Sega CD Out: Update 2
Jeremy B Horwitz
a friend with the new Sega CD) and is hopefully reliable.
My friend, an Electronics Boutique employee, picked up his
Sega CD system today. He called me tonight to report on it,
and said perhaps the most telling phrase I've ever heard.
"I feel like I've just bought an old computer loaded with
shareware."
The unit itself matches all photos shown of it and is little
different from the Mega-CD. The opening title screen has been
altered to display a starry background with the earth in
the bottom right corner, with the Sega and Sega CD logos
doing mirror images of each other as they scale and
rotate in the same fashion as the Mega-CD logo. The music has
been changed with drums at the beginning and a futuristic
theme, followed by a cheesy typical game-music song.
The actual "play audio" screen has another starry background
with a blue select menu. The features sound the same as the
Mega-CD.
The main differences are in the openings of the packaged
games. The Sega logo done so poorly in Mega CD openings
has been changed to another poor logo, this time with
Sonic in a "stamping his feet" pose. [Again, his opinion,
not mine.] In the Sega Classics opening, a very impressive
3-D scaling/rotating effect shown in the Mega-CD premiere
cover magazine with wireframing is displayed at the start.
The packed softs are his main point of disappointment.
Sherlock has long loading times and is the same as the
TGCD version, but without jumpy, problematic video.
Sol-Feace has nice voices but is exactly the same as
the cart, with an extra opening intermission and CD
music. It also has a new Wolfteam logo done much
better than the old ones.
The Classics disk is very disappointing in that the
menuing is done badly, and the games remain unchanged
except for two things. First, Columns has a CD track
during the demo. Second, a new digitized grunt has
been added to replace the "yaa" when Axel jumps in
SoR and Musashi does Ninja Magic in Shinobi. He
adds that it diminished, not enhanced, the games.
He didn't comment on the audio CD.
(Or CDs)
He did say that the unit didn't come with a backup
cart, but retained the 128k backup included with the
M-CD.
Hope that helps prospective buyers know what to
expect. Also, no software has arrived, yet, except
the pack-ins.
[ -> Jer Horwitz ] [INTERnet Game Consultant]
Teh Kao Yang
>The actual "play audio" screen has another starry background
>with a blue select menu. The features sound the same as the
>Mega-CD.
Is the menu screen the same as the Mega-CD's? i.e. the same functions and
layout of the buttons?
>The packed softs are his main point of disappointment.
>
>He did say that the unit didn't come with a backup
>cart, but retained the 128k backup included with the
>M-CD.
Sigh... Sega really screwed up by not packaging in more impressive games with
the system. The Turbo Duo packaged probably the best 2 CD games available
for it. Sega should have included Cobra Command and Night Trap.
>Hope that helps prospective buyers know what to
>expect. Also, no software has arrived, yet, except
>the pack-ins.
Any news on when the games might be arriving? How can they release a game
system without releasing other games for it too? It sure won't take too
long to lose interest in the pack-in games....
-Teh Kao
Alex Di Ricco
>the pack-ins.
>
>[ -> Jer Horwitz ] [INTERnet Game Consultant]
Bummer, I don't even care about the pack-ins, I just want the new games
like Night Trap and Sewer Shark. I hope they release the extra software
soon.
Alex Di Ricco
c60b...@WEB.berkeley.edu
a...@ocf.berkeley.edu
Stephen Jonke
v089...@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu writes:
>He did say that the unit didn't come with a backup
>cart, but retained the 128k backup included with the
>M-CD.
I had previously read that they were going with a backup cartridge approach --
do you mean that they changed their minds and are now using the Duo's
approach? Or are they supporting both?
Steve
------------------------
jo...@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov
------------------------
hasit mehta
I just got my Sega CD-ROM it seems like it will be pretty good! The pack in
games are just so-so. Sol Feace is pretty good especially the intro. Holmes
is pretty good but the classic games kinda stink, they are not improved much
at all. The system on the whole seems great, now I need to get some good
games any suggestions??? Our local EB has a game called "Black Hole Assult"
anybody have it, if so how is it? Night Trap and Cobra Command should be in
any day according to the people at EB.
Hasit
Jeremy B Horwitz
>In article <BxL31...@acsu.buffalo.edu> v089...@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Jeremy B Horwitz) writes:
>>The actual "play audio" screen has another starry background
>>with a blue select menu. The features sound the same as the
>>Mega-CD.
>
>Is the menu screen the same as the Mega-CD's? i.e. the same functions and
>layout of the buttons?
a separate menu hidden until an audio CD is put up and a separate menu pops
up.
[Bsa und a seperaaps
>
>>The packed softs are his main point of disappointment.
>>
>>He did say that the unit didn't come with a backup
>>cart, but retained the 128k backup included with the
>>M-CD.
>
>Sigh... Sega really screwed up by not packaging in more impressive games with
>the system. The Turbo Duo packaged probably the best 2 CD games available
>for it. Sega should have included Cobra Command and Night Trap.
>
They both came out today.
p
>>Hope that helps prospective buyers know what to
>>expect. Also, no software has arrived, yet, except
>>the pack-ins.
>
>Any news on when the games might be arriving? How can they release a game
>system without releasing other games for it too? It sure won't take too
>long to lose interest in the pack-in games....
I saw Black Hole Assault (better than Heavy Nova, still not great)
today, and the above also came out, tho I didn't see them.
>
>-Teh Kao
My verdict. Sega sucks.
s
T-Dub - SGP '92
>In article <1dt85r...@aludra.usc.edu>, teh...@aludra.usc.edu (Teh Kao Yang) writes...
>>the system. The Turbo Duo packaged probably the best 2 CD games available
>>for it. Sega should have included Cobra Command and Night Trap.
>>
>They both came out today.
>today, and the above also came out, tho I didn't see them.
>
>>
>>-Teh Kao
How much are these Sega-CD games going for and how much are the actual Sega-CD
units? $299?
Theron
David R McClintock
to get one yesterday and EVERYONE was sold out already. Babbages told me they sold out
in 5 minutes! Electronic Boutique told me they sold all thiers for this week and next
weeks shipments. What sucks is nobody will take pre-orders for it here. It is first
come first serve. I have to get lucky and find it at some toy store I guess.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
> <
> Dave McClintock --> Internet: drmc...@mosaic.uncc.edu <
> <
> <
> "Don't know, Don't care!" <
> <
> <
> Question: "What will I do when I graduate this spring <
> and lose my account to the SUN SPARC workstations <
> and internet??? <
> <
> Answer: " ..........die a slow and painful death .... :( " <
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
Stephen Jonke
c60b...@e260-1b.berkeley.edu writes:
>Bummer, I don't even care about the pack-ins, I just want the new games
>like Night Trap and Sewer Shark. I hope they release the extra software
>soon.
The local Babbages has 3 Sega CD games in stock -- Night Trap, Cobra Command
and Black Hole Assualt. The latter two look like nothing special, but Night
Trap looks interesting. They did not have any of the CD units in stock.
Unfortunately, I forgot to look at what the game prices were. I suspect N.T.
is expensive, because it is a 2 CD game -- anyone catch the price?
Steve
------------------------
jo...@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov
------------------------
Martin Rose
>In article <BxL31...@acsu.buffalo.edu> Jeremy B Horwitz,
>v089...@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu writes:
>>He did say that the unit didn't come with a backup
>>cart, but retained the 128k backup included with the
>>M-CD.
>
>I had previously read that they were going with a backup cartridge approach --
>do you mean that they changed their minds and are now using the Duo's
>approach? Or are they supporting both?
It looks like they're supporting both. I reached a configuration screen
that allowed you to "format" the save-memory areas both in the Sega CD and
on a memory cart. The CD unit comes packed with a warning that the system
memory will only last 30 days without being turned on. (The warning implied
the internal memory would be rendered useless after that, but I have my
doubts.)
ObAcquisitionNote: The virtues of timing. After my waiting-list spot fell
through (no money down, and EB apparently had 3 units damaged in shipping),
I called the nearest place I believed would have it: Toys B Us. The person
who answered the phone told me they'd JUST unloaded them from the truck
(this was the early evening), and didn't even have display tags for it yet.
I was definitely the first person to buy one at that store. B) (Sure, I
could have called Cabbage's, but TBU is closer to where I live, and the
weather was turning Damn Ugly.)
Yes, the early results are in: Sega has WAY underestimated the demand for
this device. Toys B Us had four, before I got there to relieve them of one.
Cool widget, though. B)
--
The High Diggy-Hoek of Chihuahua-Wala Land (Martin Rose) - mfr...@ais.org
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"Think of it, Batman; to never again walk on a summer's day with a hot wind
in your face, and a warm hand to hold. Oh, yes -- I'd KILL for that."