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How many Genesis games had stereo sound?


Kirk_Johnston

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I'm just curious, out of the hundreds of Genesis games out there, does anyone know how many of them had stereo sound, give or take? And, I just mean, if they were plugged into a regular TV capable of stereo, they'd play in actual stereo as listened to normally coming out of the speakers.

 

Similarly, I know the Model 1 was mono in normal use through the TV using the standard cables that came in the box, but the later models were stereo in normal use through the TV (presumably using the standard cables that came in the box), so does anyone have actual concrete numbers for how many Model 1 systems sold worldwide vs Model 2 plus Model 3 systems?

Edited by Kirk_Johnston
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I didn't know they made any Genesis games that were only mono audio.

 

Even if you didn't know how to hook up the model 1's jack to your stereo (not sure they had too many stereo TVs back then?), I remember them advertising the fact that you could plug in headphones and get that sweet, sweet stereo.

Edited by Asaki
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7 minutes ago, Asaki said:

I didn't know they made any Genesis games that were only mono audio.

 

Even if you didn't know how to hook up the model 1's jack to your stereo (not sure they had too many stereo TVs back then?), I remember them advertising the fact that you could plug in headphones and get that sweet, sweet stereo.

Well, I don't know if they did or didn't release any games in mono or how many in stereo, so that's why I'm asking if anyone else knows. And I specifically mean as heard through the TV speakers in this particular example (and let's assume the TV is capable of stereo). I know it's possible to use the headphones for stereo though.

Edited by Kirk_Johnston
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FWIW you have to use A/V inputs because stereo RF modulators weren't a thing until the late '90s, and then only as separate units. It's also dependent upon the local system, the US used MTS, other countries used other systems.

 

Also I did not realize until a couple of years ago that the PSG audio (the Colecovision TI chip) is only hooked up to one (left?) channel.

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6 hours ago, Bruce Tomlin said:

FWIW you have to use A/V inputs because stereo RF modulators weren't a thing until the late '90s, and then only as separate units. It's also dependent upon the local system, the US used MTS, other countries used other systems.

 

Also I did not realize until a couple of years ago that the PSG audio (the Colecovision TI chip) is only hooked up to one (left?) channel.

Is the PSG the chip used for the legacy Master System sound? And you're saying that's basically always in mono?

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Joe Redifer with Game Sack deserves the credit for this list where he went through the games and found the following in mono. To qualify both sound and music had to be in mono as I understand it.

 

Genesis games in mono:
After Burner II
Air Diver
Aladdin
Altered Beast
Aquatic Games starring James Pond and the Aquabats
Arch Rivals: The Arcade Game
Ariel: Disney's The Little Mermaid
Atomic Robo-Kid
Batman Returns (cartridge version)
Batman: Revenge of the Joker
Battle Squadron
BattleMaster
Blaster Master 2
Boxing Legends of the Ring
Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind
Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday
Cadash
Cal Ripkin Jr. Baseball
Centurion: Defender of Rome
Chakan the Forever Man
Championship Bowling
Championship Pro Am
Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool
Clue
Crossfire
Cyberball
Dark Castle
Darwin 4081
David Crane's Amazing Tennis
David Robinson's Supreme Court
Davis Cup Tennis
Deadly Moves
Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf
Double Dragon
Double Dragon II: The Revenge
Duel: Test Drive 2
Faery Tale Adventure
Fantasia
Fatal Labyrinth
Fatal Rewind
Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge
Formula 1: F1
Gadget Twins
Games: Winter Challenge
Gods
Golden Axe
Greendog: Beached Surfer Dude
Hard Drivin'
Hardball!
HardBall III
Haunting starring Polterguy
Hit the Ice
Immortal
Ishido: The Way of the Stones
James Pond: Underwater Agent
James Pond II: Codename Robocod
Jeopardy!
Joe Montana Football
Joe Montana II: Sports Talk Football
John Madden Football
Jordon vs Bird: Super One on One
Jungle Strike: The Sequel to Desert Strike
Jurassic Park
King's Bounty
Klax (Tengen version, Namco version is in stereo)
Lotus Turbo Challenge
M1 Abrams Battle Tank
Marble Madness (EA version, Tengen version is stereo)
Micro Machines
Mig-29: Fighter Pilot
Might and Magic: Gates to Another World
Mike Ditka Power Football
MLBPA Sports Talk Baseball
Mr. Otsomatsu
Ms. Pac Man
Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing
Mystical Fighter
NBA All-Star Challenge
New Zealand Story
NFL Football '94 starring Joe Montana
NFL Sportstalk Football '93 starring Joe Montana
NHL Hockey
NHLPA Hockey 93
Out of this World
OutLander
Paper Boy
PGA Tour Golf
PGA Tour Golf II
Pit-Fighter
Populous
Pro Quarterback
Rainbow Islands
Rampart
RBI Baseball 3
RBI Baseball 4
RBI Baseball '93
Road Blasters
Road Rash
Road Rash II
Rolo to the Rescue
Shadow of the Beast
Shove It! The Warehouse Game
Simpsons: Bart vs The Space Mutants
Slaughter Sport
Soldiers of Fortune
SpeedBall 2: Brutal Deluxe
Spiderman & X-Men: Arcade's Revenge
Star Control
Starflight
Steel Talons
Stormlord
Street Fighter 2 Special Champion Edition
Strider
Super Off Road
Super Volleyball
Sword of Sodan
Syd of Valis
TaleSpin
Task Force Harrier EX
Technocop
ToeJam & Earl
Tony LaRussa Baseball
Top Gear 2
Toy Story
Uncharted Waters
Wardner
Warp Speed
Wheel of Fortune
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?
Wrestle War
WWF Super Wrestlemania
X-Men
Zero Tolerance

Sega CD games:
Corpse Killer (both normal and 32X versions)
Dracula Unleashed
Dragon's Lair
ESPN Sunday Night NFL
Fahrenheit (both normal and 32X versions)
Ground Zero Texas
INX Make My Video
Links: The Challenge of Golf
Night Trap
Road Rash
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Volume 2
Space Ace
Star Wars Chess
Star Wars Rebel Assault
Tomcat Alley

32X games in mono:
Golf Magazine presents 36 Great Holes starring Fred Couples

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13 hours ago, Bruce Tomlin said:

FWIW you have to use A/V inputs because stereo RF modulators weren't a thing until the late '90s, and then only as separate units. It's also dependent upon the local system, the US used MTS, other countries used other systems.

Ah, I didn't even think of RF, I was a bit confused by his question. I was just thinking RCA.

 

1 hour ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Joe Redifer with Game Sack deserves the credit for this list where he went through the games and found the following in mono. To qualify both sound and music had to be in mono as I understand it.

Wow, that's a lot more games than I thought. Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention, but I could swear a lot of these games were in stereo (especially the Sega CD ones)...guess I need to give them another listen.

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2 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Joe Redifer with Game Sack deserves the credit for this list where he went through the games and found the following in mono. To qualify both sound and music had to be in mono as I understand it.

 

Genesis games in mono:
After Burner II
Air Diver
Aladdin
Altered Beast
Aquatic Games starring James Pond and the Aquabats
Arch Rivals: The Arcade Game
Ariel: Disney's The Little Mermaid
Atomic Robo-Kid
Batman Returns (cartridge version)
Batman: Revenge of the Joker
Battle Squadron
BattleMaster
Blaster Master 2
Boxing Legends of the Ring
Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind
Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday
Cadash
Cal Ripkin Jr. Baseball
Centurion: Defender of Rome
Chakan the Forever Man
Championship Bowling
Championship Pro Am
Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool
Clue
Crossfire
Cyberball
Dark Castle
Darwin 4081
David Crane's Amazing Tennis
David Robinson's Supreme Court
Davis Cup Tennis
Deadly Moves
Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf
Double Dragon
Double Dragon II: The Revenge
Duel: Test Drive 2
Faery Tale Adventure
Fantasia
Fatal Labyrinth
Fatal Rewind
Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge
Formula 1: F1
Gadget Twins
Games: Winter Challenge
Gods
Golden Axe
Greendog: Beached Surfer Dude
Hard Drivin'
Hardball!
HardBall III
Haunting starring Polterguy
Hit the Ice
Immortal
Ishido: The Way of the Stones
James Pond: Underwater Agent
James Pond II: Codename Robocod
Jeopardy!
Joe Montana Football
Joe Montana II: Sports Talk Football
John Madden Football
Jordon vs Bird: Super One on One
Jungle Strike: The Sequel to Desert Strike
Jurassic Park
King's Bounty
Klax (Tengen version, Namco version is in stereo)
Lotus Turbo Challenge
M1 Abrams Battle Tank
Marble Madness (EA version, Tengen version is stereo)
Micro Machines
Mig-29: Fighter Pilot
Might and Magic: Gates to Another World
Mike Ditka Power Football
MLBPA Sports Talk Baseball
Mr. Otsomatsu
Ms. Pac Man
Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing
Mystical Fighter
NBA All-Star Challenge
New Zealand Story
NFL Football '94 starring Joe Montana
NFL Sportstalk Football '93 starring Joe Montana
NHL Hockey
NHLPA Hockey 93
Out of this World
OutLander
Paper Boy
PGA Tour Golf
PGA Tour Golf II
Pit-Fighter
Populous
Pro Quarterback
Rainbow Islands
Rampart
RBI Baseball 3
RBI Baseball 4
RBI Baseball '93
Road Blasters
Road Rash
Road Rash II
Rolo to the Rescue
Shadow of the Beast
Shove It! The Warehouse Game
Simpsons: Bart vs The Space Mutants
Slaughter Sport
Soldiers of Fortune
SpeedBall 2: Brutal Deluxe
Spiderman & X-Men: Arcade's Revenge
Star Control
Starflight
Steel Talons
Stormlord
Street Fighter 2 Special Champion Edition
Strider
Super Off Road
Super Volleyball
Sword of Sodan
Syd of Valis
TaleSpin
Task Force Harrier EX
Technocop
ToeJam & Earl
Tony LaRussa Baseball
Top Gear 2
Toy Story
Uncharted Waters
Wardner
Warp Speed
Wheel of Fortune
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?
Wrestle War
WWF Super Wrestlemania
X-Men
Zero Tolerance

Sega CD games:
Corpse Killer (both normal and 32X versions)
Dracula Unleashed
Dragon's Lair
ESPN Sunday Night NFL
Fahrenheit (both normal and 32X versions)
Ground Zero Texas
INX Make My Video
Links: The Challenge of Golf
Night Trap
Road Rash
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Volume 2
Space Ace
Star Wars Chess
Star Wars Rebel Assault
Tomcat Alley

32X games in mono:
Golf Magazine presents 36 Great Holes starring Fred Couples

Yeah, that's not too bad. Out of the 713 games officially released for Genesis according to Wiki (a bit more these days), it's really only a small percentage. Well, around 1/5th of the library. For a long time, I just assumed most of the games would have been made in mono since that's how most people would have been listening to them, at least on the Model 1 system anyway (don't think many people actually bothered with the headphones there). Maybe most of the games were in mono until the Genesis Model 2 came out, and then developers largely switched across to stereo after that, which could somewhat accounts for the numbers. I'd still be interested to learn how many Model 1 systems there were vs Model 2 and Model 3 combined, to see how the rough balance was between people playing in mono vs people playing in stereo.

Edited by Kirk_Johnston
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14 hours ago, Bruce Tomlin said:

FWIW you have to use A/V inputs because stereo RF modulators weren't a thing until the late '90s, and then only as separate units. It's also dependent upon the local system, the US used MTS, other countries used other systems.

 

Also I did not realize until a couple of years ago that the PSG audio (the Colecovision TI chip) is only hooked up to one (left?) channel.

The Model 1 and Model 2 systems came with the cables required for stereo output in the box though, right?

 

Edit: I meant to say Model 2 and Model 3.

Edited by Kirk_Johnston
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21 minutes ago, Kirk_Johnston said:

The Model 1 and Model 2 systems came with the cables required for stereo output in the box though, right?

The model 1 didn't as the AV output on the model 1 is a MONO output only. And I'm pretty sure they didn't come with any cables for using the headphone jack on the front. Now...when the SegaCD systems were released, they did include a patch cable for use with the model 1 that you did plug into the headphone port and then into the audio mix in on the segaCD. But that was to make it easier to get stereo output since the SegaCD had actual RCA outputs on it. But... it wasn't required since all the audio could still pass through the Genesis and through the AV out port although only in Mono.

 

Stereo output was included on the newer 9-pin din that was used on the model 2. 

 

 

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Just now, -^CrossBow^- said:

The model 1 didn't as the AV output on the model 1 is a MONO output only. And I'm pretty sure they didn't come with any cables for using the headphone jack on the front. Now...when the SegaCD systems were released, they did include a patch cable for use with the model 1 that you did plug into the headphone port and then into the audio mix in on the segaCD. But that was to make it easier to get stereo output since the SegaCD had actual RCA outputs on it. But... it wasn't required since all the audio could still pass through the Genesis and through the AV out port although only in Mono.

 

Stereo output was included on the newer 9-pin din that was used on the model 2. 

 

 

Sorry, I actually meant to say Model 2 and Model 3 there.

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16 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

I've heard the model 3 was mono output also although it did have the 9-pin. But I don't own the model 3 myself to confirm this.

 

Yeah, a quick Google search confirms the Model 3 was mono output.

 

Do you know if Brazil got the Model 2? I know it got the Model 1 and Model 3, but I'm not sure if it got the Model 2, which would be a shame if they didn't also get the model with stereo. 

Edited by Kirk_Johnston
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Something I noticed in watching a recent Gamesack episode, is that Joe mentioned one of the games in that video for SegaCD as only having mono sound. I then thought about it and is did make sense. Due to the size of the cutscenes etc... I'm guessing the music on some of those RPGs was not actual redbook audio and was instead some compressed PCM stuff that was going through the PCM channel of the Genesis...hence mono audio on the music. And yeah, when I think about it more, the music on those games isn't as crisp and clear as say... Sonic CD when I pop it in. 

 

 

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On 7/27/2022 at 12:56 PM, -^CrossBow^- said:

Something I noticed in watching a recent Gamesack episode, is that Joe mentioned one of the games in that video for SegaCD as only having mono sound. I then thought about it and is did make sense. Due to the size of the cutscenes etc... I'm guessing the music on some of those RPGs was not actual redbook audio and was instead some compressed PCM stuff that was going through the PCM channel of the Genesis...hence mono audio on the music. And yeah, when I think about it more, the music on those games isn't as crisp and clear as say... Sonic CD when I pop it in. 

 

 

Ys Book 1+2 did this on the Turbo CD when the Duo launched.  The long main audio tracks were CD audio, but the stuff like under 30seconds were never tracks, they were just short clips of audio from the internal sound processor (ADPCM audio) such as when Adol would pick up an item and it would do that 10sec or so yay got an item jingle (like zelda chests do.)

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On 7/21/2022 at 11:55 PM, -^CrossBow^- said:

Joe Redifer with Game Sack deserves the credit for this list where he went through the games and found the following in mono. To qualify both sound and music had to be in mono as I understand it.

 

Genesis games in mono:
After Burner II
Air Diver
Aladdin
Altered Beast
Aquatic Games starring James Pond and the Aquabats
Arch Rivals: The Arcade Game
Ariel: Disney's The Little Mermaid
Atomic Robo-Kid
Batman Returns (cartridge version)
Batman: Revenge of the Joker
Battle Squadron
BattleMaster
Blaster Master 2
Boxing Legends of the Ring
Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind
Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday
Cadash
Cal Ripkin Jr. Baseball
Centurion: Defender of Rome
Chakan the Forever Man
Championship Bowling
Championship Pro Am
Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool
Clue
Crossfire
Cyberball
Dark Castle
Darwin 4081
David Crane's Amazing Tennis
David Robinson's Supreme Court
Davis Cup Tennis
Deadly Moves
Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf
Double Dragon
Double Dragon II: The Revenge
Duel: Test Drive 2
Faery Tale Adventure
Fantasia
Fatal Labyrinth
Fatal Rewind
Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge
Formula 1: F1
Gadget Twins
Games: Winter Challenge
Gods
Golden Axe
Greendog: Beached Surfer Dude
Hard Drivin'
Hardball!
HardBall III
Haunting starring Polterguy
Hit the Ice
Immortal
Ishido: The Way of the Stones
James Pond: Underwater Agent
James Pond II: Codename Robocod
Jeopardy!
Joe Montana Football
Joe Montana II: Sports Talk Football
John Madden Football
Jordon vs Bird: Super One on One
Jungle Strike: The Sequel to Desert Strike
Jurassic Park
King's Bounty
Klax (Tengen version, Namco version is in stereo)
Lotus Turbo Challenge
M1 Abrams Battle Tank
Marble Madness (EA version, Tengen version is stereo)
Micro Machines
Mig-29: Fighter Pilot
Might and Magic: Gates to Another World
Mike Ditka Power Football
MLBPA Sports Talk Baseball
Mr. Otsomatsu
Ms. Pac Man
Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing
Mystical Fighter
NBA All-Star Challenge
New Zealand Story
NFL Football '94 starring Joe Montana
NFL Sportstalk Football '93 starring Joe Montana
NHL Hockey
NHLPA Hockey 93
Out of this World
OutLander
Paper Boy
PGA Tour Golf
PGA Tour Golf II
Pit-Fighter
Populous
Pro Quarterback
Rainbow Islands
Rampart
RBI Baseball 3
RBI Baseball 4
RBI Baseball '93
Road Blasters
Road Rash
Road Rash II
Rolo to the Rescue
Shadow of the Beast
Shove It! The Warehouse Game
Simpsons: Bart vs The Space Mutants
Slaughter Sport
Soldiers of Fortune
SpeedBall 2: Brutal Deluxe
Spiderman & X-Men: Arcade's Revenge
Star Control
Starflight
Steel Talons
Stormlord
Street Fighter 2 Special Champion Edition
Strider
Super Off Road
Super Volleyball
Sword of Sodan
Syd of Valis
TaleSpin
Task Force Harrier EX
Technocop
ToeJam & Earl
Tony LaRussa Baseball
Top Gear 2
Toy Story
Uncharted Waters
Wardner
Warp Speed
Wheel of Fortune
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?
Wrestle War
WWF Super Wrestlemania
X-Men
Zero Tolerance

Sega CD games:
Corpse Killer (both normal and 32X versions)
Dracula Unleashed
Dragon's Lair
ESPN Sunday Night NFL
Fahrenheit (both normal and 32X versions)
Ground Zero Texas
INX Make My Video
Links: The Challenge of Golf
Night Trap
Road Rash
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Volume 2
Space Ace
Star Wars Chess
Star Wars Rebel Assault
Tomcat Alley

32X games in mono:
Golf Magazine presents 36 Great Holes starring Fred Couples

That list is inaccurate unless US versions of some Japanese games were in mono.  I'm very sure super airwolf (crossfire in the US) has stereo music tracks.  I remember one of the commando like stages having a panning left and right track. 

Task force Harrier EX as well I'm sure has stereo audio. 

Maybe I'm not remembering correctly but I'm sure not all those listed games are in mono.   Man, now I need to go and double check :)

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On 7/20/2022 at 3:52 PM, Kirk_Johnston said:

I'm just curious, out of the hundreds of Genesis games out there, does anyone know how many of them had stereo sound, give or take? And, I just mean, if they were plugged into a regular TV capable of stereo, they'd play in actual stereo as listened to normally coming out of the speakers.

 

Similarly, I know the Model 1 was mono in normal use through the TV using the standard cables that came in the box, but the later models were stereo in normal use through the TV (presumably using the standard cables that came in the box), so does anyone have actual concrete numbers for how many Model 1 systems sold worldwide vs Model 2 plus Model 3 systems?

 

Based on Joe's list that CrossBow posted. there are roughly 1100 Genesis/Mega Drive games with stereo sound.

 

 

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