Sega Mega CD development unit arrives

Discussion in 'Industry News' started by ASSEMbler, Feb 20, 2005.

Watch Thread
Page 1 of 3
  1. ASSEMbler

    ASSEMbler Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2004
    Messages:
    19,394
    Likes Received:
    995
    The latest addition to the ASSEMbler collection and museum arrived last week. After about ten years of searching, I finally found one of my most wanted systems. So in brief until the museum is up, I'll share some of the pics and info about the item:
    ASSEMBLER PROUDLY PRESENTS
     SEGA MEGA CD DEVELOPMENT UNIT
     1992 CROSS PRODUCTS
    [​IMG]
    ​
    The cross systems mega cd development unit consists of a highly modified retail mega cd and megadrive in a custom metal housing. Sandwiched in between the boards for the megadrive and mega cd is a custom scsi /drive emulation board / bios board.The scsi board is quite complex, with the bios board on the mega cd seemingly completely missing. Several functions are laid out along the face:
    [​IMG]
    ​
    [​IMG]
    ​
    The two DIP switch banks control both of the processors in the mega cd and megadrive, they also control the region and emulation functions. The unit is region free and can play any sega cd, mega cd, megadrive and genesis cartridge games.
    [​IMG]
    ​
    [​IMG]
    ​
    The rear of the unit has two seperate connections for emulation of the cd drive, and the scsi control interface for the mega cd. The units hook up to a large cross systems emu box at the emu port, which in turn is connected to a pc. Up to three seperate dev boxes can be hooked up to the unit at once making it FOUR units plus a PC neccessary for megacd development.(CD emu box, Ram cart emu, ICE box)
    The cross systems mega cd dev unit is one of the highlights of my collection. It's one of the last pieces of dev hardware I haven't been able to find. With it easier to find an M2 unit, this device ranks very high on my scale or rarity.
    COOLNESS FACTOR: 9/10 (one being a dirty game.com, ten being a super nintendo cd with game.)
    PRICE FACTOR: 4/10 (one being relatively free/cheap, ten approaching or exceeding the $10,000 range.)
    RARITY: 9/10 (one being as common as gameboy, ten being an item that is singular in existance or one of a very, very few)

     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 25, 2005
    ASSEMbler, Feb 20, 2005 Report
    #1 + Quote Reply
    Syclopse likes this.
  2. Blur2040

    Blur2040 Game Genie

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2004
    Messages:
    1,916
    Likes Received:
    17
    I gotta say...that's one sexy system. Ever since I first saw one, I've considered it the most interesting piece of dev hardware I've seen.
     
    Blur2040, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #2 + Quote Reply
  3. Calpis

    Calpis Champion of the Forum

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2004
    Messages:
    5,906
    Likes Received:
    21
    Funny, when I see it I see an obsolete 1992 Cross product (lol) I'm most interested in the Cross board, and what MCD BIOS it's using and in how they made the case, I'd like to make something similar I like the idea of the two systems bound...

    Has anyone spotted the software for it? Anyone know what WRPR stands for? I presume ACT is active. So the "main CPU" is the MD's 68K while the "sub" is the MCD's? I don't think the DIPs control the regions, more likely they're to set the CPU flags or something since they're identical on each side. How does it play every MD/MCD/SCD game? It has to be set to a specific region, can't be all. Are you sure it plays all MCD??
     
    Calpis, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #3 + Quote Reply
  4. Blur2040

    Blur2040 Game Genie

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2004
    Messages:
    1,916
    Likes Received:
    17
    Sure, it's useless...but it's neato.
     
    Blur2040, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #4 + Quote Reply
  5. Calpis

    Calpis Champion of the Forum

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2004
    Messages:
    5,906
    Likes Received:
    21
    I like it's case, it looks like a bomb or something; just wish Cross products, specifically the older ones weren't so shitty, a debugger however might prove usefull.
     
    Calpis, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #5 + Quote Reply
  6. ASSEMbler

    ASSEMbler Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2004
    Messages:
    19,394
    Likes Received:
    995
    I have the instructions and the three emu boxes. Yes, it's all region.
     
    ASSEMbler, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #6 + Quote Reply
  7. bigsexyolli

    bigsexyolli Gutsy Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2004
    Messages:
    486
    Likes Received:
    0
    Yeah the case is really sexy! Wasn't tht on ebay? I prefer that over any xbox debug or test ps2.
     
    bigsexyolli, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #7 + Quote Reply
  8. Yakumo

    Yakumo Pillar of the Community *****

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2004
    Messages:
    20,515
    Likes Received:
    1,050
    That's one sexy beast. that would be great to have even as a regeion free Meag CD and Mega Drive combo.

    Yakumo
     
    Yakumo, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #8 + Quote Reply
  9. xdaniel

    xdaniel Guest

    Maybe i'm pointing out the obvious but, besides being interesting because it's a dev unit, it's also interesting to see that it's a Sega CD branded unit together with a Mega Drive and not MCD & MD or SCD & Genesis like one could assume. Ok, nothing too interesting but kinda nice to see or something...
     
    xdaniel, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #9 + Quote Reply
  10. gamergary

    gamergary Guest

    Looks nice. Congrats on actually acquiring one of those beasts.
     
    gamergary, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #10 + Quote Reply
  11. djb1986

    djb1986 Gutsy Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2004
    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    0
    I didn't even notice that. I guess they did it to let you know it was all region?
     
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2005
    djb1986, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #11 + Quote Reply
  12. Johnny

    Johnny Gran Turismo Freak and Site Supporter 2013,2015

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2004
    Messages:
    6,230
    Likes Received:
    397
    Wow, that's cool!
     
    Johnny, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #12 + Quote Reply
  13. Paulo

    Paulo PoeticHalo

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2004
    Messages:
    5,354
    Likes Received:
    7
    Very cool... never seen one before!
     
    Paulo, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #13 + Quote Reply
  14. Calpis

    Calpis Champion of the Forum

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2004
    Messages:
    5,906
    Likes Received:
    21
    Need more pictures then, especially inside and of the peripherals. How do you change the region of the system and Mega CD? I want scans of the manual ;)
     
    Calpis, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #14 + Quote Reply
  15. sh3-rg

    sh3-rg Spirited Member

    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2004
    Messages:
    144
    Likes Received:
    0
    Then you didn't look in my collection bits & pieces :p
     
    sh3-rg, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #15 + Quote Reply
  16. Taemos

    Taemos Officer at Arms

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2004
    Messages:
    3,056
    Likes Received:
    16
    I'd have to say that's one of the more interesting development-related items I've seen.
     
    Taemos, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #16 + Quote Reply
  17. link343

    link343 Spirited Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2004
    Messages:
    109
    Likes Received:
    1
    Man, I saw that on ebay. You got it?
     
    link343, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #17 + Quote Reply
  18. retro

    retro Resigned from mod duty 15 March 2018

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2004
    Messages:
    10,354
    Likes Received:
    822
    Useless? If I'm not mistaken, it is multi-region. Even if assembler doesn't have the software to dev with it, that makes it damn cool in my opinion.

    I also believe that it is a COMPLETELY custom board inside, it is an all-in-one unit. It isn't just a MegaDrive and Mega CD.

    Incidentally, I think this is the third one I've seen. I'd say that makes it pretty rare, indeed!
     
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2005
    retro, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #18 + Quote Reply
  19. sh3-rg

    sh3-rg Spirited Member

    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2004
    Messages:
    144
    Likes Received:
    0
    There's a MD board at the top, an MCD board at the bottom and a snasm board sandwiched between the two.
     
    sh3-rg, Feb 21, 2005 Report
    #19 + Quote Reply
  20. ASSEMbler

    ASSEMbler Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2004
    Messages:
    19,394
    Likes Received:
    995
    Yeah, cost me a ton in the end with the three emu boxes.
    $650...

    :smt096
     
    ASSEMbler, Feb 22, 2005 Report
    #20 + Quote Reply
37 more messages...
Page 1 of 3
sonicdude10
Draft saved Draft deleted
Insert every image as a...
  1.  0%

Share This Page