When was the Sega CD released in North America?
The Sega CD was released in North America on the 15th of October 1992. The device launched with a retail price of US$299, which was significantly higher than the Genesis console at the time.
Common questions about Sega CD
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who led the development team for the Sega CD project?
Tomio Takami led the development team for the Sega CD project. He tasked his Consumer Products Research and Development Labs with creating a CD-ROM add-on to rival the NEC PC Engine CD-ROM² System.
What caused the Sega CD to catch fire during testing in 1991?
The Sega CD caught fire because the consumer-grade audio CD drive overheated when games demanded rapid, random access to data. This hardware incompatibility caused the laser head assembly to fail catastrophically during summer 1991 testing.
How many Sega CD units were sold worldwide before discontinuation?
A total of 2.24 million Sega CD units were sold worldwide before the system was discontinued. Sales stalled in Japan by the end of 1993 and slowed in North America due to the high price and technical obsolescence.
Why did the Sega CD fail to compete with newer consoles in 1993?
The Sega CD failed to compete because newer CD-based consoles like the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer rendered it technically obsolete. The device also suffered from a high price point and a lack of deep games compared to the competition.
What were the main technical specifications of the Sega CD processor and memory?
The Sega CD features a 12.5 MHz 16-bit Motorola 68000 processor and 6.5 Mbit of RAM for data. It also includes 128 Kbit of CD-ROM data cache memory and 64 Kbit of backup memory.