Did any CD add-on ever make sense to you?

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

We, of course, know that the MegaDrive had one... but so did the Jaguar, the SNES (the attempt of which spawned the demon that still haunts its company) and even the friggin PC Engine.

Did any of these ever make sense to you? You could argue that there were enough MDs and SNESes in the wild to sorta justify the experiment, but I just can't imagine any Jaguar owner being tempted by the prospect of spending even more money on it, especially when the console lacked the sheer amount of JRPGs that drew some PC Engine owners to the CD add-on in the process.

What a fascinating time in gaming history!

 

[shaggi shaggi]

All these add-ons came to life too late. What's the point of CD add-on if i can buy a console with native CD support and much more powerful components?

 

[Scotty Scotty]

Not really. Especially since we'd later see the rise of consoles with native CD support since the PS1 in the mid 90s. Plus, there wasn't much of a reason to buy, say, a Sega CD for your Genesis since:

• It was too expensive
• The technology was still relatively new and wasn't quite there yet
• The game library wasn't quite as good as the standalone Genesis (save for a few exclusives)

 

[CrankyKong64]

One of my friends down the street actually had a Sega CD but it was really just a cool novelty with a couple fun games. of course as dumb little kids we didn't know which were the actual good games lol

 

[lestagio]

I just can't imagine any Jaguar owner being tempted by the prospect of spending even more money on it

Jesus Christ, that might be the hardest Jaguar burn I've ever heard!

All these add-ons came to life too late. What's the point of CD add-on if i can buy a console with native CD support and much more powerful components?

Yeah, I think this was really the issue. There were actually quite a few good CD games, but many of them weren't any good and it was a better idea to just get another console. My 12 year old brain didn't think for a second that I should get a CD addon for any of those consoles when I could snag a PS1.

 

[Strategist Strategist]

I thought the Sega CD was dope, but the bigger problem was that they kept developing extra add ons and customers developed add on fatigue. Plus they stopped supporting the Sega CD but I thought they had some decent titles that showed the potential of CD-ROM gaming.

I think Nintendo did "add-ons" the smart way. Place the "add on" chips inside the cartridge in the late SNES era to get more out of the 16bit console. Star Fox and DKC went with that approach. But CD-ROM was far better when it came to sound and full motion video.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Jesus Christ, that might be the hardest Jaguar burn I've ever heard!

I'm a fan, but not blind.

Especially when the aforementioned add-on looks like a fucking toilet xD

 

[ArchienineZXAdventArchienineZXAdvent's icon]

I think that in the late 80's and early 90's yes but since CD started to be a default thing since around 1993-94 with the arrive of 3DO, PS1 and Saturn a CD add-on would be pointless at that point.

 

[UnDubious]

The PC Engine CD was first, and it eventually replaced the HuCard PC Engine. If you look at game releases year by year (for example on mobygames, which isn't fully exhaustive but close), by 1992 there were 38 new HuCard games and 91 new CD games. So the PCE CD (and the Duo) replaced the original PCE and remained relevant for '93, '94 and even '95.
The Sega CD wasn't necessary because Sega was already stretched thin with the Genesis, arcade market and Game Gear to support. But it still got some good games, at least. The Jaguar was just a failure all the way around and it makes no difference whether it had an add-on or not.

Post automatically merged: 48 minutes ago

I thought the Sega CD was dope, but the bigger problem was that they kept developing extra add ons and customers developed add on fatigue. Plus they stopped supporting the Sega CD but I thought they had some decent titles that showed the potential of CD-ROM gaming.

I think Nintendo did "add-ons" the smart way. Place the "add on" chips inside the cartridge in the late SNES era to get more out of the 16bit console. Star Fox and DKC went with that approach. But CD-ROM was far better when it came to sound and full motion video.

Nintendo had the 64DD, which was the biggest flop out of any add-on. But they were smart enough not to release it in the West, where the 64 was much more successful than in Japan. It would've just hurt them.
The chips in cartridges made individual games more expensive. It worked out well enough for them, though.

 

[Ikagura]

The PC Engine CD was the future incarnated.
Remember that this game was from the 80's

 

[Generic Edgelord]

They might not have been worth it back then, but in retrospect they're awesome. Cartridge games sometimes couldn't be as showy as they would have been with more space and disc games get around that limitation. They're games that are still as retro as the system they latch on to but can handle animated cutscenes with big, detailed sprites, voice acting, and CD quality music. I can totally see preferring a newer console by that point in time, but I'm glad they exist in the present day.

 

[Strategist Strategist]

The Sega CD wasn't necessary because Sega was already stretched thin with the Genesis, arcade market and Game Gear to support. But it still got some good games, at least. The Jaguar was just a failure all the way around and it makes no difference whether it had an add-on or not.

I disagree, in the sense that it was the first disc based console to release in North America and it had some incredible titles to show off the potential of the CD-ROM format. The console had a lot of FMV point and click garbage, but games like Sonic CD, Lunar 2, Eternal Champions and Popful Mail definitively were leaps ahead of what the SNES could do at that time. If they had bundled the Sega Genesis and CD together and kept supporting the Sega CD until the Saturn came out, it could've worked. The 32X sabotaged its potential.

A friend of mine bought a JVC Sega CD/Genesis console on the cheap after it had flopped and he had most of the cool Sega CD games (there weren't that many). It definitively impressed me compared to my SNES games. Full motion video and CD sound really adds a lot to games.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

The 32X sabotaged its potential

Indeed, and it remains one of the most perplexing moves ever.

SEGA of Japan wanted no part of this shitshow and even cancelled the Neptune to make their stance clear... so why in the world would the American branch go all steam ahead?

Even the launch was, reportedly, a disaster.

 

[Strategist Strategist]

Indeed, and it remains one of the most perplexing moves ever.

SEGA of Japan wanted no part of this shitshow and even cancelled the Neptune to make their stance clear... so why in the world would the American branch go all steam ahead?

Even the launch was, reportedly, a disaster.

I had a friend that was a SEGA fan and he was perplexed by it. Making people buy an add-on to play... Vectorman?!? I don't think he ever bought the 32X. No wonder it flopped.

Also the Saturn was coming out within a year, I believe. There was no reason to buy a Sega Genesis add on in 1994.

They clearly wanted to have their own Star Fox competitor 3D game on a 16bit console, but Nintendo was smart to include the SuperFX chip in the cartridge and not force people to buy an add-on. And Star Fox was waaay cooler of a concept than Vectorman.

 

[Generic Edgelord]

The PC Engine CD was the future incarnated.
Remember that this game was from the 80's

I'm playing through that for the first time and loving it so far. My first Ys was Ark of Napishtim but I absolutely see the appeal of the earlier games. Steamrolling enemies without an attack button getting in the way feels amazing. Perhaps it would be more authentic to play the PC-98 version but the Turbografx version lets me use a controller and has improved graphics and CD sound, so...

 

[Bakuma1997]

They sometimes were just a last RCP to a console's dying lifespan, Not surprised Nintendo didn't did so due to the beef with Sony, but they weren't short of doing so (Secret of Mana feeling incomplete due to being intended for the Nintendo Playstation)

 

[Moreno909]

At least the CDs have digital audio, but the large storage space is largely unused. A great 16-Bits game on CD could have hours of content and cutscenes, theoretically

 

[Strategist Strategist]

At least the CDs have digital audio, but the large storage space is largely unused. A great 16-Bits game on CD could have hours of content and cutscenes, theoretically

They did. Play Lunar 2 on the Sega CD. It was a crazy thing to play back in 1994. Only Final Fantasy 3 compared in ambition.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Well, someone mentioned Popful Mail and I have run out of excuses not to play it... =P

 

[Strategist Strategist]

Well, someone mentioned Popful Mail and I have run out of excuses not to play it... =P

It is insanely difficult game but the cutscenes and humor make up for it.

Edit: I remembered that Snatcher was released on the Sega CD as well. Another hidden gem from my GOAT Kojima.

 

[UnDubious]

I disagree, in the sense that it was the first disc based console to release in North America and it had some incredible titles to show off the potential of the CD-ROM format. The console had a lot of FMV point and click garbage, but games like Sonic CD, Lunar 2, Eternal Champions and Popful Mail definitively were leaps ahead of what the SNES could do at that time. If they had bundled the Sega Genesis and CD together and kept supporting the Sega CD until the Saturn came out, it could've worked. The 32X sabotaged its potential.

A friend of mine bought a JVC Sega CD/Genesis console on the cheap after it had flopped and he had most of the cool Sega CD games (there weren't that many). It definitively impressed me compared to my SNES games. Full motion video and CD sound really adds a lot to games.

The Turbo CD came out in America like 2 years before. Of course no one knew about it and it didn't sell. I agree the Sega CD had some cool games. The problem is the in-game graphics aren't better, and people just don't care about sound quality and fmv/anime cutscenes as much, so it was never going to be huge. I'm not sure what you mean by "bundle them together". CD rom players were expensive, so they couldn't just replace the regular Genesis with a combined version because it would've been much more expensive. And again, Sega itself can only make and publish so many games. They've got the Genesis, the Game Gear, and arcades... Sega CD was all extra, and didn't get huge amounts of third-party support. So what more could they do?

Post automatically merged: 15 minutes ago

They did. Play Lunar 2 on the Sega CD. It was a crazy thing to play back in 1994. Only Final Fantasy 3 compared in ambition.

He said hours of cutscenes. Lunar 2 has a few short cutscenes, not "hours". It would have cost too much to produce those scenes considering the size of the market.

 

[Ikagura]

I'm playing through that for the first time and loving it so far. My first Ys was Ark of Napishtim but I absolutely see the appeal of the earlier games. Steamrolling enemies without an attack button getting in the way feels amazing. Perhaps it would be more authentic to play the PC-98 version but the Turbografx version lets me use a controller and has improved graphics and CD sound, so...

I love Ark despite the clunkiness (being the first real 3D Ys game) compared to Oath and Origin but I also love the appeal of the bump gameplay (too bad most people only try it for two minutes before declaring it's bad because they didn't get the gameplay system).

Memories of Celceta is genuinely a masterpiece as well

 

[Generic Edgelord]

I love Ark despite the clunkiness (being the first real 3D Ys game) compared to Oath and Origin but I also love the appeal of the bump gameplay (too bad most people only try it for two minutes before declaring it's bad because they didn't get the gameplay system).

Memories of Celceta is genuinely a masterpiece as well

That's more of the series than I've experienced so far but they're all on my list. My plan is to play Ys I-IV on Turbografx then play V on SNES. I know from reading about it that there are several versions of IV across various platforms that are very different from each other (even having a different subtitle) but it made the most sense to me to play that version first.