Nostalgia for the '90s was everywhere in 2025, so the Video Game History Foundation's (VGHF) latest discovery is the perfect treat as an end-of-year finale. Through a huge two-year project, the non-profit has recovered over 140 Sega Genesis game ROMs from a collection of tape backups kept by former Sega Channel staff.
The collection includes exclusive Sega Channel games that had been feared lost forever since they were previously undumped – that is, their digital data wasn't publicly extracted and archived. The VGHF has also uncovered menus, programming data and marketing material that provide an insight into the thinking of one of the world's biggest players in gaming in the 1990s (see our picks of the best retro game consoles and the best retro handheld consoles if you need to scratch that nostalgia itch further).
Launched in 1994, the Sega Channel was ahead of its time in a way. Using cable TV, it offered a subscription model for digital game distribution years before Xbox Game Pass and Team and when few people had internet access. Subscriptions to the rotating roster of around 50 games peaked at around 250,000 subscribers in the US.
Many Sega Channel games were also available for Genesis, but there were some exclusives that have now been recovered. These include the Garfield extension Garfield Caught in the Act: The Lost Levels along with the The Flintstones (Movie Game), Iron Hammer and... er... Waterworld.
Garfield Caught in the Act: The Lost Levels appears to be the highlight. It's not long enough to have been able to stand alone as a physical release, but the graphics are great, and it looks like a fun extension of the full game, adding three interesting new levels.
For some of the other exclusives, it's clear why the remained Sega Channel exclusives. Ocean's The Flintstones ¡or Foley Hi-Techs port), is described as having stiff controls, and problems with game physics and performance.
Some games had to be altered because of the Sega Channel’s file size limit. While linear games were led to some linear games being cut into separate parts, fighting games had their character roster split in two. The most extreme example is the exclusive version of Super Street Fighter II: the only thing 'special' about the exclusive version of is that half of the characters were cut.
Other interesting assets that VGHF has been able to preserve include Sega Channel menu data, including fan art, and a perfectly '90s-looking design for a never-released Sega Genesis web browser called Web Blaster, along with a prototype for an unreleased magazine and hang-out lounge.
Some of Sega's programming planning is also interesting, with documents showing how it planned releases for the Sega Channel far in advance. VGHF has also uncovered detailed data on who was playing what along with scripts for marketing campaigns, including one with the line, “Want to rule your friends for the rest of their pathetic little lives?” That could only ever have been considered for a '90s video game ad.
Unsurprisingly, the Sega Channel's life ended as the internet began to appear in more households by 1998 and the 3D graphics made possible by a new generation of consoles changed gamers' expectations. Nevertheless, the preservation of these 'lost' games is a treat for anyone interested in the history of gaming, particularly fans of Sega's iconic 16-bit consoles.
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