Don't Just Watch TV: The Secrets of Sega Channel

Video Description

Sega broke ground in the late 90s with one of the first digital game distribution systems for consoles… using television cable! Nearly 30 years after it was discontinued, little source material or game data remains from Sega Channel, and the service has been a subject of historical curiosity ever since. For the last two years, we've been working on a special project to preserve the history of Sega Channel. We're ready to pull off the lid on what we've been up to, including some big surprises that we know you're been waiting for. Read more: https://gamehistory.org/segachannel Access the Michael Shorrock collection: https://archive.gamehistory.org/folder/4cdb4e35-216f-46e8-9215-04ab8b6b49c1 Access ROM data from Hidden Palace: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/2025/12/sega-channel-prototype-sega-genesis-roms/ Listen to the full Genesis version of Unused Song 2 from The Flintstones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z41Q_xZaOAs Sources: • Deborah Burns, "Dial-A-Game," Antic: The Atari Resource, Volume 2, Number 4, July 1983, p.82. Retrieved from Atari Compendium https://www.atarimania.com/atari-magazine-antic_20.html • Disney Channel Commercial Breaks (May 2, 2009) via Evan's Media Archive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TamBQ47rluI • Dip Stick Stickly | Nick In The Afternoon | NickRewind via NickRewind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlpLew9-nzI • Jack Yarwood, "The Full Story Behind Sega Channel, Sega's Precursor To Game Pass," Time Extension, December 29, 2022 https://www.timeextension.com/features/the-full-story-behind-sega-channel-segas-precursor-to-game-pass • Icons from Windows 98 • "Scientific-Atlanta to demonstrate live Sega Channel video game delivery service over cable TV at NCTA Show," press release, May 23, 1994. Retrieved from Sega Retro https://segaretro.org/Press_release:_1994-05-23:_SCIENTIFIC-ATLANTA_TO_DEMONSTRATE_LIVE_SEGA_CHANNEL(SM/TM)_VIDEO_GAME_DELIVERY_SERVICE_OVER_CABLE_TV_AT_NCTA_SHOW • "Bust A Move Again TV Commercial for GameTap - 2007" via Echoes of Playtime https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd2HFqlz2_k • TLC Believe in Yourself PC (YouTube upload) via CJ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsAmy9Kcvkk • Next Generation, Volume 1, Number 8, August 1995, p.29 https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/3399980f-fa55-4412-9bb1-a61760967925 • Next Generation, Volume 4, Number 1, January 1998, p.140-141 https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/3399980f-fa55-4412-9bb1-a61760967925 • Digital Diner, July 1997, p.8 https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/9d4846a8-05da-4510-a2c4-d4a28dd7d493 • Sega Genesis Model 2 photograph by Evan Amos (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sega-Genesis-Mk2-6button.jpg • Sprites and sounds used from Sonic the Hedgehog • RisingFromRuins on Sonic Retro https://forums.sonicretro.org/threads/more-sega-channel-prototypes-dumped.25935/page-17#post-1084673 • Infochunk - Reverse engineering the Sega Channel game image file format https://www.infochunk.com/schannel/index.html • Sega Channel LSZZ tools on GitHub https://github.com/Octocontrabass/channelzss • We Launched the NES 40 Years Ago Today - Gail Tilden, Lance Barr, Bruce Lowry - PRGE 2025 Portland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2WDfsiLiRA • David Foley resume, referencing Web Blaster. Retrieved via the Internet Archive [https://web.archive.org/web/19990224232024/http://www.hyperware.com:80/resumes/david.html] • Popeye the Sailor footage mirrored by Video Game Shadows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN4TmQntiOg • Popeye canon info: https://popeye.fandom.com/wiki/Bernice • Bernice picture from Thimble Theater, May 7, 1930 • Mob Linked to Massive Stocks Scam by John Sullivan, Sun Sentinel, June 15, 2000. Retrieved from NewsBank • Garfield: Caught in the Act - The Lost Levels PRGE 2024 footage by PZTunleaded https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuSWUzOcBBk • Garfield: Caught in the Act pre-release screens via The Cutting Room Floor, from Superjuegos issue 41 https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Garfield:_Caught_in_the_Act_(Genesis) https://archive.org/details/Superjuegos_041 • Aegis Wing opening title via MobyGames https://www.mobygames.com/game/28294/aegis-wing/screenshots/xbox360/411203/ • Aegis Wing co-op gameplay from Demon27248 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwOV0EO0WNk • Sega VR ad from Sega Visions, August/September 1993, p.93 Music: • Sega Channel music by John Baker, Howard Drossin, and David Javelosa • Also Sprach Zarathustra performed by Kevin MacLeod, via Wikimedia Commons, (CC BY 3.0 Unported License) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Richard_Strauss_-_Also_Sprach_Zarathustra.ogg • Express Games demo music by unknown composer • Hard Road from Super Hang-On (Genesis), sequenced by Chikako Kamatani • Neo Tokyo from Pulseman by Junichi Masuda • Wrath of the Demon (Amiga) music by David Whittaker • Unused Song 2 from The Flintstones (Super Nintendo) by Dean Evans Special resource thanks: • Retromags • The Spriters Resource • The Sounds Resource • Zophar's Domain