Any idea of duplicating video game discs or cartridges is usually met with nuclear fury by the copyright hawks… unless they're the ones controlling the process. In the mid-1990s, it wasn't so easy to access the latest titles due to enormous demand.
The folks at Blockbuster recognized the problem, and joined forces with Sega of America to create Game Factory, a platform based on programmable Genesis / Mega Drive cartridges that could receive games on-demand in a matter of seconds, thus covering customer demands. The premise was good, but Game Factory didn't go very far, to say the least…
The situation was quite common, and at the same time very annoying. You visited the video store looked for the latest game for your console, and saw that the only three copies had been rented out. "When do they come back?" was the question. "Tomorrow or the day after" was always the answer. Two or three days of waiting, and there was always someone who stole the cartridges. Something similar happened with VHS movies, but making copies (illegal, of course) was a bit easier. Cartridges presented a different challenge, for owners "and" consumers at the same time.
Game Factory: Can You Imagine This in the '80s?
In the early '90s, Blockbuster was at the top of the world, a fact that even movies reflect. Unless you were loyal to a small store, you'd likely end up in one of its branches. But the future had a digital flavor, and Blockbuster knew it in one way or another. Physical media had to step up, and that led Blockbuster to make a deal with IBM.
The result was NewLeaf Entertainment. The goal? To offer the public music and video on-demand on physical media. Want the latest Michael CD? The duplicator would have it ready in minutes. Content is downloaded via fiber optic, with a constant link to a remote mainframe to record sales. The future had arrived... and the giants of the music industry poisoned the soup.
What about video? In short, too difficult. Considerable storage requirements plus a long processing delay made it unfeasible.
What was left? Video game cartridge rentals, of course. A monster of $1.5 billion a year that kept growing. Demand was brutal, and you had to be a magician to get a game in the first week of release. The 16-bit console war was at one of its hottest points, and Blockbuster presented its idea to both contenders. What happened? "Sega does what Nintendon't".
Nintendo maintained its historical anti-rental position and rejected NewLeaf immediately. In contrast, Sega jumped on the bandwagon as soon as it could (it first requested a proof of concept), giving rise to Game Factory. Cartridges for Genesis / Mega Drive of 2 and 4 megabytes, programmable in 45 seconds or less. Ten Blockbuster stores in South Carolina served as a test ground. Sega, Acclaim, and Virgin (part of Blockbuster) were the first three to offer their games.
A Little Too Late
The evaluation phase for Game Factory lasted through the fall and winter of 1994. There were also rumors of a national launch, and adding compatibility with Game Gear cartridges. However, everything ended in February 1995. Blockbuster dissolved NewLeaf despite having obtained positive results. Why?
Ignoring license restrictions, two reasons: The first is that more and more games required special hardware (Virtua Racing, for example), and copying on the programmable chip wasn't enough. The second is that CD-ROM kicked the door open. The PlayStation had debuted in December 1994 (in Japan), conquered the market in record time, and the Genesis / Mega Drive was living its last adventures.
Furthermore, Blockbuster's recent acquisition by Viacom reinforced the idea that it was better off in a market it already knew well. Game Factory disappeared just like Blockbuster, but some of those cartridges still remain. If you're a collector, don't hesitate to look for a couple!
