TeraDrive
Mega Drive | |
Successor | Amstrad Mega PC (3rd party product developed on licence by Amstrad) |
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The TeraDrive (テラドライブ, TeraDoraibu) is an
in 1991. 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.The system was only released in Japan. Sega hoped that integrating the then popular Mega Drive console into an IBM PC would attract potential customers wishing to purchase a PC, but the system proved unpopular and was a commercial failure.
Design
One of the main processors used for the system is the
The machine's front panel ports included two Mega Drive pad ports which were similar in design to 9-pin male
The motherboard also had a spare ISA slot available for expansion, with a hole at the rear of the unit to accommodate this.
Interface
Its
The machine included IBM drivers bundled on a
There was often speculation that the TeraDrive was specifically designed as a purpose-made
Peripherals
The system's peripherals which were included or available separately, included 2 × Mega Drive pads, 1 ×
A monitor which was manufactured by a 3rd party company but with Sega branding, was available separately at a price of ¥79,800 (estimated US$600/GBP £300 at the time), which was capable of displaying 15 kHz
Models
Three models were available, ranging from ¥148,000 (US$1100/GBP £580) to ¥248,000 (US$1840/GBP £950).
Model | Model 1 | Model 2 | Model 3 |
---|---|---|---|
Price (at launch) | ¥148,000 | ¥188,000 | ¥248,000 |
Processor | Intel 80286 (10 MHz), Motorola 68000, Zilog Z80 | ||
RAM (available / maximum)
|
640 KB/2.5 MB | 1 MB/2.5 MB | 2.5 MB/2.5 MB |
Storage
|
1 FDD | 2 FDDs | 1 FDD, 1 30MB HDD
|
Graphics modes |
| ||
I/O ports
|
| ||
Operating system | IBM DOS J4.0/V
|
Sales
The system proved unpopular with the Japanese market and ultimately failed. 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.[3]
A new PC was also in the discussion stages to be developed by Sega under the leadership of ex-IBM executive Narutomi.[6] but this likely never got past the discussion stages due to the failure of the TeraDrive.
Similar products
A similar, but unrelated system was manufactured by
See also
- Variations of the Sega Mega Drive
References
- ^ "OLD-COMPUTERS.COM Museum ~ Sega Teradrive". Archived from the original on 2019-09-11. Retrieved 2006-11-22.
- ^ "Original page". Archived from the original on June 17, 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b c d e f "Sega / IBM TeraDrive". Retrieved 2006-11-22.
- ^ "Old-Computers.com". Archived from the original on 2017-09-14. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
- ^ "Official specifications on Sega website". 関連・周辺機器 | メガドライブ | セガハード大百科 | セガ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-06-21.
- ^ Ex-IBM man joins Sega to push game machines FindArticles.com, 19 August 1991