SEGA CDx (😎😉This ones for RickR)

[MaximumRD]

Amazingly RickR has just learned of this awesome system from my Sega NOMAD thread so at his request I have started this new thread. Let this be a placeholder for others to chime in but I will kick it off with my crappy old video on it 😆 it was one of my first from years ago and I can honestly say it has remained one of my most popular over the years if for no other reason then the Sega CDX being the star / subject 😎

I mean I started my channel back in 2008, looking at my analytics always amazed me how many views this video from 12 years ago got, definitely one of the best responses at over 45k views 😮

 

 

And here I demonstrate my newly gained EverdriveMD flashcart in my CDX / 32x combo set up - 

 

 

 

[RickR]

You know that feeling when you're an old crusty fart who things you've seen it all, and then something you never heard of turns up?  And by a major gaming company no less!  WOW. 

So let me get this straight:  The CDX was a portable CD player that you could take with you and if you plug it into a TV, Sega CD games and also has a cartridge slot for Genesis carts???  HOLY SH@T!  So even if you skip the portability part, you get a miniaturized Genesis + SegaCD system that doesn't need 2 giant power bricks and a slew of extra wires! 

Man.  I want one.  Are they easy to find?

 

[RickR]

This reminds me of the time recently when I decided to re-watch Star Trek:DS9 for the first time since it originally aired, and I found a bunch of small pockets of episodes that I had never seen before.  It was the most amazing thing ever.  When that show aired originally, my kids were young.  Ages 3 and infant.  So I must have fallen asleep or been busy reading books and putting the kids to bed or something. 

 

 

[TrekMD]

I have been wanting to get one of these but they are so damn expensive!

[MaximumRD]

That pretty much sums it up, using batteries will allow it to be used as  regular CD player, I think the power adapter is required for any actual gaming though. Still yes it was definitely impressive for the time. Sadly IF you track down one in decent condition and working well it will likely cost you quite a bit, somewhat rare and very desirable for collectors. Between rarity and being a pain to work on / repair it's hard to come by these days. Here is some info form the retro console wiki : 

https://retroconsoles.fandom.com/wiki/Sega_CDX/Multi-Mega

 

[CrossBow]

I own a CDX. I was able to grab mine loose with a power supply for $40 during my 2004 OKGE when Brian Cherry (One of the GameExchange owners in the Oklahoma area) decided to start selling off his personal collection. That collection included a table that had about a half dozen CDX systems on it. I still have it, and the last time I fired it up, it was still working fine. But they are known for having leaky caps and one of these days I need to be brave to open mine up so I can get those replaced out.

The CDX basically uses the SegaCD model 2 BIOS as I recall so it doesn't really have a unique startup to it or anything. It was the first time I found out that there were differences in the CD setups though because the homebrew games Pier Solar and Escape 2042 would not work correctly with their CD music playback on my model 1 SegaCD but did work on my CDX and later on a model 2 SegaCD I now use.

My CDX sits behind glass in a small case in the game room as a show piece item along with a few other things and my Dreamcast game collection.

Edited March 6, 2022 by CrossBow

[RickR]

Thank you guys.  I hope anyone else that has one will share their story.  This is so fascinating!

I've been thinking about whether I've ever actually seen one in the wild or at a show.  I'm sure we all have that experience where you finally learn about something new-to-you and then realize "oh yeah, I've seen those once in a while at Goodwill!".  For example, the Sega Pico is a personal example of this.  But no, I can honestly say the CDX is something I haven't ever seen in person.

 

 

[Justin]

Sega CDx O.G. here, checking in. I created a photo album of my original Sega CDx purchased new from Toys R Us in 1994. This was my Sega Genesis growing up, and remains the only Sega Genesis I've ever owned. It was also my only portable CD player through the 1990s. This was an absolute daily driver.

If you've followed my posts on Atari I/O and on social media you've probably heard my story and may have noticed a theme with me - that my love of Atari got me into Classic Gaming in 1993, and that passion expanded into a love not only of other classic video game systems, but also of niche / obscure consoles that existed in the '90s. My Sega CDx is a great example of this.

I really loved deep dives into the uncommon consoles that we had at the time. Today we're given a choice of behemoths: Xbox, PlayStation, or, if you want, Nintendo Switch. Niche options would come in the form of Flashback / Mini consoles I suppose, and the Atari VCS. The gaming ecosystem was very different at the time I was getting into Classic Gaming in 1993. Nintendo and Sega were king, and the NES was showing its age. But we had so many other choices of "boutique" systems with cult followings. TurboGrafx-16 and TurboDuo, Neo Geo, Atari Jaguar, 3DO, CDi, FM Towns Marty, Amica CD32, plus there were all of those weird VHS video game systems that had existed and were still for sale in Kay-Bee Toys.

The Sega CDx was one of the first video game systems I fell in love with out of this group. Here we had this Sega Genesis, which everybody had heard of and 50% of our friends owned. And yet this wasn't a Genesis, it was this high tech Genesis / Sega CD combo that was so advanced and so small it bordered on magical. I was stupid enough to carry it around as my portable CD player and had it in my backpack on the school bus. While not everybody had heard of Atari Lynx, everybody had heard of Sega Genesis, and almost nobody had seen the Sega CDx. It was one of those things that really blew everyone away.

I bought the only version of the Sega CDx that was sold in the United States. It came in the navy blue box and was a pretty robust setup. I believe it retailed for $399.95 It came with:

• 1 Sega CDx "Portable Multimedia Entertainment System"
• 1 Sega Genesis 6-Button Control Pad
• 1 AC Adapter
• 1 AV Cable w/ Stereo Output
• Sonic CD
• Ecco The Dolphin

 

Plus Sega Classics Arcade Collection which included 5 games on 1 CD:

• Streets Of Rage
• Revenge of Shinobi
• Columns
• Golden Axe
• Super Monaco GP

 

This was an awesome setup that effectively came with 7 pack-in titles. I also purchased an official Sega CDx carrying pouch which came with a CD sleeve and room for the system, controller, AC adapter, instruction manuals and batteries, all in what appeared to be a leather camera bag. I loved the Sega CDx and it remains the only Sega Genesis I've ever needed. While it's getting a little older and more valuable, I worry a bit about the disc drive and all of the fragile little components. I've considered looking for an original heavy Genesis, or possibly an Analogue Sg Genesis clone to use as my daily driver, but to this day my CDx serves me quite well and I have a ton of great memories associated with it.

On a side note: I always thought Sega should've found a way to cost-reduce the Sega CDx and make that the "Genesis 3" as it could play all games and was portable. If they could have brought the price down on this, it would've made a great low-cost Genesis during the later years of the Genesis' lifecycle, and would've made the Genesis more interesting as newer systems took over in the 32/64-Bit era.

Anyway, enjoy the photos!