Sega Genesis
- Manufacturer
- Sega
- Production
- 1989–1997
- Generation
- Gen 4
- Type
- Home
- Launch price
- $189
- Media
- Cartridge
- Units sold
- 30.8M
About Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the Mega Drive outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in October 1988 in Japan as the Mega Drive, and in August 1989 in North America as the Genesis. In 1990, it was distributed as the Mega Drive by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe, Sega Ozisoft in Australasia, and Tectoy in Brazil. In South Korea, it was distributed by Samsung Electronics as the Super Gam*Boy and later the Super Aladdin Boy.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Library & collector facts
915licensed games
- North America: 712
- Japan: 539
- PAL: 752
Lineage
Release timeline
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- October 29, 1988
- 🇺🇸 North America
- September 1, 1990
- 🇪🇺 Europe / PAL
- September 1, 1990
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- September 1, 1990
- Lifespan
- 8 years on market
Pricing
Launch price (1989)
- 🇺🇸 USD
- $189
- 🇯🇵 JPY
- ¥21,000
- 🇬🇧 GBP
- £190
Launch titles & exclusives
Altered Beast · Last Battle · Space Harrier II · Super Thunder Blade · Tommy Lasorda Baseball · World Championship Soccer · Ghouls 'n Ghosts · Truxton · Forgotten Worlds · Mystic Defender
Altered Beast (early NA bundles); Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 onward — the system-seller bundle that defined the platform)
Sonic the Hedgehog 1/2/3 & Knuckles · Streets of Rage trilogy · Phantasy Star II/III/IV · Shining Force I & II · Gunstar Heroes · Comix Zone · Vectorman · Toejam & Earl · Ranger X · Alien Soldier · Castlevania: Bloodlines · Rocket Knight Adventures · Eternal Champions · Earthworm Jim 1 & 2 · Dynamite Headdy · Beyond Oasis · The Story of Thor
Tectoy continued producing Mega Drive games in Brazil into the 2010s; Pier Solar and the Great Architects (2010, indie release) is widely cited as the highest-profile late release
Pier Solar CIB (~$200+); Adventures of Batman & Robin (~$300+ CIB); Mickey Mania (rare CIB); Tempo (~$150+); Sega Genesis Classics gold-color promotional carts
Variants of Sega Genesis
Hardware specs
- Cpu
- Motorola 68000 @ 7.6 MHz, Zilog Z80 @ 3.58 MHz
- Ram
- 64 KB RAM, 64 KB VRAM, 8 KB audio RAM
- Sound
- Yamaha YM2612, Texas Instruments SN76489
- Weight
- ~1.2 kg (2.6 lb)
- Dimensions
- 280 × 70 × 210 mm
- Display Output
- Progressive: 320×224, 256×224 (NTSC) or 320×240, 256×240 (PAL) pixels, 512 color palette, 61 colors on-screen, Interlaced: 320×448, 256×448 (NTSC) or 320×480, 256×480 (PAL)
Hardware revisions
- Model 1(1988)
original launch hardware ('Genesis Model 1' with 'High Definition Graphics' badge), separate Power Base Converter for SMS support, EXT port for the (cancelled) Mega Modem, the only model that handles the analog YM2612 sound chip's true output — collector-prized for FM audio
- Model 2(1993)
cost-reduced redesign, slightly different audio output (collector debate about which sounds 'better'), more reliable
- Model 3(1998)
cheaper plasticky redesign, no headphone jack, no expansion port
- Nomad(1995)
portable Genesis with composite TV-out, ~3 hours on 6 AAs (poor battery life)
- Tectoy Mega Drive 4(Brazil)
built-in games with HDMI output (modern production)
Launch colorways & special editions
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Beta Edition (gold)
- Various JP color variants
- Nomad portable Genesis (1995, NA-only handheld)
- Tectoy Mega Drive Brazil variants in many colors
Modding scene
- Difficulty
- soft-mod
- Custom firmware
- N/A; flashcarts: MegaSD (FPGA, plays CD and 32X too), Mega EverDrive Pro
Reception & legacy
Strong — Sega's aggressive 'Genesis Does What Nintendon't' campaign and a 2-year head start over the SNES gave it real competitive footing in NA
Mortal Kombat blood-code controversy (1992 SNES had sweat, Genesis had blood, contributed to the 1993 congressional hearings and ESRB creation); Sonic 2 'Sonic 2sday' simultaneous worldwide launch (1992) was a landmark marketing innovation
Sega's commercial peak; nearly tied Nintendo in NA during 16-bit era; Sonic established as cultural icon; the 1993 congressional hearings prompted by Genesis-vs-SNES Mortal Kombat directly created the ESRB rating system
References
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Sega Genesis in the news
Recent coverage mentioning the Sega Genesis, gathered from 80+ gaming-news sources.
I Didn't Have a Golden Axe Cartoon on My 2026 Bingo Card
Airing next month. Well, this came out of nowhere, didn’t it? A new Golden Axe cartoon, inspired by the arcade and SEGA Genesis brawler, will start streaming on Paramount+ from 16th September. Read the full article on pushsquare.com
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4 Map Changes
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4, aka Override, is giving the battle royale island a retro gaming-themed makeover in Chapter 7 Season 4. There are Tetris blocks all over the place, and the new "Green Hills" landing spot looks like it was ripped straight from your old Sega Genesis. It's not an entirely...
Sega CDX Kit to Load Sega CD Games from ROM Carts
Zaxour is now selling a kit called the CDX Engine Idler, for the Sega Genesis / Sega CD combo console called the CDX. Without this kit, ROM Carts like the Mega Everdrive Pro can launch cartridge-based games on the CDX, however they can’t (in most cases) launch Sega CD games from the cart (including...
Third Time's A Charm As Data East's RoboCop Comes To Genesis / Mega Drive
Demo now available. Back in 2022, we reported on the fact that a homebrew coder by the name of Retro Encoder was porting Data East's legendary 1988 RoboCop arcade game to the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive. The project went somewhat quiet until very recently, when Retro Encoder released a playable demo...
PlayStation 1 Diorama Toys Are Here Ft. Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Twisted Metal & MediEvil
Before Console Heroes launched their first products last year, which were diorama toys of the SEGA characters, more specifically from the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive, we had a chat with the founder on our podcast to learn more about what's to come. And although no specifics were mentioned,
Cannon Fodder & Broken Sword Devs To Collaborate On A New "16-Bit" Game For The Amiga & Sega Genesis
Stoo Cambridge & Tony Warriner announce 'UrbX Warriors 16-bit Edition'. Two legendary British video game developers, the programmer Tony Warriner (Broken Sword, Beneath A Steel Sky) and artist Stoo Cambridge (Cannon Fodder, Sensible World of Soccer), have announced plans to team up to create a...