Do You Remember…Sega Channel?

Gamers have many choices coming up when it comes to on-demand services. PlayStation Now and EA Access will offer digital libraries of games available at the push of the button. GameFly has been around for quite some time allowing gamers to rent as much as their heart desires.

But this isn't the first time we've had such a service.

Back in 1994, Sega launched the Sega Channel, a subscription service available through Time Warner Cable. It allowed gamers to stream up to 50 available Sega Genesis games for a monthly fee. Considering this was availabe twenty years ago, you may be wondering why it never took off.

As I mention in the video, Sega Channel became available a year before the Sega Saturn released in North America. The same Sega Saturn that was defeated by Sony's console debut, the PlayStation, leading Sega out of the console wars and into the role of a software developer.

While the end of the story isn't the best for Sega, let's take this time to remembner the innovation of an on-demand subscription based streaming service that was available in 1994.