I don't get why everyone calls the Sega CD a flop, sure in Japan it was but so was the Megadrive so what did anyone expect? In the USA it did better than any other add on in history and it had about 150 games made for it. How the hell that is a flop is beyond me.
Well, of the 150 games few of them sold in the sort of number that carts did, and very very very few of them were good.
The Sega CD was something I really wanted to do well, but it didn't. It certainly fits my own personal definition of "flop" for me because it isn't much fun. The list of "must haves" is depressingly short.
I agree with Sign. Contrary to what NickEvil argues in his old article (and I love him, but he's an apologist when it comes to Sega-CD), the Sega-CD's library was incredibly weak and rivals the weakest of the weak. I'm not being harsh, just being a little dramatic to underscore my point.
I was an early adopter of the Sega-CD and really, really believed that Sega was going to do a hell of a lot better with the software.
Part of my affinity for crappy games is because I lowered my standards on what I considered "decent" when I was confronted with (and purchased!) so many lame Sega-CD titles.
Am I bitter? No. But have I been affected by plunking down $$$$, "believing" all the hype of the Sega-CD (remember how they hyped the hell out of the hardware upgrades the Sega-CD added to the core Genesis)? You betcha!
I don't hold a grudge, but I have retained a perspective that is rooted in my actual experience with Sega. I did *not* have unrealistic expectations with Sega CD, mind you -- I simply expected to have a bunch of Sega-CD titles that were *at least* as good as the cartridge titles. But at the end of the Genesis era, there were barely any Sega-CD games that were *solid* let alone *must haves*, whereas there were literally TONS of fantastic Genesis carts (even more if you include MegaDrive carts).
I should point out that I am pro-Sega. I'm pro SMS. I totally appreciate the Sega-CD, and I love it as much as I possibly can without being deluded by it.