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The Sega Channel was an exciting time in Sega’s history. The company was at its business peak in the U.S., and it wasn’t afraid to try new things. One of the major players in its creation was Doug Glen, a Sega of America executive who arrived at the branch just before it exploded in sales and popularity. During his tenure, Glen worked to bring the Sega Channel to life, take on Nintendo, and expand Sega’s software offerings to a wider audience.
The Sega Channel was short lived, but there were plans to bring it to other countries. The May 1994 issue of the French game magazine, Mega Force interviewed SOA’s VP of Programming and Sega Channel Program Director Michael Shorrock and Production Manager Ray MacFadden. They discussed the new Sega Channel and their expectations for its potential.
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.
Capitalizing on the market strength of the Genesis console, the Sega Channel seemed to be a no brainer for Sega. Millions of gamers were expected to come flocking to not only the service but the console as well, giving the House of Hedgehog a steady stream of new users with which to further cement and expand their market share. It didn’t quite work out though.