Wirehead Studios

A few days ago, the valve threat made me question the other game companies. Like Sega.

Sega is one of the greatest ompanies ever. But it has always been underrated and i can't understand why.

WHY?

The company created the FIRST portable console in colors, it created the FIRST CD console and it created the FIRST 128bits console with with an 56kbps internet access inside the console. They created one of the greatest characters in gaming industry, Sonic. They are like gaming gods (along with Nintendo and ID) ! I think that they are one of the most revolucionary company in gaming industry. What's your oppinion?

good ideas, bad execution.

There's a reason Sega is game development only now while Nintendo is still pumping out consoles.

Sega suffered from bad timing more than anything I'd say.

They certanly made some strange stuff over the years, anyone else remember Sega channel?

Yeah, that died a death. Along with the Edge16 modem add-on, the 32X (which I got 6 months before Sega pulled the plug on it), the MegaCD, the Saturn, The VR headset which never saw the light of day, etc.

Sega haven't managed to get it right since the 16bit days. I remember all the agruments about the Super NES being better than the Mega Drive and all the intense rivalry which existed as much between gamers as the companies themselves, when everybody knows the MD took tthe SNES to the cleaners in terms of actual games :P

(awaits fevered backlash)

Of course the MD (Genesis) is much better than SNES!


Truth is that the Saturn never had a big support by fans/Company, but i think that what happened with the Dreamcast was a shame. It had potencial.. unfortunatly, it only last a year or so...

yeah i loved the dreamcast

the only machine to port soul calibur 1

plus the ok sonic adventure games, which you can now get on the gamecube

The saturn, as I recall, was also the first multiprocessor console. One of the reasons they had so much trouble finding developers. Arcade titles on the Saturn beat the PISS out of the Playstation equivalents.

The genesis/megadrive suffered from a lack of blending and scaling, but supported MASSIVE sprites, so that was a bit.. odd..

I'm not quite sure WHY the dreamcast bit it, it's entirely possible Sega finally decided that fighting over market shares for hardware wasn't economically feasible and went software only.

Granted, they worked with nintendo to develop the gamecube; now if only developers would stop using all that hardware to render cartoons...

I'd honestly like to see a unified console, then I wouldn't have to drop $700+ every freaking console generation. Sony has the right idea with backwards compatibility, microsoft has no clue what they're doing, and nintendo practically refuses to cater to anyone over the age of 15.

Bleh, rant rant rant.

I'd say Sega doesn't suck, but since dropping out of the hardware market, they don't experiment as freely. I miss the gaming heyday when it was still about innovation and not so much about "what features sell?"

The computer gaming software market is pretty much the same way too I'm afraid.  I miss the days when "Hey, the I move the guy on my screen, and he moves on his!  THIS IS SO SPORKING COOL!", the days when a chainsaw being in the game was a novelty and a really cool thing, who cares how it got on Mars... when it didn't matter how realistic something was, as long as it was fun and cool it was something worth doing.  Then again, I remember the first Pong machines, the very first Pac-Man games, the old vector-based Asteroids, and stand-up consoles that had artificial woodgrain finishes.  *sigh*

Same here ;)

While it is a shame that Sega dropped out of the console market, I think it was a smart move, (and it will save me a little bit of money every time the next wave of consoles come out. :p)  Sega has a lot of great franchises that until now, were exclusive to a Sega-brand console.  By going multi-platform on several of their games, they'll have a broader market and make it easier on the wallets of the fans of that particular franchise.  (Although admittedly, I purchased the X-Box when it was $300 soley for Jet Set Radio Future and Toe Jam & Earl III which are both Sega titles exclusive to the X-Box.  Thankfully, the X-Box is finally starting to pay itself off.)

To go a bit off-topic, I almost wish Nintendo would consider dropping out of the console market, and sticking strictly to software developement and portable systems, but I doubt their resolve will ever waiver.

And I hate to go even further off-topic, but the Sega CD was not the first CD-based console system, the Turbo Grafx CD system was (better known as the PC-Engine in Japan and Europe I believe.)  I think it was also the first 16-bit system as well.

I think atari had one before that, or thereabouts. And don't forget the 3do :b

Consoles have been falling in to their niche's for awhile. Sega and Nintendo had this big rivalry only because the market can really only HANDLE 2 competitors. Sony jumped in and took a lot of hints from Sega, thus knocking them out of the hardware market. And Microsoft is trying to follow suit.

However, Microsoft is attempting to take out not only consoles, but it seems they intend to replace PC's with Xbox equivalents at some point.

In any event, Nintendo has the children's and party games market all but cornered, Sony's got the action/rpg/arcade bit practically in the bag if they'd ever get over their hatred of sprites. Microsoft has.. Halo? The Xbox's library isn't that impressive.

As for the systems, Nintendo has opted for more powerful video hardware in lieu of CPU speed; Sony likes their CPU and tends to play catch-up with video hardware. Microsoft is still trying to build some strange franken-pc.

As far as controls go, Nintendo's controller is multipurpose, with a bit of a learning curve. Having grown up on the nes/snes/genesis/saturn/dreamcast controllers, the Playstation controllers don't fit my hands quite right. As a bit of a side note, the PS3 controller design looks like a bloody mess, I hope like hell it can use ps2 controllers. Microsoft shrank the xbox controller some, but it's still unwieldy.

I could honestly say I'd like to see Microsoft drop the Xbox. If Sega and Nintendo would continue working together on hardware, I think Sony and Nintendo could carry the console market quite well on their own, with just as many benefits for the consumer.

Ballmer's fond of touting development, but Microsoft is pushing just as hard as EA when it comes to getting their flagship titles out at key purchase points. Halo 2 during xmas, and Halo 3 is slated to release the same day the PS3 launches.

Someone needs to sack the marketing division and let developers finish the damn games.

As a gamer, I'm tired of putting up with the bullshit associated with games HAVING to be shipped at a certain date. I'm willing to wait if it means the resultant product is higher quality. I dread the day games become the equivalent of McDonald's Happymeal toys.

Cookie cutter, cheap as hell, and there's a new one seemingly every week.

You forget that Microsoft is out to take over the world, so they're going to try to get their fingers into EVERY pie that's out there.  Remember, it's a company that was founded through underhanded scheming and blatant software piracy.  Nothing is too crooked or wretched that they won't try it if they think they can monopolize something.  The XBox is just another attempt at screwing over the competition AND the consumer at the same time.

Don't get me started on console controllers.  There are limits to what my avian feet can do, and those things look like they need an octopus to work them.  This is part of the reason I haven't owned a console system past the Sega Genesis, that and the fact that you can do more things with a PC...

Oh please. I cant see how any right thinking person can possibly say the Genesis had better games than the Super Nintendo. The Super Nintendo had Star fox, Donkey Kong country, Chrono Trigger, super metriod, The legend of zelda, Mario kart, Fzero and Super mario world while the Genesis had a long stream of  mediocre crap and ocasion gems like Phantasy Star 2 and landstalker.
 I own a Saturn and i think it has some of the most unique and well made games of any console. I think if more people had played games like Panzer Dragoon, Dragon Force and Nights they wouldnt be so quick to poopoo the saturn.

... Sonic series, Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Headdy, Road Rash, Thunder Force 2, 3 & 4, Sub-Terrania, Red Zone, Virtua Racing, superior versions of SF2, Lawnmower Man, NBA Jam, etc ... ;)

I'm not denying the SNES had it's moments, particularly in the games you mentioned above (with the possible exception of Mario World which I personally never had the patience for), but having eventually enjoyed the best of both worlds I can say IMHO that the MD had more.

I for one wasn't dissing the Saturn, I've played NiGHTS, Virtua Fighter 2 and both incarnations of Daytona among a couple of others and I was particularly impressed with those titles at the time. What I was getting at was that the Saturn, along with the 3DO and the Atari Jaguar, died a horrible death at the hands of the PS which had a lot more going for it in terms of software support.

I don't think Sega sucks. I think it's exactly what Con said -- they had good ideas, but executed them poorly. The Gamegear suffered from horrible battery consumption, the concept of the 32x went right over most people's heads, and the Dreamcast just seemed awkward to many developers. The Sega Channel was a great idea -- so good that Nintendo actually opened a similar service for the Super NES over in Japan -- but largely fell on its face and ultimately robbed US gamers of a hard copy of a game titled Megaman: The Wily Wars. Suck.

But on that note, I think Sega did the intelligent thing. They figured, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" and went software-only. They teamed with Nintendo and Namco to create the Triforce arcade system, the Nintendo equivalent to Sega's own Naomi arcade system, which allows arcade titled developed on it to easily be ported to the Gamecube -- F-Zero GX and F-Zero AX received a simultaneous release as a result. The Sonic the Hedgehog series has not died. The Phantasy Star series has not died. Virtual Fighter is still around. I could probably keep going.

Somewhat :offtopic::

Mario Party 6 and Donkey Konga are two of the most enjoyable, fun games I've played in a long time. Animal Crossing is as addicting as anything if you give it an honest try. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is a reminder of how much fun a simple go-kart racer can and should be. Those are just a few Gamecube titles I felt like mentioning -- I could go on for hours if I brought in the Gameboy Advance and DS.

Guess what? I'm 21. Nintendo does not "cater to the 15-and-younger crowd." They do not make "kids games." They try to create games that are enjoyable for anybody who's willing to give them an honest shot.

Mak: Let's not forget the Resident Evil games and Serious Sam. They were on Gamecube. :p

That's such a common argument that I didn't want to bring it up.

Yeah, let's see some Grand Theft Auto on the Cube :evil:

Don't forget the Fifa series, the Streets of Rage series, The Micro Machine games, Italia 94 (i think it's the correct name), etc...

I now see it. Sega joined Nintendo to kick Microsoft's ASS!
Gamecube, instead of betting in Internet multiplayer, bets on 4 player multiplayer and i think it was a good idea. The funny thing is that Microsoft is so stupid that it doesn't give acces to the internet service to all countries instead of the PS2. I don't even understand why they got in the console industry... maybye to show how low they are...  :evil: good.

personally i like both sega and nintendo

and how can anybody not like super mario world  :wtf:

both sega and nintendo had games that showed of there system to the fullest

and as for streetfighter games I think you'll find that the snes versions were superior

the megadrive / genesis had

streetfighter 2 special champion edition & Super Streetfighter 2

the snes had

streetfighter 2 the world warrior
streetfighter 2 turbo
super streetfighter 2
streetfighter alpha 2

all of which had the better graphics and gameplay, where as the genesis versions only had better sound

however as for games

sega had

golden axe series
streets of rage
shinobi
sonic
fifa

and a whole lot more, plus genesis games are easier to emulate

where as the snes had

streetfighter games
mario games
starfox
zelda
pro evo ( which is better than fifa)
megaman games ( anybody complete Megaman x2 on hard  :huh: )

so both systems had good games

unfortunately like con said sega suffered from bad execution, the 32x was a good idea

anybody who has played knuckles chaotix would agree

where as nintendo had always controlled the handheld market

what would be good if, sega, Nintendo and sony all joined forces.

as although i own an xbox i don't believe the games are that good for it

Halo (umm ok)
Halo 2 ( so many problems, too rushed)
panzer dragoon orta ( control system sucks)

plus many more

Ati Fan:  nVidia sucks!
nVidia fan:  ATI sucks!

Star Wars fan:  Star Trek sucks!
Star Trek fan:  Star Wars sucks!

Sega fan:  Nintendo sucks!
Nintendo fan:  Sega sucks!

Communist:  Capitalism sucks!
Capitalist:  Communism sucks!

Why, why, why must all human arguments be binary?  Why can't things ever be criticized or examined without it resorting to an "us vs them" situation?  Seriously, 99% of all discussions/arguments devolve to this level, a tribal paranoia that frankly sickens and disturbs me.  Cripes, no wonder you can't get back the the moon!

You know, I honestly think the market can support three console systems.  The Gamecube primarily churns out Everyone and now Everyone Ten and Older titles; the PS2 seems to have more Teen rated titles than anything; and a lot of the titles on the X-Box are rated M for mature.  I imagine one out of the three will get the shaft more so than the other two, but variety is the spice of life, and all three of those companies can take a fair amount of loss in sales.

As for the whole Microsoft in the console market thing...

To be honest, I'm more concerned about Sony's practices.  Sony dominated the console market with their first outing and continues to do so with the PS2.  They have developed a horrible reputation for customer service both through their software ventures (like Everquest,) and their hardware ventures alike.  The original design of the PS2 system still has a shotty DVD drive that Sony never rectified, and now they never will because they have completely dropped support for the older model.  You can even see that horrible business model repeating itself in the PSP.  Your screen has to have 40% of the screen missing due to dead pixels in order for the unit to be replaced?  Bah.

I'm not saying that the other companies don't have questionable business practices, but I do think Sony is the greater of three evils.  (Yes, Nintendo is by no means innocent; they have made some very shady dealings in the past, and they have dominated the portable market for over ten years.)

DISCLAIMER: I was typing this post about 4 hours before posting it and fell asleep. LoLz !!11

Con and Angst hit the nail on the head with Sega. me personally, I preferred the SNES to the Genesis, but I didn't get the Genesis until November 1994. I got Game Gear in 1993, and the only games I played on it were the Sonic games: Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic Chaos, and for a short time... Sonic Triple Trouble. The Game Gear was an energy guzzler, but I had the battery pack and AC adaptor that I just carried with me. I had a similar device with my Game Boy as well --- provided many hours of play on a long roadtrip from Illinois to Florida and back (was the first time I beat Super Mario Land, FYI) ... but yes... I couldn't get enough of the Sonic series, so alas it was inevitable, I'd get the Genesis last, and just in time for one of the greatest concepts EVER... Lock-On Technology with Sonic & Knuckles! or not... I wonder why that fell through the cracks like it did, Sega had plans for utilizing that technology with other titles but never went beyond Sonic 2/3+Sonic & Knuckles.

1994 was an awesome year for the 16-bit consoles. I don't recall ever having so much fun with cool games. the greatest game ever also came out that year: mothersucking Earthworm Jim! I got the Genesis version cause it was infinitely superior in terms of gameplay... though the graphics weren't as great and the infamous garbled voices on the Genesis still plagued it.

Genesis had a meger 64 simultaenous color limit (vs. the Super Nintendo's 256). some companies, particularly Capcom with Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition, managed to get by just fine despite this. SF2 was another reason to get a Genesis, permitting of course you got a 6-button controller (Sega's first chink in the armor, I guess).

the Genesis was Sega's last real successful system, and I believe it was still outsold and beat out by the SNES. the Sega CD and 32X add-ons may have offered larger storage capacity (and cd audio) or more powerful processing power, but they cost money to obtain, and still had limitations (the color depth, the overall system hardware) ... so naturally they flopped. it's the same thing why multiplayer in game expansions on the PC never work out: you have to pay to get them. not everyone has the money to fork over to buy more stuff to play games.

Sega Saturn was quite the piece of hardware. I only got to play it once, and god damn, Virtua Cop was a sporking amazing game to play. the dual CPU design was a pain in the ass to code for, unfortunately. does anyone recall the Saturn's launch and there were NO games to play on it? Virtua Fighter... that's about it. Sony came out of nowhere and stole all sorts of business with the Playstation... props to them for it: they're winning the console war now, whether you want to admit it or not, Xbox tools--I mean fans. Nintendo delayed the Ultra 64 for too long and lost in the long-run. after all, Playstation got its start in '94, the N64 coming TWO years later. N64 offered up some great titles, nevertheless. I was talking to Angst about it last night, and realized that there were 10 excellent titles on there. the rest though, as part of Nintendo's not-so-surprising marketing shift, were all Pokemon-esque kiddie shit. the N64 faltered in the way of its expensive-to-produce and aging cartridge format that the inexpensive CD-ROM of the PS1 offered greater quantities of game titles for less money. I remember Zelda 64 costing me around $75 in X-mas 1998. I don't even think my Half-Life and Jedi Knight games equalled that! but it was an awesome game.

1999 rolled around, and Sega unveilled their next generation Dreamcast, and with its online capability, PowerVR graphics chip, and Windows CE design, you could do all sorts of cool stuff with it. the Playstation 2 came a year later and just mopped the floor with it. Sega gave up and went strictly to software publishing. who would've thought you'd find Sonic the Hedgehog on a Nintendo console? I didn't either...

for the record, the Dreamcast wasn't 128-bit either... in fact, none of the current generation consoles can be labeled by their "bits" anymore cause like PCs, they have all kinds of different sized pipes pushing data. Dreamcast was 64-bit, with a 128-bit graphics processor, if I'm not mistaken. the Turbo Grafix 16 also was not 16-bit... it had an 8-bit processor with a 16-bit graphic engine.

the last true generation rated by this system were the Saturn/Playstation/N64.

I found a cool site explaining the backgrounds of all the major consoles, but that was about 2 years ago... I imagine classicgaming.com had it, or some other gamespy site.

Ugh... please don't bring up sony's customer service, i had to send my ps2 in to be fixed at least three times

the first time the lazer wasn't working after that the disk tray wouldn't open all the way, then it's like they just glanced at it then sent it back (lazy bastards)

I try to stay out of the console wars, the only reason i have both ps2 and gamecube is cause one company won't sell games for the other's system (that and it's really my parent's ps2)

the ONLY reason i'll get an x-box is for concer live and uncut, yeah there's a couple cool looking x-box only games (but just how many games allow you to horribly mutilate cute-sy looking enemies?)

I agree with Pho completely on the Microsoft bit.

yes.

Yar... I'm not a fan boy of any system really; it's the games that influence which console systems I purchase.  The only reason why I've been talking about the X-Box so much lately is that I feel that it's in its prime right now, (and that the X-Box 360 is coming out in November.)  There have been numerous games released as of late that I have really enjoyed.  I always rant and rave about stuff I enjoy. :p

Ah yeah, you're probably right about that.  It's been a while since I've brushed up on my history.


Heh I can't wait for Conker either.  I've had that game and Unreal Championship 2 on reserve for a long time. :p

Anyhow to address your question, check out http://www.razeshell.com/ (http://www.razeshell.com/)

While the game is insanely hard, it's a full-featured, X-Box Live enabled game for $20 that features co-op, standard multi-player fare, and a bunch of cool mini-games.

The SNES had more versions of SF2 than anyone would ever relistically need IMO. Besides, The MD(genesis) version incorporated the Turbo Edition as well as Champion. Capcom just didn't want SNES owners to be jealous :P

Granted, the ISS games took FIFA to the cleaners (and still do, just look at Pro Evo 4), but MD owners could eventually get ISS Deluxe along with the SNES crowd.

As many have probably guessed already, I don't think Sega sucks, but I don't think Nintendo sucks either. Both Sega and Nintendo fans should unite against a common enemy: MICROSOFT!!!

Besides, ATi does suck (only joking) :P

I like Nintendo, i like Sega i like Microsoft XBOX i like Sony...they all make consoles and it's the games that's matters to me not the console.