Sega CD

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The Sega Mega-CD (メガCD, mega CD^?) was an add-on device for the Sega Mega Drive released in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The Genesis add-on for the North American market was called Sega CD. The device allowed the user to play games, audio CDs, and CD+G discs.

The development of the Mega-CD was confidential; game developers were not made aware of what exactly they were working on until the add-on was finally revealed at the Tokyo Toy Show in Japan. The Sega Mega-CD was designed to compete with the PC Engine in Japan, which had a separate CD-ROM drive.

The Sega Mega-CD was not meant to compete with the Super Famicom (Super Nintendo Entertainment System outside Japan). This posed a problem in the markets outside of Japan, where the PC Engine did not fare very well, and the expectation was that the Mega-CD would be in competition with Nintendo.

The first version of the system sat under the Mega Drive console and loaded CDs via a motorized tray. The second version of the system, dubbed Mega-CD 2, had the CD-ROM drive relocated to the right of the Sega Mega Drive system, changed to a top-loading CD-ROM drive with a lid, and was meant primarily to be used with the redesigned Sega Mega Drive 2. However the original model of the Sega Mega Drive could still be used with the addition of an extension that allowed the system to firmly sit on the add-on without overhanging the edge. (the Sega Mega Drive still sat ontop of the system, but to a much lesser extent than before)

In North America, the Sega CD was considered a failure due to its high price, low sales, few hardware upgrades, and general confusion with the Sega 32X, another Genesis peripheral offered. Due to Sega of America's lack of support for the Sega CD and 32X, many consumers lost their trust in Sega. It can be said that Sega never recovered from this, as the Saturn and the Dreamcast — although considered good efforts on Sega's behalf — were unable to compete effectively with PlayStation and Nintendo consoles.

Markets

Japan

The Sega Mega-CD was released first in Japan in 1st December 1991. Its retail price was about ¥49,800. Initially, it was a great success because of the inherent advantages of CDs (high storage capacity and the low cost of media). The fact that it had a large RPG catalog also helped.

Read more at Wikipedia.org