Deluxe Edition

Screen-printed acrylic slipcase
Includes Phantasy Star IV print signed by Hitoshi Yoneda
Online-only edition
Exclusive development updates

346remaining of 500 £125.00

Overview

Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Ultimate Works is the official retrospective of the world conquering '90s videogame console, featuring original artworks, concept illustrations, game development materials, pixel graphics, developer interviews and a complete guide to first party hardware.

First published in 2014 as Collected Works and now out of print, the book remains in high demand. This revised edition adds 48 extra pages, featuring newly-discovered visual material from the Mega Drive/Genesis era.

A rich resource for gamers and creatives alike, Ultimate Works is a meticulously curated showcase of all aspects of the Mega Drive's legacy: not only documenting the system and its games, the book shines a spotlight on the people responsible for the console's phenomenal success, from Sega executives and industry luminaries such the company’s founder David Rosen, its president Hayao Nakayama, and Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske to developers, artists and programmers such as Naoto Ohshima (Sonic The Hedgehog), Yu Suzuki (Space Harrier), Greg Johnson and Mark Voorsanger (ToeJam & Earl), Makoto Uchida (Golden Axe) and Yuji Naka (Sonic The Hedgehog).

Due to changes in IP ownership since the creation of the first edition, Ultimate Works does not contain visual content related to Ecco the Dolphin or Wonder Boy.

Specification

275 × 222 mm
384pp (including 42 pages of new content)
Hardcover

8 × gatefold pages

Select this reward

Standard Edition

£60.00

Screen-printed case
Online-only edition
Exclusive development updates

Unlimited reward 135 backers

How it works

This book will be on general release in Winter 2024. This limited edition is available only from Volume and will ship alongside the publication of the general release version.

Expected delivery

Winter 2024

Shipping

Tracked worldwide

Now with blast processing

Now with 48 more pages of new content, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Ultimate Works is the last word on the world-conquering games console and a striking collector's item for fans of videogame history.

Printed in full colour across multiple heavyweight paper stocks, the book spans nine sections, each focussing on a different aspect of the console's legacy. The carefully researched editorial content is overseen by Guardian games editor, author, and diehard Mega Drive aficionado Keith Stuart.

The book is wrapped in a French folded jacket featuring the bold geometric ‘M’ from the Japanese Mega Drive brand and a high gloss laminate, mimicking the slick aesthetics of the console itself.

One of the main challenges [of creating Sonic The Hedgehog] was level design. The graphics required a lot of meticulous development – it took me almost a year to finish Act 1 of Green Hill Zone after repeatedly creating and destroying it.

Yuji Naka, programmer, Sonic The Hedgehog

Publisher

Read-Only Memory

Profile

Founded in 2012 by Darren Wall, Read-Only Memory publishes beautiful books on videogames and their surrounding subcultures.

The 16-bit archive

Ultimate Works offers an unprecedented access to Sega’s archives, showcasing the often surprisingly analogue ways in which classics such as Sonic The Hedgehog, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe – and many other 16-bit masterpieces – were created.

New to this expanded 2021 edition are a raft of newly discovered box art paintings, including Alien Soldier, Kid Chameleon, The Super Shinobi II, Sonic The Hedgehog, Phantasy Star: The End of the Millennium and many more. Also new to the book are the original design documents for iconic brawler Streets of Rage 2/Bare Knuckle II and Treasure’s unique platformer Dynamite Headdy, both translated from the original Japanese.

The book’s encyclopaedic pixel art gallery has been extended for Ultimate Works, now including pixel typefaces, pickups, iconography, and even explosion animations. With several other visual upgrades and additions to be found throughout, Ultimate Works is an essential item for Mega Drive/Genesis completists or those who missed out the 2014 edition.

At the beginning of 1995 we learned that the [Mega Drive] had sold 20 million units … It was the moment when Sega overtook Nintendo for the first time. I remember one of the executives saying, “Finally, we know that Sega has become a first-class console manufacturer – our games are being counterfeited and sold illegally.”

Hayao Nakayama, former president and CEO of Sega Enterprises

The name Mega Drive was intended to symbolise power and speed, but I wanted to create a design that would also represent the console’s ability to entertain, thrill and excite.

Mitsushige Shiraiwa, product designer

Streets of Rage 2 print by Mick McGinty

Available only as part of this campaign is a specially-commissioned Streets of Rage 2 artwork by legendary box art illustrator Mick McGinty. This unique piece of Sega history realises an ultimately unused draft concept solicited by Sega in 1992 for the US box packaging.

Working directly from this decades-old pencil draft, McGinty has created this new artwork especially for the release of Ultimate Works, featuring Axel in combat with the The Syndicate’s vicious battle robot, Molecule. Each high quality archival print in this edition will be signed by McGinty and the print will not be made available in the future.

Praise for the 2014 edition

‘The best coffee table book about videogames of all time … packed with art, design documents and schematics of Sega’s most famous console.’
Kotaku

‘Such is the incredible appeal of Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works that even a total outsider is able to open it up and find something of interest.’
Nintendo Life

‘The most powerful piece of gaming propaganda ever created.’
Kaiju Pop

‘Strikes a fine balance between pure eye candy and information-packed depth, resulting in a comprehensive (and beautifully designed) history of the Mega Drive.’
Den of Geek

The Super Shinobi II cover illustration (Japan), 1993

Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
Ultimate Works

2 exclusive editions Limited pre-order

Adaptation
Anastasia Samoylova

125 of 150 remaining Available now