In order to achieve backwards compatibility, the Master System's central processor and sound chip (the Zilog Z80 and SN76489 respectively) are included in the Mega Drive, and the Mega Drive's Video Display Processor (VDP) is capable of the Master System's VDP's mode 4, though it cannot run in modes 0, 1, 2, or 3.Īs the cartridge slot is of a different shape, Sega released the Power Base Converter, a separate device that sits between a Master System cartridge and the Mega Drive's cartridge slot.
The 16-bit design is based upon the 8-bit design, albeit enhanced and extended in many areas. One of the key design features of the console is its backwards compatibility with Sega's previous console, the Sega Master System.
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. In 1997, Sega licensed the Mega Drive to Majesco so that it could re-release the console in the United States. 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. 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 was supported until 1997 in Europe, when Sega announced it was dropping support for it. End of support and third-party licensing Tectoy also ran the Internet service "Sega Meganet" in Brazil, as well as producing games exclusively for the Brazilian market. In Brazil, the Mega Drive was released by Tectoy in 1990, only a year after the Brazilian release of the Sega Master System. The arrival of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991 was just as successful as in North America, with the new Sega mascot becoming popular throughout the continent. The ports of arcade titles like Altered Beast, Golden Axe and Ghouls 'n Ghosts, available in stores at launch, provided a strong image of the console's power to deliver an arcade-like experience. Since the Mega Drive was already two years old at the release in Europe, the many games available at launch were naturally more in numbers compared to the launches in other regions.
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Īnother prominent figure in the European marketing was the "Sega Pirate", a talking one-eyed skull that starred in many TV adverts with a generally edgy and humorous attitude. Some of these adverts employed a rather inappropriate sentences for example, "The more you play with it, the harder it gets" displayed with an illustration of the waggling of a joystick. In the United Kingdom, the most well-known of Sega's advertising slogans was "To be this good takes AGES, to be this good takes SEGA". Unlike in other regions where the Nintendo Entertainment System had been the dominant platform, the Master System was the most popular console in Europe at the time. Following on from the European success of the Sega Master System, the Mega Drive became a very popular console in Europe. The European release was in September 1990. Sega was not able to meet the initial release date and United States sales began on 14 August 1989 in test regions New York City and Los Angeles, with the North American release following by the end of the month. 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.
In 1987, Sega announced that the North American release date for the system (under the name "Sega Genesis") would be 9 January 1989.
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The Mega Drive was released in Japan on 29 October 1988, almost exactly a year after the release of NEC PC Engine and the same year as the release of TurboGrafx 16 in North America. Sega used the name Mega Drive for the worldwide version of the console, while the North American version went by the name "Genesis" due to a trademark dispute. The name was said to represent superiority and speed, with the new and powerful Motorola 68000 processor in mind. The first name Sega considered for its console was the MK-1601, but it ultimately decided to call it the "Sega Mega Drive".
Although the Sega Master System was a success in Europe, and later also in Brazil, it failed to ignite much attention in the North American or Japanese markets, which, by the mid-to-late 1980s, were both dominated by Nintendo's large market shares thanks to the Nintendo Entertainment System.
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