The Video Game History Foundation, in conjunction with Gaming Alexandria, has just released a treasure trove of previously undumped data and information pertaining to Sega's video game on-demand service, Sega Channel, giving us our best look yet at the programming for the early digital distribution system.
This includes over 100 unique system ROMS covering "almost every version of the system that was distributed to consumers from 1994 to mid-1997", dozens of previously undumped game variants and Sega Channel exclusives, and a bunch of documents and fan art.
If you've been reading Time Extension for a while, you probably already know what Sega Channel was, so you likely don't need much of an explanation about what it is. But for those who haven't, it was essentially a service launched in 1995 as a joint venture between Sega and two of the major US cable companies, TCI and Time Warner, which allowed cable subscribers to download video games and other data to their Sega Genesis / Mega Drive via an adapter.
Following a successful launch in the US on December 12th, 1995, it was rolled out to other countries across the world, but was ultimately discontinued in 1998, due to the Genesis / Mega Drive's declining popularity.
Over the years, there have been several oral histories and features written about the service (including our own, which we have been working behind the scenes to update), as well as the occasional ROM dump, providing fans with a window into what the service had to offer. But there's, arguably, been nothing on the scale of what the Video Game History Foundation (and Gaming Alexandria) has been able to pull off here.
Not only have they been able to dig up our first proper look at Express Games, a proposed PC-based successor to Sega Channel, mentioned by Sega Channel staff as early as August 1995, but they have also dumped a ton of games that were either previously unknown or the source of a ton of online speculation.
This includes Garfield Caught In The Act The Lost Levels, which they previously showed off at Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2024, a Sega Channel exclusive version of Ocean Software's 1994 SNES title The Flintstones, the unreleased Popeye in High Seas High-Jinks, and so much more (seriously watch the video!).
If you're wondering where this has all come from, it appears to originate from two sources: Michael Shorrock, the former head of Sega Channel programming, and the Sega Channel collector Ray, who has been reaching out for years to former Sega Channel staff. For those interested in trying out the ROMs, they are currently being hosted on the Gaming Alexandria website. As for Shorrock's documents, they are available as part of the Video Game History Foundation's digital library.
If you want to show your support for projects like this one, you can donate to the Video Game History Foundation on their website.