Chris Hu said:
Cerebralbore101 said:
Your numbers are off by a lot. A Genesis model 2 was $89.99 in 1993 (Launch Price) and came with Sonic 2 for $30 more. A model 2 Sega CD was $229 (Launch Price) and came with Sewer Shark packed in. So more like $200 after you sold Sewer Shark back to the game store for half price. That's nearly half your initial $500 price tag for a Sega CD and Genesis combo. Less if you count getting Sonic 2 packed in. I can't really fault you for coming to those numbers though. Info on Sega CD and Sega pricing is hard to come by these days and it took me 45 mins of digging even to find proof of what I remembered as a kid.
Also while Genesis games frequently launched at $70, Sega CD versions of those same exact games launched at $49.99 due to the cheaper cost of producing CDs.
I agree that the graphical jump wasn't up to snuff for what you paid. Even showstopper titles like Soulstar and Battlecorps were merely great looking. Nothing mindblowing compared to DKC on SNES IMO.
Saturn launched as an expensive system but quickly got amazing pack-ins in the USA. You could get a Saturn with VF2, Virtua Cop, and Daytona packed in for less than a PS1 in 1996. NA/PAL Saturn wasn't as good as NA/PAL PS1 in terms of game library, but if you added in an action replay cart and imported games from Japan the library definitely rivaled PS1. Babbages at the time would import quite a few Saturn JP exclusive games like X-Men vs SF. A boatload of arcade titles ran perfectly on Saturn, while they were absent on PS1 or lacking several frames of animation. If you liked Fighting Games, Shmups, and Arcade games Saturn was the better system.
Anyway take the time to watch some SegaLordX videos on youtube about the best Sega CD games. The library is nothing to sneeze at. At $50 per game the initial Sega CD investment got paid for very quickly, by saving $20 per game. And lots of stores ran insane deals because nobody else was buying Sega CD.
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Still overpriced since all PS1 games launched at $39.99 and they had a ton of games that where $19.99 not long after they launched.
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PS1 was a different gen entirely. Ideally you would get a model 2 CD in 1993 and then a PS1 in 1995 once the good PS1 games arrive.
Also I'm pretty sure PS1 games were also 49.99 at launch and for non GH editions throughout the PS1 life cycle.
Also I'm not saying Sega CD was better than PS1. Just that Sega CD was worth owning if you knew what games to get.
Last edited by Cerebralbore101 - on 29 January 2026
