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That is one thing that confused me. They didnt go on a bragging spree with their Genesis/Megadrive hardware sales while most companies did and still do. They were kind of wierd in that way.
DERP
Then how is the sales figure known for the Genesis? I was under the impression that sales figures for these game console companies where for investors and stock holders. Wouldn't Sega publish them just like Nintendo and others for their stock holders as well?
A little off topic:
I think it's pretty amazing that the SNES actually caught up with the Genesis in just 2 years. And they did it with only an average amount of good titles and lot of crap titles (not that Sega didn't have their share of crap-soft too). Sega had a pretty strong hold of the market and with the release of Sonic in '91, really cemented its popularity in the US overall console base. Snes coming late to '91, I consider the real start of the SNES as of '92. But the end of '93, nintendo had made an impressive come back.
Sales figures of systems might show one thing, but "on the ground' politics of actual gamers, the snes was beating the Genesis by the start of '94 was common knowledge. I mean, it's not easy to get kids, who don't have a job or any real money to begin with, to actually buy another friggin system and yet nintendo did just that. I knew plenty of gamers that by late '92 to '93 really wanted to get a snes or who already had. Some Sega fans are just deluding themselves if they think Sega should have stuck it out with the Genesis for another year. I just don't see where Sega was going to get these great games from, to sustain any positive growth - let alone effect the only ever increasing market share by the snes.
Yeah, I've long held the view that the 29m figure was low, and likely only included Genesis 1/2 models alone. Sega's history of licensing out hardware means most of their platforms likely have a notably higher actual end userbase figure (Majesco Genesis 3, Majesco Game Gear, JVC V-Saturn, JVC Wondermega/X'Eye, AIWA MD boombox, Laseractive MD expansion, Samsung Saturn, Hitachi Hi-Saturn/Navi, Tectoy Master System Compact/Girl, etc, etc) though this actually goes for a few Nintendo platforms also (Sharp Twin Famciom, Sharp Famicom TVs, Panasonic Q).
These days Nintendo's shipment figures routinely come closest to actual sell in, if only because their platforms are in high demand and they've been stingy with overproduction since the GameCube debacle of 2003. Nintendo even sources sales figures via trackers (NPD, Enterbrain and Charttrack) in their IR reports today. If you want really disingenuous figures, you're far more likely to see them from Sony (who only just recently switched from "production shipments") and Microsoft.
the 'on the ground' politics was not very clear cut. the genesis was the first console not marketed exclusively to children. teenagers and 20-somethings that grew up with video games were given attention from sega. the rise of the snes was mostly younger gamers slowly replacing their aging nes's. i was in high school at the time, and being in between the two different demographics, i had both systems (along with a sega cd).
add to this the physical demographics, there are more people born between 1980-1985 than 1975-1980. nintendo overwhelmed sega, but certainly not the point where sega wouldve been pushed off the face of the earth.
I think that edgier marketing style was also (mostly) meant to appeal to younger audiences directly. I think it had most of its effect at that audience age range. There's always that lure of experiencing or being a part of something of the older/cooler age range, when you're a kid. I was a teenager when the Genesis first came out. I found the later more aggressive marketing and ads by Sega as insulting to my intelligence. As a teenager, one already is aware/has a sense of what's "cool" and what's obviously a gawdy attempt to relate and persuade by advertisement. They were really lame. Unless one was some socially inept nerd. It appealed to/effected younger gamers though stepping into the 16bit generation (judging by comments posted on forums and such).
I was going into my sophomore year of high school when it came out. I didn't know any younger kids (I was the youngest of my cousins). I had a lot of friends there were into gaming, and even just associates by gaming interests. I can tell you, it was either jealousy or envy for the SNES for the first year. Almost everyone I know got a snes by '93/'94, who originally had a Genesis (or a Turbo, or nothing at all).the rise of the snes was mostly younger gamers slowly replacing their aging nes's. i was in high school at the time, and being in between the two different demographics, i had both systems (along with a sega cd).
No, but that's what happened to NEC in North America.add to this the physical demographics, there are more people born between 1980-1985 than 1975-1980. nintendo overwhelmed sega, but certainly not the point where sega wouldve been pushed off the face of the earth.