Guides
Power Base Converter
Location: n/aSnap it in, turn it on, play Master System games on your Genesis! Edit
Overview
The Sega Genesis was built with backwards compatibility in mind. Sega wanted to give their customers the ability to play games from their 8-bit console on the new 16-bit hardware. Unfortunately, the Genesis' cartridge slot was of a different size and shape than the old Master System cartridges, and so native backwards compatibility, while technically possible due to the hardware design, was a practical impossibility. The solution was the Power Base Converter, a separate piece of hardware which fit into the Genesis's cartridge slot.Function
The Power Base Converter actually contained no Sega Master System hardware, since the Genesis was designed with backwards compatibility in mind. Essentially the Converter works as a card-reader does, allowing the Master System hardware within the Genesis to process the data within the Master System game. The device was unfortunately not compatible with the re-designed Genesis console (known as the Mega Drive 2 in Europe.) A second version of the Power Base Converter, the Master System Converter II, was released to address this issue, but only in limited numbers and only in Europe.
Screenshots & Art
