Ken Horowitz is a professor of English and has written about Sega and video games for over a decade for his website, Sega-16, as well as for numerous other websites and magazines. He lives in Puerto Rico.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

The Arcade Origins of Sega

The Early Years (1945-1965)3Sega Hits Arcade Gold (1966-1968)6

Periscope (March 1968)8Missile (Circa April 1969)11

Gone and Back Again

Pong-Tron (July 1973)16

Planting the Seeds for the Future

There's a Gremlin in the House

Head-On (April 1979)24Monaco GP (November 1979)27Carnival

(July 1980)29Space Fury (July 1981)31Frogger (U.S.-October 1981)36

Sega's Innovation Conquers U.S. Arcades (1981-1982)

Turbo (October 1981)43Eliminator (December 1981)46Zaxxon

(U.S.-March 1982)48SUBROC-3D (U.S.-September 1982)52Pengo

(September 1982)54Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom (December 1982)56

Relaunched in Time for the Crash (1982-1983)

Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator (January 1983)65Congo Bongo

(U.S.-March 1983)69Astron Belt (October 1983)71

Sega Enters a New Era (1984-1985)

Flicky (September 1984)77Ninja Princess/Sega Ninja (March 1985)81

Sega Enterprises USA (1985)

Choplifter (October 1985)89Hang-On (U.S.-October 1985)92

A Second Arcade Golden Age (1985-1988)

Space Harrier (December 1985)100Fantasy Zone (March 1986)102Quartet (April 1986)106Wonder Boy (April 1986)108OutRun (September 1986)112Alien Syndrome (April 1987)114SDI (April 1987)116Super ­Hang-On

(U.S.-June 1987)118After Burner (July 1987)120Wonder Boy in Monster

Land (August 1987)124Shinobi (November 1987)126Thunder Blade

(December 1987)131Galaxy Force/Galaxy Force II (April 1988)132Altered Beast (June 1988)134Power Drift (August 1988)137

Sega Finishes the '80s Strong

Gain Ground (November 1988)141Super Monaco GP (May 1989)144

Golden Axe (May 1989)148Mega-Tech Arcade System (1989)151

Sega's Famous AM Divisions Emerge

Sega R&D Dept. #1 (AM1)154Sega R&D Dept. #2 (AM2)155Sega R&D

Dept. #3 (AM3)157Sega R&D Dept. #4 (AM4)157Sega R&D Dept. #5 (AM5)158Sega R&D Dept. #6 (AM6)161Sega R&D Dept. #8 (Sonic Team)161

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Columns (March 1990)165Alien Storm (March 1990)171Bonanza Bros.

(June 1990)173Aurail (October 1990)174Sega R360 (1990)177Rad

Mobile (February 1991)182Time Traveler (September 1991)184Virtua Racing (August 1992)187SegaSonic The Hedgehog (October 1993)190Virtua Fighter (December 1993)193

Sega Dominates the 3D Era (1993-1994)

Daytona USA (March 1994)199Virtua Cop (September 1994)204Virtua Fighter 2 (November 1994)206

A Changing of the Guard and Continued Success (1995-1999)

Sega Rally Championship (February 1995)212Virtua Cop 2 (September 1995)215Fighting Vipers (November 1995)217Virtual-On: Cyber Troopers (December 1996)220Die Hard Arcade (July 1996)222The House of the Dead (March 1996)226Top Skater (May 1997)229Daytona USA 2: Battle on the Edge (June 1998)233Spikeout: Digital Battle Online (September 1998)237Crazy

Taxi (February 1999)240Planet Harriers (December 2000)242

A New Sega for the New Millennium

Reborn and Refocused

New Leadership for Sega Amusements250The Sega/Sammy Merger253

Sega as an Arcade Center Operator

Sega Centers (1975-1983)258P.J. Pizzazz (1980-Circa 1984)261Sega's

Time-Out Family Amusement Centers (1986-1990)263Sega VirtuaLand

(1993)269Joypolis (1994)272SegaWorld London (1996-1999)273Sega GameWorks (1997-2011)276

An Undeniable Legacy

Works Cited

Index