Sega Game Station

Sega Game Station (セガ・ゲームステーション) was Sega of Japan's online presence available through several Japanese proprietary online networks.

People

People World, a joint venture between IBM Japan, Toshiba, Mitsubishi and Hitachi launched the People service, for IBM PC compatible computers, on August 1st, 1994. Not long after, on October 1st, 1994, Sega Game Station was launched.

Content included the latest information on consumer and arcade games, with pictures and video initially available through People's user friendly "GUIPPY" GUI communication software, along with user message boards.

People had a reciprocal connection service with the comparatively minor Asahi Net network . People would become the third (far behind PC VAN and NIFTY-Serve) biggest Japanese proprietary online service, before the service was closed in 2001.

NIFTY-Serve

Pad Nifty UI

Fujitsu's NIFTY-Serve had been running since 1987, and along with "PC-Van" was one of the two large Japanese networks, with over 1.2 million subscribers as of 1995, and peaking at about 2 million subscribers in 1996. The international CompuServe network was also accessible through NIFTY-Serve.

NiGHTS into Dreams page

Sega had a presence on NIFTY-Serve with Sega Game Information Station (code "SSEGA"), with the network previously hosting dedicated Sega bulletin boards (code "FSEGA"). The service could be accessed on a Sega Saturn via the Pad Nifty software. The virtual world Habitat II also ran on the NIFTY-Serve network, linking Sega Saturn, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and FM Town Marty users.

Bulletin board

NIFTY-Serve was the last surviving proprietary online service in Japan when it was terminated in 2006.

PC VAN

NEC's PC-VAN network dated back to 1986, initially targeting owners of their "PC-XXXX" range of computers.

Information from Sega was available in Sega Game Station (code "SEGAGS"), whilst bulletin boards were available in Sega Players World (code "SPW", formerly "MDWORLD").

PC VAN and NIFTY-Serve were by far the biggest proprietary online services in Japan, both peaking at about 2 million subscribers each in 1996. PC VAN ended service in 2001.

Menus (PC VAN)

Sega Game Station Menu

セガ・ゲームステーション [SEGAGS]

• １．案内 (Guide)
• ２．セガ情報 (Sega Information)
  • １．ＳＥＧＡ　ＮＥＷＳ
  • ２．セガサターン (Sega Saturn)
  • ３．スーパー３２Ｘ (Super 32X)
  • ４．メガドライブ＆メガ－ＣＤ (MegaDrive & Mega-CD)
  • ５．ゲームギア (Game Gear)
  • ６．アーケード　ＡＭ２研＆３研 (Arcade AM2&3 Research labs)
  • ７．データライブラリ (Data library)
• ３．スペシャル (Special)
  • １．渡辺浩弍新聞 (Watanabe Hiroki Shimbun)
  • ２．セガスタ外伝 (Segasta Gaiden)
  • ３．ヤッちゃん (Yacht)
  • ４．新作一覧 (New work list)
  • ５．イベント＆キャンペーン情報 (Event & Campaign Information)
  • ６．ＳＥＧＡ　ＨＯＴ　ＮＥＷＳ
  • ７．噂の真相Ｑ＆Ａ (Truth about rumors Q & A)
  • ８．プレゼント (Present)
• ４．ビデオマガジン (Video magazine)
  • １．Ｗｉｎｄｏｗｓ用 (For Windows)
  • ２．Ｍａｃｉｎｔｏｓｈ用 (For Macintosh)

Sega Players World Menu

VAP セガ・プレイヤーズワールド [SPW][MDWORLD]

• １．このコーナーについて (About this corner)
  • １．このコーナーの説明 (Description of this section)
  • ２．お知らせ (Notice)
• ２．電子メール (E-mail )
• ３．フォーラム (Forum)
  • １．ハイテク喫茶・ソニック (High tech cafe · Sonic)
  • ２．メガドライブ・シアター (MegaDrive · Theater)
  • ３．セガ・アーケードネット (Sega · Arcade Net)
  • ４．サターン・ミュージアム (Saturn · Museum)
• ４．ライブラリィ (Library)
  • １．説明 (Description)
  • ２．ＯＳＬ
  • ３．テクニカル情報 (Technical information)
  • ４．フォーラムダイジェスト (Forum digest)

Magazine articles

Main article: Sega Game Station/Magazine articles.