April Fools: SEGA Channel Returns – As A Streaming Service

Remember SEGA Channel? The service, which ran from 1994 to 1998, let subscribers download and play a variety of Genesis games for one flat monthly rate. This is commonplace today, of course, but such a method of content delivery was near-unthinkable for game consoles in the late 90’s; though it never really caught on, SEGA Channel was ahead of its time.

Now, decades after the service originally shut down, SEGA Channel is set to make a comeback – as an online streaming service! According to a recent press release, the new SEGA Channel will be a “multimedia streaming platform for past, present, and future SEGA content.” Similar to Hulu or Netflix, SEGA Channel will give subscribers access to a range of video content from SEGA’s past, but in addition to things like old Sonic cartoons, the service will feature game-centric content, such as cutscenes from titles like Sonic Unleashed. SEGA also promises that original content will premiere on the channel, but no additional specifics were given.

The revamped SEGA Channel will offer two pricing tiers: $4.99/month for an ad-lite experience, and $7.99 for an ad-free experience. The service will go live later this year, and it will be available on many different platforms, including iOS, Android, macOS, Windows 10, tvOS, Fire OS devices, and Roku streaming boxes, with more platforms coming in 2019.