In 1992, when I was 13, I was in a horrible car accident.

Driving 500 miles across Texas to get home for Christmas, my Mother fell asleep at the wheel and drove off of an overpass. The car bounced off the left side guardrail, hit the right side guardrail, mounted it, and rolled over it onto the highway 20 feet below.

The car landed in a heap, upside down.

I had blacked out sometime after the first impact and woke up hanging upside down from my seatbelt. My Mother was unconscious next to me, bleeding and hanging upside down as well.

Somehow I released the buckle on the belt and crawled out of the car. A frozen food delivery man had seen us go over the bridge and pulled over to help. He caught up to me just as my Mother awoke and started screaming.

Long story short, my Mother had a broken back, with three crushed vertebrae. I walked away from the crash with mild pain and some deep tissue bruising, but not much else. Less then a year later I developed back problems that I have to this day.

The ambulance driver said he was surprised anyone lived through that wreck.

Now, I told you that story so I could tell you this one:

The game I was playing on the trip was Phantasy Star I for the Sega Master System.



I had a Game Gear at the time, with the Master System adapter that let you play SMS games on the go. It was awesome. (They also had a TV tuner for the thing that turned it into a portable TV!)

In the crash, my Game Gear, Master System Adapter, and Phantasy Star cartridge were crushed. Sometime after Christmas, my Father sent a letter to SEGA explaining what had happened to us, and asked if the Game Gear and game could be repaired.

SEGA replied a week or two later, with an address to send the stuff to, saying they would try their best. They did not specify what the repairs would cost because they did not know the extent of the damage.

About a month later, I received a brand new Game Gear, Master System Adapter, and Phantasy Star I cartridge. By 1993 Phantasy Star was out of print and impossible to buy in stores. SEGA found a sealed copy somewhere in their offices and shipped it to me, along with a new Game Gear and SMS Adapter.

They did this free of charge.

Thinking back to it now, I realize just how awesome a gesture that was of SEGA. They didn't have to replace my stuff at all, and they sure as hell didn't have to do it for free.

I don't think any video game company of 2010 would do anything like this now.

Thanks SEGA. You rock.

Sincerely,
Sega Fan for Life.