The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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Dr. Zoidberg
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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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Sega Has Considered Dreamcast & Saturn Mini But Is Worried About Extreme Costs

You can thank the pandemic

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One of the highlights of the week was the announcement of the Mega Drive Mini 2 - Sega's next miniature console, loaded with 50 games from the Mega Drive and Mega CD libraries. It's launching this October in Japan and will include games like Sonic CD, Slipstream and Virtua Racing.

As exciting as this news is, it hasn't stopped fan requests for miniature versions of Sega's other consoles - like the Saturn and Dreamcast. So, why did Sega decide to release a Mega Drive 2 instead of something else? During an interview with Famitsu, Sega's classic hardware producer Yosuke Okunari explained how the pandemic shaped the outcome.

Here's what he had to say (courtesy of Twitter user @gosokkyu):
he's sure ppl will be like "what about Saturn/Dreamcast Mini?" [and] it's not like they [Sega] didn't explore the idea—the MD Mini's internals can't adequately handle Saturn games, and both developing and manufacturing new chipsets during the pandemic is a difficult & expensive process
...so, even if they'd forged ahead with a Saturn Mini anyway, it might've been extremely expensive—he jokes that he might like to release a mini that costs as much as an authentic modern console
And that's when the Mega Drive Mini 2 came into the picture, as an "extension" of the original one - making it a lot more manageable during a pandemic, in terms of the schedule and manufacturing. It's worth noting there will still be a "much lower production run" of this device - with the initial focus on stocking Japan. Okunari is aware of the demand overseas but remains focused on Japan for now, where the team knows the market.

Although the price of the second Mega Drive Mini system is higher - due to an improved chipset, more memory to fit Mega CD games, and the increased price of components, Okunari is confident the larger library of games will justify the price.

Okunari also mentioned how the team considered making another Game Gear Micro, but the increased price of semiconductors made costs of a second handheld micro-unit "1.5x the manufacturing price" of the original micro model. And the team supposedly couldn't risk selling at the same price and didn't want to increase the RRP.

Yosuke Okunari has previously mentioned how Sega has thought about creating other mini consoles, but for now, the focus is on the Mega Drive Mini 2.

Would like to one day see Sega release miniature devices based on the Dreamcast and Saturn? Would you be willing to pay more?

Source: Nintendo Life

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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JUST MAKE THEM BOTH, YOU COWARDS!

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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They will be done. Just got to milk the Mega Drive a bit more.

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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Dr. Zoidberg wrote: Sun Jun 05, 2022 10:43 pm They will be done. Just got to milk the Mega Drive a bit more.
I don't think they will, and even if they are, they will be shit.
But hypothetically. What 20 games (and unlockable 21st) would everyone like to see on a DC mini?

I have really struggled to ONLY pick 20. But as a bare minimum it would need the following to be worth more than $5 in an EB bargain bin next to gears of war socks and Overwatch wallets:
ChuChu Rocket!
Crazy Taxi
Ikaruga
House of the Dead 2
Jet Set Radio
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
Mr. Driller
NBA 2K2
Phantasy Star Online (since the real console had internet more than 2 decades ago, this new one really has no reason not to be online enabled)
Power Stone
Rez
Samba de Amigo
Sega Bass Fishing
Sega Rally Championship 2
Shenmue
Sonic Adventure
Soul Calibur
Space Channel 5
Toy Commander
Virtua Tennis 2
And a bonus unlockable full release of Propeller Arena.

A lot of my favourite games are missing, And I can accept that Crazy Taxi will be fucked either with music, game speed, destinations or all of those things... But that is a list that represents everything the DC was about and did best. Some of the best Racing, fighting, sports, arcade and online games ever made.
More importantly, the VMU's while not technically needed to save games, should be retained and have user replacable AAA batteries and backlit screens in them that charge from the new controllers. And they should be fully compatible with the original DC as memory cards.

The new controllers? Well, they should be kept pretty much identical but maybe with a Jump pack included (or built in to the bottom VMU slot) and the D pad should be made much less squishy (Maybe steal and clone a clone of a snes D pad design but make it look like the original DC one) They should of course use USB 3.0 or USB C so they can be used on the Mini and also computers and other emulation devices.
I can't overstate how much the controllers should be kept original aside from their D pad. My main DC pad must have over 50,000 hours of play time, and the stick and triggers actually got better with age.
Under no circumstances should they be wireless! and if they are, they should use AA batteries like a 360 pad so they'll work in another 50 years if taken care of. Not die after 6 years like a PS3 pad or a joycon battery, and then be useless as a wireless pad anyway. A Dreamcast is timeless, and should be treated like it.

Other things? well since the DC mini is using USB 3.0 or USB C for its controllers there's no reason not to have race wheels, arcade sticks, the fishing rod, and possibly a light gun with TV IR beams for laser tracking for HOTD2 on modern TV's as accessories to purchase separately.
The console will be $99 USD and come with 2 controllers and 1 VMU. We will start with 20,000 units worldwide and only make more IF they sell out. They will not be limited, when they sell out we will make more untill every gamer who wants one has a chance to get one. But only small batches so when it sells poorly like the original we don't lose the company 98% of it's value.
We won't be saying this shit is limited time, scamming millions into buying Game and Watc.... Mini DC's and then just making millions more.
That's not how we do business at Dreamcast Era Sega.

Basically. I should work for Sega! I'd almost drive the company into the ground, but things would be done fucking properly.
Which is what the Dreamcast was from start to finish. A good god damn product, that had good god damn games.

If Sega are not going to honour the product and the legacy that all 50 of us who bought a dreamcast loved, then it's a waste of time. Hence, it shouldn't be done, and if it must, I should work for Sega.
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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

Post by Hawq »

gues this could fit he retro computer thread as well but as its Sega its going here like the other one did

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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Sega’s new Mega Drive Mini 2 is getting a $150 controller

Plus 11 more games are confirmed for the currently Japan-only mini console

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Sega has announced 12 more games set to be included with the Mega Drive Mini 2 console, along with a $150 controller.

During a live stream on Friday, the company revealed Outrun, Afterburner II, Starblade and more will be included with the console, which is so far only confirmed for release in Japan.

In total, Mega Drive Mini 2 will include 50 Mega Drive and Mega CD titles, including arcade ports and what Sega describes as a “mysterious new work”.

So far, 22 Mega Drive Mini 2 games have been announced. The next batch of titles will be revealed in a similar live stream next month.

The latest confirmed games are:
  • Outrun (Mega Drive)
  • Afterburner II (Mega Drive)
  • Night striker (Mega CD)
  • Ninja Warriors (Mega CD)
  • Starblade (Mega CD)
  • Splatterhouse Part 2 (Mega Drive)
  • Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (Mega Drive)
  • Mega Panel (Mega Drive)
  • Ichidant-R (Mega Drive)
  • Columns III (Mega Drive)
  • Star Mobile (Mega Drive)
Sega also announced the USB Cyber Stick – based on the controller from Sharp of the same name from the early 90s – which will offer analog controls for compatible games in Mega Drive Mini 2.

The controller features an analog stick, throttle, and the ability to swap the two for left or right-handed players.

The Cyber Stick will release on October 27 – the same day as the mini console – and retail for 19,800 JPY, or around $150 / £120.

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The Mega Drive Mini 2 will be released on October 27 in Japan and will cost ¥9,980 ($75). Sega has yet to confirm a western release.

The first Mega Drive Mini was released in 2019 and included 42 games, with the libraries differing per region. It included new ports of Darius and Tetris, which had never been released before.

Source: VGC


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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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Bernie Stolar, former Sega of America president and SCEA founder, has died aged 75

Stolar was instrumental in the early western success of PlayStation

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Bernard “Bernie” Stolar, a video game executive who oversaw the founding of Sony Computer Entertainment America, as well as serving as the President of Sega of America, has died aged 75.

As reported by GamesBeat, and verified in messages sent to the publication from Stolar’s friends, the businessman passed away in his home state of California.

With a career in gaming spanning from the early 1980s up until 1999, Stolar’s career spanned one of the most pivotal eras in the history of the medium, when he served as a high-ranking executive for almost every big player in the space.



He began his career in 1980 when he co-founded Pacific Novelty Manufacturing Inc, a coin-op company which served arcades around the state of California. Following this, he would work for Atari in its coin-op division, before being moved to the company’s home console division.

He would oversee the Atari Lynx before being drafted by Sony as one of the founding members, and first president of Sony Computer Entertainment America.

Stolar was instrumental in signing the likes of Crash Bandicoot, Ridge Racer and Spyro the Dragon to the platform, however, controversially, he reportedly enforced a “no RPG” policy during his time at SCEA due to the genre mostly being in 2D at the time, and thus not showing off the power of the PlayStation.

Following the successful first year of the PlayStation, Stolar moved to Sega of America where he oversaw the launch of Sega Saturn. Stolar subsequently became Sega of America COO in March 1997 and president the following year.

Stolar’s most famous moment came when he announced that the Sega Dreamcast would be priced at $199 USD to a standing ovation during a speech in 1999. However, it later came to light that this infuriated Sega of Japan, who was insistent that the console be priced at $249 USD in order to maximise profits.

Prior to the console’s launch in North America, Stolar was let go from Sega and received a $5Million dollar severance package.

“I took the Sega position based on conversations with Hayao Nakayama, who was then chairman of the company,” Stolar said in a 2015 interview.

“We’d institute and bring in a new hardware system that would do online multiplayer games. That became Dreamcast. I headed that up.

“Unfortunately, Nakayama got pushed out of the company by Mr Okawa at the end of 1999, and when he got pushed out, I got into an argument with Japan as well. I was pushed out as well.”

Source: VGC

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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On paper, this should have been the definitive collection of the classic Genesis/Mega Drive Sonic games. Built on Christian Whitehead's Retro Engine, the technological underpinnings are there - but a whole host of technical problems and a general lack of polish contribute to a release that promises so much but falls at the last hurdle.

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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I watched this video a few days back. I've been on the lookout for a 2nd Dreamcast so I can install a GDEmu and such but they're so expensive. I've given up. I'm leaving my DC as stock and will just emulate it.

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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"Screw This Game" - Sonic Origins Modder Halts Development On Massive Patch

"It’s become way clearer that this game is absolute shit"

While Sonic Origins offers a convenient way to play the hedgehog's most celebrated 16-bit outings on modern consoles, many veterans fans haven't been satisfied with the quality of the versions included in the collection. The game boasts various enhancements such as widescreen support and new gameplay modes, but also introduces errors, inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and behaviours that some die-hard Sonic fans aren't happy about.

The latest dissatisfied voice from the Sonic fan community is that of Xanman, creator of BetterOrigins, a mod for the PC version of the game which aimed to fix various errors and improve the overall quality (thanks, TheGamer).

However, having gone through the game's files, Xanman has decided to halt work on the mod entirely. "Hey, so we decided to stop the development of this project," Xanman wrote on the mod's GameBanana page:

"After really digging into the files for this game, it's become way clearer that this game is absolute s***. We've fixed enough where the game is a bit more serviceable but really, especially without scripts, there's not a whole lot we can 'fix' without just redoing sprites."

"MAYBE I'll come back to this in the future, when script editing becomes a thing. But for now, screw this game."

It's not just the fan community that has voiced its dissatisfaction with the final product. Headcannon's Simon Thornley, who worked on the Sonic 3 & Knuckles part of the collection, took to Twitter recently to voice his frustrations, and also provide partial explanations as to how these issues arose.

For a better idea of the types of issues the BetterOrigins mod fixed, here's a list of patch notes from Update 1.5 as per the mod's GameBanana Updates page:

Adjustment - Sonic 1 Palette issues have been fixed
Improvement - CD's title screen has been cleaned up and use the full resolution beta assets as a base
Bugfix - Sonic 2 bosses actually flash properly
Adjustment - Sonic 2 - Life icons are accurate
Adjustment - Sonic 2 - Elemental Shields use correct sprites
Bugfix - Sonic 2 - Fixes a color error in some of Tails' sprites having incorrect transparent pixels
Bugfix - Sonic 2 - Fixes a color error in some of Knuckles' sprites making the black a dark green
Adjustment - Sonic 2 - Sprites from S3 use S1 blacks
Improvement - Sonic 2 - Eggman's sprites have been corrected
Bugfix - Sonic 2 - Monitors don't have 2 grey pixels on their screens anymore
Improvement - Casino Night flippers are corrected
Improvement - Casino Night star blocks have been corrected
Improvement - Casino Night visuals are fixed (it was very broken)
Bugfix - Metropolis has proper palette cycle
Improvement - Wing Fortress has proper transparency
Bugfix - All Wing Fortress tiles use their proper palette
Improvement - The Wing Fortress threadmill use its original palette
Improvement - Oil Ocean's palette cycle is correct
Adjustment - Sonic 2 - Life text & HUD was touched up
Improvement - Sonic 2 - Spinning signpost frames now all use full color range
Adjustment - Sonic 2 - Spinning signpost frames properly use S2 signposts as a base
Adjustment - Sonic 2 - Monitors' bottom part is the same on both sides
Adjustment - Casino Night's colored bumpers don't flash anymore
Addition - Oil Ocean now use purple instead of green
Improvement - Oil Ocean oil is properly affected by gravity (it doesn't go up anymore smh)
Improvement - Metropolis has more logical palette on some tiles
Improvement - Death Egg Robot looks slightly more like the original
Addition - Ending now has a limited palette
Bugfix - The Carnival Night barrel's green pixels has been fixed

We called the game "a fine collection for new fans, less so for the hardcore Sonic crowd" in our 7/10 review of the Switch version. While it functions well enough for more casual fans just dipping their toe into Sonic's original 16-bit catalogue, it's clear that many believe these vintage platformers deserved more care and attention — especially with these being the nominal 'ultimate' versions of the games, according to Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka.

Source: Nintendo Life

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

Post by pixel »

:olol: Another breathtaking business decision from Sega.

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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"It’s become way clearer that this game is absolute shit"

The last horse crosses the line.
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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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Re: The SEGA Thread: This thread does what Nintendon't

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Definitely looks like Headcannon wanted to have some fun with Origins

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