sega cd
Atila Barlas
when I decide I will buy it, someone tells me not to, or I see an article here
and there saying it is simply not worth it. So I would appreciate if those
who either own or know something about this system answer the following
questions to help make up my mind.
1. Is it really worth buying the CD system for its asking price? (I
believe it is $300)
2. Is there a good variety of games? Do new games come out as often as
they do in regular Genesis?
3. What about the quality of the games? Are they as good as or better than
the Sega Genesis Games?
4. How much do these games cost? What kinds of games are available as of
now? Can you find them at any store where there are video games sold?
Any help would be appreciated. Please either send e-mail or a follow up
on the newsgroup.
ATILA
ca...@busop.cit.wayne.edu
> believe it is $300)
No.
>2. Is there a good variety of games? Do new games come out as often as
> they do in regular Genesis?
No and no.
>3. What about the quality of the games? Are they as good as or better than
> the Sega Genesis Games?
Poor and No.
>4. How much do these games cost? What kinds of games are available as of
> now? Can you find them at any store where there are video games sold?
About the same as cartridges ($50-$60). The games now are something along
the lines of Marky Mark Make Your Own Video, etc.
Don't make the same mistake I did. Don't buy the Sega CD.
--
Carl Mueller
Wayne State University
email: ca...@busop.cit.wayne.edu
Richard Shartzer
If I hadn't all ready bought my Sega CD, knowing what I know now, I would wait until the end of the summer and see what happens with the Sega CD2. The MegaCD2 is out in Japan and its smaller, cheaper, and supposedly looks better. So I would wait until the summer, since there are not any games do out between now and then especialy since they keep getting pushed back.
Christmas 1993 will be the time of the Sega CD(or SEGA CD2). Or at least that is what I am hoping.
Teh Kao Yang
>>1. Is it really worth buying the CD system for its asking price? (I
>> believe it is $300)
>No.
Considering the current available crop of games, I have to agree with you here.
But I hope things will change in about a month or two...
>>2. Is there a good variety of games? Do new games come out as often as
>> they do in regular Genesis?
>No and no.
Again, you are very correct sir.
>>3. What about the quality of the games? Are they as good as or better than
>> the Sega Genesis Games?
>Poor and No.
This is where I sorta disagree with you. It all depends on what you mean by
"quality." If by quality you mean games with good play value, I guess you are
right. Not many of the CD games have much playability, except for Jaguar.
But I also consider full motion video, CD or PCM quality sound, long cartoony
intermissions and use of hardware scaling and rotation as other signs of
quality. These are all qualities you cannot find on cartridge games.
But let's face it most of the Sega CD games are just not that great ... except
for the notable exception of Jaguar. If this game is the sign of things to
come, I think that the Sega CD will turn out to be a very worthwhile
investment. And Batman Returns and Joe Montana shouldn't be more than 2-3 weeks
away...at least I hope so....
>>4. How much do these games cost? What kinds of games are available as of
>> now? Can you find them at any store where there are video games sold?
>
>About the same as cartridges ($50-$60). The games now are something along
>the lines of Marky Mark Make Your Own Video, etc.
How about Willy Beamish, Jaguar, Road Avenger, and Prince of Persia? You're
making it sound like the ONLY Sega CD games available are the Marky Mark games.
>Don't make the same mistake I did. Don't buy the Sega CD.
Your only mistake was the same mistake most of us made... buying it about 6
months too early....
-TK
ca...@busop.cit.wayne.edu
>>>3. What about the quality of the games? Are they as good as or better than
>>> the Sega Genesis Games?
>>Poor and No.
>
>This is where I sorta disagree with you. It all depends on what you mean by
>"quality." If by quality you mean games with good play value, I guess you are
>right. Not many of the CD games have much playability, except for Jaguar.
>But I also consider full motion video, CD or PCM quality sound, long cartoony
>intermissions and use of hardware scaling and rotation as other signs of
>quality. These are all qualities you cannot find on cartridge games.
Yes, these are qualities you can not find in Genesis carts. BUT... They ARE
qualities you can find in SNES carts (CD/PCM quality sound, hardware
scaling and rotatation (and from what I've seen SNES does a lot better job))
And you will also find a much greater abundance of color on the SNES (which
has a lot to do with the quality of graphics). Of course you won't see FMV
in a SNES cart because of the space limitation of a cartridge.
Even the fact that I'm COMPARING the SNES to the Sega CD should tell you
something is wrong with the Sega CD right there. Where did they get off not
including a color upgrade in the Sega CD? It defies all known logic not to
have included it. The only reason SNES graphics look so good is because
they have so many colors to choose from, Genesis actually has higher
resolution. They f_cked up bad, in my opinion.
>How about Willy Beamish, Jaguar, Road Avenger, and Prince of Persia? You're
>making it sound like the ONLY Sega CD games available are the Marky Mark games.
>
>>Don't make the same mistake I did. Don't buy the Sega CD.
I know only mentioning the Marky Mark game was unfair, but I was trying to
get across the point that the Sega CD games are LAME (although I admit to
liking Road Avenger).
Maybe things will shape up within a few months, but that is what I've been
saying since I got the thing 6 months ago. Sega CONSTANTLY pushes release
dates back. They are ruining any good reputation that they ever had with
this unit...
roto...@woods.ulowell.edu
> Christmas 1993 will be the time of the Sega CD(or SEGA CD2). Or at least that is what I am hoping.
>
Well, I dunno. I'm kinda glad I bought mine before they decided to change the
design on the SegaCD2. All they are doing is cutting back on unnecessary
parts and trimming it down. I'm sure it will be ok but I don't want a half-
baked system that has shortcomings of the original.
-J
Teh Kao Yang
>
>qualities you can find in SNES carts (CD/PCM quality sound, hardware
>scaling and rotatation (and from what I've seen SNES does a lot better job))
>And you will also find a much greater abundance of color on the SNES (which
>has a lot to do with the quality of graphics). Of course you won't see FMV
>in a SNES cart because of the space limitation of a cartridge.
A few things:
1) As good as the sound of the SNES is, it is not CD quality. The Sega CD
also has more PCM channels than the SNES. Ever heard the ending music of
Road Avenger? That was all PCM sound.
2) I think someone mentioned this before, but I also feel that the music in all
SNES games sound like they're being played by the same synthesized instruments.
3) I can't believe that there are still people who think that the SNES has
great scaling and rotation capabilities. For the millionth time: all the
SNES can do is scale and rotate a single flat plane; a background. It could
never scale 20 objects at the same time like Jaguar XJ220. Isn't this supposed
to be common knowledge? Is it in the FAQ?
Of course this is
the SNES without the SFX chip. The SFX reportedly can scale sprites, but I'm
not sure...
>Even the fact that I'm COMPARING the SNES to the Sega CD should tell you
>something is wrong with the Sega CD right there.
Actually when you compared the SNES with the Sega CD I thought you must have
been joking....it's not really a fair comparison; for the SNES that is.
>Where did they get off not
>including a color upgrade in the Sega CD? It defies all known logic not to
>have included it. The only reason SNES graphics look so good is because
>they have so many colors to choose from, Genesis actually has higher
>resolution. They f_cked up bad, in my opinion.
Hmmm... if the color pallette was so important to you, you must have known
beforehand that the Sega CD doesn't improve it. But you still went out and
bought a Sega CD anyway right? IMO I would rather have full motion video with
less colors than still pictures with more colors.
>I know only mentioning the Marky Mark game was unfair, but I was trying to
>get across the point that the Sega CD games are LAME (although I admit to
>liking Road Avenger).
If you haven't checked out Jaguar yet, I suggest you do. It will help in
renewing some faith in your Sega CD. It did for me.
>Maybe things will shape up within a few months, but that is what I've been
>saying since I got the thing 6 months ago. Sega CONSTANTLY pushes release
>dates back. They are ruining any good reputation that they ever had with
>this unit...
Well as far as I am concerned if Batman Returns and Joe Montana don't come
out by the end of this month, there will be a new Nintendo fan around here..
-TK
Shih-ta Peng
>About the same as cartridges ($50-$60). The games now are something along
>the lines of Marky Mark Make Your Own Video, etc.
I've seen many earlier Sega CD efforts such as Cobra Command, and Night Trap
available for $39-45 dollars and they're not really that old. This leads me
to think that retailers will cut down on their hefty profit margin later.
Shih-ta
Shih-ta Peng
>I know only mentioning the Marky Mark game was unfair, but I was trying to
>get across the point that the Sega CD games are LAME (although I admit to
>liking Road Avenger).
Check out Jaguar. The scaling on this thing is amazing. I'd say definitely near
arcade quality. No choppiness what so ever, and blows away any scaling on the
SNES out of the water.
Note: As a game, it's not bad. But, as a show off of what the Sega CD can
it's pretty darn impressive.
STP
Alex Di Ricco
>I would like to buy a Sega CD System, but I just can't make up my mind. Just
>when I decide I will buy it, someone tells me not to, or I see an article here
>and there saying it is simply not worth it. So I would appreciate if those
>ATILA
>barlas.seattleu.edu
I own one, but I wouldn't recommend that you buy one right now. Wait until
it starts to get a good stream of new games going before you decide to
purchase one. Also, if you wait long enough, it should drop in price some.
--
Alex Di Ricco
c60b...@WEB.berkeley.edu
ca...@busop.cit.wayne.edu
>also has more PCM channels than the SNES. Ever heard the ending music of
>Road Avenger? That was all PCM sound.
I'm sorry, but the SNES does have CD quality sound... In fact it exceeds CD
sound. CD is like 44 kHz, the SNES DACs are about 50 kHz. The only thing
preventing it from producing 'true' CD-quality soundtracks is space
limitations on carts. If they had more room, they could use better quality
samples.
>2) I think someone mentioned this before, but I also feel that the music in all
>SNES games sound like they're being played by the same synthesized instruments.
I agree with you 100%. Maybe they are the samples Nintendo gives out with
their developer's kit. It seems game makers should be a little bit more
creative with their music.
>>3) I can't believe that there are still people who think that the SNES
has >great scaling and rotation capabilities. For the millionth time: all
the >SNES can do is scale and rotate a single flat plane; a background. It
could >never scale 20 objects at the same time like Jaguar XJ220. Isn't this
supposed>to be common knowledge? Is it in the FAQ?>
I know that the SNES S&R can only do 2d bitmaps. However, it does so VERY
smoothly and quick. The only scaling I've seen on the Sega CD is with Road
Avenger, the title screen, and the car being 'zoomed' at you in the
beginning. But, it is very choppy & slow, and very unimpressive (I could do
more impressive software scaling on VGA). I have NOT seen Jaguar though,
but since you think it has such great scaling, I think I'll go rent it
tonight :)
> Of course this is
>the SNES without the SFX chip. The SFX reportedly can scale sprites, but I'm
>not sure...
SFX is crap. I've seen StarFox and I just don't get what's so great about
it? I was expected it to be smooth but it was just as choppy as most
SNES games are (please no flames, it's just MY OPINION). Didn't the Genesis
already have a few polygon games out before that that were pretty much the
same?
>Hmmm... if the color pallette was so important to you, you must have known
>beforehand that the Sega CD doesn't improve it. But you still went out and
>bought a Sega CD anyway right? IMO I would rather have full motion video with
>less colors than still pictures with more colors.
Well, I heard there wasn't going to be a color upgrade, but I figured the
speedy processor and the fact that it was CD medium they were dealing with,
would make up for it with some awesome CD games. I was wrong (at least for
now).
>If you haven't checked out Jaguar yet, I suggest you do. It will help in
>renewing some faith in your Sega CD. It did for me.
Wil do, probably tonight (if my video store has it in yet)!
>Well as far as I am concerned if Batman Returns and Joe Montana don't come
>out by the end of this month, there will be a new Nintendo fan around here..
A few people on Prodigy said that BR & JM (I'm lazy) actually just came out
a few days ago. But I sure haven't seen anything at the stores.
Shih-ta Peng
>I'm sorry, but the SNES does have CD quality sound... In fact it exceeds CD
>sound. CD is like 44 kHz, the SNES DACs are about 50 kHz. The only thing
>preventing it from producing 'true' CD-quality soundtracks is space
>limitations on cart.
That's also why you need a CD-ROM drive. You'll never hear true CD quality
sound from a cartridge because it's simply not practical.
>I know that the SNES S&R can only do 2d bitmaps. However, it does so VERY
>smoothly and quick. The only scaling I've seen on the Sega CD is with Road
>Avenger, the title screen, and the car being 'zoomed' at you in the
>beginning.
I always wonder why in mode 7 the background seem to flicker...???!!!???
Sega CD owners owe it to themselves to check out Jaguar. The scaling on this
game will convince you that you made the right choice in hardware.
>SFX is crap. I've seen StarFox and I just don't get what's so great about
>it? I was expected it to be smooth but it was just as choppy as most
>SNES games are (please no flames, it's just MY OPINION).
First of all, the SFX chip included in Starfox is "supposedly" only a scale
downed version. A full powered version will be included in future SFX games.
So, I'd expect future efforts to be much smoother. But, Starfox is a great
game depite it's less than stellar scaling effects. I find myself
physically dodging left and right when I see a asteroid coming toward me.
It really gets your adrenalin going.
> Didn't the Genesis
>already have a few polygon games out before that that were pretty much the
>same?
Must we mention those rather forgetable games? 8-)
STP
Mason Woodford
>I would like to buy a Sega CD System, but I just can't make up my
mind.
>1. Is it really worth buying the CD system for its asking price? (I
> believe it is $300)
In my opinion, it is worth $300. After all, Sega claims to be
including $400 in software with the unit. The quality of the pack-in
software is another story but nevertheless I believe it is a decent
value.
>2. Is there a good variety of games? Do new games come out as often as
> they do in regular Genesis?
There are about a dozen games out right now and only a few are worth
buying. However, After Burner III was just released this week only two weeks
after Jaguar XJ220 was released. That is the shortest amount of time
that I have seen thus far between game releases for the SegaCD. Also,
Time Gal should be coming out on May 27th. All of these games are
supposedly average to good in quality.
>3. What about the quality of the games? Are they as good as or better than
> the Sega Genesis Games?
No. Not yet, anyway.
>4. How much do these games cost? What kinds of games are available as of
> now? Can you find them at any store where there are video games sold?
$40-$60 each; Shooters, driving, flight-sim, mystery, etc..; Yes, most
of the time.