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//by halo- & blu3flame 13th May 2004
Welcome to the second part of the Sega Retrospective - a pair of articles that intends to show you the weird and wonderful Sega consoles that eventually contributed to the company's downfall. The first article looked at some of the many Megadrive clones out there - the Sega CD-X/Multimega, the Wondermega 1, the JVC X'eye (aka the Wondermega 2), the Sega Mega Jet, the Pioneer Laseractive Megadrive add-on and the Nomad. This time continuing to delve further into some of the other major "interesting" consoles Sega or it's partners produced for seemingly no practical reason.
Starting with the lesser-known Sega/IBM Teradrive computer/Megadrive hybrid released exclusively for Japan in 1991, available in three major types each sharing a common 286 processor. Type 1 had 640k of RAM, a floppy drive and no HDD(!). Type 2 had two floppy drives, yet again no HDD, 1mb of RAM. Type 3 was the higher end top of the range model with a 30mb HDD drive and 2.5meg RAM. It could play regular PC titles and Megadrive titles via the integrated cartridge slot and a few PC-Megadrive hybrid titles released on floppy disk. Unfortunately all three models were extremely under powered for it's time - by then 386-based PCs were extremely common and 486-based PCs were beginning to be introduced - and the unit was stupidly expensive for it's specification hence why it failed miserably. Having never personally seen one on eBay, or heard of one ever being sold I can say this is probably the rarest variation of a Sega console.
The Amstrad Mega PC, released exclusively in the UK during 1992, was again a computer/Megadrive hybrid. However, unlike the Teradrive, the Mega PC was a lot less ambitious, this time just a regular 386sx PC with a meg of RAM, containing an ISA cart with the Megadrive's circuitry (including a cartridge slot). On the cover of the computer was a sliding door - one side concealing a standard floppy drive and controls for the PC, the other the Megadrive cartridge slot and power button. The Mega PC although different from the Teradrive shared another notable trait, both at the time of release were extremely expensive and relatively under powered. Although despite this the Mega PC does have one claim to fame - it is rumoured to be the only Mega Drive that outputs in VGA. Unfortunately, since the resolution of the Megadrive is so low it's hardly worth doing. Yet another piece of genius electronics that went relatively ignored, ultimately seen as pointless - too expensive for console fans and not powerful enough for the average PC owner.
Another short-lived product by SEGA was the Pico released in 1994 as an educational toy designed for young children - ages 2 to 8. The idea was that a book (with an integrated cartridge PCB) would plug into the Pico that was rigged upto the television. You could then read the books, and use the included plastic pen or the buttons to integrate with the characters on screen. Despite the fact it may sound rubbish, it was actually rather good and genuinely entertaining, it's possibly the only abysmal failure that I believe Sega should have succeeded on. Majesco later picked up the Pico for re-release in the US during 1999, for it to unfortunately fail once again, such a shame for a product which showed such promise.
Taking a look now back at the seemingly pointless items again, we have the Aiwa CSD-G1M Mega Drive/CD combo released in 1994. At first it looks like a standard Aiwa boom box with the regular CD, radio, cassette. Heck, it even acts like a standard boom box, its not until you pop it on it's little stand concealing a cartridge slot, that it magically becomes a Mega Drive and CD combo. I've only personally seen it on eBay once or twice when it sold for a several hundred dollars - ouch. To be honest, this isn't a bad product except, once again, it was overpriced and wasn't the greatest fusion of products in the world.
The Hitachi Hi-Saturn and JVC V-Saturn's were both available approximately one year after the Sega Saturn's initial release; these were minor variants of the console released by Sega's partners in the development of the machine. As Hitachi provided the two main CPUs in Saturn and JVC provided the CD mechanism contracts were signed saying they could create their own versions of the console. The end results weren't particularly notable in any way other than slightly differing looks, minor bios alterations and the integration of the VCD card into the HiSaturn's circuitry. However, a result of this contract was a very odd beast called the HiSaturn Navi. The HiSaturn Navi was a Saturn with a built-in mini-LCD screen, a GPS function and a car power adapter. Yep, they expected you to carry a Saturn around in your car - albeit a slimline version of the machine. To get the GPS portion running you plugged in the aerial and placed a map disk into the Saturn and away you went, controlling the machine with the standard gamepad - a bit of a problem if you were driving at the time. It was also possible to play games using the LCD screen if it took your fancy, a now desirable trait amongst recent consoles. Unfortunately, down to the nature of the design, the Navi was required to be installed in the front of your car to use its GPS functions, words can express how impractical this actually was. Furthermore it was once again ridiculously over priced with a launch price of approximately $1500 dollars, and limited to a production of 2,000 units.
Continuing to look at consoles with integrated monitors, may I introduce to you the Divers 2000 CX-1 Dreamcast - the most recent addition to the Sega console family and the last this article will cover. The Divers 2000 was produced in the year 2000 *shock*, and was the combination of a 14" Television, integrated Dreamcast and DreamEye digital camera all housed within a fabulously stylish sea-themed machine. Produced in extremely limited numbers and originally retailing for 88,888 yen upon release (and you thought prices ending with 99 were bad enough) - approximately $830 - it is the ultimate in Dreamcast machines, sporting an artistic "wave" design, the Divers 2000 is something truly to be marvelled at. Although looking at the console it's clear to see it was not designed to be the most practical TV in the world - it sticks out several inches further than needed for the sake of style, and has transparent windows in the casing which light up when in use. However placing aesthetics aside, this was an extremely versatile and desirable machine, bundled with Teleconferencing software, Internet suite, Instructional video, Headset and more, Sega obviously had high hopes for it. Despite the high asking price this machine is still extremely desirable and sought after even today for those who can afford it, if your lucky you can find them through importers but be expected to pay through the nose for shipping.
Unfortunately a common trend throughout these machines seems to be the inflated prices targeted at only the true collectors and enthusiasts. Since Sega's departure from the home console market it has been noticeable that many niches have been left untouched - Atomiswave home console anyone? It's unfortunate to see that these days limited edition consoles consist of nothing more than a mere colour change, lets hope that the future holds a return for Sega to the console market even if it means we have to write a part three.
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