Website Temporary Closed

Hello everyone. We are moving to a new, bigger premises so website ordering will be closed for the next month while we move everything to our new building, reorganise and do a full stock take. We will not be taking any orders or able to reply to any messages during this time. We will be open again at the start of December. Many thanks. Console Passion

Sega Game Gear

The Game Gear was Sega's response to the Nintendo Gameboy, the Monochrome handheld designed by Nintendo's Gunpei Yokoi, and released in 1989. Sega had taken note of the general publics criticisms of the Gameboy, and wanted to make a handheld console "everything that the Game Gear wasn't".

The Game Gear was released late 1989 in Japan, 1990 in North America and as usual, us Europeans had to wait even longer, until 1991!

The most obvious different between the two consoles was the 4096 colour palette of the Game Gear, with a maximum of 32 different colours on screen at any time. The screen size was larger than the Gameboy, and was back-lit which meant that you could play it pretty much anywhere, unlike the Gameboy which needed good light.

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The console itself was held lengthways, with buttons on either side. This ergonomic design change made the Game Gear much easier on the hands - one criticism of the Gameboy was that it had a very cramped feel it, and many people complained of sore wrists & hands after extended game play.

The Game Gear was, in essence, a portable Sega Master System. This meant that many Master System Games could be easily ported onto the handheld console. Indeed, a Master System Converter add-on was released, which allowed any Master System Game to be plugged into the Game Gear.

Another add-on which proved to be a popular selling point was the TV Tuner. A small device which clipped to the back of the Game Gear turned the handheld console into a small portable TV, not unlike the Sony Watchman. Other add-ons included a rechargeable battery pack, screen magnifier & multilink cable, to allow two Game Gears to be connected in versus play.

With all these add-ons and advantages over the Gameboy, you would expect the Game Gear to have been the more popular of the two consoles. Unfortunately for Sega, it was not - they had overlooked one very important detail. Battery Life. In the end the deciding factor in the latest chapter of the Sega vs Nintendo war was how long the batteries lasted.

While the Game Gear did indeed have everything the Gameboy lacked, it had to pay a price for these luxuries; the average lifespan on the batteries was between 3 and 5 hours, whereas the Gameboy could easily exceed 10 hours. This was a problem suffered by many other handhelds such as the Neo-Geo pocket and the Atari Lynx - while they may have been superior in every other way, it was the simplest of factors that made the Gameboy the overall winner, and eventually the best selling console of all time.

As with all good things, the Sega Game gears came to and end in 1997. In the end, there were over 200 games released for the console, although many of them never made it out of Japan, such as the excellent Sonic Drift & Sonic Drift 2, and take-on of Super Mario Kart which included a multi-link option. Thankfully these can all be played on any Game Gear as there is no region lockout, due to there being no TV compatibility problems.

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Sonic Triple Trouble

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The world's fastest hedgehog is back, racing through all new zones, with  more tricks, traps and action than ever before!

Spiderman

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The Kingpin is back in town, and his latest plans to destroy Spiderman is is by far his most devilish! He has planted a bomb in New York and publicly blamed Spidey. Can you help our hero to 'defuse' this desperate situation?

Sonic the Hedgehog

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Bust the video game speed barrier wide open with Sonic the Hedgehog. Blaze by in a blur using the Super Sonic Spin Attack. Loop the Loop by defying gravity. You can even spin around in a 360º rotating maze. You've never seen anything like it!

Sonic Spinball

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From slimy sewers to a monstrous machine room, Dr. Robotnik's latest fortress is a giant pinball machine! Will it withstand a Sonic spin-vasion? Bounce from giant flippers and hissing steam vents. Rev through dizzying loops and up death-defying ramps.

Sonic Chaos

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Here he comes, straight from his high speed Sonic 2 adventure!  Headstrong Sonic The Hedgehog and his feisty friend Tails blast into hyper speed to save the Chaos Emeralds.  If evil Dr Robotnik snatches the Emeralds first, he'll make a Super Bomb!  Could this be the end?

Sonic 2

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The world's fastest hedgehog is back, racing through all new zones, with  more tricks, traps and action than ever before!

Smurfs

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Gargamel has already kidnapped three Smurfs. Smurf to their rescue! Smurf down the mountains riding on a sledge, explore the labyrinths of the mine, travel on the back of a stork. but beware of nasty enemies such as the Buzz flies, the Angry Smurfs, the Howlibird, Azrael and Gargamel!

Shinobi

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In this action epic you as Joe Mushashi must use your special skills in he art of Ninjitsu to free your fellow Shinobi's and destroy the city of Fear.

Shinobi 2

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£14.00
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Shinobi, the Ninja Master, returns with his team of expert warriors.  Wage a bone wrenching battle against a pack of evil ninjas who threaten the world.  Attack with 5 different ninjas.  Each has his own special Ninja Magic.

Robocop vs Terminator

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In the near future, the worlds of Robocop and The Terminator merge into a single reality. You, as Robocop, must save mankind by destroying the Skynet super computer in the possible future in which machines rule the Earth and Skynet is supreme.

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