Sega Genesis -- Sega Megadrive (Compare/Contrast)

[InsaneDavid]

Either way it doesn't matter. The Mega Drive / Genesis was nothing more than Atari's European market technology which Sega stole and reverse engineered. Sega later lost a lawsuit to Atari in the United States in which Atari won an unconditional victory.

What are you talking about? The MD/Genesis is built almost entirely of off the shelf parts, and is based on Sega's arcade hardware.

Go look up the lawsuit. It's too late right now to dig up the official page but I do have this on my harddisk in a text file for reference, Sega ended up paying $90 million ($50 million to license the technology, $40 million invested in Atari Corp) to Atari...

"Below is from 1994 SEC Form 10-Q for Atari Corp

In September 1994 the Company reached a comprehensive agreement ("Agreement") with Sega Enterprises, Ltd. ("Sega") concerning resolution of disputes, equity investment, and patent and product licensing agreements. The results of the Agreement are as follows: (i) Sega will acquire 4,705,883 shares of newly issued Atari Corporation common stock at $8.50 per share for a total investment of $40.0 million; (ii) Sega will pay the Company $50.0 million inexchange for a license from Atari covering the past and future use of a library of Atari patents issued between 1977 and 1984 (excluding patents which exclusively claim elements of the Company's JAGUAR and LYNX products) throughthe year 2001; and (iii) the Company and Sega agree to cross-license up to five (5) software game titles each year through the year 2001. Legal fees and expenses associated with the Agreement are estimated to be approximately $20 million. The Agreement is subject to regulatory approval and the Company anticipates such approval in the fourth quarter 1994. After legal fees and expenses as described above, upon approval, the Company will realize a netcash payment of approximately $70 million. The Company believes that its existing cash balances and the proceeds from the Sega Agreement will be sufficient to meet anticipated working capital requirements. The Company intends to increase expenditures in software development, product manufacturing, and promotional activities related to JAGUAR."

It's one of those little parts of video game history that people tend to forget about. Then again Atari was sue happy then, I mean they waited until they needed money to boost the Jaguar to move on the lawsuit. The result after the settlement was then that Sega would own $40 million worth of Atari Corp stock - so the company Atari was suing would own part of them. Ahh, I love this stuff.

[Lozza]

I prefered SNES when the MegaDrive was around so I'm not that bothered, personally... SNES is superior in comparison.

[Tan]

Either way it doesn't matter. The Mega Drive / Genesis was nothing more than Atari's European market technology which Sega stole and reverse engineered. Sega later lost a lawsuit to Atari in the United States in which Atari won an unconditional victory.

What are you talking about? The MD/Genesis is built almost entirely of off the shelf parts, and is based on Sega's arcade hardware.

Go look up the lawsuit. It's too late right now to dig up the official page but I do have this on my harddisk in a text file for reference, Sega ended up paying $90 million ($50 million to license the technology, $40 million invested in Atari Corp) to Atari...



"Below is from 1994 SEC Form 10-Q for Atari Corp

In September 1994 the Company reached a comprehensive agreement ("Agreement") with Sega Enterprises, Ltd. ("Sega") concerning resolution of disputes, equity investment, and patent and product licensing agreements. The results of the Agreement are as follows: (i) Sega will acquire 4,705,883 shares of newly issued Atari Corporation common stock at $8.50 per share for a total investment of $40.0 million; (ii) Sega will pay the Company $50.0 million inexchange for a license from Atari covering the past and future use of a library of Atari patents issued between 1977 and 1984 (excluding patents which exclusively claim elements of the Company's JAGUAR and LYNX products) throughthe year 2001; and (iii) the Company and Sega agree to cross-license up to five (5) software game titles each year through the year 2001. Legal fees and expenses associated with the Agreement are estimated to be approximately $20 million. The Agreement is subject to regulatory approval and the Company anticipates such approval in the fourth quarter 1994. After legal fees and expenses as described above, upon approval, the Company will realize a netcash payment of approximately $70 million. The Company believes that its existing cash balances and the proceeds from the Sega Agreement will be sufficient to meet anticipated working capital requirements. The Company intends to increase expenditures in software development, product manufacturing, and promotional activities related to JAGUAR."

It's one of those little parts of video game history that people tend to forget about. Then again Atari was sue happy then, I mean they waited until they needed money to boost the Jaguar to move on the lawsuit. The result after the settlement was then that Sega would own $40 million worth of Atari Corp stock - so the company Atari was suing would own part of them. Ahh, I love this stuff.

atari sued sega for using the 9pin controller port style the vcs had, nothing more.

[CRV]

atari sued sega for using the 9pin controller port style the vcs had, nothing more.

Plus, you might want to pay attention to the part about it being patents issued from 1977-1984 (I'd think that'd predate some of the technology in the MD).

Sega got the last laugh because they never actually did any games for the Atari systems.

[Ed Oscuro]

The name "Mega Drive" really isn't that stunning. Actually, you could even say it's kinda silly.

Genesis, though...hmm, biblical revelations! *earth shakes*

Of course, "Family Computer" is silly, as well, given that they basically took the popular name for computers (at the dawn of the 1980s personal computers were called "My-Con"-s).

All that said, the packaging and everything was done MUCH better in Japan.

As the console designs are essentially the same, the US gets the edge for having the Nomad, and not the Mega Jet. :P

[Ed Oscuro]

Plus, you might want to pay attention to the part about it being patents issued from 1977-1984 (I'd think that'd predate some of the technology in the MD).

I could be wrong, but one of those patents should be crap like the parallax scrolling patent. Whatever.

[Julio III]

atari sued sega for using the 9pin controller port style the vcs had, nothing more.

I thought the controller ports Sega used before the Saturn were standard ports which were used on loads of different systems?

[Veepa]

atari sued sega for using the 9pin controller port style the vcs had, nothing more.

I thought the controller ports Sega used before the Saturn were standard ports which were used on loads of different systems?

I believe they were.. I know the Commodore 64 uses the same port...

[InsaneDavid]

Plus, you might want to pay attention to the part about it being patents issued from 1977-1984 (I'd think that'd predate some of the technology in the MD).

I could be wrong, but one of those patents should be crap like the parallax scrolling patent. Whatever.

Correct, among other things.

atari sued sega for using the 9pin controller port style the vcs had, nothing more.

It wasn't that, it had NOTHING to do with the VCS at all. Seriously, there was a lot more to Atari than the VCS and game companies develop a lot more technology than they ever release. It was stuff that had to do with the Atari ST architecture and things like what Ed Oscuro mentioned. The Genesis / Mega Drive was based around the Atari ST computer architecture, a single 16-Bit microprocessor, which Atari Corp held a patent for. That's why I said the Genesis / Mega Drive was based on "Atari's European market technology."

If I'm not feeling so under the weather later I'll dig it up. It was basic stuff that Atari created, same as when everyone had to pay royalties to Magnavox in years previous. Sega saw it as big enough threat to settle out of court and adhere to all of Atari Corp's terms.

The PCEngine / TurboGrafx-16 didn't have the same patent infringement issues since it was built around two custom 8 bit co-processors along with a 16 bit graphics engine, which kept it in the clear. (since I know that'll come up sooner or later)

Again, this is one of those things that needs to be fully fleshed out and properly documented in that grand unbiased unwritten textbook on the history of the video game industry - that won't happen until you can get a degree in electronic entertainment history the same way you can earn a degree in art or film history.

[googlefest1]

some pattents issued are rediculus - i know im dealing with some now -- its what you get when the pattent office allows people not familiar with similar things to make decisions like this

how did atari own the patent for the proccesor - it's motorola's - OR are you saying they had a pattent on using a 16 bit proccesor - that would be like haveing a pattent on a car door - or having 4 wheels on a car

they should have tried to leagaly attack the pattent in the stages during development -- what a waste of 60 million

nintendo violated the same pattent then - they used a 16bit proccesor too

[chaoticjelly]

Mega Drive is definitly the better name, id prefer a Mega Drive over a Genesis any day..

Mega Drive to me, gives a feeling of "power", gaming at its best, and the European and Japanese MD logos simply outstrip that Genesis logo completely,

Ive always thought that Genesis was a silly name, I remember back in the day, my mate had a "Genesis" cart, it was large, stupidly named and was very hard to fit into the cart slot, oh how we laughed.

I wish I could remember that game though, id like to play it again.. I may even own it.. too many damn games, it was one sort of Dungeons & Dragons style, but your a warrior going along killing goblins etc, and collecting gold (NOT Golden Axe)

I had a SNES back then and my mate had an MD, for some reason he bought both models (I & II) to this day, I have no idea why, maybe it was just THAT good, and THAT loved.

You have to realise Sega was pretty much king of the UK for 8 and 16 bit (console wise)

On a side note, I cant believe how ridiculous the US SNES looks, it looks like some "cubism" experiment gone wrong!

Also what do you guys prefer? The model 1 Megadrive/Genesis or the Model 2 Megadrive/Genesis?

Personally I prefer the Model 1, as it oozes more quality and looks a better design, and in a battle between the Mega CD 1 and the Mega CD 2, the Mega CD 1 is just so much more damn groovier!

[InsaneDavid]

Double post x_x - see next post.

[InsaneDavid]

some pattents issued are rediculus - i know im dealing with some now -- its what you get when the pattent office allows people not familiar with similar things to make decisions like this

I agree. I also agree it was ridiculous for Ralph Baer to have been issued a patent on how machine controls interact with video signals on a video screen. Again, that's sort of what this was. Remember, Atari, Sega, Nintendo and countless others had to pay royalties to Magnavox - in this case Sega had to pay Atari Corp.

Let's not forget that Atari was two compaines at this time, Atari Corp and Atari Games. "Atari Corp. would continue to sell the redesigned 2600, 7800, and whatever other consumer products were still being warehoused, while Atari Games would begin new game development. To avoid confusion with the consumer division, Atari Games would rebrand themselves as Tengen." - I'm quoting myself there, from the first article I wrote for Retrogaming Times Monthly.

how did atari own the patent for the proccesor - it's motorola's - OR are you saying they had a pattent on using a 16 bit proccesor - that would be like haveing a pattent on a car door - or having 4 wheels on a car

The way I've heard it, Atari Corp had a patent on the design of using a single 16 bit processor as the core among other things - but that was the big one. If you want to compare it to the automotive industry it's less like having a patent on a car door or having four wheels on a car, and more like duplicating and reproducing an engine and powertrain design - in fact modern high end engine technology and how consoles and computers are designed around processor backbones are pretty close. It's not that no one else could have done it, but Atari Corp did first and they were able to get it patented. As Ralph Baer said concerning his lawsuits, "if they infringe on certain claims then they owe you something."

they should have tried to leagaly attack the pattent in the stages during development -- what a waste of 60 million

Well a prudent company would have researched that stuff before blowing the wad to develop a game console. I mean, it's not like these things are conceived and built overnight. (unless you're Microsoft)

nintendo violated the same pattent then - they used a 16bit proccesor too

I believe there was a difference in how the processor design interacted with the rest of the hardware which didn't infringe on any of Atari Corp's patents. It's not just that the Mega Drive / Genesis used a single 16 bit processor, it was an all around blatant ripoff of how things inside the Atari ST worked along with some non utilized (but patented) Atari Corp technologies.

I wish I could remember that game though, id like to play it again.. I may even own it.. too many damn games, it was one sort of Dungeons & Dragons style, but your a warrior going along killing goblins etc, and collecting gold (NOT Golden Axe)

Cadash maybe?

[dreamcaster]

Whilst I think Genesis is the cooler name (Sega's always had the best console names imo), I get annoyed at how things are often changed to pander to the American market (yeah, I know it was a copyright issue, but it still happens nonetheless).

Plus I have a sense of patriotism to the Mega Drive name. :P

PAL FOREVER.

[Emuaust]

PAL FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Emuaust snuggles up to his Shadow of the colossus with
extra content!(FYI Sony shipped this to me very early, Aus
release isnt suppose to be untill the 16th of the 02nd.)

[CRV]

Let's not forget that Atari was two compaines at this time, Atari Corp and Atari Games. "Atari Corp. would continue to sell the redesigned 2600, 7800, and whatever other consumer products were still being warehoused, while Atari Games would begin new game development. To avoid confusion with the consumer division, Atari Games would rebrand themselves as Tengen." - I'm quoting myself there, from the first article I wrote for Retrogaming Times Monthly.

Well, Tengen was just the home division of Atari Games. They later became Time Warner Interactive, which I think was after Namco sold their share of Atari Games.

[googlefest1]

some pattents issued are rediculus - i know im dealing with some now -- its what you get when the pattent office allows people not familiar with similar things to make decisions like this

I agree. I also agree it was ridiculous for Ralph Baer to have been issued a patent on how machine controls interact with video signals on a video screen. Again, that's sort of what this was. Remember, Atari, Sega, Nintendo and countless others had to pay royalties to Magnavox - in this case Sega had to pay Atari Corp.

Let's not forget that Atari was two compaines at this time, Atari Corp and Atari Games. "Atari Corp. would continue to sell the redesigned 2600, 7800, and whatever other consumer products were still being warehoused, while Atari Games would begin new game development. To avoid confusion with the consumer division, Atari Games would rebrand themselves as Tengen." - I'm quoting myself there, from the first article I wrote for Retrogaming Times Monthly.

how did atari own the patent for the proccesor - it's motorola's - OR are you saying they had a pattent on using a 16 bit proccesor - that would be like haveing a pattent on a car door - or having 4 wheels on a car

The way I've heard it, Atari Corp had a patent on the design of using a single 16 bit processor as the core among other things - but that was the big one. If you want to compare it to the automotive industry it's less like having a patent on a car door or having four wheels on a car, and more like duplicating and reproducing an engine and powertrain design - in fact modern high end engine technology and how consoles and computers are designed around processor backbones are pretty close. It's not that no one else could have done it, but Atari Corp did first and they were able to get it patented. As Ralph Baer said concerning his lawsuits, "if they infringe on certain claims then they owe you something."

they should have tried to leagaly attack the pattent in the stages during development -- what a waste of 60 million

Well a prudent company would have researched that stuff before blowing the wad to develop a game console. I mean, it's not like these things are conceived and built overnight. (unless you're Microsoft)

nintendo violated the same pattent then - they used a 16bit proccesor too

I believe there was a difference in how the processor design interacted with the rest of the hardware which didn't infringe on any of Atari Corp's patents. It's not just that the Mega Drive / Genesis used a single 16 bit processor, it was an all around blatant ripoff of how things inside the Atari ST worked along with some non utilized (but patented) Atari Corp technologies.

I wish I could remember that game though, id like to play it again.. I may even own it.. too many damn games, it was one sort of Dungeons & Dragons style, but your a warrior going along killing goblins etc, and collecting gold (NOT Golden Axe)

Cadash maybe?

i was trying to find some info on this patent and instead found a slew of crasy pattents and every body sueing eachother - sega sueing for having a pantent on a taxi game? man what a crock

i hope i can find some info on that patent -- your making it sound like they ripped off a major idea --- from what i know about designing microprocessor based products - there arent many ways to do things -- most of it is straight forward -- if sega took the same proccesor as in the atari st - im not surprised that it looked the same as the st board -- there isnt and infinate amount of ways you interface memory and peripherals - its all going to be the same method - as descibed inthe application notes from motorola -- im expecting this pattent to just be a pattent on useing a 16 bit proccesor and some other of the shelf parts

i agree with your statement that you could compare microprocessor to an engine becasue it esecialy is like an engine but i disagree with it becasue -there arent mulitple ways to interface with a microproccesor and working with one is as obvious as haveing wheels on a car -- motorola should have helped sega since a pattent like ataris would hurt motorlas buisness as well - if i find the pattent or more info on it ill certainly post somethign about it here on DP

edit: if sega ripped of an algorithm or OS from the st then i could see it as being something bad - but this pattent currently sounds like nothing more than a pattent on using off the shelf chips -

[theoakwoody]

My vote goes to Genesis but that's 'cuz, suprise, I'm american. I think few people are going to flip flop on this one as they have fond memories from their youth of one name or the other.

My argument is that Genesis doesn't sound so Generic. SG 1000, 3000, Mark III, Master System, Mega Drive. These names kind of describe what the system is and not just a cool name to remember the system by. Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast. All of those names have nothing to do with what the system does but you remember them because they are catchy.

[Ed Oscuro]

My argument is that Genesis doesn't sound so Generic. SG 1000, 3000, Mark III, Master System, Mega Drive. These names kind of describe what the system is and not just a cool name to remember the system by. Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast. All of those names have nothing to do with what the system does but you remember them because they are catchy.

I think they're all pretty memorable, actually. The old SG-1000 and Mark III era logos are dated, but very cool.

I will say that the gold 16-bit on the top of a Japanese Mega Drive is lame, however.

[Iron Draggon]

About the lawsuit, from what I understand, what Sega stole was what they called "blast processing" technology. I read it somewhere on the A A forums just the other day.