Mega Play

This article is about the arcade system. For the US magazine, see Mega Play (magazine).

Mega Play
Manufacturer: Sega
Variants: Mega-Tech System, System C, System 18, Mega Drive
Release Date RRP Code World 1991 ? ?

The Mega Play is the name of a JAMMA-based arcade board with the ability to run Sega Mega Drive games. It was the second attempt by Sega to bring the home console to the arcades, following the Mega-Tech arcade system. Mega Play hardware saw a release throughout Asia and the PAL regions, but was not released in North America.

On first glance, a Mega Play machine is very similar to a Mega-Tech one, but there are a number of key differences. Both allow the user to select from a number of built-in games via a menu, however whereas Mega-Tech can hold up to eight cartridges, Mega Play hardware can only store four. Mega-Tech and Mega Play cartridges are not interchangeable, and both systems contain modifications to stop arcade owners from purchasing and running cheaper retail Mega Drive cartridges instead. Also unlike Mega-Tech hardware, no Sega Master System games were released for Mega Play hardware.

Though there were fewer games released for Mega Play hardware than Mega-Tech hardware, each game was modified for use in the arcades. With Mega-Tech, the user inserts coins for time, and can die as often as he or she wants without repercussions. Mega Play differs in that a user pays for lives and is generally not hindered by time, similar to other arcade systems. All Mega Play games were modified to limit the number of extra chances (for example, Sonic the Hedgehog replaces all the extra life monitors).

The Mega Play system was seen as an upgrade to Mega-Tech, and could be housed within a Mega-Tech cabinet. Like Mega-Tech it was designed with two monitors in mind, one for game selection (top) and one for the game itself (bottom), however once a game is selected the top screen will display the contents of the bottom screen, allowing passers by to see the game in action and hopefully persuade them to have a go.

List of games

There are twelve games known to exist for the Mega Play hardware:

• Tecmo World Cup '92 (199x)
• Bio-Hazard Battle (199x)
• Streets of Rage 2 (199x)
• Golden Axe II (199x)
• Gunstar Heroes (199x)
• GrandSlam: The Tennis Tournament '92 (199x)
• Mazin Saga: Mutant Fighter (199x)
• Columns III: Revenge of Columns (199x)
• Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (199x)
• Sonic the Hedgehog (Mega Drive) (199x)
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Mega Drive) (199x)
• Streets of Rage (199x)

Magazine articles

Main article: Mega Play/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

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  EU flyer

Photo gallery

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  PCB (top)

References

Sega Arcade Boards
Originating in Arcades
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Fonz				Galaxian		Zaxxon		Appoooh			X Board						Model 2						Hikaru				Atomiswave
Blockade					G80				Hang-On / Space Harrier							Model 1			H1	Model 3				NAOMI 2
	VIC Dual					System 1						System 24										NAOMI
					VCO Object		LaserDisc																						System SP
									System 2				System 18
									System 16
										OutRun				System 32
										Gigas
												Y Board
Based on Consumer Hardware
83	84	85	86	87	88	89	90	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15
	SG-1000		System E			System C													Triforce						Europa-R				RingEdge 2
						Mega-Tech System						Sega Titan Video								Chihiro										Nu
								Mega Play														Lindbergh
																										RingEdge
																										RingWide
Hardware Series / Generations
1960s				1970s						1980s						1990s							2000s						2010s
Electro-mechanical systems										Sega System series											Sega NAOMI series
				Discrete logic systems									Super Scaler series											Post-NAOMI systems
						Pre-System boards											Sega Model series