h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Sega Mega Drive - The Games Console - A87734398
Author: Bluebottle - U43530

A Flea Market Rescue, the original article was A9609221 by CitizenTomAnderson - U1835238

(Some of the original article seems to have been copied and pasted from Wikipedia, however I have heavily edited those sections and that is why this version has smaller sections on spin offs and the Mega Drive's technology.)

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looks good, i look over it when i can

I broke my sisters 15 years ago and wasnt forgiven until i bought her one off ebay for her birthday, i dont know equivalent pricing but it was pretty expensive

I'll be honest, I had a SNES, my brother had a Mega Driver and we both enjoyed playing both. But this entry was full of technical terms and footnotes that seemed to be repeating what they were footnoting. I kept waiting for it to get a bit more interesting, but it never seemed to.

I'm sure it's EG worthy, but it's not very gripping, sorry. I only made it about halfway through.

Some changes you might want to think about - don't keep mentioning Genesis unless you have to note a difference. At the top you've explained it has a different name in the States, so I don't think it needs repeating all the way through.

Sentences like this: "The Mega Drive was first released in Japan on 29 October, 1988. It was initially successful in Japan, until the Nintendo Super Famicom7 was released on 21 November, 1990" Could this be made slightly more readable, for instance...

"The Mega Drive was first released in Japan in October, 1988. It was initially successful (in Japan - do you need this bit you've just said it was released in the country, does it need to be said that's where it was successful?_, until the Nintendo Super Famicom7 was released on two years later."

I think a lot of the entry could be improved like that. It's really repeatative.

Also this: "The release of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991 gave the Mega Drive a hero that rivalled the popularity of Nintendo's defining hero, Mario. Sonic replaced former Sega mascot Alex Kidd, and his fast character emphasised that the Mega Drive was a faster console than its Nintendo rival."

It's such a dry way of explaining Sonic, who was FAST! Dramatic! Exciting! It was sold as 'you've never seen anything like this before!' Wow, all those sparkly rings to collect, and there's just once vague mention of him.

As I said, I don't doubt this would be accepted were it picked today, but I was disappointed with it. Sorry, I know it's a FM rescue, and you did a lot of editing, but to my age it was NEW and EXCITING and the first game console I ever really saw after waiting for tapes to load games, then they'd crash and you'd have a half hour wait to reload it. There's no excitement or enthusiasm for it.

Hello Mina,

Thanks for your honest comments and the challenge to make this article better. Hopefully I've been able to do something to help raise this closer to your high standards.

I'm sure it's EG worthy, but it's not very gripping, sorry.
I have tried to make the article at least 15% more exciting, but without resorting to adding any more exclamation marks.
Don't keep mentioning Genesis unless you have to.
Good point, I've deleted so many superfluous editions of Genesis I accidentally defaced a Gideon's bible when on automatic.
Do you need this bit you've just said it was released in the country, does it need to be said that's where it was successful?
I hope that this sentence had been made more readable.
I think a lot of the entry could be improved... It's really repetative.
<orib<I have tried to remove the repetition where I have found it, but if you find more, let me know.
It's such a dry way of explaining Sonic, who was FAST! Dramatic! Exciting!
I didn't want to go into too much depth about Sonic, who has a whole article dedicated to him, but you are right. Sonic epitomised the Mega Drive, and so I've written a little more about him now.
I was disappointed with it… to my age it was NEW and EXCITING and the first game console I ever really saw after waiting for tapes to load games, then they'd crash and you'd have a half hour wait to reload it. There's no excitement or enthusiasm for it.
I've tried to make the article more exciting and enthusiastic, and reduced the technical aspects of the Mega Drive too so it is hopefully a less dry read.

Thanks for being honest, and please be honest again about whether the article has been improved at all. Comments like yours, which challenges what has been written, can only lead to improvements.

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I mostly agree with Mina. I also think there should be a better ending for this Entry, but can't tell you what it could be.

I don't think I ever played Sega, I'm rather a Nintendo person. I always found Sonic strange.

Thank you for taking my comments in the spirit they were written in, which I know is hard when I came across so grumpy! I didn't realise there was an entry for Sonic already, maybe some links? I'll have another read now.

ooh, that's better. I had an 'I didn't know that' moment, and then a giggle.

Well done!

I'm glad that you think the article's improved, Mina

You're right, Tavaron, ending with the Mega PC was a bit of a strange ending. I've moved the section on Games to the end, which I think works better. I won't add your Sonic being strange comment, though Sonic's iconic, leave him alone!

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Looks good - i still say that the N64 was better though

Ooh, I loved my Mega Drive! I still remember being so proud to complete Streets of Rage and Golden Axe! Never got on with Revenge of Shinobi or Echo the Dolphin though. Just couldn't do it.

Good job on the entry!

"Over 35 million Mega Drives sold worldwide when it was released."

I think that sounds a little like 35 million were sold in the first days of release, which obviously isn't the case.



Aah, the glory days of Micro Machines 2...

But themicromachiens was also on the SNES, and it was awesome, the most amazing racing game ever.

The Micro Machines games were the ones I played most, fantastic games. (Out of curiosity, did the SNES version allow extra players in the same way the Mega Drive cartridges did?) I must admit I found Ecco the Dolphin a little dull and never got into it, but one of my friends swears by that game, so it's all personal choice.

"Over 35 million Mega Drives sold worldwide when it was released." I think that sounds a little like 35 million were sold in the first days of release, which obviously isn't the case.Good point, I've rephrased that now.

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I had never heard of Sega Mega Drive before.

My children grew up with Nintendo, some of their friends have Playstation, and my sister's kids have an xbox. I think those three are leading on the market in Germany.

A few things:
There are still repetitions:

First you say:

Many existing arcade games could then easily be transferred onto a games cartridge for the Mega Drive, a technique known as 'porting', giving the new console a range of already established and popular games with which to tempt the game-playing public.


...and a bit further down it reads:
It was designed to be able to play not only new Mega Drive games but also existing Master System games through a special cartridge adaptor, known as the Power Base Converter.

I think you could easily combine the two.

Like a curvaceous woman in a classy black dress, it looked exciting, and made all previous rectangular control pads appear old-fashioned overnight. - Sorry, but this is ridiculous imo.

I'm sorry to hear you've never experienced the Mega Drive – in the UK they were slightly more popular than the SNES in the early and mid 1990s, before the days of PlayStation and Xbox. (Among my school mates, I knew of five other Mega Drive owners but only one person with a SNES).

I think you could easily combine the two.
Good point, now combined.
'Like a curvaceous woman in a classy black dress, it looked exciting, and made all previous rectangular control pads appear old-fashioned overnight' - Sorry, but this is ridiculous imo.
Can't argue with it being a bit ridiculous and it was added to try to make the article a little less dry, but deleted now.

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I guess I was too old and my sons were too young to know the Sega. It was all Nintendo here when they were still small.

We always thought of the Nintendo as aiming for a younger audience, although I'm not sure it was supposed to be. None of the adult/serious gamers I know ever had one. The SNES was my first because I bought it second hand from a friend, but I moved onto the PlayStation when it came out. My brother stuck with the Sega Saturn, but eventually gave up and bought a PS. I'd forgotten about Micro Machines. The only racing game I ever liked (apart from Wipeout 2097). Awww the memories. But this isn't reviewing, sorry.

I have what looks like a Sega Megadrive controller, but it actually has a complete megadrive built in, with Sonic the Hedgehog and a few other games. There's no way of adding any more games though. The whole thing only cost 5 euros brand new.

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Nintendo probably has more 'family friendly' games, but that does not mean it's only for children. I rellay like Nintendo for instance and I think every real car racing game should have bananas and turtle shells.

Sega definitely existed here Bel. It just was not so popular, as you say.

I have what looks like a Sega Megadrive controller, but it actually has a complete megadrive built in, with Sonic the Hedgehog and a few other games.
I've mentioned a bit more on the Plug 'n' Play (although it is marketed under different names world wide).

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