History of Sega: The Unsung Innovators of Gaming
The history of Sega goes back to 1940. The Japanese multinational company started as Standard Games and established its identity as Sega Enterprises, Ltd. in 1965. Originally, Sega started as an importer of coin-operated games. Then gradually, it expanded its reach to arcade games and slot machines. Given the increasing interest in the video game market in the 1980s, it started manufacturing gaming consoles.
The first two consoles the SG-1000 and Master System weren’t a big success when they were initially launched. This resulted in the company’s management buyout. However, things were far from over for Sega. In 1988, the companies first successful console in the market came to life: the Sega Genesis. This started the history of Sega that most of us have come to know. Although the first few years were chaotic, the Sega Genesis became a hit in 1991 after Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sega Genesis
Thanks to David Rosen and Hayao Nakayama’s execution of a management buyout, Sega Enterprises remained operational. The previous two consoles weren’t very redeeming at the time. Nintendo’s Entertainment System was sweeping the floor but once Sega Genesis was released on 29th October 1988, things changed for Sega Enterprises.
For four consecutive years, Genesis outsold the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was mainly the result of their brilliant marketing strategy. But not all good things are there to stay. In the following years, Sega witnessed one downfall after another. Over the decade, it manufactured consoles like the Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast.
Sega Saturn
Sega launched the Sega Saturn console in Japan on November 22, 1994. It was a home gaming console following the very successful Sega Genesis. Although it was initially successful in Japan, the US market proved unscalable for Sega. And then, the Nintendo 64 debuted in 1996 in the market and gamers went into a frenzy to get their hands on it.
After this, the Sega Saturn lost what little shares it had left until 1998 when it was finally discontinued by Sega. The Saturn featured eight processors and boasted a dual-CPU architecture. It sported a CD-ROM format where you could play many ports of arcade games and other fun games.
Saturn was regarded for many phenomenal games but its complex architecture led to its downfall. Due to the complex hardware design, it had limited third-party assistance. In 2009, Bernie Stolar issued a statement disclosing what he thought was the reason behind Saturn’s failure. Not surprisingly, he blamed the hardware (and we couldn’t agree more).
This paved the way for Sega’s next adventure—the Sega Dreamcast. Did it work out or was it a nightmare?
Let’s find out.
Sega Dreamcast
The Sega Dreamcast’s realist date was November 27th, 1998. Just a few months after the Japanese console manufacturer discontinued its predecessor Saturn.
Before you get your hopes up, let us be clear that this was Sega’s final home video game console. Varying from Saturn’s overly priced hardware, Dreamcast featured “off-the-shelf” internals to reduce costs.
Even though things were moving steadily for Sega, mostly because of their marketing campaigns, Dreamcast’s success was short-lived. Their sales rapidly declined to post the commencement of Sony’s marketing efforts for their PlayStation 2. Since the sales weren’t as per their expectations (despite price cuts), Sega had to discontinue the Dreamcast on March 31st, 2001.
After five excruciating years, Sega stopped manufacturing console hardware to become a third-party developer. It came to a point where the company was completely in debt. However, the death of Isao Okawa, Sega CEO, and his will helped the console manufacturer stay put.
Post a much damaging past, in 2004, Sammy Corporation purchased Sega through a takeover. They named it Sega Sammy Holdings and announced their interest in focusing solely on Sega’s arcade sector. This takeover proved as a turning point for Sega returning it to profits.
History of Sega Games
Despite its rocky journey, Sega has had many exceptional games in its bag. Some would suggest Sega has titles that are criminally underrated video games.No post about its history is complete without mentioning its most successful games. What are the best five in our opinion?
Sonic the Hedgehog
Since the release in the 1990s, Sonic the Hedgehog has been loved by millions of gamers. Sonic is Sega’s version of Mario. The game’s plot is what makes it a crowd favorite.
The antagonist, Dr. Ivo Robotnik has captured the South Island inhabitants to steal the six Chaos Emeralds. Sonic (the player) must rescue his animal friends and collect the emeralds to save the day. If you defeat Robotnik, you win. If not, get ready for a taunting ending sequence.
Although the game had average graphics for the time, it was still very well executed. Its plot and easy-to-understand gameplay make it one of the most popular Sega games to date.
Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker
This fun game is based on MJ’s very popular dance move—the Moonwalk. What made this game so famous was the legendary Michael Jackson producing and designing it himself.
The plotline is much like his music video in Smooth Criminal. What’s fun is how ridiculous the game is. You heard us, it’s not a game that will win many awards but its silliness makes it intriguing.
Although MJ does not go around smacking bad guys in this game, his magic powers get the job done. We especially loved the dance magic!
You can use this magic to kill your enemies by dancing with them. In all honesty, this game would not have done so well if Michael Jackson wasn’t involved.
Gunstar Heroes
This game was developed by Treasure and published by Sega but easily remains one of the most popular games by Sega. Gunstar Heroes is centered around its two protagonists—the Gunstar’s. On their quest to save the world from the evil empire, the pair must defeat their enemies. To do so, they must use the four weapons available in the game. Players can combine these weapons to experiment with the different shot types.
Comix Zone
In this game, you’re dealing with a powerful villain, Mortus. The plot is as such: The lead, Sketch Turner, is working on his comic book when a lightning bolt strikes and sets the villain to lose into the real world. Mortus’s goal is simple, kill Sketch and become a part of the real world forever. To accomplish this, he traps Sketch inside the comic and keeps sending (or drawing!) enemies trying to get rid of him. You aim to come out of the comic book to face the real world. However, beware—this game has multiple endings based on your performance.
Sega Rally for Sega Genesis
Lastly, how can we forget Sega’s most popular arcade game series—Sega Rally? The racing game series came from Sega. Sega Rally, Sega Rally Revo, Sega Rally 2, and Sega Rally 3 are all parts of the Sega Rally series.
However, it all started with Sega Rally Championship. This was initially an arcade game but has been ported to the Sega gaming consoles since then. The reason was its popularity. The crowd went wild when playing the Sega Rally Championship game in arcades.
The Sega Rally series is perhaps the most popular works by Sega. Sega Enterprises has had its fair share of ups and downs but it has not stopped them from moving forward. Now, we know that we know the history of Sega. it is to see how the future shapes for this Japanese multinational.
https://www.gamerwomen.com/history-of-sega/https://www.gamerwomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/sega-genesis.pnghttps://www.gamerwomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/sega-genesis-300x300.pngFeaturedHistory of Sega,sega arcade,Sega Dreamcast,sega dreamcast release date,Sega Games,Sega Genesis,Sega genesis release date,Sega Rally for Sega GenesisThe history of Sega goes back to 1940. The Japanese multinational company started as Standard Games and established its identity as Sega Enterprises, Ltd. in 1965. Originally, Sega started as an importer of coin-operated games. Then gradually, it expanded its reach to arcade games and slot machines. Given the increasing... Gamerwomenco@gmail.comAdministratorGamer Women
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