact same amount in Europe lifetime, and outside of Japan, North America & Europe, the Mega Drive only sold under 1 million units (same with the SNES). South America & Australia accounted for nearly none of the total sales for either system. So essentially you have the Mega Drive/Genesis selling almost the same amount in North America, Europe & the rest of the world, while Japan was the lone holdout. The SNES sold over 17 million in Japan while the Mega Drive sold under 4 million. THAT is main & only real disparity. Yes, the Mega Drive beat out the SNES in Europe, but by less than 1 million total units, and yes, SNES beat out Genesis by about 5 million units, but that was due to Sega of America & Sega of Japan battling it out, and all the Sega CD/32X nonsense that further split the fanbase. Meanwhile, Nintendo stayed consistently supporting their system with strong 1st party games & reinvigorated the market with games like Donkey Kong Country & Star Fox, pushing the hardware until the N64 released. Anyway, Sega gained a huge foothold in the market because of how well the Genesis did in North America, not in spite of it. Look at it this way, the NES sold 34 million in North America, while the SNES sold only 22 million units. The Genesis on the other hand sold 17 million of its 30 million in North America Alone, and was beating out the SNES for most its lifecycle until the very end due to more SNES support (think Xbox 360 beating PS3 for all but the final years after MS stopped supporting it).

[@maroon9273]

What put a huge dent to the sales of the genesis is the 32x. They should have kept pushing and improve software titles instead of releasing 32x since the Saturn was coming out anyways. If they really wanted to improve the system for the 32-bit era they should chose continued with software titles like virtua fighter, star wars arcade and other titles to the genesis using the SVP chip. Also, enhancement chips for sound, color, decompression, maybe a 32-bit CPU chip instead of releasing another system hardware that will take away it's market shares in the states.

[@segaunited3855]

Genesis LTD in North America was 23 Million. SNES in the US was 18 Million. Genesis beat the SNES in the US handily by nearly 6 million SKUs. Lifetime? BOTH Genesis and Super NES were discontinued on July 1,1997 in North America. And by the end of 1997, both were PULLED from ALL retailers in the Americas. Except South America where Genesis is STILL being sold to this day. Nintendo stopped selling SNES in Europe in May 1998. Super Famicom bit the dust in Japan on January 31,1998 as Nintendo OFFICIALLY stopped production of Super Famicom on March 31,1998.

[@segaunited3855]

@@maroon9273 SEGA of Japan originally asked SOA to design and launch a Genesis/Sega CD 32-bit Upgrade using MARS/Giga Drive hybrid in Early 1993. SOA designed 32X because they FEARED a huge Dropoff coming 5 years into Genesis' life. SOJ kept warning SOA that 32X was a HORRIBLE idea and SOA didn't listen. Even though SOJ had already REJECTED the idea.

[@maroon9273]

@@segaunited3855 the craziest thing is that introduced the concept as a upgraded genesis console and agree with SOA add-on. Too late for SoJ to convinced SOA to drop the add-on. Big mistake by SoJ Also, they feared the Jaguar and the 3do early on. Could have went the Nintendo route and use enhancement chips instead.

[@segaunited3855]

@@maroon9273 Correct. Except on part. It wasn't SEGA of Japan that failed to convince SOA to scrap 32X/MARS, it was SEGA's then Parent Company CSK that greenlit it. SOJ had zero involvement in 32X, as CSK and SOA handled 32X. Correct. SOA feared 3DO. Trip Hawkins was personally told by Tom Kalinske that 3DO was a serious threat to System 32 Arcade Board. SEGA abandoned System 32 in '93 because of 3DO.

[@ivanhenley]

That pretty much hit the nail on the head as to why the Genesis / Mega Drive didn't do so well in Japan. It's one of my favorite systems, but then I owned a SNES too, so I had a pretty diverse game library. Brand loyalty definitely seemed stronger in America, since most of the Sega hate came from people who religiously supported Nintendo. I was more interested in fun games, so I was less of a console loyalist. I think game selection was probably the biggest factor in the Mega Drive never having a good foothold in Japan compared to the other consoles of the period. Great video.

[@Chaos89P]

The Japanese prefer cute, Americans prefer 'tude, and the Genesis has the latter in spades.

[@IanMartinScreenwriter]

Sega forever

[@franwex]

Poor Sega, when their consoles were a success elsewhere they would fail in Japan. Succeed in Japan and fail elsewhere.

[@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 .

[@teddyinjapan]

you know what failed harder in Japan? Every generation of the XBOX consoles

[@hitkid2456]

The 360 did the best of them, and had a small following I believe.

[@madhatter8508]

The CD add-ons were a big factor in Japan, too. The PCE CD add-on was just a CD-ROM drive and a memory upgrade. After 1989-1990, most of the PC Engine's games were released on CD. It was very well supported and cheap to produce. The Sega CD on the other hand is practically its own console, with additional graphics and audio chips, another CPU, and bridge RAM because the idiot who designed the Mega Drive didn't plan for future expandability, so he couldn't add a CD-ROM drive without a second CPU streaming it to the first one. Furthermore, they used CD audio drives that caught fire during QA testing. It was an unmitigated disaster and Sega cancelled in-house development for the platform after only a year on the market. While the few games released for it were great, it was extremely expensive to produce. They released that godawful Sega CDX all-in-one in 1994 at a price point of $400 when the PlayStation and Saturn launched at that same price in Japan in that same year.

[@maroon9273]

After that releasing the 32x. Maybe the sega cd was better off not having the scaling rotation chip and cpu and also utilizing the cart port or either way having mixing video/audio cables like the 32x. Genesis expansion ports was really useless and crippled the console. The sega cd hardware design is bad and expensive as well.

[@madhatter8508]

@@maroon9273 The problem is the Mega CD absolutely needed that second CPU because the first CPU could not poll the CD-ROM drive and play games at the same time, therefore it could not have streamed music. The reason for that is that the design team did not connect the CPU to the expansion port like they should have. There were pins on the CPU left disconnected that would have allowed the CPU to stream from the disc and play games at the same time. They also neglected to allow an add-on to expand the system's color palette when the VDP had support for such a feature. The scaling chip, PCM chip, and accompanying RAM required for those things was completely unnecessary. Ideally, they would have designed the Mega Drive for expandability so all they would need would be a proper CD-ROM drive, a modest RAM upgrade (192-256 kB), and a palette upgrade to increase the color palette to match the SNES. It wouldn't have increased the number of colors onscreen, but the Mega Drive with the CD attachment would then have the ability to display 61 out of 32,768 colors (148 with shadow and highlight). Under these ideal circumstances, the Mega CD would only cost around $200 at launch and when the PlayStation came out at $300 in the US, a cost-reduced, integrated Genesis/CD would have cost $200. By the time the Nintendo 64 came out, they may have been able to knock it down to $150.

[@maroon9273]

@@madhatter8508Keep the sega cd ram at 256 kb and forget about having a scaling rotation and the 512 kb ram and released the chip as a enhancement chip later on. Or maybe they should have waited until 93 for a 32-bit sega cd in the similar fashion as the 32x but with less specs with cpu using one sh1. Or better yet scrap the plan of the cd add on and just create cd games for home computers during the time. Plus, fix the expansion and cart port issue on the model 2 since they failed to do so on the model 1 version of the genesis.

[@madhatter8508]

@@maroon9273 Sega would have been better off doing one of two things: release hardware expansions in bits and pieces like NEC with their system cards and CD-ROM drive, or do what Nintendo did and just include the expansion chip in the cart. It made SNES games more expensive, but in hindsight Nintendo's reputation wasn't marred by a CD-ROM add-on or a 32X of their own. I think that had Sega released the SVP chip in a cart for $50, it would have been far more successful than the 32X at $150, and we would have got Virtua Fighter on the Genesis as well as other Model 1 games like Star Wars Arcade and Wing War. Maybe Namco would have ported their Polygonizer games like Cyber Sled to the SVP cart, and maybe Sega would have developed games from the ground up for the SVP cart like that jetski game they teased on the 32X that they never delivered. Even if it only had 10 games, it would have been worth the $50 asking price. They could've even released Virtua Racing as a lock-on cart, allowing other games to lock on and use the SVP processor in Virtua Racing.

[@maroon9273]

@@madhatter8508 Correct, at least Sega could have made at least 4 to 6 enhancement chips for SVP and maybe software driven 32-bit graphics chip, scaling rotation chip, decompression, audio and maybe a 32-bit color enhancement/rendering chip as well. Or have one systems cart upgrade for the sega cd including even arcade cards with ram expansion maybe for graphics as well for the system during 93/94.

[@Mr.madmight266]

I'm pretty sure that the other reason the console failed was because it was too expensive. And because it wasn't a vibrant colourful looking system.

[@iPlaySEGA]

The SEGA Mega Drive was a failure in Japan...? Yeah shure...

[@INFERNO95]

iPlaySEGA Third place means it failed. Sonic failed in japan.

[@segaunited3855]

@@INFERNO95 No it doesn't. And FALSE, Sonic didn't fail in Japan. Sonic CD was the top selling game in Japan for 6 weeks straight.

[@cabbusses]

Random trivia: the JP Megadrive and JP Sega Pico have the same lifetime sales totals over their lifespans.

[@ericp631]

It's not really that confounding. Sega Genesis/mega drive was geared towards a western audiences only. Everything from the design of the system, the marketing, and especially the library(to succeed in Japan you need jrpgs, visual novels, ect. which Sega was lacking in). It was basically the early 90's version of the Xbox.

[@donaldsalkovick396]

Why would we no like EA sports? Tiger Woods PGA 2004 and 2005 were the best golf games around along with Madden etc. I don't understand what you mean

[@jesuszamora6949]

EA is quite dispised NOWADAYS. Up until the 7th gen, they were an okay enough company.

[@ryzmaker11]

hey @ Top Hat Gaming Man, my other comment doesn't show up, the one with the sales figures. can you make it appear please (yeah, youtube can be annoying with its filter) and if possible, can you stick it? I gonna share this every where I can although most of those infos are already well known but the more spreaded the better :)

[@heilong79]

The PC-engine graphics are very basic compared to the Megadrive, there is something about the way it handles sprites, shocked it could pull of street fighter.

[@maroon9273]

At least it had decent sega arcade ports

[@16bitfightclub34]

basic? I find conversions of segas own arcade games to be superior on PC Engine? BASIC!???

[@strykah92]

If you mean Street Fighter 1/Fighting Street, it’s hardly shocking that any 16-bit platform could handle it my dude. The main thing that made the PC Engine port awkward was the lack of buttons on the controller.

[@alvarochaves1999]

(Note: The Mega Drive sold more than 3 million units in that region) Because of the PC Engine success.

[@rodrigoaraya7553]

You drooling all over the mic is pretty distracting, specially using headphones....anyhow, it was an awesome video as always

[@valrond]

Two words: Tom Kalinske.

[@mechmancannon]

I am curious what sold better in Japan for the Sega Mega Drive; Mortal Kombat 1, or Street Fighter 2 SCE.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Given Japanese gamers' utter disgust towards anything produced in America? Probably SF2 CE.

[@swarthybullxxx]

@@SomeOrangeCat mk1 is garbage so they're not wrong

[@mechmancannon]

@@skurinski Mortal Kombat 1 was available for Sega Mega Drive in Japan, so I don't know how my question could be completely irrelevant.

[@mechmancannon]

​@Apharmd Battler I am still looking for a number ratio fact. Genesis / Mega Drive was the way to have Mortal Kombat at home in fall of 1993. If most gamers in Japan owned a Super Famicom in 1993, they would probably have already bought Street Fighter 2 Turbo earlier in the same year. I had Street Fighter 2 Turbo on my SNES the month it was released, and Mortal Kombat 1 offered something other than Street Fighter 2 later in the same year. I have the assumption that the Super Famicom version of Mortal Kombat 1 was also censored.

[@mechmancannon]

@Apharmd Battler I imagine the Japanese would rather have played Ranma 1/2, Dragon Ball Z, or something like that. I had Ranma 1/2 The Hard Battle here in the USA, and it was the first game I ever traded into Funcoland. lol, so yeah Top Hat Gaming Man is right!

[@MatthewDaSmitdog]

The MDs JRPG lineup wasn't bad by any stretch, aside from Phantasy Star, there was also Shining/Shining Force, Dragon Slayer, Langrisser 4, Landstalker, and Beyond Oasis, among others. They just weren't as prolific or memorable in the scale of popularity (everything save of PS) as the franchises that were loyal to Nintendo. One thing that helped Sega overcome its weakness to sell in its home country was going outside the box in their marketing everywhere else, and it worked wonders for them over the next 10 or so years before going to the third-party software status it enjoys to this very day.

[@DeaDGoD_XIV]

Landstalker is truly underrated

[@Hecatom]

PCE also had a myriad of hentai games and visual novels. It was a hard battle for sega.

[@segaunited3855]

PC Engine outsold Mega Drive until 1991.

[@realsitu6602]

Agreed, couldnt have put better wording than That to it my Mate

[@knightshifter2201]

Japan has some kind of weird Deranged love affair with Nintendo for some reason and I don’t understand it.

[@INFERNO95]

Nintendo understood japan gamers better than sega. Sega was too busy being loud and annoying while Nintendo was being creative and unique.

[@Thomas-te2lg]

Japanese gamers didn't really care for the N64 yet greatly enjoyed the Saturn, go figure.

[@Thomas-te2lg]

@Apharmd Battler Yeah, the more "Western" N64 and GameCube weren't particularly popular in Japan, especially since they lost the JRPGs that made the NES and SNES popular there.

[@alexojideagu]

At one point the PC Engine outsold the NES

[@Thomas-te2lg]

@@alexojideagu Yes, for a bit.

[@michaelromeo9567]

@johnedsel I developped developped an interest to Japanese culture too with MegaDrive and SEGA's Legacy. Till these days. SEGA's mascott wasn't an American/Italian new yorker plumber. _Firts it was a Ninja. _Then you had Joe Musashi/Shinobi. (reference Japanese History and litterature.) _Then you had Alex Kidd eating an Onigiri at the en of each stage. _Then Psycho Fox with a lot of Japanese shinto elements(Ritual Shide for Transformation and Japanese _Shrines in a mARIO LIKE GAME!) _Then Sonic: avery Japane styled Hedgehog that can transform in Super Saïan! _Tails A fox (again) The Japanese Kitsune (Fox with multiple tails in Japanese mythology.) _SAKURA Wars..! It's like if it was fans of Japan who made a Game where Mechas where controlled by a Girl _wearing traditional Kimono with Cherry blossom Everywhere! Even in a MECHa GAME! lol _Then SHENMUE (the first Trip in Japan for a lot of fans) that takes place in Japan Koï Fish DOJO Japanese _food and so on... Not American characters but regular Japanese People of everyday life. _Then Yakuza series _Then Judgment and so on But evey body seems to forget these aspects and creating a wrong image of SEGA in general. That's what appens when you lose a war. Always. And when you're visiting Japan.. How could you miss this arcade Culture and SEGA centers..? This is the core of SEGA's Niche with games like Virtua Fighter 5 fs for instance. Few people compare to mainstream,but very demanding games. La crème de la crème... and in a way it's good to not be too mainstream believe me...

[@cornhustlah]

Awesome illustration at 0:30 source?

[@ggbetz]

When I was a kid at the height of the 16 bit wars, I knew very few people who had a Genesis, and they were overwhelmingly female (later I learned the term Sega Girl), and that's fine. Guys did play more sports games on Genesis/xbox than nintendo, but in hindsight the girls were the ones playing sonic, ecco, etc.Girls can like whatever they like. I just wish I had more experience with sega as a kid. I experiment more with sega games in genres I'd be comfortable ignoring on Nintendo consoles, because of their personality , such as sports games (mutant league), rts (general Chaos), etc.

[@jamesburchill7522]

I don't think there is anything to argue about man. You were spot on. Sega didn't really have software geared towards a Japanese audience. If you look at the PC Engine's library, it was chock full of anime titles, SHMUPS, quiz games, dating sims, a TONS of majong. The PC Engine got it's foot in the door. You also have to account for the licensing issues associated with developing for the Famicom. Ultimately the Sega games had a more western aesthetic. Western looking protagonists and settings. The Japanese probably didn't like that so much.

[@wolverinescratch]

Walk around Tokyo all you can see is Sega Arcades they probably seen there mistakes

[@dynastymusou8906]

Someone has to tell me... who is that anime-girl in the thumbnail and where is she from? Outstanding art!

[@jesuszamora6949]

She's Yuko Asho, from the Valis game series.

[@Storm_.]

Nice video, but you ended up with a little 'chicken and egg' scenario towards the end, about the lack of 'cute' games and characters being the downfall for the Japanese audience, since that was obviously the outcome of it being popular in the west. I guess it all comes down to release and the perfect analogy would be: the reason the Megadrive failed in Japan is the same reason the Saturn failed in the west - bad launch / not enough publisher support.

[@ciredecgellar8232]

one of the important reasons also in the failure of the mega drive in Japan is the technological gap between the console and the existing arcade boards as the System 32 and later Model 1, does not allow qualities ports. If sega was not famous for these consoles in Japan, the company was popular for its arcade games. This is one of the reasons of the Saturn's success.

[@NotaPizzaGRL]

@Apharmd Battler Wish Sega could've added scaling hardware to the Genesis liked they'd wanted to and connected the timer on the YM2612 so it would've been easier for developers to do sample playback. The later was surprising to hear because it would've cost little to nothing to do it.

[@segaunited3855]

Mega Drive didn't fail in Japan. This video is completely incorrect.

[@segaunited3855]

@Apharmd Battler Correct. Also, PC Engine only outsold Mega Drive until 1991. Before Sonic and Mega CD, SEGA Mega Drive in Japan was in 3rd place and had a cult following. Both Sonic and Sega Earth turned things around for SEGA, and in Japan by 1992, the MD breezed past PC Engine. Also keep in mind, is that in 1992, Hudson Soft and NEC got in a Patent Fight with each other which exposed NEC's marketing deception about PC Engine's underpowered specs, because of this the Japanese Gaming Press QUICKLY turned against NEC, and SNUBBED the Newly announced 32-bit NEC "PC Engine X". NEC ended production of PC Engine and Turbo Graphix16 as well as CD in September 1993. Worldwide Production of NEC's line was discontinued. Although Indie support for the PC Engine and CD continued until 1996, the PC Engine was ALREADY DEAD by '94. SEGA kept MD alive in Japan until 1996, it is absolutely ludicrous for THGM to call the MD a failure.

[@segaunited3855]

@Apharmd Battler It breezed past PCE by 1992, as PCE was discontinued in 1993 and MD in 1996. The slightly larger domestic LTD is from 1989-1990. Remember, PCE outsold MD its first 3 years.

[@ciredecgellar8232]

@Apharmd Battler The system 16 is a 1985 technologie .... abandonned in 1989 . .... In Japan nobody was expecting from Nintendo or NEC, arcade ports and true arcade experience, from Sega yes.

[@fentazen2677]

we love the genesis! it was so popular! love from ohio of north america!

[@fentazen2677]

btw, we in north america, call it the sega genesis.

[@videogamemusicrenditionsby7625]

During the 16 bit war era, I used to think that the Mega Drive was a HUGE success in Japan..

[@supersquare]

I got an ad for “The Genesis Story” before the video, turned out to be on the Bible lol

[@gonzoindigenousone8939]

One thing I never understood was why Sonic Team did music so well and most others did Genesis music so bad.

[@nmcintosh8769]

Streets of Rage?

[@hitkid2456]

Thunder Force, Shinobi, Golden Axe, Ranger-X, Super Hang-On, etc. etc... I think the PS games kinda count as Sonic Team tho.

[@orlandoturbo6431]

The Mega Drive has better games than the PC Engine how can it fail.Maybe it was the sound of some of the games that hurt the Japanese ears that turned them off lol.🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@napoleonfeanor]

almost nobody here owned one back then while many had a SNES

[@jonyfish8852]

Genesis could compete with the 8 bit NES and when SNES came out, it made the Genesis look and sound like an 8 bit. Take a game like super ghost and ghouls, the SNES was just about superior in every way.

[@helmetico3203]

What game is this 1:20?

[@afriend9428]

*PC Engine and Super Nintendo were most popular in Japan* ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

[@segaunited3855]

PC Engine floundered by 1991. So what are you talking about?

[@afriend9428]

Sega United *NEC*

[@segaunited3855]

@@afriend9428 NEC PC Engine floundered in sales by the end of 1991. By 1992, Mega Drive was in 2nd Place well behind Super Famicom in Japan.

[@TheRatlord74]

To be fair your hypothesis is pretty accurate in my opinion.

[@andrewpantlin409]

ok so my console history start, bought a game boy sold it, bought a snes...sold it ,bought a megadrive kept it

[@daveback3441]

Was the mega drive mini successful good for Sega

[@Leo___________]

The SEGA console that really deserved better was the *Master System*. Even as a NES fanboy I remember being blown away by how good it was and how great the games looked (when I finally tried it). I had no similar feelings of missing out when it came to the MEGA DRIVE/GENESIS. Today there are perhaps a handful of games that I feel like playing or trying, as opposed to the SNES library where I have trouble deciding on a top 30.