post #655083

The Sega Genesis (known as the Mega Drive outside of North America) is a 16-bit video game console that was released in Japan in 1988, North America in 1989, and Europe and Brazil in 1990.

Following the failure of the Sega Master System outside of Europe and Brazil, Sega made a console to compete with the NES/Famicom that was truly superior in every way. It was one of the first 16-bit consoles (not the first however, the Turbografx-16/PC Engine released a few years earlier) and it blew the NES out of the water in all aspects hardware wise, featuring beefier specs, way better graphics, and FM sound.

The most (in)famous part of the system was its marketing in the United States, aiming it more as a "cool" system aimed at older more mature demographics, directly calling out Nintendo with the famous "Genesis Does What Nintendon't" tagline, and later spawning Sonic the Hedgehog, the original "mascot with attitude" that every other company would try (and mostly fail) to imitate. Its rivalry with the Nintendo Entertainment System and eventually Super Nintendo would later be known as the console wars. However, the console couldn't compete with the Super Nintendo once that launched due to that console having better specs and bigger name recognition, along with better and bigger games.

While the Sega Genesis didn't truly outplace Nintendo, it did very well that generation, selling about 31 million units worldwide, and having many good games released, such as Streets of Rage 2, Gunstar Heroes, Castlevania: Bloodlines, and the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy of games.

Later on, Sega introduced several add-ons to the system, the Sega CD, which introduced CD based games to the system, and the Sega 32X, which gave the console a boost for specs, graphics, and sound.
The system was discontinued in 1997, and has been looked back on as a great system for its time, but inferior to the Super Nintendo.

Genesis tags

• genesis_cartridge
• genesis_console

Accessories

• sega_32x
• sega_cd

Controllers

• genesis_controller
• sega_activator

Related tags

• retro_console
• retro_controller

Sega consoles

• Sega Master System
• Sega Genesis (Mega Drive)
• Sega CD (Mega-CD)
• Sega 32X
• Sega Saturn
• Sega Dreamcast