Long before the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, there was another – more important – console war. One that many players valiantly fought it, despite its tragic end. That’s right – Sega vs. Nintendo and we’re going there once more with this hilarious lore video.
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The YouTube channel in question that gave us this gem of frustration is called Lore in a Minute and I’ve covered them quite a bit in the past. I love this team and their comedic edge to popular game franchises. They are both educational and entertaining, and they are usually super short making them even easier to enjoy.
For this particular video, they dive deep into the lore surrounding Sega and their rise – and fall – in the gaming world. Not in a place to enjoy a full-fledged animated video? Not to worry, the team always provides a written transcript to making following along even easier:
“In the mid 1980s, Sega tried to take on the blockbuster 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System, with the Sega Master System,” began the tale of the Sega’s glory. “Despite superior hardware that offered more on-screen colors, the Sega Master System never gained a significant market share in Japan or the US. Sega would be down but not out.
Led by R&D boss, Masami Ishikawa, Sega began development of the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive. While it was known as the Sega Mega Drive in Japan and Europe, the system was christened as the Sega Genesis for the US.”
They also opened up about the first-tries that didn’t quite make it, but then how the company managed to turn their fortune around: “Much like how Nintendo initially went to Atari to license the NES hardware for American sales and distribution, Sega also did the same but wisely decided to form their own subsidiary company and distribute the Sega Genesis system themselves.
The Genesis launched in 1989 to good, but not great, sales. But bolstered by smart marketing moves and a strong library of games, Sega soon found itself at the top of the gaming mountain.”
But how did their rise make its first grand step? “First, with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega finally had a mascot to rival Nintendo’s Mario. Sega marketing also coined the term “Blast Processing” to boast that it was faster and more powerful than the competition, which synergized well with Sonic’s “gotta go fast” mentality. The ad campaign was wildly successful because frankly, “faster transfer speeds and higher data bandwidth” just isn’t as sexy BLAST PROCESSING!
Second, the Sega Genesis was marketed as the edgier system with the uncensored release of Mortal Kombat. While the Super Nintendo version had gray colored blood when you performed the fatalities, you’d really get to see Sub-Zero yank that gorey spine out because Genesis Does What Nintendon’t!“
They added, “And lastly, the fruitful collaboration with Electronic Arts, particularly their sports series of games, really gave Sega the edge on the software side. John Madden Football made its debut on the Genesis in 1990 and quickly became one of the system’s killer apps, smashing a 75,000 unit sales forecast with five times the amount sold.
The Genesis was so successful that Sega tried to extend the life of the system with a bunch of peripherals, which ultimately backfired. There was the pricey, Sega CD add-on which had a library of crappy full-motion video pseudo-games. They followed that with the stop-gap Sega 32x which obliterated all the goodwill that Sega had built up with their fans. Gamers were ready to leave the Genesis behind and move onto the next console generation.
Sega would attempt recapture the Genesis’ success with the 32-bit Sega Saturn at the very first Electronic Entertainment Expo showโฆ but Sony had other plans.”
Enjoy the full comedic breakdown of Sega vs. Nintendo? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below! Don’t forget to also show the Lore team some love over at their YouTube channel here.