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Sega Genesis

The Sega Genesis is the US release of the Sega Mega Drive and is a 16-bit video game console released by Sega in North America in 1989. Mega Drive was the name used in Japan and Europe, while it was sold under the name Sega Genesis in North America, as Sega was unable to secure legal rights to the Mega Drive name in that region. The Mega Drive was Sega's fifth home console and the successor to the Sega Master System, with which it is electronically compatible.

The Genesis is part of the fourth generation era of consoles, and the first of its generation to achieve notable market share in Europe and North America. It was a direct competitor of the TurboGrafx-16 (which was released one year earlier) and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (which was released two years later). The Sega Genesis began production in Japan in 1988 and ended with the last new licensed game being released in 2002 in Brazil.

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With over 29 million units sold, it became Sega's most successful console. The console has a legacy with certain games available on the console being offered as downloads to be played on newer consoles, fan translations and indie game development.

Although 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. Meanwhile in the arcades, the Sega System 16 had become a success. Hayao Nakayama, Sega's CEO at the time, decided to make its new home system utilize a similar 16-bit architecture. The final design was eventually also used in the Mega-Tech, Mega-Play and System-C arcade machines. Any game made for the Mega Drive hardware could easily be ported to these systems.

The first name Sega considered for its console was the MK-1601, but it ultimately decided to call it the "Sega Mega Drive" in Europe and Japan. The name was said to represent superiority and speed, with the powerful Motorola 68000 processor in mind. The North American version went by the name "Genesis" due to a trademark dispute.

The Sega Genesis initially competed against the aging 8-bit NES, over which it had superior graphics and sound. Despite this, the Genesis was all but ignored in Japan as soon as it was launched. Some positive coverage came out of magazines Famitsu and Beep!, but Sega shipped only 400,000 units in the first year. In order to sell more units, Sega tried some risky moves, including creating an online banking system and answering machine called the Sega Anser and several peripherals and games. The Mega Drive remained a distant third in Japan behind Nintendo's Super Famicom and NEC's PC-Engine throughout the 16-bit era.

One of Sega's most famous advertisements in North American media was its slogan "Genesis does what Nintendon't", which showcased the graphics advantage that the Genesis held against the aging NES. New Sega of America CEO Michael Katz instituted a two-part approach to build sales in that region. The first part involved a marketing campaign to challenge Nintendo head-on and emphasize the more arcade-like experience available on the Genesis, summarized by the slogan "Genesis does what Nintendon't". The second part, since Nintendo owned the console rights to most arcade games of the time, involved creating a library of instantly-recognizable titles by contracting with celebrities and athletes to produce games using their names and likenesses; Pat Riley Basketball, Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf, James 'Buster' Douglas Knockout Boxing, Joe Montana Football, Tommy Lasorda Baseball, Mario Lemieux Hockey, and Michael Jackson's Moonwalker all stemmed from this initiative. Nonetheless, it had a hard time overcoming Nintendo's ubiquitous presence in the consumer's home.

Sega CEO Hayao Nakayama, fearing a second market failure soon after the Master System, hired Tom Kalinske to replace Katz in mid-1990. Although Kalinske initially knew little about the video game market, he learned quickly and surrounded himself with industry-savvy advisors. A believer in the razor and blades business model, he developed a four-point plan: cut the price of the console; create a US-based team to develop games targeted at the American market; continue and expand the aggressive advertising campaigns; and replace the bundled game with a new title, Sonic The Hedgehog. The Japanese board of directors asked "Are you out of your mind?", but Nakayama approved all four points. Magazines praised Sonic as one of the greatest games yet made, and Sega's console finally took off as customers who had been waiting for the Super NES decided to purchase a Genesis instead. Nintendo's console would debut against an established competitor, while NEC's TurboGrafx-16 was left out and NEC soon pulled out of the market.

Sega began 1992 with a number of advantages: a 55% to 45% market share over the Super NES, a lower price, and a tenfold advantage in number of games. Sega's advertising continued to position the Genesis as the "cooler" console, and coined the term "Blast Processing" to suggest that the Genesis was capable of handling games with faster motion than the SNES. A Sony focus group found that teenage boys would not admit to owning a Super NES rather than a Genesis. Neither console could maintain a definitive lead in market share for several years.

By the end of 1995, Sega was supporting five different consoles and two add-ons: Saturn, Genesis, Game Gear, Pico, Sega CD, 32X and Master System in PAL and some South American (predominantly Brazilian) markets. As the Saturn was leading Sony's PlayStation in Japan while the Mega Drive was never successful there, Sega of Japan CEO Hayao Nakayama chose to discontinue the Mega Drive. While this made perfect sense for the Japanese market, it was disastrous in North America: the market for Genesis games was much larger than for the Saturn, but Sega was left without the inventory or software to meet demand. In comparison, Nintendo concentrated on the 16-bit market and reported the most lucrative holiday season in the industry. It also undercut the Sega of America executives; CEO Tom Kalinske, who oversaw the rise of the Genesis in 1991, grew uninterested in the business and resigned in mid 1996.

In 1997, Sega licensed the Genesis to Majesco so that it could re-release the console. Majesco began re-selling millions of formerly unsold cartridges at a budget price together with the second model of the Genesis, until it later released a third version of it. The last commercially licensed release in North America was Frogger, released in 1998.

The Mega Drive was supported until 1997 in Europe, when Sega announced it was dropping support for it. It was discontinued along with its predecessor, the long-lived Sega Master System, to allow Sega to concentrate on its newer console, the Saturn. The Mega Drive's add-ons, the Mega CD and 32X, were also both discontinued at this point, having been the same general failures they were in the other regions.

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Trampoline Terror

Box: 
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£14.00
Manual: 
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£14.00

From space, a menacing fortress appears in the sky. Surrounding it, a "trampoline" sidewalk armed with bombs and patrolled by enemy invaders. You, the Trampoline Terror, have the guts to fight back. Stealthful observation reveals self-destruct switches planted on 32 strongholds. Triggering each one will be no simple task. Powerful alien patrols will thwart your efforts, pushing you to the edge... and beyond! And beware the trampolines, whose very structure weakens with your every jump. Only your bounding skill and sharp cunning can save the day. So hop to it!

Spiderman and Venom - Separation Anxiety

Box: 
yes
£36.00
Manual: 
yes
£36.00

Parting is such sweet sorrow! Venom has been violently split from his living costume, spawning five deadly alien Symbiotes. In fierce two-player action, Venom joins forces with his arch-enemy, Spider-Man, to face the new strain of evil brought to life by chilling, computer-rendered graphics. Between the merciless Jury and awesome allies like Ghost Rider and Daredevil, Venom's out to part his Symbiote offspring from their newfound life!

Splatterhouse 2

Box: 
yes
£34.00
Manual: 
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£34.00

Your girlfriend Jennifer is trapped in a living nightmare and it's up to you to save her. The only option is to don the terror mask to transform into a buffed-out mayhem machine, ready to smash and bash a path to freedom. Utilize every weapon from your gnarled fist to a roaring chainsaw to conquer legions of oozing zombies and ghastly ghouls. With skill you may last long enough to confront horrible bosses. An iron will and a strong stomach are mandatory.

Sub Terrania

Box: 
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£7.00
Manual: 
yes
£7.00

Aliens have invaded a vital subterranean mining colony. Fly a prototype fighter through impossible caverns to rescue miners and blast the aliens into the darkest pits of space! Wanted: light-speed reflexes, total concentration and nerves of steel. Fight to stay airborne as gravity sucks your ship towards the surface. Awesome futuristic graphics! Wreak mass carnage against incredible alien monsters and dodge the metal-melting blasts of enemy lasers! Nab strategically-placed gear to transform your fighter into a submersible for terrifying subaquatic combat!

Simpsons - Bart vs Space Mutants

Box: 
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£8.00
Manual: 
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£8.00

Hello, fellow humans! Barthlomew J. Simpson here, with a very important secret: SPACE MUTANTS ARE INVADING SPRINGFIELD! That's right, man! A buncha slimy, horrible, totally gross and putrid monsters are taking over the bodies of the people who live here and they wanna build a weapon that's gonna take over the entire planet! Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, yours truly is the only one who can see 'em 'cause of my X-ray glasses - so it's up to me to stop 'em! I've gotta spraypaint things, get radical on my skateboard, use my trusty slingshot, and in general behave like a nuisance, man.

Sonic 3D Blast

Box: 
yes
£8.00
Manual: 
yes
£8.00

Fully rendered graphics thrust Sonic into an exciting 3D playing environment. An all new gameplay perspective puts you in the middle of Sonic's 3D adventure! The evil genius Robotnik is after the Chaos Emeralds and it's up to Sonic to stop him. Rescue the innocent Flickies before Robotnik turns them into part of his evil plan!

Shadow of the Beast

Box: 
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£8.00
Manual: 
yes
£8.00

There Can Only Be One Master. Destroy the dreaded Dracubeast before his fangs rip through your battle armor. Eliminate the Pit Fiend and capture his Fiery Storm. Lobsterjaw and his wicked bosses defend the secrets of the Master's fortress. Beware of Tuskinhead and his evil minions as you assault the Master's castle!

Shanghai 2 - Dragons Eye

Box: 
yes
£7.00
Manual: 
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£7.00

The ancient fascination of Mah-Jongg meets the cutting edge of video games in the most captivating strategy game to challenge the Western world - Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye. Calculate your moves! Beware the art of maneuver. An intricate ever-changing layout of ancient tiles marked with mysteriously eye-catching designs challenges your every move. Think before you make your move - it could be your last. Clear the board! Snap off matching pairs until the board is empty. Looks simple enough... but looks can be deceiving. The next tile you need may be buried five deep.

Pacman 2

Box: 
yes
£12.00
Manual: 
yes
£12.00

Enter an original animated adventure - with the world's first video game hero! But the star of your cartoon has a mind of his own, and it's going to take all your skills and patience to carefully guide Pac-Man through his hilarious, action-packed cartoon adventure! With a revolutionary new Character Guidance Interface (CGI), Pac-Man 2 is a game unlike anything you've ever experienced before. So step into Pac-Man's new exciting interactive cartoon world... It's a whole new way to play!

Pac-Mania

Box: 
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£9.00
Manual: 
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£9.00

You know Pac-Man, that world-famous, dot-munchin', maze-runnin' yella fella who's full of fun and frenzy. Now you can play Pac-Man like you've never played before - in spectacular 3-D! In Pac-Mania, everything on the screen comes alive! The lovable ghosts glide through the air. Dots and energizer pellets hang in midair. Pac-Man gets a new power: He can jump up and over ghosts! There's also a Pac Booster feature that lets you move Pac-Man at superspeed. You'll love the new challenging mazes - they come in so many mind-boggling shapes, they'll turn you into a certified Pac-Maniac!

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