Sega Mega-CD

Sega Mega-CD
Manufacturer: Sega
Release Date RRP Code JP 1991-12-12 ¥49,80049,800 US 1992-10-15 $299.99299.99 DE 1993-09 DM 530530 ES 1993-09 FR 1993-09 1,990F1,990 UK 1993-04-02 £269.99269.99 SE 1993-05-27 3,495 kr3,495 IT 1993-04 AU 1993-04-19 BR 199x KR 1993-03 ₩398,000398,000 SPC200CR TW 199x

The Sega Mega-CD (メガＣＤ), known as the Sega CD in North America and Brazil, and CD Aladdin Boy (CD 알라딘 보이) in South Korea, is a hardware add-on developed by Sega for the Sega Mega Drive. As the names suggest, it allows a Mega Drive to run compact discs, be it proprietary Mega CD software, audio CDs or CD+G discs. It also acts as an upgrade to the Mega Drive hardware, sporting an extra processor and extra RAM. The Mega CD was first released in 1991 and was supported alongside regular Mega Drive cartridges.

Hardware

The Mega CD comes in many forms, but in all cases the hardware adds the capability of reading compact discs, technology which in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was becoming a more affordable storage option than the traditional video game ROM cartridge of previous console generations.

A traditional Mega CD does not act as a stand-alone unit, and needs to be hooked up to a Mega Drive via the expansion port located on the right hand side of the console. Mega CDs do, however, require their own AC adaptor, meaning that in order to play Mega CD games, two sockets will be occupied by the upgraded console.

Though one would expect the Mega CD to simply give the Mega Drive access to compact discs, it in fact adds extra processors, memory and audio features as well, all of which can only be utilised by CD software. The Mega CD does not, however, solve the issue of graphics, which aside from the ability to scale and rotate sprites on the fly, remain identical to the standard Mega Drive system.

The Mega CD also offers stereo sound RCA connectors. The Mega Drive on its own will output a monaural audio signal to the television, with stereo only being available through the headphone port located at the front of the console. An external connection from the Mega Drive to the Mega CD will allow all games to play through the television in stereo.

The Mega CD can be used in conjunction with a Sega 32X to run one of the six Sega Mega-CD 32X games. Alternatively it can be used to just play regular 5-inch or 3-inch audio CDs.

Official Variants

Like the Mega Drive, there were two major revisions of the add-on by Sega and several special combination units.

Mega CD

The original Mega CD utilises a CD tray, and sits underneath the Mega Drive (or Mega Drive 2). It is a reasonably large add-on designed to be permanently attached to the console at all times.

• 

  Japanese

• 

  North American

• 

  European/Australian

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  South Korean

• 

  JP (Mega Drive)

• 

  JP (Mega Drive 2)

• 

  US (Genesis)

• 

  US (Genesis (2))

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  EU (Mega Drive)

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  EU (Mega Drive II)

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  KR (Super Aladdin Boy)

• 

  KR (Super Aladdin Boy II)

Mega CD 2

A cost-reduced model of the Mega CD was produced and released around the same period as the cost-reduced Mega Drive 2. This version sits on the right hand side of the Mega Drive, though continues to act as a new base for the console, and is a top-loading device. Fewer mechanical parts means less is likely to go wrong with a Mega CD 2, and is designed to look sleeker and more appealing. The Mega CD 2 is designed primarily with the Mega Drive 2 in mind, however a plastic extension piece was included to add extra support with an original Mega Drive attached.

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  Japanese/Asian

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  North American/Brazillian

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  European/Australian

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  South Korean

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  JP (Mega Drive)

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  JP (Mega Drive 2)

• 

  US (Genesis)

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  US (Genesis (2))

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  EU (Mega Drive)

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  EU (Mega Drive II)

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  KR (Super Aladdin Boy)

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  KR (Super Aladdin Boy II)

Mega Drive Combos: JVC Wondermega/X'eye, Pioneer LaserActive, Sega Multi-Mega, and Aiwa Mega CD

Main articles: Wondermega, LaserActive, Sega Multi-Mega, Aiwa Mega CD

Combination Mega Drive/Mega CD units were developed over the course of the Mega CD's lifetime. The Wondermega and LaserActive are standalone consoles; the LaserActive also plays LaserDiscs. The Multi-Mega is a portable audio CD player that can play Mega Drive and Mega CD games when plugged in to wall power and a TV. The Aiwa Mega CD is a Mega Drive/Mega CD packed into Aiwa's consumer-level portable CD stereos.

Development Systems

A SNASM Mega CD development unit.

Cross Products SNASM Mega CD

The SNASM Mega CD is a fully featured debugging system developed by Cross Products and officially licensed by Sega for Mega CD debugging and development. Its features include a debugging interface through a port on the rear of the system as well as CD-ROM emulation through a proprietary SCSI card. The system contains a modified boot-rom which includes all used region combinations for localized debugging. Also available to developers are a number of controls for both the main and sub 68000 CPUs in the Mega CD. The SNASM Mega CD is used with the SNASM2 family of development programs and Cross Products's SN Server.

Psygnosis PsyQ Mega CD SDK

Psygnosis, a prominent 3rd party developer, developed their own tools for use with the systems which they developed for, including the Mega CD. The PsyQ development software includes the popular ASM68K and can be used with the Cross Products Mega CD.

Technical Specifications

The following Sega CD specifications are upgrades over the Sega Mega Drive technical specifications.

CPU

• Main CPU: Motorola 68000 16-bit processor running at 12.5 MHz
  • Same as the Mega Drive/Genesis. Acts as a coprocessor along with the Genesis CPU. One must note that the Genesis clock speed is slower (7.67 MHz)
• Instruction set: 16-bit and 32-bit instructions, 16 registers
• Instruction performance: 2.19 MIPS

Graphics

• Graphics Processor: Custom ASIC
• Number of simultaneous colors on screen: 64 (Using programming tricks, this limit is increased to 128 colors via raster effects)
  • 128 colors can also be displayed on screen using HAM techniques
• On-screen colors available in Cinepak and TruVideo modes: 128 to 256 colors
• Video size from 1/4 to full screen
• Advanced compression scheme
• Software-based upgrade
• Sprites/Tilemaps: The Mega CD features enhancement effects such as scaling and rotation, similar to that of the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom "Mode 7". While Mode 7 only supports the scaling and rotation of tilemap backgrounds, the Sega CD supports the scaling and rotation of both the sprites and the tilemap backgrounds.
• 3D polygon capabilities:
  • Geometry performance: Up to 3,333 polygons/sec
  • Rendering performance: 960 polygons/sec

Audio

The Mega CD adds 10 sound channels to the 10 provided by the Mega Drive's sound chips.

• CD Digital Audio
  • 2-channel stereo
  • 44.1 kHz sampling rate
  • 16-bit PCM audio depth
• Ricoh RF5C164 PCM chip provides 8 sound channels:
  • Sound format: 8-bit sign/magnitude monaural PCM (with "stereo" support by allowing each channel to have different volumes on both left and right channels)
  • Maximum sample rate: 32 kHz
  • PCM audio depth: 16-bit

Other specifications:

• 16-bit DAC
• 8x internal over-sampling digital filter
• Frequency Range: 20 Hz - 20 KHz
• Signal-to-Noise Ratio: > 90 dB @ 1K
• Channel Separation: > 90 dB
• Input: Mixer cable for Genesis Model 1 compatibility.
• Output: Stereo RCA connectors.

Memory

• System RAM: 856 KB
  • Main RAM: 4 Mbit (512 KB)
  • VRAM: 2 Mbit (256 KB)
  • PCM audio samples: 512 Kbit (64 KB)
  • CD-ROM data cache: 128 Kbit (16 KB)
  • Internal Backup RAM: 64 Kbit (8 KB)
• System Boot ROM: 1 Mbit (128 KB)
• External Memory Card: 1 Mbit (128 KB) CD BackUp RAM Cart
• System RAM bandwidth: 59.6 MB/sec (16-bit)
  • Main RAM: 23.84 MB/sec (12.5 MHz, FPM DRAM)
  • VRAM: 11.92 MB/sec (6.25 MHz, PSRAM)
  • Audio RAM: 23.84 MB/sec (12.5 MHz, SRAM)

Storage

• 500 MB CD-ROM discs (equivalent to 62 min of audio data)
• Access time: 800 ms
• 1/4 screen B/W footage video: 1.5 to 4 hours
• 1/4 screen color footage: 45 minutes
• CD-ROM drive transfer rate: 150 Kbytes/s (1x)

(Above specs prior to compression)

Boot ROM

• Size: 1 Mb (128 KB)
• Used for games, CD player, CD+G viewing, karaoke (limited to Japanese systems) and regional lockout
• Region codes: "NA" = North America (NTSC), "EU" = Europe (PAL)

Boot ROM Revisions

Boot ROM Version	Machine	Download	CRC32
0.98	Pioneer LaserActive	0.98 (NA) (info) ()	8c3e3945
		0.98 (Asia) (info) ()	9f5771d2
1.00	Sega/Mega CD Model 1 Victor WonderMega 1 (Asia) Sega WonderMega (Asia)	1.00g (Asia, NTSC) (info) ()	3beb1ac2
		1.00l (Asia, NTSC) (info) ()	f18dde5b
		1.00o (Asia, NTSC) (info) ()	1d9756a3
		1.00p (Asia, NTSC) (info) ()	9d2da8f2
		1.00s (Asia, NTSC) (info) ()	79f85384
		1.00s (Asia, PAL) (info) ()	550f30bb
		1.00w (Sega WonderMega Bios) (info) ()	d21fe71d
		1.00 (NA) (info) ()	e7e3afe2
		1.00 (EU) (info) ()	529ac15a
1.04	Pioneer LaserActive	1.04 (NA) (info) ()	2ed602d7
1.05	Pioneer LaserActive	1.05 (Asia) (info) ()	b24b919d
1.10	Sega CD Model 1 (minor update)	1.10 (NA) (info) ()	c6d10268
2.00	Sega/Mega CD 2 Victor WonderMega 2 (Asia) JVC X'Eye (NA)	2.00 (1st NA version) (info) ()	8af65f58
		2.00w (2nd NA version) (info) ()	9f6f6276
		2.00c (Asian version) (info) ()	dd6cc972
		2.00 (1st EU version) (info) ()	0507b590
		2.00w (2nd EU version) (info) ()	4d5cb8da
		2.00 (X'Eye) (info) ()	290f8e33
		2.00 (Wondermega) (info) ()	2b19972f1
2.11	Sega/Mega CD 2, Aiwa CSD G1M (Japan)	2.11w (NA) (info) ()	2e49d72c
		2.11c (JP) (info) ()	12154531
2.21	Sega Multimega (Europe & Japan), CDX (North America), Linguaphone Education Gear (Japan)	2.21x (MultiMega, EU) (info) ()	aacb851e
		2.21x (CDX) (info) ()	d48c44b5

¹ The ZIP file contains two dumps, a "good" dump and a "bad" dump. The "bad" dump has an incorrect HINT vector, but is otherwise identical to the "good" dump. The CRC32 listed here is for the "good" dump.

Other

Dimensions: 301mm x 212.5 x 112.5
Weight: 1.4 kg (3.1 lbs)

History

Main article: History of the Sega Mega-CD

Games

List of Games

The five games marked with an asterisk(*) were later released in enhanced form, requiring both the Mega CD and 32X to be played, and taking advantage of the latter's improved graphics (see Sega Mega-CD 32X).

• 3 Ninjas Kick Back / Hook (1994)
• 3x3 Eyes: Seima Densetsu (1993)
• AX-101 (1994)
• A-Rank Thunder Tanjouhen (1993)
• The Adventures of Batman & Robin (1995)
• The Adventures of Willy Beamish (1993)
• After Armageddon Gaiden (1994)
• After Burner III (1992)
• Aisle Lord (1992)
• Alshark (1993)
• Android Assault: The Revenge of Bari-Arm (1994)
• Anetto Futatabi (1993)
• The Animals (1994)
• Aoki Ookami to Shiroki Mejika: Genchou Hishi (1993)
• Arcus I.II.III (1993)
• Arslan Senki (1993)
• Bakuden: The Unbalanced Zone (1994)
• Batman Returns (1993)
• Battle Frenzy (1995)
• Battlecorps (1993)
• BC Racers (1995)
• Bill Walsh College Football (1993)
• Black Hole Assault (1992)
• Bouncers (1995)
• Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993)
• Brutal: Paws of Fury (1993)
• Burai: Hachigyoku no Yuushi Densetsu (1992)
• Cadillacs and Dinosaurs: The Second Cataclysm (1994)
• Capcom no Quiz Tonosama no Yabou (1992)
• Captain Tsubasa (1994)
• Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck (1992)
• Chuck Rock (1992)
• Cliffhanger (1993)
• Cobra Command (1992)
• Colors of Modern Rock (1993)
• Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia (1994)
• Corpse Killer (1994)*
• Cosmic Fantasy Stories (1992)
• Crime Patrol (1994)
• Cyborg 009 (1993)
• Daihoushinden (1994)
• Dark Seed (1993)
• Dark Wizard (1993)
• Death Bringer: The Knight of Darkness (1992)
• Demolition Man (1995)
• Detonator Orgun (1992)
• Devastator (1993)
• Double Switch (1995)
• Dracula Unleashed (1993)
• Dragon's Lair (1994)
• Dune (1993)
• Dungeon Explorer (1994)
• Dungeon Master II: Skullkeep (1994)
• Dynamic Country Club (1993)
• Earnest Evans (1991)
• Earthworm Jim: Special Edition (1995)
• Ecco the Dolphin (1993)
• Ecco the Dolphin CD (1995)
• Ecco: The Tides of Time (1994)
• Egawa Suguro no Super League (1993)
• ESPN Baseball Tonight (1994)
• ESPN National Hockey Night (1994)
• ESPN NBA Hangtime '95 (1994)
• ESPN Sunday Night NFL (1994)
• Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side (1994)
• Eye of the Beholder (1994)
• F-1 Circus CD (1994)
• Fahrenheit (1995)*
• Fatal Fury Special (1995)
• Fhey Area (1992)
• FIFA International Soccer (1994)
• Final Fight CD (1993)
• Flashback: The Quest for Identity (1993)
• Flink (1994)
• Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit (1994)
• Frog Feast (2005)
• Funky Horror Band (1991)
• Gambler Jikko Chuushinha 2 (1992)
• Game no Kanzume: Sega Games Can Vol. 1 (1994)
• Game no Kanzume: Sega Games Can Vol. 2 (1994)
• Genei Toshi: Illusion City (1993)
• Ground Zero: Texas (1993)
• Heart of the Alien (1994)
• Heavy Nova (1991)
• Heimdall (1994)
• Hook (1992)
• INXS (1992)
• Iron Helix (1994)
• Ishii Hisaichi no Daisekai (1994)
• Jaguar XJ220 (1993)
• Jango World Cup (1993)
• Jeopardy! (1994)
• Joe Montana's NFL Football (1993)
• Jurassic Park (1993)
• Keio Flying Squadron (1993)
• Kids on Site (1994)
• Kris Kross (1992)
• The Lawnmower Man (1994)
• Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters (1994)
• Lethal Enforcers (1993)
• Links: The Challenge of Golf (1995)
• Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine (1994)
• Lords of Thunder (1995)
• Lunar: Eternal Blue (1994)
• Lunar: The Silver Star (1992)
• Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold (1994)
• Mad Dog McCree (1993)
• Mahou no Shoujo: Silky Lip (1992)
• Mansion of Hidden Souls (1993)
• Marko's Magic Football (1994)
• Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch (1992)
• Masked Rider (1994)
• Mega Schwarzschild (1993)
• MegaRace (1994)
• Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse (1994)
• Microcosm (1994)
• Midnight Raiders (1994)
• Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra (1993)
• Mighty Mighty Missile! (2005)
• Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1994)
• Mortal Kombat (1994)
• My Paint: The Animated Paint Program (1993)
• NBA Jam (1993)
• NFL Football Trivia Challenge (1994)
• NFL's Greatest: San Francisco vs. Dallas 1978-1993 (1993)
• NHL '94 (1993)
• Night Striker (1993)
• Night Trap (1992)*
• The Ninja Warriors (1993)
• Nostalgia 1907 (1993)
• Novastorm (1993)
• Panic! (1993)
• Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (1994)
• Popful Mail (1994)
• Power Factory featuring C+C Music Factory (1992)
• Power Monger (1994)
• Prince of Persia (1993)
• Prize Fighter (1995)
• Pro Yakyuu Super League CD (1992)
• Psychic Dectective vol. 3: Psychic Detective Aya (1993)
• Psychic Dectective vol. 4: Psychic Detective Orgel (1993)
• Puggsy (1993)
• Quiz Scramble Special (1992)
• Racing Aces (1993)
• Radical Rex (1994)
• Ranma ½: Byakuran Aika (1993)
• RDF Global Conflict (1995)
• Record of Lodoss War JASPAC (1994)
• Revenge of the Ninja (1993)
• Revengers of Vengeance (1993)
• Rise of the Dragon (1992)
• Road Avenger (1992)
• Road Rash (1995)
• Robo Aleste (1993)
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms III: Dragon of Destiny (1993)
• Samurai Shodown (1995)
• The Secret of Monkey Island (1993)
• Sega Classics Arcade Collection (1993)
• Sengoku Denshou (1993)
• Sensible Soccer (1993)
• Sewer Shark (1992)
• Shadow of the Beast II (1994)
• Shadowrun (1996)
• Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. II (1992)
• Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective (1992)
• Shin Megami Tensei (1994)
• Shining Force CD (1994)
• Silpheed (1993)
• SimEarth (1993)
• Slam City with Scottie Pippen (1992)*
• The Smurfs (1995)
• Snatcher (1994)
• Sol-Feace (1991)
• Sonic the Hedgehog CD (1993)
• Soulstar (1994)
• Space Ace (1993)
• The Space Adventure (1995)
• Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin (1993)
• Star Strike (2000)
• Star Wars Chess (1993)
• Star Wars: Rebel Assault (1994)
• StarBlade (1994)
• Stellar Fire (1993)
• Supreme Warrior (1994)*
• Surgical Strike (1995)*
• Syndicate (1993)
• Tenbu: Mega CD Special (1992)
• Tenka Fubu (1991)
• The Terminator (1994)
• Theme Park (1995)
• The Third World War (1993)
• Thunderhawk (1993)
• Time Gal (1992)
• Tokyo Mahjong Gakuen (1996)
• Tomcat Alley (1994)
• Trivial Pursuit (1994)
• Ultraverse Prime / Microcosm (1994}
• Urusei Yatsura: Dear My Friends (1994)
• Vay (1993)
• Warau Salesman (1993)
• Wheel of Fortune (1994)
• Who Shot Johnny Rock? (1993)
• Wild Woody (1995)
• Wing Commander (1994)
• Winning Post (1993)
• Wirehead (1995)
• Wolfchild (1993)
• Wonder Dog (1992)
• World Cup USA 94 (1994)
• WWF Rage in the Cage (1993)
• Yumimi Mix (1993)

Launch Titles

Japan

• Heavy Nova
• Sol-Feace

North America

• Black Hole Assault
• Chuck Rock
• Cobra Command
• INXS
• Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
• Night Trap
• Sega Classics Arcade Collection (pack-in)
• Sewer Shark
• Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. I (pack-in)
• Sol-Feace (pack-in)

United Kingdom

• Black Hole Assault
• Chuck Rock
• Hook
• Prince of Persia
• Road Avenger
• Sega Classics Arcade Collection (pack-in)
• Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. I
• Sol-Feace/Cobra Command (pack-in)
• Wonder Dog

Germany

• After Burner III
• Batman Returns
• Black Hole Assault
• Final Fight CD
• INXS
• Jaguar XJ220
• Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
• Prince of Persia
• Road Avenger
• Robo Aleste
• Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. I
• Sol-Feace/Cobra Command
• Time Gal
• Wing Commander
• Wolf Child

Spain

• Batman Returns
• Final Fight CD
• Jaguar XJ220
• Road Avenger
• Thunderhawk

Italy

• Sol-Feace/Cobra Command (pack-in)

Gallery

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  Japanese logo

• 

  North American logo

• 

  European/Australian logo

Promotional material

Television Advertisements

• JP

• US

• US (Chill E.B.)

• UK or AU?

• UK (Horiscope)

Print Advertisements

• MegaCD US PrintAdvert.jpg

  US print advert

• MegaCD US PrintAdvert 2.jpg

  US print advert 2

• 32XMCDII UK PrintAd.jpg

  UK print advert (Mega-CD II - £99.99)

• MCDII9GamePack MCD UK PrintAd.jpg

  UK print advert (Mega-CD II 9 Game Pack)

• 

  BR print advert

• 

  ES print teaser 1

• 1993 07 - Teaser Mega CD.jpg

  ES print teaser 2

• 1993 08 - Teaser Mega CD.jpg

  ES print teaser 3

• 

  ES print launch advert 1

• MegaCD ES PrintAdvert2.jpg

  ES print launch advert 2

• MegaCD ES PrintAdvert3.jpg

  ES print advert 1

• 1993 12 - Mega CD.jpg

  ES print advert 2

• 1994 01 - Mega CD.jpg

  ES print advert 3

• 1994 04 - Mega CD.jpg

  ES print advert 4

• 1994 07 - Mega CD.jpg

  ES print advert 5

• 1994 11 - Mega CD.jpg

  ES print advert 5

• 1995 06 - Mega CD.jpg

  ES print advert 6

• 1995 09 - Mega CD.jpg

  ES print advert 7

• 1995 12 - Mega CD.jpg

  ES print advert 8

• Samsung megacd2.jpg

  KR print advert (Mega CD 2)

External Links

• Sega CD Development Guide

References

Sega Home Video Game Systems
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
SG-1000	SG-1000 II				Mega Drive					Mega Drive II
SC-3000								Mega-CD		Mega-CD II					Genesis 3
		Sega Mark III									32X				Dreamcast
			Master System				Master System II
			AI Computer				Game Gear
											Saturn
										Pico													Beena