Following on from the European success of the Sega Master System, the Mega Drive became a very popular console in Europe. The European release, as Mega Drive, was on November 30, 1990.
The Sega Genesis was released in the rest of North America later that year on Septemwith the suggested retail price of $189.99, $10 less than originally planned, and also $10 less than the competing TurboGrafx-16 Sega was not able to meet the initial release date and US sales began on Augin New York City and Los Angeles. Sega initially attempted to partner with Atari Corporation for distribution of the console in the US, but the two could not agree to terms and Sega decided to do it themselves. Sega announced a North American release date for the system (as Sega Genesis) on January 9, 1989. The console was released in Japan as Mega Drive on October 29, 1988. The North American version went by the name "Sega Genesis" due to a trademark dispute. Sega used the name Mega Drive for the Japanese, European, Asian, Australian and Brazilian versions of the console. The name was said to represent superiority (Mega), and speed (Drive), with the then powerful Motorola 68000 processor in mind. ĭuring development the hardware was called "Mark V", but Sega CEO Hayao Nakayama officially named it "Mega Drive". Any game made for the Mega Drive hardware could easily be ported to these systems. The final design was eventually also used in the Mega-Tech, Mega-Play and System-C arcade machines. Hayao Nakayama, Sega's CEO at the time, decided to make its new home system utilize a similar 16-bit architecture. Meanwhile in the arcades, the Sega System 16 had become a success.
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Many games have been re-released in compilations for newer consoles, offered for download on various online services, such as Wii Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Steam.Īlthough the Sega Master System was a success in Europe, and later also Brazil, it failed to ignite much interest in the North American or Japanese markets, which, by the mid-to-late 1980s, were both dominated by Nintendo's large market shares. Licensed 3rd party variations of the console are still being produced to this day, and there are also several indie game developers continuing to produce games for the console. The console and its games continue to be popular among fans, collectors, video game music fans, retro gamers, emulation enthusiasts and the fan translation scene. The success of those games eventually forced Nintendo to join the ESRB. The rating system allowed Sega to ship games with little to no censorship and gave it a competitive edge when the same game was released by Nintendo. The controversy over games such as Mortal Kombat in the United States forced Sega to create the first content rating system for video games, the Videogame Rating Council, rather than have the games heavily censored. Several add-ons were created including the Sega Mega-CD/Sega CD and Sega 32X which extended its capabilities. The Sega Genesis was Sega's most successful console though Sega has never released a total sales figure quote. The console began production in Japan in 1988 and ended with the last new licensed game being released in 2002 in Brazil. Two years later, Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the competition between the two would dominate the 16-bit era of video gaming. The Sega Genesis was the first of its generation to achieve notable market share in continental Europe and North America, where it competed against a wide range of platforms, including both dedicated gaming consoles and home computer systems. The Sega Genesis is Sega's third console and the successor to the Sega Master System with which it has backward compatibility when the separately sold Power Base Converter is installed. The reason for the two names is that Sega was unable to secure legal rights to the Mega Drive name in North America. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as Mega Drive ( メガドライブ, Mega Doraibu ?), then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive.
The Sega Genesis, also known as Sega Mega Drive, is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (pack-in), 6 million Sonic the Hedgehog (pack-in), 15 million Other variations are pictured under Variations belowĮstimated from 37.4 to over 41.9 million