Ever since my father bought me my first video game system, the Sega Master System, I have been a fan of Sega. While still a child living in Hong Kong, I would write letters to Sega of America telling them how much I loved them, and they would actually respond and send me the latest catalog.
Once I moved to the United States, my PAL SMS wouldn’t work, so I traded it in (yes, the guy at the electronics store actually wanted my PAL system) for an NTSC model. I continued to contact the company. I would call 1-800-USA-SEGA and request Helpful Hints sheets (basically what the reps read off of when gamers called in for game help), and a few days later I would get them in the mail. I still have them all, and perhaps will scan and post them someday.
Then, Sega Genesis came out, and of course I had to have it. Later, it was the Sega CD. Those days of the early 1990s definitely have a soft spot in my heart.
Today, Sega no longer makes consoles, but I am still a fan. I get excited when I see the Sega logo, still the same as the one on my very first video game system. Imagine how excited I was when I saw my first Sega amusement center in Akihabara. It seems Sega today makes a lot of amusement machines, just as they always have, but in a different form. They are less video game, and more skill-game such as those cranes that pick up stuffed animals or other prizes. I was perfectly happy pumping 100-yen coins into those machines.
Later on in Tokyo, we went to the Tokyo Game Show. Of course, Sega had one of the largest booths, showing off their latest games such as Yakuza 5. If only I spoke Japanese!
I should find my old catalogs (found some) and post them here, especially the one I received when I still lived in Hong Kong. For now, enjoy these photos of Sega centers in Tokyo. Long live Sega!
