Oddest thing Sega did....

[Da_Shocker]

Now somebody correct me if im wrong but I could swear the NES used regular RCA cables. But at least from the SNES you could use those RCA cables up until the N64 and probably Wii. Sony has done this with every playstation model. Sega on the other hand choose not to do this. They did this with the SMS and Model 1 Genesis then they abandoned it afterwards.

[Guntz]

Yes, the NES had two female RCA plugs on the side. One for video and the other for mono audio.

The SNES, N64 and GameCube all share the same proprietary AV cable. None of them ever used standard RCA cables.

AFAIK, the PS1 was the only PlayStation to have RCA jacks right on the console. They were only featured on an early revision of the system and removed on lots of following revisions and the PSOne redesign.

None of the Sega systems ever had RCA jacks. They all had proprietary AV cables.

Lots of other smaller systems also, never had RCA jacks built onto the console itself. This includes Xbox, PC-Engine, Jaguar and lots of systems pre-NES (to be fair though, they all had RF instead). One of the 3DO models might have RCA jacks built in, or even all of them, but I don't know. Never owned a 3DO before.

As you can see Da_Shocker, raw RCA jacks are VERY uncommon. The dominant TV connection was either RF through a sole RCA jack, or a proprietary AV connector which could handle more than one kind of signal standard (RF, Composite, S-Video and RGB at the most).

[Jax184]

The NES had RCA on the side, then the SNES onward required you to buy a special cable. The same was true of the Genesis. You could buy a cable to get composite out of the Genesis, Saturn, etc.

[Nunzio]

The oddest thing Sega did, eh....



Just sayin.

[Da_Shocker]

Here is what I was saying you could use the same SNES cable with N64, GCn and Wii(???) same with the PSx,2 and 3. That wasn't the case with Sega outside of the SMS and MD1

[Nunzio]

I just don't think changing the cables is that odd. Sega wanted some extra revenues and not have people use old cables to replace lost ones. Like how the N64 AC adapter is needlessly complex so it costs more to replace. It's annoying, but somehow justifiable. Compared to their other blunders, I would say it might round out the top 20.

[StarMist]

I think the logic behind this was to create a sense of supercession. If a system from a given company can use its previous cords it might suggest an inadequate tech advance or amount of novelty; particularly given the old is likely to be kept beside the new. I don't fancy this line myself, merely speculating. Furthermore it's nulled quite a bit by the interchangeability of the Genesis and NES ac adaptors--yeah, I'm aware one's warned not to, but I used the same single ac for both consoles for over a decade with nothing ever malfunctioning in the slightest. I believe the DC also uses the same plugs as the PS1/2...maybe just the power supply. The only odd part is that RCAs give better picture than coaxials; the idea must have been to purvey a cord that never need be unplugged from the tv, what with the female rf. The 9 pin to RCA cord for Model 2 then was wholly third party?

[Iron Lizard]

Now somebody correct me if im wrong but I could swear the NES used regular RCA cables. But at least from the SNES you could use those RCA cables up until the N64 and probably Wii. Sony has done this with every playstation model. Sega on the other hand choose not to do this. They did this with the SMS and Model 1 Genesis then they abandoned it afterwards.

Actually Sega did do that with the Master System and Genesis. The later style connector is also very similar to the Saturn cable which is sadly incompatible. My guess is they did whatever would cost them the least money.

[Guntz]

Furthermore it's nulled quite a bit by the interchangeability of the Genesis and NES ac adaptors--yeah, I'm aware one's warned not to, but I used the same single ac for both consoles for over a decade with nothing ever malfunctioning in the slightest.

The Genesis Model 1 AC adapter can be used on the NES, but not the other way around. The NES PSU outputs AC current, not DC. Powering the Genesis with an NES AC adapter will kill the Genesis.

[Kamahl]

[Lastcallhall]

Here I was thinking this was going to be a discussion on Seaman...

[omp]

An oddity for me is the dreamcast wasn't DVD capable, whereas the XBOX and PS2 was. That was (at the time) sold me was the XBOX AND I could have a DVD player.

[Thunderblaze16]

I can't believe when DVD PLAYERS came out they went around for $600

F THAT

[Lastcallhall]

I can't believe when DVD PLAYERS came out they went around for $600

F THAT

It's been the same way with VHS, CD, and Blu-Ray... Just how things work.

[j_factor]

The model 2 Genesis had to have different cables because it incorporated stereo sound. The Dreamcast had to have different cables for VGA compatibility. The only weird one is the Saturn.

I seem to recall that Nintendo had an issue in Europe with SCART cables not carrying over, even though they used the same connector. Also, Gamecube had to have two different A/V outs and the component cables had to have a signal converter built into them, causing extra expense.