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Released as the Mega Drive in Japan and Europe, the Genesis is Sega's 16-bit console. It was the successor of the Sega Master System and predecessor to the ill-fated Sega Saturn.
It had a production run lasting from 1988, when it was first released in Japan, to 1997 when it was finally discontinued. It sold 29 million units worldwide, 14 million of which were sold in the USA alone. Its best selling game was Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with 6 million carts sold.
To make it seem cooler than its main rival, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Sega's Marketing Department came up with the term "Blast Processing" to imply that the Genesis/Mega Drive had more power and was more capable of rendering sprites on screen faster than the SNES. While "Blast Processing" was purely a marketing term, the Genesis/Mega Drive did in actuality run at a higher clock speed than the SNES, enabling many games to feature fast scrolling (often with many background layers in parallax) and a large number of sprites on screen.
During its nine-year production run, it was expanded upon numerous times. These add-ons included the Power Base Converter, allowing it to play 8-bit Master System games, as well as the Sega CD and the 32X. Additionally, two later models of the Genesis were released.
The Genesis had two main versions of its controller. The first was slightly larger than the other, with three face buttons and a slightly "sharp," hard-plastic thumb pad. Although this controller was initially well-received, as the popularity of games like Street Fighter II rose, there was demand to produce a six-button controller.
Sega finally did release a six-button controller, this one with a slightly stream-lined look and feel, a softer thumb pad, and naturally three more face buttons. Many later Genesis games recommended the use of this secondary controller (many of them fighting games), as games that were played with the original controller and designed for the new six-button one would need to tap the start button to switch the three face buttons to the function of the other three.
In Japan, the Sega Mega Drive had network service available beginning in 1991. In order to use the service, players had to attach a Mega modem (which had a connection speed ranging from 1,600 to 2,400 bits/s) to the DE-9 port on the console. The few games available for download onto the Mega Drive were Sonic Eraser and Phantasy Star II Text Adventures. In 1995, the service reached Brazil, where two more games were available: Mortal Kombat II and Fifa Soccer '95. The service was not successful, and was eventually discontinued.
However, in 1994 Sega teamed up with TCI and Time Warner to release the Sega Channel in the United States. The Sega Channel was a hardware add-on, on top of the Genesis cartridge slot. The add-on allowed you to download games directly to your Sega Genesis and play them for a monthly fee. They did this by connecting a cable, (the same kind used on cable boxes) to the back of the cartridge add-on. You had a variety of menus to choose from. categories like, shooter, role playing, platforming, etc contained many popular Genesis titles people can download and play. After 30-days the games available would change. Usually, the most popular games were kept in service while the games people hardly played were replaced with other games. The Sega Channel also kept track of new games that were released. The games were usually available after the month of it's official release date. Japanese import games were also available to subscribers. The service lasted until 1998, when the 32-bit era was established with the Sega Saturn, and the Sony PlayStation. The activation fee was $29.95, and the monthly fee was $14.95. The Sega Channel was also the only way American gamers could play the Genesis last two best games. Those games were Alien Soldier and Pulseman. The Sega Channel had a lasting legacy for many of its subscribers.
The Sega Nomad was released in October of 1995 and sold for $180 USD. It was a hand held version of the Sega Genesis.
CPU
Graphics
Note: Model 1 had stereo sound only coming through the headphone jack. Later Models that featured full stereo support, had a sound distortion, that caused many Genesis games to sound bad. This was mainly how The Sega Genesis got a reputation for poor quality sound compared to the Super Nintendo.
Sound
Note: The sixth FM channel can also be used as a 8-bit PCM. Doing so, disables the FM sound. Zilog Z80 is used to control sound.
Memory
MODEL 1
Model 1 is the original design of the Sega Genesis. It has the logo High Definition Graphics above the Sega Genesis label. It has a headphone jack input for stereo sound. Model 1 only supported RF and Mono Composite outputs like the original Nintendo. It had an expansion port for hardware add-ons. The Sega CD would take advantage of the Port.
MODEL 2
Model 2 was the redesign of the Sega Genesis, shortly after the Super Nintendo became popular. It got rid of the headphone inputs, as this model supported full stereo composite and component outputs. Sadly, the redesign of the circuits caused a sound distortion that made the quality very poor. The Sega CD was also redesigned for Model 2 to fit the new look.
MODEL 3
Model 3 came out during the 32-bit era. It's a compact version of the Sega Genesis. It has no expansion slot for add-ons. However, it does have output support for S-Video. S-Video means Separate Video. It separates the color signal from the contrast making the picture quality much better. S-Video inputs can be found on all modern television sets.
"Blast Processing" helped the Genesis do what Nintendon't. Sega's 16-bit system was the developers most successful console. The console is considered one of the best in the world of gaming, with hundreds of quality games in it's library.
Overview
The Sega Genesis Console.
Released as the Mega Drive in Japan and Europe, the Genesis is Sega's 16-bit console. It was the successor of the Sega Master System and predecessor to the ill-fated Sega Saturn.
It had a production run lasting from 1988, when it was first released in Japan, to 1997 when it was finally discontinued. It sold 29 million units worldwide, 14 million of which were sold in the USA alone. Its best selling game was Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with 6 million carts sold.
Sonic The Hedgehog, proved Blast Processing was real.
To make it seem cooler than its main rival, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Sega's Marketing Department came up with the term "Blast Processing" to imply that the Genesis/Mega Drive had more power and was more capable of rendering sprites on screen faster than the SNES. While "Blast Processing" was purely a marketing term, the Genesis/Mega Drive did in actuality run at a higher clock speed than the SNES, enabling many games to feature fast scrolling (often with many background layers in parallax) and a large number of sprites on screen.
During its nine-year production run, it was expanded upon numerous times. These add-ons included the Power Base Converter, allowing it to play 8-bit Master System games, as well as the Sega CD and the 32X. Additionally, two later models of the Genesis were released.
The Genesis had two main versions of its controller. The first was slightly larger than the other, with three face buttons and a slightly "sharp," hard-plastic thumb pad. Although this controller was initially well-received, as the popularity of games like Street Fighter II rose, there was demand to produce a six-button controller.
Sega Genesis Six Button Controller.
Sega finally did release a six-button controller, this one with a slightly stream-lined look and feel, a softer thumb pad, and naturally three more face buttons. Many later Genesis games recommended the use of this secondary controller (many of them fighting games), as games that were played with the original controller and designed for the new six-button one would need to tap the start button to switch the three face buttons to the function of the other three.
In Japan, the Sega Mega Drive had network service available beginning in 1991. In order to use the service, players had to attach a Mega modem (which had a connection speed ranging from 1,600 to 2,400 bits/s) to the DE-9 port on the console. The few games available for download onto the Mega Drive were Sonic Eraser and Phantasy Star II Text Adventures. In 1995, the service reached Brazil, where two more games were available: Mortal Kombat II and Fifa Soccer '95. The service was not successful, and was eventually discontinued.
The Sega Channel provided games directly to your Sega Genesis.
However, in 1994 Sega teamed up with TCI and Time Warner to release the Sega Channel in the United States. The Sega Channel was a hardware add-on, on top of the Genesis cartridge slot. The add-on allowed you to download games directly to your Sega Genesis and play them for a monthly fee. They did this by connecting a cable, (the same kind used on cable boxes) to the back of the cartridge add-on. You had a variety of menus to choose from. categories like, shooter, role playing, platforming, etc contained many popular Genesis titles people can download and play. After 30-days the games available would change. Usually, the most popular games were kept in service while the games people hardly played were replaced with other games. The Sega Channel also kept track of new games that were released. The games were usually available after the month of it's official release date. Japanese import games were also available to subscribers. The service lasted until 1998, when the 32-bit era was established with the Sega Saturn, and the Sony PlayStation. The activation fee was $29.95, and the monthly fee was $14.95. The Sega Channel was also the only way American gamers could play the Genesis last two best games. Those games were Alien Soldier and Pulseman. The Sega Channel had a lasting legacy for many of its subscribers.
Hardware Specifications
CPU
- Processor: Motorola 68000 at 7.6Mhz
- Co Processor: Zilog Z80 at 3.5Mhz
Graphics
- Maximum Color Palette: 512
- Maximum Colors On Screen: 64
- Maximum Sprites On Screen: 80
- Screen Resolution: 256 x 192 - 320 x 448
- Possible AV Outputs: RF, Composite, S-Video (Model 3 and Custom Only), Component (RGB)
Note: Model 1 had stereo sound only coming through the headphone jack. Later Models that featured full stereo support, had a sound distortion, that caused many Genesis games to sound bad. This was mainly how The Sega Genesis got a reputation for poor quality sound compared to the Super Nintendo.
Sound
- Yamaha 2612 Sound Chip
- 6 Channel FM at 7.6Mhz
- 4 Channel PSG version SN76489 at 3.5Mhz
- Sample Rate 22KHz
Note: The sixth FM channel can also be used as a 8-bit PCM. Doing so, disables the FM sound. Zilog Z80 is used to control sound.
Memory
- Main Memory: 64KB
- Video Memory: 64KB
- Sound Memory: 8KB (from Z80)
Model Versions
MODEL 1
MODEL 2
MODEL 3
Model 3 came out during the 32-bit era. It's a compact version of the Sega Genesis. It has no expansion slot for add-ons. However, it does have output support for S-Video. S-Video means Separate Video. It separates the color signal from the contrast making the picture quality much better. S-Video inputs can be found on all modern television sets.
Genesis games
Edit
| Platform Name: | Genesis |
| Release Date: | Aug. 14, 1989 |
| Online Support: | True |
| Install Base: | 29,000,000 |
| Original Price: | $189 |
| Producing Company: | Sega |
| Total Games: | games |
Consoles
a list of 9 items by EvilDingo
a list of 9 items by EvilDingo
Consoles
a list of 8 items by G0rd0nFr33m4n
a list of 8 items by G0rd0nFr33m4n
Systems I Own
a list of 9 items by Merforga
a list of 9 items by Merforga
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Sonic the Hedgehog first in Sonic the Hedgehog |
13
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Brett Favre first in John Madden Football '92 |
11
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Dr. Eggman first in Sonic the Hedgehog |
9
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Jerry Rice first in |
9
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Steve Young first in |
9
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Mickey Mouse first in Mickey Mouse: The Computer Game |
7
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Tails first in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 |
7
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John Madden first in John Madden Football |
7
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Batman first in Batman |
7
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Toejam first in Toejam & Earl |
6
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Space first in Spacewar! |
43
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New York first in |
41
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Chicago first in |
30
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Underwater first in |
27
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The United States of America first in The Oregon Trail |
24
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Desert first in |
18
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Seattle first in |
17
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Castle first in |
17
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Japan first in |
17
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Jungle first in |
17
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2D first in Tennis for Two Simulator |
131
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Side-Scrolling first in |
128
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Jump first in Donkey Kong |
104
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Virtual Console first in |
101
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Health first in |
99
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Boss Fight first in DND |
91
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Game Over first in |
77
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Death first in |
72
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Tie-In first in |
68
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Anthropomorphism first in |
67
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Sword first in |
58
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Gun first in |
49
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Sports Jersey first in |
44
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Cleats first in |
33
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Football first in |
27
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Spikes first in |
26
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Spaceship first in Spacewar! |
24
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Bomb first in B-17 Bomber |
24
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Baseball Bat first in |
23
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Basketball first in |
22
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