Sega Games: A Brief Discussion of Console Audio
In continuing my discussions about compiling video game music, and on the official twenty-fifth anniversary of the release of the Sega Dreamcast console (which debuted September 9, 1999), allow me to explore the tracks that I have compiled so far from games that have been published by Sega across multiple consoles in the coming posts. This includes when they created arcades and video game consoles in the 1980s and 90s for Japanese, North American, and European audiences as well as games that they have published since the 2000s upon officially exiting the video game console market in 2001. I do not wish to go into too much detail regarding Sega as a company. Readers should know, for the purposes of this blog post, that Sega features a long and varied history beginning in the 1960s: from their American origins as "Service Games," to their early arcade games in the 1970s and 80s, to the frequently debated marketing competition with Nintendo in the 1980s and 90s, to its continuation as a video game publisher (including games for said former competitor). Those who are interested in the history behind Sega should check out the Sega Corporation website for the complete timeline and other relevant resources online and in print that accurately discuss the historiography.
Sega also developed many consoles and handheld gaming devices in the 1980s and 90s, often simultaneously as expansions to pre-existing consoles: primarily, for the Sega Genesis (Mega Drive in Japan, Europe, UK, and Brazil). The following represents a chronological list of the consoles and handheld systems created by Sega:
SG-1000 (Japan) - 1983
SG-1000 II (Japan) - 1984
Mark III (Japan) - 1986/Master System (North America) - 1986, (Europe, UK) -1987, (Brazil) - 1989
Mega Drive (Japan) - 1988, (Europe, Brazil), 1990/ Genesis (North America) - 1989
Game Gear (Japan) - 1990, (North America, Europe) - 1991, (Australia) - 1992
Mega CD (Japan) - 1991, (Europe, UK) - 1993/Sega CD (North America) - 1992,
Pico (Japan) -1993, (North America, Europe) - 1994, (China) (2002)
32X (Japan, North America, Europe, UK) - 1994
Sega Channel (North America) -1994
Nomad (North America) 1995)
Saturn (Japan) - 1994, (North America, Europe, UK) - 1995
Dreamcast (Japan) - 1998, (North America, UK) - 1999
I would like to take some time now and talk a bit about video game audio: specifically, how video game audio as a whole has evolved over time and how Sega applied video game audio hardware to their consoles. One of the most important factors in composing video game music depends on the available hardware at a given point in time and working around its limitations to produce the final product. Video game consoles in the 1980s and 90s often consisted of an Audio Processing Unit (APU) with different audio chips and multiple synthesized audio wave channels for producing music and sound effects. Sega consoles from this period present an intriguing case because, when discussing their 8-bit Sega Master System console (known as the Mark III in Japan), the APU varied by region.
Sega developed the FM Sound Unit for the Mark III in Japan. The console attachment applied nine audio channels and enhanced the overall sound quality via Frequency Modulation (FM) for games compatible with the Mark III. The European version of the Sega Master System also featured FM music and audio via an integrated FM sound chip. The Master System in North America came equipped with Programmable Sound Generator (PSG) audio, which featured four audio wave channels: Square, Triangle, Pulse, and Noise (for sound effects). The PSG audio on the Sega Master System demonstrates a drastic change in synthesized audio when compared to Master System or Mark III games compatible with FM audio. Compare, for instance, the differences in quality between the FM music to Aztec Adventure (Nazca ’88: The Golden Road to Paradise in Japan) from 1987 versus the PSG version.
Later consoles from Sega, like the Genesis/Mega Drive and Sega CD/Mega CD would use different approaches to the audio hardware for both the cartridge-based and disc-based machines. In certain instances, this also meant drastic shifts in quality for Western-developed games by applying the Genesis Editor for Music and Sound effects (GEMS) or Redbook Audio to produce immersive stereophonic soundscapes. Some could argue that GEMS audio pales in comparison to "pre-GEMS" audio for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games from Japan. I argue that it all depends on how well the composer understood the the video game audio hardware. Games like Fantasia (1991) demonstrate that audio that did not use GEMS audio could still produce harsh aural results. I will continue my discussion in a later post by focusing mainly on tracks featured in my Iberian, Latin American, and Caribbean Elements in VGM, Part 2: Sega Games playlist. I will concentrate on music from respective games across multiple formats and demonstrating how the many VGM composers apply Spanish, Portuguese, Latin American, and Caribbean music cultures.
Sega also developed many consoles and handheld gaming devices in the 1980s and 90s, often simultaneously as expansions to pre-existing consoles: primarily, for the Sega Genesis (Mega Drive in Japan, Europe, UK, and Brazil). The following represents a chronological list of the consoles and handheld systems created by Sega:
SG-1000 (Japan) - 1983
SG-1000 II (Japan) - 1984
Mark III (Japan) - 1986/Master System (North America) - 1986, (Europe, UK) -1987, (Brazil) - 1989
Mega Drive (Japan) - 1988, (Europe, Brazil), 1990/ Genesis (North America) - 1989
Game Gear (Japan) - 1990, (North America, Europe) - 1991, (Australia) - 1992
Mega CD (Japan) - 1991, (Europe, UK) - 1993/Sega CD (North America) - 1992,
Pico (Japan) -1993, (North America, Europe) - 1994, (China) (2002)
32X (Japan, North America, Europe, UK) - 1994
Sega Channel (North America) -1994
Nomad (North America) 1995)
Saturn (Japan) - 1994, (North America, Europe, UK) - 1995
Dreamcast (Japan) - 1998, (North America, UK) - 1999
I would like to take some time now and talk a bit about video game audio: specifically, how video game audio as a whole has evolved over time and how Sega applied video game audio hardware to their consoles. One of the most important factors in composing video game music depends on the available hardware at a given point in time and working around its limitations to produce the final product. Video game consoles in the 1980s and 90s often consisted of an Audio Processing Unit (APU) with different audio chips and multiple synthesized audio wave channels for producing music and sound effects. Sega consoles from this period present an intriguing case because, when discussing their 8-bit Sega Master System console (known as the Mark III in Japan), the APU varied by region.
Sega developed the FM Sound Unit for the Mark III in Japan. The console attachment applied nine audio channels and enhanced the overall sound quality via Frequency Modulation (FM) for games compatible with the Mark III. The European version of the Sega Master System also featured FM music and audio via an integrated FM sound chip. The Master System in North America came equipped with Programmable Sound Generator (PSG) audio, which featured four audio wave channels: Square, Triangle, Pulse, and Noise (for sound effects). The PSG audio on the Sega Master System demonstrates a drastic change in synthesized audio when compared to Master System or Mark III games compatible with FM audio. Compare, for instance, the differences in quality between the FM music to Aztec Adventure (Nazca ’88: The Golden Road to Paradise in Japan) from 1987 versus the PSG version.
Later consoles from Sega, like the Genesis/Mega Drive and Sega CD/Mega CD would use different approaches to the audio hardware for both the cartridge-based and disc-based machines. In certain instances, this also meant drastic shifts in quality for Western-developed games by applying the Genesis Editor for Music and Sound effects (GEMS) or Redbook Audio to produce immersive stereophonic soundscapes. Some could argue that GEMS audio pales in comparison to "pre-GEMS" audio for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games from Japan. I argue that it all depends on how well the composer understood the the video game audio hardware. Games like Fantasia (1991) demonstrate that audio that did not use GEMS audio could still produce harsh aural results. I will continue my discussion in a later post by focusing mainly on tracks featured in my Iberian, Latin American, and Caribbean Elements in VGM, Part 2: Sega Games playlist. I will concentrate on music from respective games across multiple formats and demonstrating how the many VGM composers apply Spanish, Portuguese, Latin American, and Caribbean music cultures.
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