The Sega CD, known as Mega-CD in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan, October 15, 1992, in North America, and April 2, 1993, in Europe. The Sega CD plays CD games and adds hardware functionality such as a faster CPU and graphic enhancements such as sprite scaling and rotation. It can also play audio CDs and CD+G discs.
In the history of video games, the fourth generation of video game consoles, more commonly referred to as the 16-bit era, began on October 30, 1987, with the Japanese release of NEC Home Electronics' PC Engine. Though NEC released the first console of this era, sales were mostly dominated by the rivalry between Sega and Nintendo across most markets: the Sega Mega Drive and the Super Nintendo. Cartridge-based handheld game consoles became prominent during this time, such as the Nintendo Game Boy, Atari Lynx, Sega Game Gear and TurboExpress.
1993 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden, Mortal Kombat II, Secret of Mana, and Super Street Fighter II, alongside new titles such as Star Fox, FIFA International Soccer, Doom, Gunstar Heroes, Myst, Samurai Shodown, Ridge Racer, NBA Jam, Disney's Aladdin, and Virtua Fighter.
Hagane: The Final Conflict is a 1994 action-platform video game developed by CAProduction and Red Entertainment and published by Hudson for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The player takes on the role of a ninja cyborg named Hagane on his path to take revenge on an opposing ninja faction. The game combines traditional Japanese ninja and samurai aesthetics with a futuristic setting. The player has a wide variety of weapons, moves, and attacks at their disposal to defeat enemies and progress through the game. Hagane released to positive reception, and was compared favorably to classic side-scrolling action games. Reviewers praised the controls, art design, and challenge but criticized the quality of the graphics and sound.
California Games II is a sports video game released by Epyx for MS-DOS in 1990. Versions were published for the Amiga, Atari ST, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992, then the Master System in 1993. This game is a sequel to California Games. An Atari Lynx version was announced and previewed in several magazines but was never released.
The Sega Genesis, known as the Mega Drive outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan as the Mega Drive, and in 1989 in North America as the Genesis. In 1990, it was distributed as the Mega Drive by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe, Ozisoft in Australasia, and Tectoy in Brazil. In South Korea, it was distributed by Samsung Electronics as the Super Gam*Boy and later the Super Aladdin Boy.
Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure is a 2D platform video game created by Interplay Productions and released for the Sega Genesis in 1994 and later on the Super NES in 1995. The Genesis version was also released on the Wii Virtual Console in North America on November 24, 2008 and in Europe on December 12, 2008. The game's lead character also appears as a playable character and the rival of Earthworm Jim in Interplay's ClayFighter 63⅓.
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is a fighting video game developed and originally published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment in Europe for the Sega Genesis in June 1994. It is based on the 1993 film of the same name, which is a semi-fictionalized account of the life of Hong Kong-American actor and martial artist Bruce Lee. Following the events of the movie, players take control of Bruce Lee across several stages that takes places in different time periods of his life and fight against some of his adversaries.
Dragon's Revenge (ドラゴンズ・リベンジ) is a pinball video game by Tengen, released for Sega Genesis in 1993. It is a follow-up to Devil's Crush, a pinball game set in sword and sorcery scenario, wherein the player has to defeat a dragon and a witch. The game was released to generally positive reviews.
Tototek is a Hong Kong-based company that develops video game accessories, with a big focus on older consoles. Among their products are flash cartridges for the Master System, PC Engine, Mega Drive, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System. They have converters which make it possible to use PlayStation joypads on other systems. Also available are backup units, which make it possible to transfer cartridge data onto computers.
Championship Pool is a 1993 sports simulation video game released for Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Mega Drive/Genesis, and MS-DOS. The pool game was developed by Bitmasters and released by Mindscape. The game was officially endorsed by the Billiard Congress of America.
Magic: The Gathering: BattleMage is a real time strategy game published in January 1997 by Acclaim for both PCs and PlayStation. It was also in development for the Sega Saturn, but this version was cancelled in mid-1997.
Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind, often shortened to Bubsy, is a platform game developed by Accolade and released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis in 1993. It is the first entry in the Bubsy series of video games. The game's title is a play on words in reference to the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, with the game revolving around Bubsy defending the planet's supply of yarn balls from alien invaders.
Bubsy 2 is a platform video game, the sequel to Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind, and the second game in the Bubsy series. It was originally released by Accolade in 1994 for the Sega Genesis, Super NES, and Game Boy, and re-released for Windows through Steam on December 17, 2015.
Disney's Aladdin is a 1994 video game developed by SIMS Co., Ltd. for the Game Gear and Master System. Based on the film of the same name, Disney's Aladdin is a side-scrolling platform game in which the player character is Aladdin.
The Adventures of Mighty Max is a side-scrolling action-adventure video game developed by British studio WJS Design and published by Ocean Software for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. The game is based on the Mighty Max television series.
In the video game industry, a console war describes the competition between two or more video game console manufacturers in trying to achieve better consumer sales through more advanced console technology, an improved selection of video games, and general marketing around their consoles. While console manufacturers are generally always trying to out-perform other manufacturers in sales, these console wars engage in more direct tactics to compare their offerings directly against their competitors or to disparage the competition in contrast to their own, and thus the marketing efforts have tended to escalate in back-and-forth pushes.
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