Quite possibly the single most ingenious video game marketing move ever. In the middle of the Sega Genesis' life cycle (c. 1992,) commercials for Genesis games would be punctuated with a very short sound clip of a man yelling "SEGA!" at the top of his lungs. The yell usually came from a character in the commercial itself. It was a beautiful bit of brand identity, as everybody from the kids the company was targeting with the ads to parents and grandparents everywhere recognized the yell. The Sega Scream faded away with the introduction of the Sega Saturn (much like the company,) but was reintroduced in 2000 in an effort to drum up interest in the Sega Dreamcast. The power of the Scream had waned, however, and now only Sega fanboys recognized the once mighty call.
"Not a day goes by that I don't miss the Sega Scream. Also, I haven't touched a girl in like 5 months. SO LONELY," lamented the author of the definition.
by JethroMcB December 7, 2003