SEGA Mega Drive

The SEGA Mega Drive, called the SEGA Genesis in North America and shortened to the Mega Drive and Genesis respectively, is a 16-bit fourth generation home console released by SEGA in 1988. It was their third console, following the SG-1000 and SEGA Master System. In Korea, it was distributed by Samsung as the Super Gam*Boy and later the Super Aladdin Boy.
Designed by an R&D team supervised by Hideki Sato and Masami Ishikawa, the Genesis was adapted from SEGA’s System 16 arcade board. While the Mega Drive fared poorly in terms of sales in Japan in comparison to Nintendo, the Genesis managed to gain a quick following in western regions. This success was bolstered by aggressive youth marketing that pushed the Genesis as the “cool” console for teens and young adults in comparison to Nintendo’s systems, as well as the popularity of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
When Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, a fierce console war between the two console manufacturers arose, which attracted more attention to the video game industry. This ultimately pushed the Genesis even further in terms of sales, allowing it to keep up with the SNES. While it didn’t sell as much, it is arguably just as iconic as the SNES, not only being SEGA’s first true success in the console market, but also making them a worthy rival to Nintendo. Years following, many of the Genesis’ library would be rereleased in compilations, as well as on services such as Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Steam. They were even sold on the Wii Virtual Console and made available on the Nintendo Switch via SEGA Genesis - Nintendo Switch Online, available to Expansion Pack members of the system’s online service.
==Hardware Revisions==
===Mega Drive II===
In 1993, like the Master System II before it, SEGA produced a smaller, cost-effective build of the system known as the Mega Drive II in Japan, Europe, and Australia, and simply the Genesis in North America (without the SEGA prefix). This version removed the headphone jack, replaced the A/V-Out connector with a smaller version that supported stereo sound, and provided a less-expensive mainboard that required less power.
===Genesis CDX===
The Genesis CDX, marketed as the Multi-Mega in Europe, was a combined, semi-portable unit that combined the Genesis with the SEGA CD. It featured a small LCD screen that, when the unit is being used to play CDs, displays the current track being played. As a result of this and its light size, SEGA marketed it as a portable CD player.
===Genesis Nomad===
The Genesis Nomad, also known as the SEGA Nomad or simply Nomad, was a unique build in that it was a fully portable SEGA Genesis, acting as a pseudo-successor to the Game Gear. It was compatible with the entire Genesis library and was able to display games on a 3.25-inch LCD screen. However, it required six AA batteries to be powered, wasn’t compatible with games from the SEGA CD or 32X, and was sold exclusively in North America. As a result of these factors, it only sold about a million units and was considered a commercial failure.
===TeraDrive===
Released exclusively in Japan, the TeraDrive was a Mega Drive combined with an IBM PC compatible computer. It allowed players to play Mega Drive games while using the PC section, as it was possible for Mega Drive and PC hardware to interact with each other. SEGA hoped that it would attract customers looking to buy a PC, but the system proved unpopular and, like the Nomad, was a commercial flop.
==Accessories==
===Controller===
The original Genesis controller had a very round, bulky design, featuring a directional pad, a Start button, and A, B, and C face buttons. In 1993, SEGA produced an alternate variant of the controller that had a smaller D-pad and three additional face buttons - X, Y, and Z - which were placed above the A, B, and C buttons. This made the controller similar to that of popular arcade fighting games, such as Street Fighter II, and made the Genesis more compatible with them. Many, many variants of the controller were released over the years, each of different sizes and even having different button placements.
===Power Base Converter===
The Power Base Converter allowed the Genesis to be backwards compatible with the Master System. It was designed with the first model of the Genesis in mind; it will work with a Mega Drive II, though the shell blocks the power and AC ports, meaning that the shell would have to be modified or a pass thru adapter needs to be used. It is also incompatible with the GDX or Nomad. In Europe, it was known as the Master System Converter, and a second model was made that allowed it to be more easily used with a Mega Drive II. However, the CDX and Nomad were still incompatible with it.
===Menacer===
The Menacer was a light gun comparable to the Master System’s Light Phaser, and was made to compete with the SNES’ Super Scope. It is built from three detachable parts - the pistol, shoulder shock, and sights - and interacts with the TV via infrared sensors. Compared to the Light Phaser’s handgun-like design and the Super Scope’s sniper rifle-like design, the Menacer resembled a shotgun, and was comparatively more bulky as a result. It was released with a pack-in title of mostly shooting gallery games, and came bundled with Terminator 2: The Arcade Game.
===SEGA CD===
:Main article: SEGA CD
===32X===
:Main article: 32X
== Fanon Games ==
Any page that has the category Sega Genesis Games will be put here.
Category:Sega Consoles