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Sega Interactive was a big part of Sega’s arsenal during the mid ’90s, and many gamers underestimate the group’s contribution the Genesis line up. With hits like Eternal Champions, Star Wars Arcade, among others, it had a knack for churning out the hits. We recently got to sit down for some Q&A with Steven Lashower, one of SI’s former programmers, and he shared some great insight into some of its biggest games.
Catapult wasn’t the first company to try and bring online gaming to consoles, but it was the one that actually turned it into something viable. If not for the Xband, we might not have seen SegaNet, or later on Xbox Live and the Playstation Network. Catapult was the first to make playing against someone long distance a concept that was actually workable on consoles, and many Genesis fans have fond memories of playing Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam over their phone lines. Recently, Sega-16 chatted with Catapult’s former Vice President of Software Development, Konstantin Othmer, and he had much to say about the company and its famous product.
Many third party companies from the Genesis era disappeared at the end of the 16-bit era, unable to make the transition to new hardware. Of those that did, many more eventually capitulated under the strain of increased development costs. Sunsoft was one publisher that though quite strong on 8-bit machines, became increasingly unable to sustain itself as gaming consoles progressed. Sega-16 was fortunate to speak with former Sunsoft game designer David Siller about the company’s role on the Genesis and subsequent demise. We also chatted with him about his creation of Aero the Acrobat, as well as his adventure as as Sushi-X, the mysterious, fighting game-loving character featured in Electronic Gaming Monthly.
Sega-16 has covered the Sega Technical Institute in more detail over the past three years than virtually any other source, and our recent historial on the group included interviews with over a half dozen former members. One of the most recent was with former producer Mike Wallis, a man who got his start at Electronic Arts and eventually went on to work on several titles, including the cancelled Sonic Xtreme. He had some interesting details to share about his time at the STI, so check out our full interview and get the scoop!
Sega-16 recently got the chance to speak to someone intimately involved with the Sega Channel, Sega product manager Chris Bergstresser, who also happened to deal with third party publishing agreements. He had a big hand in what was released on the Sega Channel, as well as those games brought directly onto the console via retail. Read our full interview for all the details.