Sega console · Generation 4
Sega Mega Drive
Sega Genesis (Mega Drive outside North America): Sega's 16-bit console from 1988. History, specifications, models, variants and timeline.
History of the Sega Mega Drive
The Master System did well in Europe and Brazil but not in Japan or North America, so Masami Ishikawa's team, supervised by Hideki Sato, began its successor right away. With NEC's PC Engine arriving in 1987, the team chose 16 bits and adapted the System 16 arcade board: a Motorola 68000 as the main CPU and a Z80 for sound. Its look drew on audio equipment. It was announced as the Mark V in June 1988, and the Mega Drive name was picked from over 300 proposals.
It launched in Japan on October 29, 1988, a week after Super Mario Bros. 3, and finished third there behind the Super Famicom and PC Engine. Atari declined to distribute it in North America, so Sega launched it there in 1989 through its own subsidiary under the Genesis name. Europe got it in September 1990 at £189.99, through Virgin Mastertronic. Ozisoft took it to Australia, Tectoy to Brazil and Samsung to South Korea. Ads pitched it with the slogan "Genesis does what Nintendon't".
In 1990 Tom Kalinske took charge in the US: he cut the price, set up American studios and made Sonic the Hedgehog the pack-in game. In the 1991 holiday season it outsold the Super Nintendo in the US, at the height of the console war. Electronic Arts won a licence deal after reverse-engineering the console, and Sega v. Accolade ended in 1992 with a ruling for Accolade. The controversy over Night Trap and Mortal Kombat led Sega to create its own age rating system.
The Sega CD and 32X add-ons failed and confused buyers. Sega turned its attention to the Saturn and had stopped making the console by 1997. Majesco released a budget Genesis 3 in 1998, and Tectoy kept selling models in Brazil for years. Its games have returned in compilations and services such as the Wii Virtual Console. The Genesis Mini came out in 2019, and new cartridge games are still being released.
Milestones
1988
Announced as the Mark V in June; launches in Japan on October 29.
1989
Arrives in North America as the Genesis.
1990
Launches in Europe in September; Electronic Arts signs its licence in June.
1991
Sonic the Hedgehog becomes the pack-in game.
1992
The appeals court rules for Accolade on October 20; JVC releases the Wondermega.
1993
The Mega Drive II arrives and US Congress holds hearings on video game violence.
1997
Sega is no longer manufacturing the console.
1998
Majesco relaunches it in North America as the Genesis 3.
2019
The Genesis Mini is released on September 19.
Models and revisions
The hardware variants of the Sega Mega Drive and their model numbers.
Mega Drive / Genesis (modelo 1) · 1988
The original model with RF output, an 8-pin DIN port and a stereo headphone jack. A late revision merged the sound and video chips into one ASIC.
Genesis con TMSS · 1991
A 1991 revision with the TMSS lockout, which checks cartridges for the SEGA string and shows a licence notice before each game.
Mega Drive II / Genesis (modelo 2) · 1993
The smaller, lighter 1993 version, without a headphone jack, with a smaller stereo A/V port and a simpler, cheaper board.
Genesis CDX / Multi-Mega
The console and Sega CD in one semi-portable unit with an LCD for audio CDs, priced at $399.95 in the US.
Genesis Nomad
A late 16-bit era handheld with a 3.25-inch LCD running on six AA batteries; it does not support the Sega CD or 32X.
Mega Jet
A portable Mega Drive offered on Japanese airline flights; the Nomad was based on its design.
TeraDrive
A Mega Drive combined with an IBM PC compatible computer, sold only in Japan.
Wondermega (JVC) · 1992
A Mega Drive and Mega-CD combo with high-quality audio, released by JVC in Japan on April 1, 1992.
X'Eye (JVC) · 1994
JVC's redesign of the Wondermega, released in North America in September 1994.
Pioneer LaserActive (Mega-LD)
Pioneer's LaserDisc player that runs Genesis, Sega CD and Mega-LD games with Sega's Mega-LD pack.
Aiwa CSD-GM1
A Genesis and Sega CD built into a boombox.
Models: CSD-GM1
Amstrad Mega PC
A computer with a built-in Mega Drive, modelled on the TeraDrive and sold in Europe and Australia.
MSX AX-330 / AX-990
MSX computers with a built-in Mega Drive, distributed in Kuwait and Yemen.
Models: AX-330, AX-990
Super Gam*Boy / Super Aladdin Boy (Samsung) · 1990
The version distributed by Samsung in South Korea, first as the Super Gam*Boy and later as the Super Aladdin Boy.
Genesis 3 (Majesco) · 1998
Majesco's even smaller budget version, which only plays cartridges: no Sega CD or 32X support.
Mega Game II (Ecofilmes)
A Portuguese version by Ecofilmes similar to the Model 2, with six-button pads and a region switch to play any cartridge.
Radica plug-and-play
Controller-shaped compilations that plug into the TV, sold by Radica Games in 2004 and 2005.
Mega Drive portátil (Tectoy) · 2007
A Tectoy handheld with twenty built-in games, released on December 5, 2007.
Mega Drive Guitar Idol (Tectoy)
A Tectoy version with two six-button pads, a guitar controller and 87 built-in games.
Mega Drive (Tectoy, 2017) · 2017
A Tectoy reissue almost identical to the original model, with a cartridge slot and SD card reader; released in June 2017.
AtGames Firecore · 2009
An AtGames compatible console with a cartridge slot, 15 built-in games and no region lock.
AtGames portátil
An AtGames handheld with 20 preloaded games, distributed in Europe by Blaze Europe.
Sega Mega Drive / Genesis Flashback (AtGames) · 2017
The last of AtGames' models, released in 2017.
Mega Drive / Genesis Mini · 2019
Sega's official dedicated console with region-specific built-in games and save-anywhere; released on September 19, 2019.
Mega Drive / Genesis Mini 2 · 2022
The second mini console, styled after the Model 2 with up to 60 games, some from the Mega-CD; released on October 27, 2022.