Sega MultiMedia Studio (demo)

n/a

Sega MultiMedia Studio

System(s): Sega Mega-CD

Publisher: Sega Multimedia Studio

Developer: Sega Multimedia Studio

Genre: Demo disc

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
US	1992

The Sega MultiMedia Studio demo disc is a Sega Mega-CD demonstration program developed and produced by Sega Multimedia Studio as a means to promote the advanced hardware features and graphical effects of the then-upcoming CD-based system. While not publicly released, it was demonstrated by Sega of America at their Summer CES 1992 booth.^[1]

Content

Sonic and Eggman's appearances in the demo.

The Sega MultiMedia Studio demo consists of a real-time demonstration of Mega-CD hardware features, particularly its ability to scale and rotate sprites, and its full-motion video playback capabilities. In addition to featuring extracts from the 1992 films Cool World and Batman Returns (as well as a clip from the 1946 Bugs Bunny cartoon The Big Snooze), artwork and digitized photographs of Star Trek's USS Enterprise, ToeJam & Earl and Joe Montana also make brief appearances.

At multiple points in the demo, Sonic the Hedgehog appears and stands on a compact disc while also holding one in his hand, accompanied by sound effects and music from Sonic the Hedgehog. Dr. Eggman would fly in and flick the disc in Sonic's hand to make it spin. The demo has a total runtime of about four minutes before looping back to the beginning.

The demo's repeated use of Sonic resulted in several news outlets erroneously confusing the program with the unreleased Sonic the Hedgehog 2 CD.^[2]^[3] It was also mistaken for the scrapped Mega-CD version of Cool World.

Controls

Though intended to play without any input from a user, the program's playback can be controlled by connecting a Control Pad into the first port. Holding START pauses the video, although the audio will remain playing, holding , , or reduces the video's playback speed by different increments, and holding will display a counter showing elapsed time for the current scene in the top-right corner of the screen. These controls are disabled during the FMV clips.

History

Development

A 1992 promotional photograph of Sega Multimedia Studio which showcases some of the demo's Sonic the Hedgehog artwork.

Photographs of the demo's development were taken and used in an article about a tour of Sega of America's offices in Redmond in the November 1992 issue of Disney Adventures^[4], published months after the demo's showing at Summer CES 1992. The photos in the article show the demo's artwork being drawn on paper, then digitised on a computer. A photo of a music studio also shows the demo's jewel case on display above a speaker.

Discovery

The demo was discovered and acquired by drx of Hidden Palace in conjunction with The Cutting Room Floor, along with several prototypes of Sonic games, and dumped as part of "Sonic Month 2019" from October to November 2019^[5]. It was released to the public on October 25, 2019, one day before the release of several Sonic the Hedgehog CD prototypes, in celebration of TCRF's birthday.

Magazine articles

Main article: Sega MultiMedia Studio (demo)/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Mega-CD, US
Cover
Disc

Technical information

Main article: Sega MultiMedia Studio (demo)/Technical information.

External links

Hidden Palace news page: Sonic Month Part 1 - Sega No. 1

References

Sega MultiMedia Studio (demo)
	Main page \| Bugs \| Magazine articles \| Technical information No results

[:File:Mdfan_JP_1992-08.pdf_p82-1] Mega Drive Fan, "August 1992" (JP; 1992-07-xx), page 82

[:File:EGM_US_037.pdf_p83-2] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "August 1992" (US; 1992-xx-xx), page 83

[:File:Joypad_FR_012.pdf_p31-3] Joypad, "Septembre 1992" (FR; 1992-0x-xx), page 31

[:File:DisneyAdventures_US_1992-11.pdf_p63-4] Disney Adventures, "November 1992" (US; 1992-10-0x), page 63

[https:.2F.2Fhiddenpalace.org.2FSonic_Month_2019-5] Hidden Palace: Sonic Month 2019

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]