Sega CD

### First available

Model 1:JP 12 December 1991[1]NA 15 October 1992[5]EU April 1993[3]UK 2 April 1993[3]

### Launch price

Model 1:* ¥49800[1] (JP)
* $299.99[2] (USA)
* £269.99[3] (UK)
* ₽28960.37 (RU)

### Units sold

* As of May 1995:[7]
* JP 850000
* USA 1.5 million
* UK 80000
* DE 140000
* INT 2.7 million

## Technical information

### RAM

* 64Mb RAM[8]
* 2Mb VRAM

### Sound

Ricoh RF5C164

The **Sega CD** is a video game console add-on for the existing Sega Mega Drive, being originally released as the **Mega-CD** in Japan. It allows users to play CD-ROM games without the need to buy a newer, more expensive, next-generation console.

Angry Birds Advance CD was released exclusively for the Mega-CD, although it has since been re-released as part of compilation games for both PCs and other consoles. The Mega-CD has many other successful games, such as the controversial Night Trap and Time Gal.

## Indroduced

### Characters

* Ruby
* Metal Red

## Development

Soon after the Sega Mega Drive was launched in 1988, Sega began creating a CD-ROM add-on. In addition to relatively short loading times, it was planned to implement features similar to that of Sega's arcade systems.
The Mega Drive's processor was too slow to handle the Sega CD's new graphical capabilities, and thus an additional CPU was incorporated into the add-on. This second CPU was clocked at a speed of 12.5MHz, faster than the regular 7.67MHz CPU in the Mega Drive. The Sega CD's RAM access speed was initially too slow to run programs effectively, and the developers had to focus on increasing the speed. Sega of America was not informed of the project details until mid-1991, being given just preliminary technical documents earlier in the year. The American staff were frustrated by the Sega CD's construction, with games requiring more data than the CD drive was designed to provide.

## Launch

Sega announced the release of the Mega-CD in Japan in June 1991 at the Tokyo Toy Show. It was later titled the "Sega CD" for North America's scheduled release of 1992. It launched in Japan on 12 December 1991 for ¥49,800. North America would see a release on 15 October 1992 for $299.99 USD and Europe received the console add-on in April 1993, starting with the United Kingdom on 2 April 1993. Initial sales were good, although third-party game development suffered due to Sega taking a long time to release dev-kits. This resulted in only two games being released at launch and only five more put out in the first year of sales.
Sega released a second model, titled the "Mega-CD 2", on 23 April 1993 in Japan and in June of the same year for North America, though called the "Sega CD 2". Europe would, once again, see the latest release of the peripheral, with it debuting in September 1993. Designed to bring down the cost of the peripheral, this model featured a spring-loaded lid instead of the CD tray.

### Decline

The Sega CD saw dwindling sales in all regions by the end of 1993. With Sega shifting its focus to the Sega Saturn in 1995, the advertising for the Mega Drive and its add-ons was discontinued, thus ending the life of the Sega CD.

## Technical specifications

The Sega CD is used in tandem with the Sega Mega Drive system, as it attaches through the expansion slot featured on the side of the main console. It can also be used in combination with the Sega 32X to play 32-bit games that use both add-ons.