Sega TeraDrive
Encyclopedia
The TeraDrive was a 16-bit
PC
with an integrated Mega Drive, manufactured by IBM
for Sega
. The system was only released in Japan
, as Sega was hopeful that by integrating its then popular Mega Drive console into an IBM PC would be an attraction for potential customers wishing to purchase a PC. The system however proved unpopular with the Japanese market and ultimately failed. A new PC was also in the discussion stages to be developed by Sega under the leadership of ex-IBM executive Narutomi, but this likely never got past the discussion stages due to the failure of the TeraDrive.
The TeraDrive allowed for Mega Drive games to be played the same time as the PC section is being used, as it is possible for the Mega Drive and PC hardware to interact with each other. Its interface
consisted of a start-up menu with several options, including a file manager
, DOS
, a clock and Mega Drive mode. There is very little English information known about the TeraDrive or about software development
on the platform
, with any known information relatively scarce.
Production numbers are unknown. The system is moderately rare in Japan, although prices are rising rapidly due to collector demand. The price to buy a TeraDrive in June 2003 was triple the price it was 2 years prior.
, which enabled properly written software to operate in the machine's RAM and then run on the native Mega Drive hardware. It shipped with a software development kit
(SDK) which made it possible to develop your own Mega Drive games. A good example of this shown in the Puzzle Construction program, one of the very few software titles included with the TeraDrive, which included a PC-side editor suite for changing the features of a falling-block puzzle game, then playable on the Mega Drive side. The operating system shipped with the system was IBM's DOS J4.0/V, which was similar to PC DOS.
There was often speculation that the TeraDrive was specifically designed as a purpose-made Software Development Kit, to allow software makers to develop their software titles for the Mega Drive. However, given the release date of the TeraDrive (some years after the initial Mega Drive release), as well as the availability of Sega's own game development hardware, it is unlikely the TeraDrive was designed for this purpose.
Mouse, 1 × Sega branded PS/2 IBM keyboard and 1 × 3-button joystick. The Mouse and Mega Drive pads were practically identical to those found on the Mega Drive console version.
Three models were available, ranging from ¥148,000 (USD $1100/GBP £580) to ¥248,000 (USD $1840/GBP £950). A monitor which was manufactured by a 3rd party company but with Sega branding, was available separately at a price of ¥79,800 (estimated USD $600/GBP £300 at the time), which was capable of displaying 15 kHz RGB video signals from the Mega Drive hardware and a 31 kHz VGA output from the PC hardware, both from the VGA connector.
The system's typical power consumption is in the region of 27 W
.
, which was released in 1982. However, at the time when the TeraDrive was released in 1991, this processor was almost 10 years out of date, with the more powerful 25 MHz Intel 80486
having already been released 2 years prior in 1989, thus making the TeraDrive's central processor 2 generations behind its time. The system also contains a Motorola 68000
and a Zilog Z80
, the same processors which were used in the Mega Drive. The 68000 runs at 7.61 MHz and 7.67 MHz and the Z80 runs at 3.55 MHz and 3.58 MHz in PAL
and NTSC
consoles respectively.
s, and 2 PS/2 ports to the right side of the unit to accommodate for the mouse and keyboard.
The system also contained several ports to its rear. In order from left to right: 9-pin male serial port, 25-pin parallel
port for connection to a printer, stereo RCA jacks and composite
NTSC
video output for connection to a TV, analogue
RGB for monitor connection, and a 2nd 9-pin male serial connector labelled "EXT", similar to that found on the rear of an original Mega Drive base unit.
The motherboard
also had a spare ISA
slot available for expansion, with a hole at the rear of the unit to accommodate this.
and sold under the name Mega PC in PAL
areas such as Europe
and Australia
. Its success was very short-lived due to its high retail price of £599 (about $1200). Given that it lacked several key features which the TeraDrive boasted, it made its price tag unattractive to consumers, even though both products were marketed in different countries. Although it boasted a higher specification than that of Sega's TeraDrive, it was unable to act as a Software Development Kit
due to the inability to interact both the PC and the Mega Drive together, as it was essentially just a PC with a Mega Drive bundled inside.
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
with an integrated Mega Drive, manufactured by IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
for Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
. The system was only released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, as Sega was hopeful that by integrating its then popular Mega Drive console into an IBM PC would be an attraction for potential customers wishing to purchase a PC. The system however proved unpopular with the Japanese market and ultimately failed. A new PC was also in the discussion stages to be developed by Sega under the leadership of ex-IBM executive Narutomi, but this likely never got past the discussion stages due to the failure of the TeraDrive.
The TeraDrive allowed for Mega Drive games to be played the same time as the PC section is being used, as it is possible for the Mega Drive and PC hardware to interact with each other. Its interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
consisted of a start-up menu with several options, including a file manager
File manager
A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems. The most common operations performed on files or groups of files are: create, open, edit, view, print, play, rename, move, copy, delete, search/find, and modify file attributes, properties...
, DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
, a clock and Mega Drive mode. There is very little English information known about the TeraDrive or about software development
Software development
Software development is the development of a software product...
on the platform
Platform (computing)
A computing platform includes some sort of hardware architecture and a software framework , where the combination allows software, particularly application software, to run...
, with any known information relatively scarce.
Production numbers are unknown. The system is moderately rare in Japan, although prices are rising rapidly due to collector demand. The price to buy a TeraDrive in June 2003 was triple the price it was 2 years prior.
Software Development Kit
The machine included IBM drivers bundled on a floppy diskFloppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
, which enabled properly written software to operate in the machine's RAM and then run on the native Mega Drive hardware. It shipped with a software development kit
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
(SDK) which made it possible to develop your own Mega Drive games. A good example of this shown in the Puzzle Construction program, one of the very few software titles included with the TeraDrive, which included a PC-side editor suite for changing the features of a falling-block puzzle game, then playable on the Mega Drive side. The operating system shipped with the system was IBM's DOS J4.0/V, which was similar to PC DOS.
There was often speculation that the TeraDrive was specifically designed as a purpose-made Software Development Kit, to allow software makers to develop their software titles for the Mega Drive. However, given the release date of the TeraDrive (some years after the initial Mega Drive release), as well as the availability of Sega's own game development hardware, it is unlikely the TeraDrive was designed for this purpose.
Peripherals
The system's peripherals which were included or available separately, included 2 × Mega Drive pads, 1 × PS/2PS/2 connector
The PS/2 connector is a 6-pin Mini-DIN connector used for connecting some keyboards and mice to a PC compatible computer system. Its name comes from the IBM Personal System/2 series of personal computers, with which it was introduced in 1987...
Mouse, 1 × Sega branded PS/2 IBM keyboard and 1 × 3-button joystick. The Mouse and Mega Drive pads were practically identical to those found on the Mega Drive console version.
Technical specifications
| Specifications | Model 1 | Model 2 | Model 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price (at launch) | ¥148,000 $1100 £580 €790 |
¥188,000 $1400 £720 €1020 |
¥248,000 $1840 £950 €1400 |
|
| Processor Microprocessor A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and... |
AMD 80286 Intel 80286 The Intel 80286 , introduced on 1 February 1982, was a 16-bit x86 microprocessor with 134,000 transistors. Like its contemporary simpler cousin, the 80186, it could correctly execute most software written for the earlier Intel 8086 and 8088... (10 MHz Hertz The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications.... ), Motorola 68000 Motorola 68000 The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor... , Zilog Z80 Zilog Z80 The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes... |
|||
| RAM Ram -Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another... (available/max) |
640 KB/2.5 MB | 1 MB/2.5 MB | 2.5 MB/2.5 MB | |
| Storage Computer storage Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to computer components and recording media that retain digital data. Data storage is one of the core functions and fundamental components of computers.... |
1 FDD Floppy disk A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles... |
2 FDDs | 1 FDD, 1 30MB HDD | |
| Graphics Modes |
|
|||
| Input / Output Ports Input/output In computing, input/output, or I/O, refers to the communication between an information processing system , and the outside world, possibly a human, or another information processing system. Inputs are the signals or data received by the system, and outputs are the signals or data sent from it... |
|
|||
| Operating System Operating system An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system... |
IBM IBM International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas... DOS DOS DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related... J4.0/V |
|||
| Foreign prices are converted estimates during the time of sale (given that the TeraDrive was only released in Japan) |
||||
Three models were available, ranging from ¥148,000 (USD $1100/GBP £580) to ¥248,000 (USD $1840/GBP £950). A monitor which was manufactured by a 3rd party company but with Sega branding, was available separately at a price of ¥79,800 (estimated USD $600/GBP £300 at the time), which was capable of displaying 15 kHz RGB video signals from the Mega Drive hardware and a 31 kHz VGA output from the PC hardware, both from the VGA connector.
The system's typical power consumption is in the region of 27 W
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
.
Processors
One of the main processors used for the system is the Intel 80286Intel 80286
The Intel 80286 , introduced on 1 February 1982, was a 16-bit x86 microprocessor with 134,000 transistors. Like its contemporary simpler cousin, the 80186, it could correctly execute most software written for the earlier Intel 8086 and 8088...
, which was released in 1982. However, at the time when the TeraDrive was released in 1991, this processor was almost 10 years out of date, with the more powerful 25 MHz Intel 80486
Intel 80486
The Intel 80486 microprocessor was a higher performance follow up on the Intel 80386. Introduced in 1989, it was the first tightly pipelined x86 design as well as the first x86 chip to use more than a million transistors, due to a large on-chip cache and an integrated floating point unit...
having already been released 2 years prior in 1989, thus making the TeraDrive's central processor 2 generations behind its time. The system also contains a Motorola 68000
Motorola 68000
The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor...
and a Zilog Z80
Zilog Z80
The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes...
, the same processors which were used in the Mega Drive. The 68000 runs at 7.61 MHz and 7.67 MHz and the Z80 runs at 3.55 MHz and 3.58 MHz in PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
and NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
consoles respectively.
Input/Output Ports
The machine's front panel ports included 2 × Mega Drive pad ports which were similar in design to 9-pin male serial portSerial port
In computing, a serial port is a serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time...
s, and 2 PS/2 ports to the right side of the unit to accommodate for the mouse and keyboard.
The system also contained several ports to its rear. In order from left to right: 9-pin male serial port, 25-pin parallel
LPT
LPT is the original, and still common, name of the parallel port interface on IBM PC-compatible computers. It was designed to operate a text printer that used IBM's 8-bit extended ASCII character set. The name derives from the fact that "line printer" was a common generic term at the time for any...
port for connection to a printer, stereo RCA jacks and composite
Composite video
Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...
NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
video output for connection to a TV, analogue
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
RGB for monitor connection, and a 2nd 9-pin male serial connector labelled "EXT", similar to that found on the rear of an original Mega Drive base unit.
The motherboard
Motherboard
In personal computers, a motherboard is the central printed circuit board in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, or, on Apple...
also had a spare ISA
Industry Standard Architecture
Industry Standard Architecture is a computer bus standard for IBM PC compatible computers introduced with the IBM Personal Computer to support its Intel 8088 microprocessor's 8-bit external data bus and extended to 16 bits for the IBM Personal Computer/AT's Intel 80286 processor...
slot available for expansion, with a hole at the rear of the unit to accommodate this.
Amstrad Mega PC
A similar, but unrelated system was manufactured by AmstradAmstrad
Amstrad is a British electronics company, now wholly owned by BSkyB. As of 2006, Amstrad's main business is manufacturing Sky Digital interactive boxes....
and sold under the name Mega PC in PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
areas such as Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Its success was very short-lived due to its high retail price of £599 (about $1200). Given that it lacked several key features which the TeraDrive boasted, it made its price tag unattractive to consumers, even though both products were marketed in different countries. Although it boasted a higher specification than that of Sega's TeraDrive, it was unable to act as a Software Development Kit
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
due to the inability to interact both the PC and the Mega Drive together, as it was essentially just a PC with a Mega Drive bundled inside.
Trivia
- In the Dreamcast game SegagagaSegagagais a console role-playing game developed by Tez Okano of Sega and released solely in Japan for the Sega Dreamcast on March 29, 2001, towards the end of the console lifespan....
, the supercomputer that runs all functions of Sega in the year 2025 is called the TeraDrive.