[game_preservation] Why is the TMSS Sega console referred to as "Genesis III" in the court case?

[Andrew Perti]

Here's a great resource for Sega Genesis hardware revision info.

http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?7796-GUIDE-Telling-apart-good-Genesis-1s-and-Genesis-2s-from-bad-ones

Cheers.

Andrew Perti
Founder | Seattle Interactive Media Museum
andrew.perti at thesimm.org | www.thesimm.org
Mobile: 518 653-5864

On 9/7/2012 9:48 AM, Martin Goldberg wrote:

> Third major hardware revision. There's actually multiple hardware

> revisions in each generation to track as well.

>

> On Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 9:24 AM, Frank Cifaldi <fcifaldi at gmail.com> wrote:

>> I'm guessing because internally at Sega it's the third hardware revision of

>> the Genesis? As you yourself say, TMSS wasn't in the original release.

>>

>> On Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 6:33 AM, Devin Monnens <dmonnens at gmail.com> wrote:

>>> Still reading through Steve Kent's book, and pulled up another confusing

>>> term. In the Accolade v. Sega Enterprises court case, they refer to Sega's

>>> latest system int he court documents as the "Genesis III".

>>>

>>>> The most recent version of the Genesis console, the "Genesis III",

>>>> incorporates the licensed TMSS. When a game cartridge is inserted, the

>>>> microprocessor contained in the Genesis III searches the game program for

>>>> four bytes of data consisting of the letters "S-E-G-A" (the "TMSS

>>>> initialization code"). If the Genesis III finds the TMSS initialization code

>>>> in the right location, the game is rendered compatible and will operate on

>>>> the console. In such case, the TMSS initialization code then prompts a

>>>> visual display for approximately three seconds which reads "PRODUCED BY OR

>>>> UNDER LICENSE FROM SEGA ENTERPRISES LTD" (the "Sega Message"). All of Sega's

>>>> game cartridges, including those disassembled by Accolade, contain the TMSS

>>>> initialization code.

>>>

>>> http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/977/977.F2d.1510.92-15655.html

>>>

>>> The records also state that the "Genesis III" was released in October of

>>> 1991, and the Genesis 3 wasn't released until 1998. (October also seems to

>>> be when the Genesis Does What Nintendon't commercial was released - they

>>> show the new Model 1 in the video.

>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3YeqpD7HUY They're also showing it in the

>>> Christmas 1992 video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JE7ajIl5YE and pretty

>>> much every commercial I saw up until 1995, when the Model 2 is shown -

>>> oddly, I haven't been able to locate a release date for the Model 2).

>>>

>>> We know that Onslaught by Accolade won't work on systems that have the

>>> TMSS code because they put the header in the wrong place. Original Genesis 1

>>> models will play them.

>>>

>>>  From what I've gathered, the TMSS code was added in late Genesis 1 models.

>>> The original ones say "High Definition Graphics" on the system itself. Later

>>> models do not have this label and have the TMSS code, so they will not play

>>> Onslaught. (However, you can play it using a Game Genie).

>>>

>>> Since the "Model III" is just an update of the Model 1, why is it called

>>> Genesis III in the court records?

>>>

>>>

>>> --

>>> Devin Monnens

>>> www.deserthat.com

>>>

>>> The sleep of Reason produces monsters.

>>>

>>> _______________________________________________

>>> game_preservation mailing list

>>> game_preservation at igda.org

>>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/game_preservation

>>>

>>

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