When I first discovered Mega Drive Console and Games.

[OldSchoolGamer]

First to set the scene, the time was sometime during the original retail sales of the Sega Genesis (IE: TOO LONG AGO )

Place - Canada, Toronto Ontario to be specific.



The first ever Mega Drive game I ever heard about I seen in person and this is how that happened.

Curse by Micronet was my personal introduction to a "bigger world". Meaning, though I was aware video games and consoles were sold and enjoyed worldwide I was not aware in the differences in console names, styles, colors etc. A tiny electronics shop opened in my neighborhood and due to my typical curiosity I entered the shop and up on the shelf was a box with what looked to me to be a Sega Genesis except the coloring of the trim was slightly different and it had this really cool name "Mega Drive" so I asked and got the story how it was the "Japaneses import version of my beloved Genesis!

How cool I thought, sadly I did not have enough money to buy it BUT I did have enough to buy one of the import games on display and it was this very game, the cover art grabbed me immediately and I had not heard of this games "Curse" but I knew I liked games like Gradius and of course Life Force on NES was a old favorite and the style of this shooter reminded me of an upgraded version. So I bought it right then and there excitedly wondering what it would be like, the graphics represented on the box looked amazing. OF COURSE as you are probably thinking I was in for little bit of a shock when I attempted to plug the cartridge in, it was too wide for the slot! Now the weirdest part is, I was so disappointed and though I had not heard of this previously I was always a bit of a tinkerer so I took a nail file, dismantled the Genesis and began filing the slot sides, it seemed to take forever and the end result was not pretty but I plugged it in, turned it on and.....YES !!!!! It worked, and a whole new world was open to me. Of course the knowledge of this "mod" was well known to many and common place for many but when I did it I had no idea if it would actually work. Now there were pitfalls to be sure as I would also come to learn that some titles would still refuse to run due to regional lockouts and even more surprising some games would have unexpected content in the form of 16 bit boobs or unexpected amounts of blood etc, it would only be years later trying the same titles on a friends actual Mega Drive that I learned the content and sometimes even the title screens changed depending on if they were loaded onto a Genesis or Mega Drive lol. Still to me it was fascinating and magical and something I still enjoy today.

[eskobar]

In Mexico Nintendo Kids were the most prominent tribe on the 80's. Most Atari fans were older and there were a few enthusiast kids that were among the elite: the Sega Kids.

My first experience with Sega was probably in the arcades, but at home the first one was with the Sega Master System. One of my friends (still my friend after more than 30 years) told me at school (primary school): "my father brought me a Sega Master System...", my instant answer was: "I am at your home after lunch!!".

His home is a few blocks away but there was a fuckin creepy cross with a line of trees and no lighting, no concrete on the floor and an electric storm coming at night. Of course, being a brave lad and a video gamer, none of that mattered; I went to my friend's house and ... there it was ...

Beautiful black plastic, beautiful 80's RAAAADICAL design. I felt older, almost teenager, when the control was in my hands. The game?: WONDER, MOFUCKING, BOY!!.

What was this travesty?, I was playing a much better version of adventure island on the SMS!!!; hours passed incredibly fast and when I least expected, came down the rain and fucked all over up... I had to left the controller and run that creepy tree passage as fast as my legs could ... It was an incredible revelation to know that amazing little system. Literally years passed (like 9) to finally own my SMS, I was fortunate to live very close to the US and got great games for a few dollars because the sale bin was filled with them.

Amazing time.

[gbpxl]

was there ever a real reason for region lockouts besides Americans being prudes?

[jb143]

was there ever a real reason for region lockouts besides Americans being prudes?

Well, there is that (different law between regions) but there's also technical reasons such as the difference between NTSC and PAL as well as hardware differences, such as the different sound hardware between the NES and Famicom.

[gbpxl]

Well, there is that (different law between regions) but there's also technical reasons such as the difference between NTSC and PAL as well as hardware differences, such as the different sound hardware between the NES and Famicom.

how do region lockouts work now with the following systems: Switch, PS4, XB1, 3DS, Vita, PC

[jb143]

not sure about the modern systems. I would guess that disc based systems simply have the software check what region the system is in and respond accordingly.

[eskobar]

was there ever a real reason for region lockouts besides Americans being prudes?

Yes, there is a real reason and is about the distribution and licensing rights por the IP. The pros for distribution rights are focal market localization, better local availability of the product, better prices (no import taxes), etc.

[Steve W]

The thing about the game Curse was, it was originally licensed for production in North America by INTV Corporation, a.k.a. the then-owners of the Intellivision. They had ported one of their late-release Intellivision games, Stadium Mud Buggies, to the NES as Monster Truck Rally. Apparently they weren't doing too well financially, and their little gamble with other consoles didn't pan out like they had hoped and they had overextended themselves. I believe somebody else had to step in and publish Monster Truck Rally for them, and even though they'd planned on releasing Curse for the Genesis in North America the company crumbled before it could hit the market. And I guess the rights were too bogged down in legal red tape for another company to get the publishing rights to Curse. It's such a shame, I remember seeing ads with screenshots of Curse and it really looked cool. That game was one of the things that pushed me to buy a Genesis. But it never made it here, and I only finally got the chance to play it a few years back when I bought a copy in a game store.

[Koa Zo]

was there ever a real reason for region lockouts besides Americans being prudes?

It's because of licensing. Both licensing properties such as name endorsements from sports figures, or movie tie-ins like Batman, etc, and also licensing for distribution.
There are often different owners to licensing agreements between regions, so there is incentive for the platform to be locked to regions to help facilitate revenue distribution to the appropriate parties.

edit: ah, already answered:

Yes, there is a real reason and is about the distribution and licensing rights por the IP. The pros for distribution rights are focal market localization, better local availability of the product, better prices (no import taxes), etc.

[Gameguy]

I believe Curse may be the first import Genesis game I've ever owned, I was lucky to find it in a thrift store many years ago. I'm sure it was under $5 with tax included so I was happy.