Sega Channel
From Sega Retro
Sega Channel was a project developed by Sega for the Sega Mega Drive video game console. The idea was that for a monthly subscription, gamers would get a special adapter for the console, which, once connected to their cable television connection would provide them with unlimited access to over fifty downloadable Mega Drive games, with new games appearing every two weeks. The games would be downloaded in about a minute and play just like the normal versions. Though available in other regions of the world, the Sega Channel saw the most success in North America, mostly due to a lack of competition from Nintendo and heavy advertising of the service.
As well as games, Sega also ran several promotions through the service. Special previews for up-and-coming titles were provided; some import games not found in the United States were exclusive to the service and cheats and tips were handed out. Within the first two years, the Sega Channel was distributed to over 20 million homes in North America.
The Sega Channel service began in 1994, but by 1996, Sega rolled out a new "wireless" version of the Sega Channel too, which lasted about a year. The entire Sega Channel service was shut down on July 31, 1998 because by this point the Mega Drive was seen as obsolete and its successor, the Sega Saturn did not take advantage of the service.
Contents
International
The service was also available in some parts of the United Kingdom, Canada, South America, and Japan on certain cable services. For one reason or another it failed to pick up as much steam as in North America, and was abandoned much sooner.
In Japan, the Sega Channel had a unique BIOS screen featuring Sonic the Hedgehog, and some exclusive content made for that region, including Dyna Brothers 2 Special. This game was eventually released on the Wii's Virtual Console. Another game that is seemingly connected to the Sega Chanel, Game no Kanzume Otokuyou, was discovered in the Sega Dreamcast online disc, Dream Passport 3.
Demo Cartridges
In 2009, demo cartridges of the Sega Channel started to appear for sale on eBay. The first seen of such carts was "Sega Channel Demo Cartridge #6".
Later on, another cartridge was up, "Sega Channel Demo Cartridge #4". This cartridge was purchased by a resident of Lost Levels, who generously lent the cartridge to LocalH to ROM dump. The ROM can now be obtained here.
The demo cartridge appears to be a prototype with in-progress Sega Channel work, featuring an intro sequence, graphics that would be used in the early days of it's broadcasting, a simulated downloading sequence, and a background/sound test. Looking into the ROM in a hex editor also shows various "SEGATV" error messages, as well as strange code snippets.
In the menus of the Sega Channel Demo's "Test Drive" section, you can see a listing for "The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse, Capcom". The original Magical Quest game was not released on the Sega Genesis.
List of Games
(Note: List is preliminary. As little has survived from the days of Sega Channel and no official list has been released, games may be missing.)
- 688 Attack Sub
- Aaahh! Real Monsters
- Abrams Battle Tank
- Adventures of Batman and Robin
- Aerobiz Supersonic
- Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
- Alien Soldier
- Alien Storm
- Altered Beast
- Amazing Tennis
- Arcus Odyssey
- Ariel the Little Mermaid
- Arrow Flash
- Art Alive!
- Asterix and the Great Rescue
- ATP Tour Championship Tennis
- Awesome Possum Kicks Dr. Machino's Butt!
- Ballz
- Barkley: Shut Up and Jam!
- Bass Masters Classic: Pro Edition
- Batman Returns
- BattleTech: A Game of Armored Combat
- Berenstain Bears: Camping Adventure
- Best of the Best Championship Karate
- Beyond Oasis
- Blades of Vengeance
- B.O.B.
- Body Count
- Bonanza Bros
- Boxing Legends of the Ring
- Brutal: Paws of Fury
- Bubba 'N Stix
- Bubsy
- Bubsy II
- Bugs Bunny in Double Trouble
- Buster Douglas Boxing
- Castlevania Bloodlines
- California Games
- Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
- Chakan the Foreverman
- Championship Pool
- Chase H.Q.
- Chessmaster
- ClayFighter
- Clue (Cluedo)
- College Football National Championship
- College Football's National Championship II
- Columns
- Combat Cars
- Comix Zone
- Contra: Hard Corps
- Crystal's Pony Tale
- Cyborg Justice
- Decap Attack
- Desert Demolition Starring Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote
- Desert Strike
- Dick Tracy
- Dinoland
- Dinosaurs for Hire
- Disney's Aladdin
- Disney's Bonkers
- Disney's Pinocchio
- Disney's TaleSpin
- Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
- Double Dribble
- Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun
- Dyna Brothers 2
- Dynamite Headdy
- Earthworm Jim
- Earthworm Jim 2
- Ecco the Dolphin
- Ecco: The Tides of Time
- Ecco Jr
- El Viento
- ESWAT: City Under Siege
- Eternal Champions
- Exile
- Ex-Mutants
- Exo Squad (Test Drive only?)
- F-15 Strike Eagle II
- Fatal Labyrinth
- FIFA Soccer '95
- Flashback: The Quest for Identity
- Flicky
- The Flintstones
- Forgotten Worlds
- Galaxy Force II
- Garfield: Caught in the Act
- Garfield: The Lost Levels
- Gargoyles
- General Chaos
- Ghouls 'n Ghosts
- G-Loc: Air Battle
- Golden Axe
- Golden Axe II
- Golden Axe III
- Greendog
- Growl
- Gotron
- Gunstar Heroes
- Head-On Soccer
- Heavy Nova
- Humans
- IMG International Tour Tennis
- The Immortal
- The Incredible Hulk
- International Rugby
- Jeopardy! Deluxe Edition
- Jeopardy! Sports Edition
- Jewel Master
- Jungle Strike
- Jurassic Park
- Kawasaki Superbike Challenge
- Kid Chameleon
- Klax
- Klondike
- Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole
- Last Battle
- Lethal Enforcers
- Light Crusader
- Mario Lemieux Hockey
- Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow
- Mega Bomberman
- Mega Man The Wily Wars
- Monopoly
- Mortal Kombat
- Mortal Kombat 3
- Mr. Nutz
- MTV's Beavis and Butt-head
- Mutant Chronicles: Doom Troopers
- Mutant League Football
- Mutant League Hockey
- NCAA Final Four Basketball
- NCAA Football
- NHL All-Star Hockey '95
- Nightmare Circus
- Normy's Beach Babe-o-Rama
- Olympic Summer Games
- The Ooze (Test Drive only?)
- OutRun
- OutRun 2019
- OutRunners
- Paperboy 2
- Pele!
- Pele II: World Tournament Soccer
- PGA European Tour
- PGA Tour Golf
- PGA Tour Golf II
- PGA Tour Golf III
- Phantasy Star II
- Phantasy Star III
- Phantasy Star IV
- Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure
- Power Drive
- Primal Rage
- Pulseman
- The Punisher
- Quackshot
- Race Drivin'
- Ranger-X
- Rastan Saga II
- Red Zone
- The Revenge of Shinobi
- Richard Scarry's Busytown
- Rings of Power
- Ristar
- Road Rash II
- Road Rash 3
- Rolo to the Rescue
- Romance of the 3 Kingdoms III
- Rugby World Cup '95
- Saint Sword
- SeaQuest DSV
- Sesame Street Counting Cafe
- Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
- Shadowrun
- Shining Force
- Shining Force II
- Shining in the Darkness
- Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
- Skitchin'
- Sonic & Knuckles
- Sonic 3D Blast
- Sonic Spinball
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3
- Space Harrier II
- Sparkster
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Test Drive only?)
- Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition
- Streets of Rage 2
- Strider Returns
- Sunset Riders
- Super League
- Super Monaco GP
- Sword of Vermilion
- Super Street Fighter II
- TechnoClash
- Theme Park
- Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure
- Tiny Toons: All-Stars
- ToeJam & Earl: Panic on Funkotron
- Traysia
- Ultimate Qix
- Unnecessary Roughness '95
- Urban Strike
- Valis: The Fantasm Soldier
- Vectorman
- Vectorman 2
- Virtua Fighter 2
- VR Troopers
- Wacky Worlds
- Warrior of Rome II
- Wimbledon Championship Tennis
- World Championship Soccer
- World Championship Soccer II
- World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
- World Series Baseball '96 L.E.
- X-Men
- X-Men 2: Clone Wars
- Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Gallery
Physical Scans
External links
- Archive.org - Archive of the Sega Channel official homepage
- Business Wire - Sega Channel Cited by "Popular Science" as Among 1994's Outstanding Products and Technological Achievements
- Sega Channel - Technical details on Sega Channel and its game delivery method.
- [1] - Gamesniped lists Sega Channel Demo 6.
- [2] - "Dyna Brothers 2 Special" on Wii Virtual Console.
- [3] - Japanese Blog entry which shows the boxart, cartridge and AC Adapter for Japanese Sega Channel
- [4] - Japanese blog entry which shows some screenshots for the Japanese Sega Channel.