Sony releases its PlayStation 5 Pro on November 7. Crystallizing many questions, the most powerful console of all time will have a lot to do to establish itself and continue the legacy of extensions. When we look at history, it’s not necessarily won…
In recent years, the notion of console expansion has almost become a norm. Rather than settling for a makeover, manufacturers have chosen to offer improved versions of their existing machines. The in-depth overhaul of an architecture represents a staggering cost, but by producing the PS4 Pro, Xbox One S and other Xbox One Powerful and ambitious, game consoles have thus entered a cycle which was rather reserved for the world of microcomputers. Some people will say that this approach is contradictory for plug-and-play hardware, but the existence of the PS5 Pro proves that this solution, although expensive, is practical to avoid excess investment in research and development. We take something that already exists and we transform it to make it even more powerful hardware. From there to releasing a console at 799 euros, players will form their own opinion on the question…
The CD-ROM changed everything
In the history of video games, expansions have always existed. But with the exception of a few cases like the PC Engine, the world of consoles was very often limited to devices grafted onto the original hardware or to makeovers aimed at lowering production costs (Master System 2, Mega Drive 2, etc.). Following in the footsteps of microcomputers at the end of the 1980s, several manufacturers, such as NEC or SEGA, have seized this phenomenon to allow their machines to adapt to technical developments. The arrival of the CD-ROM was a turning point and coincided with the release of additional players. Even a company like Nintendo, very traditional in its approach, almost gave in to the sirens of the CD-ROM player for its Super Nintendo. Before turning back and fueling the revenge of Sony who responded with its PlayStation. In the world of video games, SEGA has always had the label of a company ready to take risks and management has often pushed for innovation, even if it means tripping over itself. Extensions are good, but the bowl is never far away.
Also read – Did you think the war between Sega, Nintendo and Sony was just marketing? Wait until you discover the dirty things that the three giants did to each other behind the scenes, anything was allowed
Although more popular in Japan than in the West, NEC's PC-Engine console was the pioneer in terms of CD-ROM. From December 1988, owners of this machine could purchase the CD-ROM2 System to enjoy more impressive games, but also Audio and Karaoke CDs. Needless to say, at the time, it was the future. At SEGA, which had just released its Mega Drive, this technological affront was very poorly received. Hayao Nakayama, emblematic boss of the company, then demanded that his engineers carry out technical tests to respond to this competition. This is how the project began at the very beginning of 1989. One of the employees rushed to a store to get the NEC CD-ROM drive and the lead engineer, Tomio Takami, opened it to dissect it. At the same time, SEGA is carrying out a market study to ensure that the project is viable. The players being receptive, all the lights are green. Only, it won't last…
Mega-CD, mega hassle
Based on an architecture close to the Mega Drive, SEGA's CD-ROM player is at the heart of tensions between the Japanese parent company and its American subsidiary. At SEGA of America, management understands that something is going on on the archipelago and they can't stand not being informed. Caught red-handed, after a somewhat heated phone call, SEGA Japan offered to send SEGA of America the future CD player so that everyone could work together on future games. In reality, SEGA Japan has a morbid fear of leaks to the press. To drown the fish, they decide to send decoys to the United States, in other words prototypes which are not at all functional. Some models even catch fire, requiring the intervention of firefighters. The documentation, for its part, arrives in Japanese and must be translated at the expense of SEGA of America. Ubuesque.
While SEGA of America engineers are doing their best to adapt the future Mega Drive CD player to Western standards, Japan is seeing the product arrive in stores. Entitled Mega CD, it is expensive and does not meet with the expected success, the fault of games that do not exploit the power of the device. Players are confused and specialist editorial staff around the world are making it known. At SEGA of America, this first expansion was a big 8: “ This was the early days of optical media in the gaming industry, and none of us really knew what the hell we were doing. It was pure experimentation, but it was educational. » Supported by Full Motion Video games (a process which allows you to interact with a film), the Mega CD will not make an impression, despite a catalog that is far from uninteresting in the end. You could therefore believe that SEGA was going to stop there. Nope…
Too much extension?
As the mid-1990s approached, video games were in real turmoil and everyone rightly believed that the CD-ROM was the medium of tomorrow. While SEGA Japan develops its future console, the American subsidiary is a hit with the Mega Drive and absolutely wants to capitalize on this success. During a telephone meeting, the technical manager of SEGA of America proposed the creation of an extension for the Mega Drive which would boost the power of the console, thus ensuring an additional lifespan. The idea is accepted by Japan, but the project will ultimately lead to an unspeakable ordeal. SEGA Japan, being too busy with the future Saturn, decided to lower the budget allocated to its American subsidiary. The result is clear: the 32X, a sort of mushroom grafted onto the Mega Drive, is manufactured with the means at hand and will encounter enormous malfunction problems upon its release. Going up against the Saturn and PlayStation, it will disappear into complete anonymity – again, despite some really nice games. Many remember games of Virtua Racing, Star Wars Arcade or even Doom with emotion.
What these examples demonstrate is that extensions can be an easy solution that turns into a poisoned chalice. By wanting to capitalize on the extension of the life of the Mega Drive, SEGA confused consumers' tracks and never really recovered, despite two last consoles becoming cult. Nintendo quickly understood that this would lead nowhere and, in the 1990s, they mainly focused on on accessories or additional devices, such as the Super Game Boy of the Super Nintendo (Adapter for Game Boy cartridges). Since that time, times have changed and extensions have become a significant financial windfall for builders. With the PS5 Pro, Sony is attempting an extremely risky bet, even if the 45% additional power compared to a PS5 is enough to make one salivate. It will be very interesting to see how the public will adapt to this new situation, both pricing and technical. History has shown us that nothing is written in stone.
