early Sega Genesis commercial "We Bring The Arcade Experience Home"

[airraid]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Nd-tH9fKuOo

I love this commercial, even though it's a lie, lol.

This was like a whole year before the "Genesis Does" commercials came out.

[diskoboy]

I remember this commercial. Actually, at the time, it was pretty much the closest thing to the arcade you could get.

But this was 1989.... Sega was actually king of the arcades at the time. But their real hit arcade games (like After Burner, Out Run, Space Harrier, etc..) depended on scaling and rotation features, which were foolishly left out of the Genesis/MD hardware.

I still thought the sega scream was always their best advertising campaign.

[airraid]

I remember this commercial. Actually, at the time, it was pretty much the closest thing to the arcade you could get.

But this was 1989.... Sega was actually king of the arcades at the time. But their real hit arcade games (like After Burner, Out Run, Space Harrier, etc..) depended on scaling and rotation features, which were foolishly left out of the Genesis/MD hardware.




yeah. Hang On, Space Harrier, Outrun, AfterBurner I/II, ThunderBlade, SuperHangOn, Galaxy Force II, G-LOC, etc all used Sega's "Super Scaler" technology in various dual-68000 and triple-68000 boards.

Although it would've been impossible to have that much power in Genesis, if Sega had used their modestly powerful System 16 board, which did have limited scaling/zooming (no rotation AFAIK), as the basis for the Genesis, the Genesis would've held up better against the SNES.

It would've also allowed for carbon copies of Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Fantasy Zone, Shinobi, etc, and better-though-not-arcade-identical conversions of the more advanced super-scaler games mentioned above.

BTW, it was rumored that the Megadrive-Genesis did have a scaling chip in it, but after awhile was discovered to have been removed.

Sega should've used System 16, shrunk down into a console, like SNK used the NEO-GEO MVS as the basis for the AES home system. a System 16-based Genesis and games would NOT have cost nearly as much as a NEO-GEO and its games.

Since in real life, Sega added a 68000 to the SegaCD, they could've added 2 68000 instead and full scaling & rotation to rival their System Y board that ran Galaxy Force II and G-LOC. given the timeframe when that board came out, 1988, it's not impossible to think that by 1991-1992, it could've been in a consumer device like the SegaCD.

[Kitsune Sniper]

No offense, but the NeoGeo MVS is exactly the same, hardware wise as the AES. The only difference is in the carts, the TV connections, and the controllers. It's not fair to compare the NeoGeo to the Genesis; the Neo didn't have the Genesis' shortcomings. :|

But I agree with your post, though.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[diskoboy]

Dave Whitney is so much cooler than that other kid. And his parents bought him a Golden Axe cab? Dude, why would I want a Genesis when I can have arcade cabs?


Excellent point! :)

[RPG_Fanatic]

I remember that ad

[Gentlegamer]

This was back in the era when I became enamored of the the Genesis and the "16-bit" generation. I was gaga for Genesis for a while . . . until Nintendo announced the Super Nintendo.

[Push Upstairs]

Dave Whitney is so much cooler than that other kid. And his parents bought him a Golden Axe cab? Dude, why would I want a Genesis when I can have arcade cabs?

Mike Rogers is stuck playing "Altered Beast". Mike Rogers is lame.

Dave Whitney doesn't own a "Turbo Outrun" cab so I'm gonna have to knock that "coolness" down a few notches. Also, if his dad (parents?) are pulling in the kind of dough to buy him arcade cabs on a whim, why doesn't he have a room dedicated solely to house arcade games?


The SEGA Scream ads were better...especially that "Sonic 2 Infomercial". That is the greatest commercial ever made.

[Gentlegamer]

No doubt, the Sega Scream is quite memorable and was very successful, but I must say that it is ironic that such an immature "we're so cool and extreme" tactic was used while trying to show how Genesis was for older, more mature video gamers.

It was during that time that I became somewhat "anti-Sega" because of that image even though I was in exactly the target age group they were marketing to.

Also, as soon as a company resorts to bashing another company in its ads, you know who is really top dog in that industry . . .

[Push Upstairs]

Nintedo pulled that shit too, they just weren't so "in your face" about it. How many times did I flip open a gaming mag to see that "advertisement" about how the SNES was better than the Genesis and a list of the reasons why it is better.


But the greatness of the Sega Scream commercials lies in their humor, not necessarily the products.

[bangtango]

Mike Rogers is stuck playing "Altered Beast". Mike Rogers is lame.

Guess that makes me lame, too :)

Altered Beast was always one of my favorite Sega games in both the arcade and on the Genesis. Glad I finally got a complete copy of it on the Genesis, just earlier this week, after years of finding loose carts, cart/box versions without the manual or cart/manual versions without the box.

Sure, Golden Axe is "better" but you can't go wrong with either game.

[j_factor]

yeah. Hang On, Space Harrier, Outrun, AfterBurner I/II, ThunderBlade, SuperHangOn, Galaxy Force II, G-LOC, etc all used Sega's "Super Scaler" technology in various dual-68000 and triple-68000 boards.

Although it would've been impossible to have that much power in Genesis, if Sega had used their modestly powerful System 16 board, which did have limited scaling/zooming (no rotation AFAIK), as the basis for the Genesis, the Genesis would've held up better against the SNES.
...
Sega should've used System 16

They did. The Genesis/MD was heavily based on System 16, with the only big difference being the lower color pallette and the addition of a shadow/highlight feature. The original System 16 didn't have scaling built in to the hardware; 16b did, but it wasn't even used much on that board. The few System 16(b) ports that Genesis got were pretty perfect ports, and looking at the other games for the hardware, none of it is anything Genny would've struggled with.

The "SuperScaler" games like Out Run used different hardware, with two or three 68k's at the core. That would've been lovely, but too costly, plus most developers, especially western developers, would've have been uncomfortable working on a system with dual main CPUs (just like they had difficulties with Saturn). Hardware scaling needs to be combined with that kind of power to get results as nice as Out Run. Granted, it would've helped anyway.


Also, as soon as a company resorts to bashing another company in its ads, you know who is really top dog in that industry . . .

Okay, based on those Johnny Turbo ads, I guess Sega CD was top dog. ;)

[MegaDrive20XX]

The SEGA Scream ads were better...especially that "Sonic 2 Infomercial". That is the greatest commercial ever made.

I agree and hiliarious at that.

[Gentlegamer]

Okay, based on those Johnny Turbo ads, I guess Sega CD was top dog. ;)Don't try to assign rational thought to Johnny Turbo . . . IT DOESN'T EVEN COMPARE!!11!!11!

[Melf]

Also, as soon as a company resorts to bashing another company in its ads, you know who is really top dog in that industry . . .

That marketing made Sega top dog, so it actually worked.

[XYXZYZ]

I hated Sega's "We're such a badass" marketing in the 16 bit days. I just found it annoying, especially that "blast processing" shit.

By the way, isn't a Neo Geo essentially a Genesis with a wider data bus? (16 bit Z80/8 bit sound chip combo) I'd look into it, but I have to leave for work now...

[jajaja]

Hehe gotta love these old commercials tho :) Much much better than the ones we have today.

[Gamingking]

Nice commerical.

[Gentlegamer]

That marketing made Sega top dog, so it actually worked.Not really. Unless you count slight edge in market share for a quarter or two as "top dog." And that was only during the transition in the market from NES to SNES.

[Gentlegamer]

I hated Sega's "We're such a badass" marketing in the 16 bit days. I just found it annoying, especially that "blast processing" shit.I think that sums up my feelings, too. That kind of marketing (from anyone) turns me off. Like I said, I was even in the age group they were targeting and it still was distasteful to me.

The closest to it in the modern age are some of the PS3 TV ads (trying to present the PS3 as some kind of transendant experience with a floating console, exploding eggs, etc.).

[Push Upstairs]

Guess that makes me lame, too :)

You collect three orbs, turn into a beast, then fight Roman Uncle Fester.

Maybe it's because I never played the arcade game first or because I don't have such fond memories of playing it back in 89-90.

Walk right until baldy wants to fight then repeat a bunch of times. IMO it's just not that interesting of a game.

[B - Mark]

I watched the commercial.

Before the Sonic the Hedgehog´s release, one of Genesis ´s the strong ponits is the several arcade ports to close for the arcade versions likes Golden Axe.

In 1995, i visited the USA and i brought E - Swat and other games for Genesis and my game includes a 1990 Genesis catalog with the slogan.

[Melf]

Not really. Unless you count slight edge in market share for a quarter or two as "top dog." And that was only during the transition in the market from NES to SNES.

When you consider that Sega went from having less than 10% of the U.S. market in 1989 to around 55% by 1991, I'd say it worked. And it wasn't a quarter or two. Nintendo didn't overtake Sega until the latter abandoned the 16-bit market in 1995. Sega toppled the most dominant force in the gaming industry in less than five years, and the marketing was a big part of it.

[j_factor]

Not really. Unless you count slight edge in market share for a quarter or two as "top dog." And that was only during the transition in the market from NES to SNES.

Sega had a 65% market share in North America in 1992. I'd say that's more than a slight edge, especially considering that the remaining 35% was split between SNES, NES, and Turbografx.

[Dire 51]

I remember this ad quite well. But who remembers the H.A.G. ads - and if you do, are they available to watch anywhere online?

[Push Upstairs]

I still have yet to find the pre-release Sonic 2 ad with the burrowing TV that crashes into the front door of a house. I ended up finding one that was post-release that used elements from it, but never that initial one.

[jajaja]

Speaking of Sega commercials, i just came across this ad.

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/6135/oldggadbigax2.jpg

Is this real? Is so, then lol LOL

[Push Upstairs]

LOL

Thats good stuff.

[MegaDrive20XX]

That is too damn funny lol

[Rob2600]

I think that sums up my feelings, too. That kind of marketing (from anyone) turns me off. Like I said, I was even in the age group they were targeting and it still was distasteful to me.

The closest to it in the modern age are some of the PS3 TV ads (trying to present the PS3 as some kind of transendant experience with a floating console, exploding eggs, etc.).

I agree, too. The best video game commercials are the ones that show unaltered in-game footage. The original commercials for Super Mario 64 and Wave Race 64 were great. Instead of showing people shooting Sega Saturn consoles with rifles or hiring people to scream "cool" catchphrases, Nintendo let the in-game footage speak for itself.

[j_factor]

I really liked this ad (similar to the Game Gear one above).

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2535/segasadviz2wu1.jpg

In case anyone's wondering, these ads were only run in like, adult magazines.

[MarioMania]

I was all Nintendo in the early 90's, 1991-1995

[Push Upstairs]

I was all Nintendo until I saw a beautiful screenshot from "Sonic 2" the summer of 1992.

My Nintendo only days had been waining before that, but that picture sealed the deal.

[Arqueologia_Digital]

Cool! I just love this SEGA earlier commercials. Thanks for posting it!

[Jorpho]

I still think this one is pretty freaky. (Thompson would be all up ons.)
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76891