Sega was a clear second in the 8-Bit wars against the Nintendo Entertainment System. They were never in a position to fix the myriad of problems that faced the Sega Master System. Sega was throwing down the gauntlet and pulling out all of the stops with the Sega Genesis launch. They were focusing on their arcade ports, getting third parties signed up and getting the best licenses out to gamers. All things they missed during their many attempts at making the Master System a household name.

First on the block meant a lot

When the Genesis launched, it was the only “true” 16-Bit home console. NEC’s Turbo Grafx-16 was a hybrid 8/16-Bit console without an identity. They just could not get much of a hold against the left/right combo Sega was touting. Sega took their System 16 arcade spec and put it in a consumer console and it worked like a charm. Well, there were concessions made but it was still impressive. That is until Nintendo entered the 16-Bit realm and gave the Genesis a run for its money. Fans of arcade ports and sports game could easily see Sega Genesis was their next console.

Things were done differently back then

Altered Beast was packed in with every Sega Genesis console for the first few years. This gave fans a taste of the arcade in their home. Nowadays it is recognized as not so great a title. It was good enough to show gamers the power of the system though. That is all Sega needed, their marketing would eventually do the rest. Early marketing was shotgun blasts of advertising- some hit, some missed. Tactical licensing helped Sega position the Sega Genesis as the console to own. Titles such as Dick Tracy, James ‘Buster’ Douglas Knockout Boxing, Joe Montana Football, Tommy Lasorda Baseball and other licensed games that didn’t suck. A true feat for the time.

It takes a village

Sega understood the value of third party licensees when launching the Sega Genesis console. Licensing their arcade titles out was nothing new. Sega licensed out some of their arcade titles to NES third parties on many occasions. What was new though was being on the other side of licensing. Titles such as Ghouls n Ghosts (featured in issue #1 of our magazine available here) and Strider in particular, pushed the sale of more than a few consoles. Strider was THE home port of the time. Capcom went all “adventure” with the NES port of the arcade action title. This left more than a little bit of a foul taste in the mouths of NES only owning fans.

Marketing mattered

Sega was able to position the Genesis as the cooler console. The console for the teens while Nintendo was content with the pre-teen market. Nintendo was like this till it was nearly too late. Sega’s Genesis was a seminal system that forced the gaming world to grow and mature. This was a stark contrast to Nintendo and their NES console which focused on a younger audience.

Here at Retro Gaming Magazine, we salute you Sega and say wholeheartedly, thank you for the Genesis.

What are your favorite memories of the Genesis and the games it had?

Launch titles were:

Altered Beast (read our history article)

Last Battle (read our history article)

Space Harrier II (read our history article)

Super Thunder Blade (read our history article)

Thunder Force II (read our history article)

Tommy Lasorda Baseball (read our history article)

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