Review 7: SEGA Channel (Genesis)

If you are a fan of 90s nostalgia like I am, you likely heard of Sega releasing a mini classic version of their Genesis console with software developer M2, going along the same fashion of the NES and SNES Classic Editions before it. Before that, though. and way before the advent of DLCs and On Demand titles, Sega had a nifty device called the SEGA Channel. While not the first ever to do it, the idea was something of an innovation during the Bit Wars. You can think of modern day equivalents in the form of Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass, Sony's PlayStation Now, and Nintendo's Switch Online services. UNLIKE those 3, however, SEGA Channel made use of the cable you use to connect to your TV. Mind you, this is still when turning to channel 3 was still a necessity, and internet was still somewhat scarce in those days, like "relying on America Online for a certain set of hours of dial-up internet" scarce (remember those disks?) Sega had an ad campaign in the 3rd console generation that said "Genesis DOES what Nintendon't!" likely to flaunt their superior graphics prior to SNES coming out, and for a long while, something like this was definitely something Nintendo didn't have.. at least not in the USA.

SEGA Channel was essentially a subscription service, running on a monthly fee to grant the player access to a fair number of Sega Genesis titles to play as you will, like a rental service without the store... so more like Ganefly, but for one platform and no physical copies to send back every month. Looking back on it now, it wasn't so much a game as it was an emulation box made for the Genesis that ran only those games, and not all at once. Some fees had to be paid to use it, consisting of a one time activation fee of $25.00, and a monthly $14.95 to continue using it. Nearly 70 games were available each month, with the menus and game catalog changing after a certain period, though the timing was at random, and it often wasn't a clean shakeup. But within that time frame, games were accessible for an unlimited use. The games themselves were 1:1 roms of the cartridges in stores, complete with in-game options. But given the limited selection of buttons on the controller, one would have to reset by the button on the device itself, rather than the Genesis, which would send you ALL the way back. Despite its weight, and the fact that it is connected to a cable wire, it was still essentially a game cartridge, and like one, it has its share of problems. Because it was essential a powerhouse on the console, the cartridge tends to heat up after excessive use, and should anything go haywire, be it a connection problem or a bill unpaid, it has it's own red screen to let you know, preventing access to it beyond the title screen of the Sega Channel itself.

This idea, however, shares its story with others in having a not-so-great beginning. Prior to the launch of this, Sega dabbled with the idea of internet connections. 3 years prior, they decided to try it with Sega Meganet, which was not only a stepping stone to what later became Sega Channel, but, perhaps one of the very first examples of online multiplayer. Certain games would debut here, such as Flicky and Columns, before eventually seeing a physical copy. Sonic Eraser, a Columns-like spin-off of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, would never make it out, and Phantasy Star II Text Adventure would be a text only RPG, similar to earlier Dragon Quest titles, though that too would be buried with the Meganet. A project on free-fall as of 1992, the release of the second model Mega Drive/Genesis the following year essentially buried the Meganet, as the modem used couldn't support the new connector the model 2 possessed. The succeeding year was when talk of the Sega Channel began being tossed around, which bombarded US as a testing ground.  There were two devices that ran this, but most are familiar with the bulky cartridge that came with its own AC Adapter, a criticism shared with the Sega 32X and Sega CD add-ons. This model was created by Scientific Atlantic, and without the wires added on, it resembles a brick fused with a Genesis cartridge. Given its weight, it would likely be strenuous if that was ever used with the Sega 32X add-on, though it was likely incompatible of such. A second unit, which didn't appear as bulky, yet still larger than your standard cartridge and still required a separate cable to power it up, was created by General Instruments, but even with 2 units, the service faded away around the time the sixth console generation came along. 

Aside from featuring games already released in the US, 12 games released in the PAL regions were put on here as regional import titles for Sega Channel. Among which includes games such as Pulse Man, Golden Axe 3, Alien Soldier and the 16-bit 3-in-1 game Mega Man: The Wily Wars. In addition, many games that were on the Sega Meganet also found their way on here as exclusives only fir this platform, while the previously named titles were regional exclusives before Of course, like many before it, most of the games (including the exclusives debuting on Sega Channel) became emulated, both legal and not, on various platforms. Even so, I still believe that during it's 5-year run, Sega Channel did one hell of a job. So much so that people yearn for it to make a form of a return. While many chided the timing of the Sega Channel, which came out in the latter point of the Genesis' life cycle, others saw it as a pivotal anchor to the subscription services we use today, which consist of Switch Online, Xbox Live Arcade and Game Pass, PlayStation Network and PS Now, and even Google and their Stadia platform. While not the same, it can be debated about it being a predecessor to the idea of cloud gaming. And with many Genesis collections and anthologies, Sega Channel would be lovely to have for a collector's point of view, but as something to revive, almost pointless in the current state of gaming.

I can't exactly call it a game, as it was a hash of them in a bulky cartridge, but Sega Channel gets a 7 of 10 overall. I'm content with what I have, but had it been back in the day, oh boy, I'd be alike a  kid in the candy store... and to a degree, I was when this was alive.