Technology is old, but Yamaha's treatment and implementation of it is not.

What they "invented" was a superior way of controlling the SA voices in "real time"...which makes them accessible to even the average player.

The use of Mega Voices is not new...sure, they are just advanced multi-samples, but Yamaha used these sounds in their styles (accompaniment), and they reacted musically and realistically...no one else used them that way (until Korg DNC?)...especially as a "live" background.