Editing Sega Genesis

{{Infobox information appliance
| name          = Sega Genesis / Mega Drive
| logo          = [[File:GenesisLogo.png|250px|North American logo]]<br><div style="margin-top:5px">[[File:Megadrive_logo.png|250px|European/Australasian logo]]</div>
| image         = <!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE THE IMAGES WITHOUT FURTHER DISCUSSION! --><div style="white-space: nowrap; border: #dadada solid 1px;">{{nowrap|[[File:Sega-Mega-Drive-JP-Mk1-Console-Set.jpg|250px|The original Japanese Mega Drive]]<br>[[File:Sega-Genesis-Mk2-6button.jpg|250px|Model 2 Genesis w/ 6-button controller]]}}</div>
| caption       = '''Top:''' Original Japanese Mega Drive'''<br>Bottom:''' Sega Genesis Model 2<br><small>Other variations are pictured under [[#Variations|Variations]] below</small>
| manufacturer  = [[Sega]]
| type          = [[Home video game console]]
| generation    = [[History of video game consoles (fourth generation)|Fourth generation]]
| release date  = JP: October 29, 1988<br />NA: August 14, 1989<br />KOR: August 1990<br />PAL: September 1990<br />BRA: September 1, 1990
| lifespan      = 
*1988–1997 (Sega)
*1988–present (overall)
NA: Ongoing (AtGames)<br />EU: Ongoing (AtGames, [[Blaze Europe]])<br />BRA: Ongoing ([[Tectoy|Tec Toy]])
| discontinued  = WW: 1997 (Sega)<br />NA|1999 ([[Majesco Entertainment]])
| unitssold     = 
*Sega: 30.75 million
*Tec Toy: 3 million
*Majesco: 1.5 million <small>(projected)</small>
| media         = [[ROM cartridge]]
| CPU           = 
*[[Motorola 68000]] @ 7.6 MHz
*[[Zilog Z80]] @ 3.58 MHz
| sound         = 
*[[Yamaha YM2612]]
*[[Texas Instruments SN76489]]
| display       = 
*Progressive: 320x224, 256x224 ([[NTSC]]) or 320x240, 256x240 ([[PAL]]) pixels, 512 color palette, 61 colors on-screen
*Interlaced: 320x448, 256x448 (NTSC) or 320x480, 256x480 (PAL)
| topgame       = ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' (15 million)
| onlineservice = [[Sega Meganet]]<br>[[Sega Channel]]<br>[[XBAND]]
| compatibility = [[Sega Master System|Master System]] (Through use of the Power Base Converter peripheral)
| predecessor   = Master System
| successor     = [[Sega Saturn]]
}}

==Introduction==
The '''Sega Genesis''', known as the '''Mega Drive''' in regions outside of North America, is a [[History of video game consoles (fourth generation)|16-bit]] [[home video game console]] developed and sold by [[Sega]]. The Genesis was Sega's third console and the successor to the [[Master System]]. Sega released the console as the Mega Drive in Japan in 1988, followed by North America as the Genesis in 1989. In 1990, the console was distributed as the Mega Drive by [[Virgin Mastertronic]] in Europe, [[Ozisoft]] in [[Australasia]], and [[Tectoy|Tec Toy]] in Brazil. In South Korea, the systems were distributed by [[Samsung]] as the '''Super Gam*Boy''' and later the '''Super Aladdin Boy'''.

Designed by an [[Research and development|R&D]] team supervised by Hideki Sato and Masami Ishikawa, the hardware was adapted from Sega's [[Sega System 16|System 16]] arcade board, centered on a [[Motorola 68000]] processor as the [[central processing unit|CPU]], a [[Zilog Z80]] as a sound controller, and a video system supporting hardware sprites, tiles, and scrolling. The system plays a [[List of Sega Genesis games|library of more than 900 games]] created by Sega and a wide array of third-party publishers and delivered on [[ROM cartridge|ROM-based cartridges]]. The Genesis has benefited from several add-ons, including a Power Base Converter to play Master System games, as well as multiple first and third party licensed variations of the console. Sega created two network services to support the Genesis: [[Sega Meganet]] and [[Sega Channel]].

In Japan, the Mega Drive did not fare well against its two main competitors, Nintendo's [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super Famicom]] and [[NEC]]'s [[TurboGrafx-16|PC Engine]], but it achieved considerable success in North America, Brazil, and Europe. Contributing to its success were its library of [[arcade game]] [[Video game porting|ports]], the popularity of Sega's ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series, several popular sports franchises, and aggressive [[youth marketing]] that positioned the system as the cool console for adolescents. The release of the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] two years after the Genesis resulted in a fierce battle for market share in the United States and Europe that has often been termed as a "console war" by journalists and historians. As this contest drew increasing attention to the video game industry among the general public, the Genesis and several of its highest-profile games attracted significant legal scrutiny on matters involving reverse engineering and video game violence. [[Video game controversies|Controversy]] surrounding violent games such as ''[[Night Trap]]'' and ''[[Mortal Kombat (1992 video game)|Mortal Kombat]]'' led Sega to create the [[Videogame Rating Council]], a predecessor to the [[Entertainment Software Rating Board]].

30.75 million first-party Genesis units were sold worldwide. In addition, Tec Toy sold an estimated three million licensed variants in Brazil, Majesco projected it would sell 1.5 million licensed variants of the system in the United States, and much smaller numbers were sold by Samsung in South Korea. By the mid-2010s, licensed third-party Genesis rereleases were still being sold by AtGames in North America and Europe. Many games have been rereleased in compilations or on online services such as the [[Nintendo Virtual Console]], [[Xbox Live Arcade]], [[PlayStation Network]], and [[Steam (software)|Steam]]. The Genesis was succeeded in 1994 by the [[Sega Saturn]].

==History==
{{see also|History of video games}}

===Development===
[[File:JP MegaDrive Logo.gif|thumb|The Japanese Mega Drive logo]]

In the early 1980s, [[Sega|Sega Enterprises, Inc.]], then a subsidiary of [[Gulf & Western]], was one of the top five [[arcade game]] manufacturers active in the United States, as company revenues surpassed $200 million between July 1981 and June 1982. A downturn in the arcade business starting in 1982 seriously hurt the company, leading Gulf & Western to sell its North American arcade manufacturing organization and the licensing rights for its arcade games to [[Bally Manufacturing]]. The company retained Sega's North American R&D operation, as well as its Japanese subsidiary, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. With its arcade business in decline, Gulf & Western executives turned to Sega Enterprises, Ltd.'s president, [[Hayao Nakayama]], for advice on how to proceed. Nakayama advocated that the company leverage its hardware expertise gained through years working in the arcade industry to move into the home console market in Japan, which was in its infancy at the time.

Nakayama received permission to proceed with this project, leading to the release of Sega's first home video game system, the [[SG-1000]], in July 1983. The SG-1000 was not successful; while it had sold 160,000 units in Japan, far greater than any of Sega's arcade platforms, sales at stores were dominated by [[Nintendo]]'s [[Nintendo Entertainment System | Famicom]] which had been released the same day. Sega estimated that the Family Computer outsold the SG-1000 by a 10-to-1 margin. The SG-1000 was replaced by the [[Sega Master System|Sega Mark III]] within two years. In the meantime, Gulf & Western began to divest itself of its non-core businesses after the death of company founder [[Charles Bluhdorn]], so Nakayama and former Sega CEO [[David Rosen (business)|David Rosen]] arranged a [[management buyout]] of the Japanese subsidiary in 1984 with financial backing from CSK Corporation, a prominent Japanese software company. Nakayama was then installed as CEO of the new Sega Enterprises, Ltd.

In 1986, Sega redesigned the Mark III for release in North America as the Sega Master System. This was followed by a European release the next year. Although the Master System was a success in Europe, and later in Brazil, it failed to ignite significant interest in the Japanese or North American markets, which, by the mid-to-late 1980s, were both dominated by [[Nintendo]]. With Sega continuing to have difficulty penetrating the home market, Sega's console R&D team, led by Masami Ishikawa and supervised by Hideki Sato, began work on a successor to the Master System almost immediately after that console launched.

In 1987, Sega faced another threat to its console business when Japanese computer giant [[NEC]] released the [[PC Engine]] amid great publicity. To remain competitive against the two more established consumer electronics companies, Ishikawa and his team decided they needed to incorporate a [[16-bit]] microprocessor into their new system to make an impact in the marketplace and once again turned to Sega's strengths in the arcade industry to adapt the successful [[Sega System 16]] arcade board into architecture for a home console. The decision to use a [[Motorola 68000]] as the system's main CPU was made late in development, while a [[Zilog Z80]] was used as a secondary CPU to handle the sound due to fears that the load to the main CPU would be too great if it handled both the visuals and the audio. The 68000 chip was expensive and would have driven the retail price of the console up greatly, but Sega was able to negotiate a sale with a distributor for obtaining the chips for a tenth of their price on an up-front volume sale with the promise of potentially more if the console was successful.

First announced in June 1988 in ''Beep!'', a Japanese gaming magazine, the developing console was referred to as the "Mark V", but Sega management felt the need for a stronger name. After reviewing more than 300 proposals, the company settled on "Mega Drive". In North America, the name of the console was changed to "Genesis". The reason for this change is not known, but it may have been due to a trademark dispute.

===Launch===
[[File:Sega-Mega-Drive-EU-Mk1-wController-FL.jpg|thumb|The European PAL version of the Mega Drive launched in 1990, later becoming the highest-selling [[Fourth generation of video game consoles|fourth gen]] console in Europe]]

Sega released the Mega Drive in Japan on October 29, 1988, though the launch was overshadowed by Nintendo's release of ''[[Super Mario Bros. 3]]'' a week earlier. Positive coverage from magazines ''[[Famitsu]]'' and ''Beep!'' helped to establish a following, but Sega only managed to ship 400,000 units in the first year. In order to increase sales, Sega released various peripherals and games, including an online banking system and [[answering machine]] called the Sega Mega Anser. Nevertheless, the Mega Drive was unable to overtake the venerable [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Famicom]] and remained a distant third in Japan behind Nintendo's [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super Famicom]] and NEC's PC Engine throughout the 16-bit era.

Sega announced a North American release date for the system on January 9, 1989. At the time, Sega did not possess a North American sales and marketing organization and was distributing its Master System through [[Tonka]]. Dissatisfied with Tonka's performance, Sega looked for a new partner to market the Genesis in North America and offered the rights to [[Atari Corporation]], which did not yet have a 16-bit system. David Rosen made the proposal to Atari CEO [[Jack Tramiel]] and the president of Atari's Entertainment Electronics Division, Michael Katz. Tramiel declined to acquire the new console, deeming it too expensive, and instead opted to focus on the [[Atari ST]]. Sega decided to launch the console through its own Sega of America subsidiary, which executed a limited launch on August 14, 1989, in [[New York City]] and [[Los Angeles]]. The Sega Genesis was released in the rest of North America later that year.

The European version was released in September 1990, at a price of [[Pound sterling|GB£]]189.99. The release was handled by [[Virgin Mastertronic]], which was later purchased by Sega in 1991 and became Sega of Europe. Games like ''[[Space Harrier II]]'', ''[[Ghouls 'n Ghosts]]'', ''[[Golden Axe]]'', ''[[Super Thunder Blade]]'', and ''[[The Revenge of Shinobi]]'' were available in stores at launch. The console was also bundled with ''[[Altered Beast]]''. The Mega Drive and its first batch of games were shown at the 1990 European Computer Entertainment Show (ECES) in [[Earl's Court]]. Between July and August 1990, Virgin initially placed their order for 20,000 Mega Drive units. However, the company increased the order by 10,000 units when advanced orders had exceeded expectations, and another 10,000 units was later added following the console's success at the ECES event. The projected number of units to be sold between September and December 1990 had eventually increased to 40,000 units in the United Kingdom alone.

Other companies assisted in distributing the console to various countries worldwide. [[Ozisoft]] handled the Mega Drive's launch and marketing in Australia, as it had done before with the Master System. In Brazil, the Mega Drive was released by [[Tectoy]] in 1990, only a year after the Brazilian release of the Master System. Tec Toy produced games exclusively for the Brazilian market and began a network service for the system called [[Sega Meganet]] in 1995. In India, Sega entered a distribution deal with [[Shaw Wallace]] in the spring of 1995 in order to circumvent an 80% import tariff, with each unit selling for [[Indian rupee|INR?]]18,000. [[Samsung]] handled sales and distribution in [[Korea]], where it was renamed the "Super Gam*Boy" and retained the Mega Drive logo alongside the Samsung name. It was later renamed "Super Aladdin Boy".

===North American sales and marketing===
For the North American market, former Atari Corporation Entertainment Electronics Division president and new Sega of America CEO Michael Katz instituted a two-part approach to build sales in the 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 slogans including "Genesis does what Nintendon't". Since Nintendo owned the console rights to most arcade games of the time, the second part involved creating a library of instantly recognizable games which used the names and likenesses of celebrities and athletes such as ''[[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]]''. Nonetheless, it had a hard time overcoming Nintendo's ubiquitous presence in consumers' homes. Tasked by Nakayama to sell one million units within the first year, Katz and Sega of America managed to sell only 500,000 units.

In mid-1990, Nakayama hired [[Tom Kalinske]] to replace Katz as CEO of Sega of America. Although Kalinske initially knew little about the video game market, he 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 U.S.-based team to develop games targeted at the American market, continue and expand the aggressive advertising campaigns, and replace the bundled game ''Altered Beast'' with a new game, ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 video game)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]''. The Japanese board of directors initially disapproved of the plan,<!--, asking "Are you out of your mind?",--> but all four points were approved by Nakayama, who told Kalinske, "I hired you to make the decisions for Europe and the Americas, so go ahead and do it." 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 release of the international version of Nintendo's Super Famicom—the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] or SNES—decided to purchase a Genesis instead. Nintendo's console debuted against an established competitor, while NEC's [[TurboGrafx-16]] failed to gain traction, and NEC soon pulled out of the market. In large part due to the popularity of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', the Sega Genesis outsold the SNES in the United States nearly two to one during the 1991 holiday season. This success led to Sega having control of 65% of the [[History of video game consoles (fourth generation)|16-bit]] [[Video game console|console]] market in January 1992, making it the first time Nintendo was not the console leader since December 1985.

To compete with Nintendo, Sega was more open to new types of games than its rival, but still tightly controlled the approval process for third-party games and charged high prices for cartridge manufacturing. Technicians from American third-party video game publisher [[Electronic Arts]] (EA) reverse engineered the Genesis in 1989, following nearly one year of negotiations with Sega in which EA requested a more liberal licensing agreement than was standard in the industry before releasing its games for the system. The [[Clean room design|clean room]] reverse engineering was led by Steve Hayes and Jim Nitchals, lasting several months before EA secretly began game development. EA founder [[Trip Hawkins]] confronted Nakayama with this information one day prior to the 1990 [[Consumer Electronics Show]] (CES), noting that EA had the ability to run its own licensing program if Sega refused to meet its demands. Sega relented, and the next day EA's upcoming Genesis games were showcased at CES. EA signed what Hawkins described as "a very unusual and much more enlightened license agreement" with Sega in June 1990: "Among other things, we had the right to make as many titles as we wanted. We could approve our own titles&nbsp;... the royalty rates were a lot more reasonable. We also had more direct control over manufacturing." After the deal was in place, EA chief creative officer [[Bing Gordon]] learned that "we hadn't figured out all the workarounds" and "Sega still had the ability to lock us out," noting "It just would have been a public relations fiasco." EA released its first two Genesis games, ''[[Populous (video game)|Populous]]'' and ''[[Budokan: The Martial Spirit]]'', within the month. The first Genesis version of EA's ''[[John Madden Football (1990 video game)|John Madden Football]]'' arrived before the end of 1990, and became what Gordon called a "[[Killer application|killer app]]" for the system. Taking advantage of the licensing agreement, Gordon and EA's vice president of marketing services Nancy Fong created a visual identifier for EA's Genesis cartridges: A yellow stripe on their left side added during manufacturing.

Sega was able to outsell Nintendo four Christmas seasons in a row due to the Genesis' head start, a lower price point, and a larger library of games when compared to the Super Nintendo at its release. Sega had ten games for every game on SNES, and while the SNES had an exclusive version of ''[[Final Fight (video game)|Final Fight]]'', one of Sega's internal development teams created ''[[Streets of Rage]]'', which had bigger levels, tougher enemies, and a well-regarded soundtrack. [[ASCII Entertainment]] reported in the spring of 1993 that Genesis had 250 games versus 75 for Super Nintendo, but limited shelf space meant that stores typically offered 100 Genesis and 50 Super Nintendo games. The NES was still the leader, with 300 games and 100 on shelves.

Sega's advertising positioned the Genesis as the cooler console, and as its advertising evolved, the company coined the term "blast processing" (the origin of which is an obscure programming trick on the graphics hardware) to suggest that its processing capabilities were far greater than those of the SNES. A [[Sony]] focus group found that teenage boys would not admit to owning a SNES rather than a Genesis. With the Genesis often outselling the SNES at a ratio of 2:1, Nintendo and Sega both focused heavily on [[impression management]] of the market, even going to the point of deception, with Nintendo claiming it had sold more consoles in 1991 than it actually had, and forecasting it would sell 6 million consoles by the end of 1992, while its actual U.S. install base at the end of 1992 was only just more than 4 million units. Due to these tactics, it was difficult to ascertain a clear leader in market share for several years at a time, with Nintendo's dollar share of the U.S. 16-bit market dipping down from 60% at the end of 1992 to 37% at the end of 1993, Sega claiming 55% of all 16-bit hardware sales during 1994, and ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' helping the SNES to outsell the Genesis from 1995 through 1997. According to a 2004 study of [[NPD Group|NPD sales data]], the Sega Genesis was able to maintain its lead over the Super NES in the American 16-bit console market. However, according to a 2014 [[Wedbush Securities]] report based on revised NPD sales data, the SNES outsold the Genesis in the U.S. market.

===Sonic the Hedgehog===

While Sega was seeking a flagship series to compete with Nintendo's [[Mario (franchise)|Mario series]] along with a character to serve as a company mascot, several character designs were submitted as part of a company-wide contest, including "an [[anime]]-inspired egg and a teal hedgehog with red shoes created by [[Naoto Ohshima]] that he called Mr. Needlemouse."{{sfn|Harris|2014|p=63}} This character won the contest and was renamed Sonic the Hedgehog, spawning [[List of best-selling video game franchises|one of the best-selling video game franchises]] in history.{{sfn|Harris|2014|pp=63, 73, 76}} The gameplay of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' originated with a tech demo created by [[Yuji Naka]], who had developed an algorithm that allowed a sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with a [[dot matrix]]. Naka's original prototype was a platform game that involved a fast-moving character rolling in a ball through a long winding tube, and this concept was subsequently fleshed out with Ohshima's character design and levels conceived by designer [[Hirokazu Yasuhara]]. Sonic's blue pigmentation was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo, and his shoes were a concept evolved from a design inspired by [[Michael Jackson]]'s boots with the addition of the color red, which was inspired by both [[Santa Claus]] and the contrast of those colors on Jackson's 1987 album ''[[Bad (album)|Bad]]''; his personality was based on [[Bill Clinton]]'s "can do" attitude.

Although Katz and Sega of America's marketing experts disliked the idea of ''Sonic'', certain that it would not catch on with most American kids, Kalinske's strategy to place ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' as the pack-in game paid off. Featuring speedy gameplay, ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' greatly increased the popularity of the Sega Genesis in North America. Bundling ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' with the Sega Genesis is credited with helping Sega gain 65% of the market share against Nintendo.

===Trademark Security System and ''Sega v. Accolade''===

After the release of the Sega Genesis in 1989, video game publisher [[Accolade (company)|Accolade]] began exploring options to release some of their [[PC game]]s on the console. At the time, Sega had a licensing deal in place for [[Video game developers#Third-party developers|third-party developers]] that increased the costs to the developer. According to Accolade co-founder [[Alan Miller (game designer)|Alan Miller]], "One pays them between $10 and $15 per cartridge on top of the real hardware manufacturing costs, so it about doubles the cost of goods to the independent publisher." To get around licensing, Accolade chose to seek an alternative way to bring their games to the Genesis. It did so by purchasing one in order to [[Decompiler|decompile]] the [[executable|executable code]] of three Genesis games. Such information was used to program their new Genesis cartridges in a way that would allow them to disable the security lockouts on the Genesis that prevented unlicensed games from being able to be played. This strategy was used successfully to bring ''[[Ishido: The Way of Stones]]'' to the Genesis in 1990. To do so, Accolade had copied Sega's copyrighted game code multiple times in order to reverse engineer the software of Sega's licensed Genesis games.

[[File:Sega-Genesis-Mod1-Bare.jpg|thumb|An edition of the original model of Genesis, known as the Genesis III, was the model at the center of ''Sega v. Accolade'' for its incorporation of the Trademark Security System (TMSS)]]

As a result of piracy in some countries and unlicensed development issues, Sega incorporated a technical protection mechanism into a new edition of the Genesis released in 1990, referred to as the Genesis III. This new variation of the Genesis included a code known as the Trademark Security System (TMSS), which, when a game cartridge was inserted, would check for the presence of the [[String (computer science)|string]] "SEGA" at a particular point in the memory contained in the cartridge. If the string was present, the console would run the game, and would briefly display the message: "{{smallcaps|Produced by or under license from Sega Enterprises, Ltd.}}" This system had a twofold effect: it added extra protection against unlicensed developers and software piracy, and forced the Sega trademark to display when the game was powered up, making a lawsuit for trademark infringement possible if unlicensed software were to be developed. Accolade learned of this development at the [[International CES|Winter Consumer Electronics Show]] in January 1991, where Sega showed the new Genesis III and demonstrated it screening and rejecting an ''Ishido'' game cartridge. With more games planned for the following year, Accolade successfully identified the TMSS file. It later added this file to the games ''[[HardBall!]]'', ''[[Star Control]]'', ''Mike Ditka Power Football'', and ''[[Turrican]]''.

In response to the creation of these unlicensed games, Sega filed suit against Accolade in the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of California]], on charges of trademark infringement, [[unfair competition]], and copyright infringement. In response, Accolade filed a counterclaim for falsifying the source of its games by displaying the Sega trademark when the game was powered up. Although the district court initially ruled for Sega and issued an injunction preventing Accolade from continuing to reverse engineer the Genesis, Accolade appealed the verdict to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]].

As a result of the appeal, the Ninth Circuit overturned the district court's verdict and ruled that Accolade's decompilation of the Sega software constituted fair use. The court's written opinion followed on October 20, 1992, and noted that the use of the software was non-exploitative, although commercial. Further, the court found that the trademark infringement, being required by the TMSS for a Genesis game to run on the system, had been inadvertently triggered by a fair use act and was the fault of Sega for having caused false labeling. Ultimately, Sega and Accolade settled the case on April 30, 1993. As a part of this settlement, Accolade became an official licensee of Sega, and later developed and released ''[[Barkley Shut Up and Jam!]]'' while under license. The terms of the licensing, including whether or not any special arrangements or discounts were made to Accolade, were not released to the public. The financial terms of the settlement were also not disclosed, although both companies agreed to pay their own legal costs.

===Congressional hearings on video game violence===
[[File:VRC Mature 13.svg|thumb|120px|right|VRC MA-13 rating, as applied to ''Mortal Kombat'' for the Genesis]]

In 1993, the American media began to focus on the mature content of certain video games. Games such as ''[[Night Trap]]'' for the [[Sega CD]], an [[video game accessory|add-on]], received unprecedented scrutiny. Issues about ''Night Trap'' were brought up in the [[United Kingdom]], with former Sega of Europe development director Mike Brogan noting that "''Night Trap'' got Sega an awful lot of publicity&nbsp;... it was also cited in [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|UK Parliament]] for being classified as "15" due to its use of real actors." This came at a time when Sega was capitalizing on its image as an edgy company with attitude, and this only reinforced that image. By far the year's most controversial game was [[Midway Games|Midway]]'s [[Mortal Kombat (1992 video game)|''Mortal Kombat'']], ported to the Genesis and SNES by [[Acclaim Entertainment]]. In response to public outcry over the game's graphic violence, Nintendo decided to replace the blood in the game with "sweat" and the arcade's gruesome "fatalities" with less violent finishing moves. Sega took a different approach, instituting America's first video game ratings system, the [[Videogame Rating Council]] (VRC), for all its current systems. Ratings ranged from the family friendly GA rating to the more mature rating of MA-13, and the adults-only rating of MA-17. With the rating system in place, Sega released its version of ''Mortal Kombat'', appearing to have removed all the blood and sweat effects and toning down the finishing moves even more than in the SNES version. However, all the arcade's blood and uncensored finishing moves could be enabled by entering a "Blood Code". This technicality allowed Sega to release the game with a relatively low MA-13 rating. Meanwhile, the tamer SNES version shipped without a rating.

The Genesis version of ''Mortal Kombat'' was well-received by gaming press, as well as fans, outselling the SNES version three- or four-to-one, while Nintendo was criticized for censoring the SNES version of the game. Executive vice president of Nintendo of America [[Howard Lincoln]] was quick to point out at the hearings that ''Night Trap'' had no such rating, saying to Senator [[Joe Lieberman]]:

{{quote box | quote=Furthermore, I can't let you sit here and buy this nonsense that this Sega ''Night Trap'' game was somehow only meant for adults.  The fact of the matter is this is a copy of the packaging. There was no rating on this game at all when the game was introduced. Small children bought this at [[Toys "R" Us]], and he knows that as well as I do. When they started getting heat about this game, then they adopted the rating system and put ratings on it.}}

In response, Sega of America vice president Bill White showed a videotape of violent video games on the SNES and stressed the importance of rating video games. At the end of the hearing, Lieberman called for another hearing in February 1994 to check on progress toward a rating system for video game violence.

As a result of the Congressional hearings, ''Night Trap'' started to generate more sales and released ports to the [[Personal computer|PC]], [[32X|Sega 32X]], and [[3DO Interactive Multiplayer|3DO]]. According to [[Digital Pictures]] founder Tom Zito, "You know, I sold 50,000 units of ''Night Trap'' a week after those hearings." Although experiencing increased sales, Sega decided to recall ''Night Trap'' and re-release it with revisions in 1994 due to the Congressional hearings. After the close of these hearings, video game manufacturers came together to establish the rating system that Lieberman had called for. Initially, Sega proposed the universal adoption of its system, but after objections by Nintendo and others, Sega took a role in forming a new one. This became the [[Entertainment Software Rating Board]], an independent organization that received praise from Lieberman. With this new rating system in place, Nintendo decided its censorship policies were no longer needed, and the SNES port of ''[[Mortal Kombat II]]'' was released uncensored.

===32-bit era and beyond===
In order to extend the life of the Genesis, Sega released two add-ons to increase its capabilities: a CD-based peripheral known as the [[Sega CD]] (Mega-CD outside North America), and a 32-bit peripheral known as the [[Sega 32X]]. 2.24 million Sega CD units were sold worldwide, and an estimated 665,000 32X units were sold by the end of 1994.

Following the launch of the next-generation 32-bit Sony [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] and [[Sega Saturn]], sales of 16-bit hardware and software continued to account for 64% of the video game market in 1995. Sega underestimated the continued popularity of the Genesis and did not have the inventory to meet demand for the product. Sega was able to capture 43% of the dollar share of the U.S. video game market and claimed to have sold more than 2 million Genesis units in 1995, while Genesis software such as ''[[Vectorman]]'' remained highly successful, but Kalinske estimated that "we could have sold another 300,000 Genesis systems in the November/December timeframe." Nakayama's decision to focus on the Saturn over the Genesis, based on the systems' relative performance in Japan, has been cited as the major contributing factor in this miscalculation. By contrast, Nintendo concentrated on the 16-bit home console market, as well as its successful [[handheld video game console|handheld]], the [[Game Boy]]. As a result, Nintendo took in 42% of the video game market dollar share, without launching a 32-bit console to compete directly with the PlayStation or the Saturn. Following tensions with Sega Enterprises, Ltd. over its focus on the Saturn, Kalinske, who oversaw the rise of the Genesis in 1991, grew uninterested in the business and resigned in mid-1996.

Sega sold 30.75 million Genesis units worldwide. Of these, 3.58 million were sold in Japan, and sales in Europe and the U.S. are roughly estimated at 8 million and 18–18.5 million as of June 1997 (at which time Sega was no longer manufacturing the system) respectively. In 1998, Sega licensed the Genesis to [[Majesco Entertainment]] in North America so it could re-release the console. Majesco began reselling millions of formerly unsold cartridges at a budget price, together with 150,000 units of the second model of the Genesis. It released the Sega Genesis 3, projecting to sell 1.5 million units of the console by the end of 1998. An estimated 3 million Genesis units were sold by Tec Toy in Brazil.

==Technical specifications==
[[File:Mega Drive mboard.jpg|thumb|European Mega Drive [[mainboard]]]]

The main [[microprocessor]] is a 16/32-bit [[Motorola 68000]] [[central processing unit|CPU]] clocked at 7.6 [[Hertz|MHz]]. The console uses a [[Zilog Z80]] sub-processor, mainly used to control the sound hardware and provide [[backward compatibility]] with the Master System. The system has 72 [[kilobyte|kB]] of [[random access memory|RAM]], 64 kB of [[video RAM]], and can display up to 61 colors at once from a [[Palette (computing)|palette]] of 512. The games are in [[ROM cartridge]] format and inserted in the top.

The system produces sound using a [[Yamaha YM2612]] [[Frequency modulation|FM]] synthesizer and a [[Texas Instruments SN76489]] [[programmable sound generator|PSG]]; the latter is integrated with the [[Video Display Controller|Video Display Processor (VDP)]]. The Z80 processor is primarily used to control both sound chips to produce stereo music and sound effects. Most revisions of the original system contain a discrete YM2612 and a separate YM7101 VDP; the functionality of these two chips was later integrated into a single custom [[Application-specific integrated circuit|ASIC]] (FC1004) for the model 2 and later revisions.

The back of the model 1 console provides a [[radio frequency]] output port (designed for use with antenna and cable systems) and a specialized 8-pin [[DIN]] port, both of which provide video and audio output. Both outputs produce [[Monophony|monophonic]] sound; a [[Phone connector (audio)|headphone jack]] on the front of the console produces [[stereo]] sound. On the model 2, the DIN port, radio frequency output port, and headphone jack are replaced by a 9-pin [[mini-DIN]] port on the back for [[composite video]], [[RGBS|RGB]] and stereo sound, and the standard RF switch. Earlier model 1 consoles have a 9-pin extension port, although this was removed in later production runs and is absent in the model 2. An [[edge connector]] on the bottom-right of the console allows it to be connected to a peripheral.

===Peripherals===
[[File:Sega-Genesis-6But-Cont.jpg|thumb|Sega Genesis six-button controller]]

The standard <!-- not region-specific --> controller features a rounded shape, a [[directional pad]], three main buttons, and a "start" button. Sega later released a six-button version in 1993. This pad is slightly smaller and features three additional face buttons, similar to the design of buttons on some popular arcade fighting games such as ''[[Street Fighter II]]''. The third model of the controller, MK-1470 was released with the Sega Genesis Model 3, with a switch between Normal, Turbo, and Slow while also having the Mode button. Sega released a wireless revision of the six-button controller, the Remote Arcade Pad.

The <!-- not region-specific --> system is backward compatible with the Master System. The first peripheral released, the Power Base Converter (Master System Converter in Europe), allows Master System games to be played. A second model, the Master System Converter 2, was released only in Europe for use with the Mega Drive II.

Other peripherals were released to add functionality. The [[Menacer]] is a wireless, infrared [[light gun]] peripheral used with compatible games. Other third parties created light gun peripherals for the Genesis, such as the [[American Laser Games]] Pistol and the [[Konami]] Justifier. Released for art creation software, the Sega Mega Mouse features three buttons and is only compatible with a few games, such as ''[[Eye of the Beholder (video game)|Eye of the Beholder]]''. A foam-covered bat called the [[BatterUP]] and the TeeVGolf golf club were released for both the <!-- not region-specific --> Genesis and SNES.

[[File:Sega-Genesis-Power-Base-Converter.jpg|thumb|Sega Power Base Converter on a model 1 Genesis]]

In November 1993, Sega released the Sega Activator, an octagonal device that lies flat on the floor and translates the player's physical movements into game inputs. Several high-profile games, including ''Mortal Kombat'' and ''[[Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition]]'', were adapted to support the peripheral. The device was a commercial failure, due mainly to its inaccuracy and its high price point. [[IGN]] editor Craig Harris ranked the Sega Activator the third worst video game controller ever made.

Both EA and Sega released [[multitap]]s to allow more than the standard two players to play at once. Initially, EA's version, the 4 Way Play, and Sega's adapter, the Team Player, only supported each publisher's games. In response to complaints about this, Sega publicly stated, "We have been working hard to resolve this problem since we learned of it", and that a new Team Player which would work with all multitap games for the console would be released shortly. Later games were created to work on both the 4 Way Play and Team Player. [[Codemasters]] also developed the [[J-Cart]] system, providing two extra ports on the cartridge itself, although the technology came late in the console's life and is only featured on a few games. Sega planned to release a [[Racing wheel|steering wheel peripheral]] in 1994, and the Genesis version of ''[[Virtua Racing]]'' was advertised as being "steering wheel compatible," but the peripheral was cancelled.

===Network services===
[[File:Sega megamodem.jpg|thumb|Sega Mega Modem peripheral, which allowed access to the [[Sega Meganet]] service]]
In its first foray into [[Online console gaming|online gaming]], Sega created [[Sega Meganet]], which debuted in Japan on November 3, 1990. Operating through a cartridge and a peripheral called the "Mega [[Modem]]," this allowed Mega Drive players to play a total of seventeen games online. A North American version, dubbed "Tele-Genesis," was announced but never released. Another phone-based system, the Mega Anser, turned the Japanese Mega Drive into an online banking terminal.

In 1994, Sega started the [[Sega Channel]], a game distribution system using [[cable television]] services [[Time Warner Cable]] and [[Tele-Communications Inc.|TCI]]. Using a special peripheral, Genesis players could download a game from a library of fifty each month and demos for upcoming releases. Games were downloaded to internal memory and deleted when the console was powered off. The Sega Channel reached 250,000 subscribers at its peak and ran until July 31, 1998, well past the release of the Sega Saturn. However, the Sega Channel received most negative reviews.

In an effort to compete with Sega, third-party developer Catapult Entertainment created the [[XBAND]], a peripheral which allowed Genesis players to engage in online competitive gaming. Using telephone services to share data, XBAND was initially offered in five U.S. cities in November 1994. The following year, the service was extended to the SNES, and Catapult teamed up with [[Blockbuster Video]] to market the service, but as interest in the service waned, it was discontinued in April 1997.

===Sega Virtua Processor===
[[File:VirtuaRacing.png|thumb|right|The graphics produced by the Sega Virtua Processor are comparable to those of Nintendo's [[Super FX]] chip.]]
On the Super NES, companies could add [[List of Super NES enhancement chips|enhancement chips]] to cartridges to increase the console's capabilities and produce more advanced graphic; for example, the launch game ''[[Pilotwings]]'' contained a [[digital signal processor]]. Later, the [[Super FX]] chip was designed to offload complex rendering tasks from the main CPU. It was first used in ''[[Star Fox (video game)|Star Fox]]'', which renders 3D polygons in real time, and ''[[Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]'' demonstrates rotation, scaling, and stretching of individual sprites and manipulates large areas of the screen.

Sega began work on an enhancement chip to compete with the Super FX, resulting in the Sega Virtua Processor. This chip enables the <!-- not region-specific - follow article title -->Genesis to render polygons in real time and provides an "Axis Transformation" unit that handles scaling and rotation. ''[[Virtua Racing]]'', the only game released with this chip, runs at a significantly higher and more stable frame rate than similar games on the SNES. The chip was expensive to produce, and increased the cost of the games that used it. At {{currency|100|USD}}, ''Virtua Racing'' was the most expensive Genesis cartridge ever produced. Two other games, ''[[Virtua Fighter (arcade game)|Virtua Fighter]]'' and ''[[Daytona USA (arcade game)|Daytona USA]]'', were planned for the SVP chip, but were instead moved into the Saturn's launch line-up. There were plans to sell the SVP chip as a separate upgrade module for the Genesis, but this module was never released.

==Add-ons==
[[File:Sega-Genesis-Model-2-Monster-Bare.jpg|thumb|Genesis model 2 with a [[Sega CD|Sega CD 2]] and [[Sega 32X|32X]] add-ons attached]]
In addition to accessories such as the Power Base Converter, the Sega Genesis supports two add-ons that each support their own game libraries. The first is the Sega CD (known as the Mega-CD in all regions except for North America), a [[compact disc]]-based peripheral that can play its library of games in [[CD-ROM]] format. The second is the Sega 32X, a [[32-bit]] peripheral which uses ROM cartridges and serves as a pass-through for Genesis games. Sega produced a custom [[power strip]] to fit the peripherals' large [[AC adapter]]s. Both add-ons were officially discontinued in 1996.

===Sega CD===
By 1991, compact discs had gained in popularity as a [[data storage device]] for music and software. PCs and video game companies had started to make use of this technology. NEC had been the first to include CD technology in a game console with the release of the [[TurboGrafx-CD]] add-on, and Nintendo was making plans to develop [[Super NES CD-ROM|its own CD peripheral]] as well. Seeing the opportunity to gain an advantage over its rivals, Sega partnered with [[JVC]] to develop a CD-ROM add-on for the Genesis. Sega launched the Mega-CD in Japan on December 1, 1991, initially retailing at [[Japanese yen|JP¥]]49,800. The CD add-on was launched in North America on October 15, 1992, as the Sega CD, with a retail price of [[United States dollar|US$]]299; it was released in Europe as the Mega-CD in 1993. In addition to greatly expanding the potential size of its games, this add-on unit upgraded the graphics and sound capabilities by adding a second, more powerful processor, more system memory, and hardware-based [[scaling (geometry)|scaling]] and [[rotation]] similar to that found in Sega's arcade games. It provided battery-backed storage RAM to allow games to save high scores, configuration data, and game progress.

Shortly after its launch in North America, Sega began shipping the Sega CD with the pack-in game ''[[Sewer Shark]]'', a [[full motion video]] (FMV) game developed by [[Digital Pictures]], a company that became an important partner for Sega. Touting the benefits of the CD's comparatively vast storage space, Sega and its third-party developers produced [[List of Sega CD games|a number of games for the add-on]] that include digital video in their gameplay or as bonus content, as well as re-releasing several cartridge-based games with high-fidelity audio tracks. In 1993, Sega released the Sega CD 2, a smaller and lighter version of the add-on designed for the Genesis II, at a reduced price compared to the original. A limited number of games were later developed that use both the Sega CD and the [[Sega 32X]] add-ons.

The Mega-CD sold only 100,000 units during its first year in Japan, falling well below expectations. Although many consumers blamed the add-on's high launch price, it also suffered from a tiny software library; only two games were available at launch. This was due in part to the long delay before Sega made its software development kit available to third-party developers. Sales were more successful in North America and Europe, although the novelty of FMV and CD-enhanced games quickly wore off as many of the system's later games were met with lukewarm or negative reviews. In 1995, Sega announced a shift in focus to its new console, the Saturn, and discontinued all advertising for Genesis hardware, including the Sega CD. The add-on sold 2.24 million units worldwide.

===Sega 32X===
With the release of the Sega Saturn slated for 1995, Sega began to develop a [[Improvisation|stop-gap]] solution that would bridge the gap between the Genesis and the Saturn, and would serve as a less expensive entry into the [[History of video game consoles (fifth generation)|32-bit era]]. At the [[Consumer Electronics Show|Winter Consumer Electronics Show]] in January 1994, Sega of America [[research and development]] head Joe Miller took a phone call from Nakayama, in which Nakayama stressed the importance of coming up with a quick response to the [[Atari Jaguar]]. One potential idea for this came from a concept from Sega Enterprises, later known as "Project Jupiter," an entirely new independent console. Project Jupiter was initially slated to be a new version of the Genesis, with an upgraded color palette and a lower cost than the upcoming Saturn, as well as with some limited [[3D computer graphics|3D]] capabilities thanks to integration of ideas from the development of the Sega Virtua Processor chip. Miller suggested an alternative strategy, citing concerns with releasing a new console with no previous design specifications within six to nine months. At the suggestion from Miller and his team, Sega designed the 32X as a peripheral for the existing Genesis, expanding its power with two 32-bit [[SuperH]]-2 processors. The SH-2 had been developed in 1993 as a joint venture between Sega and Japanese electronics company [[Hitachi]]. At the end of the Consumer Electronics show, with the basic design of the 32X in place, Sega Enterprises invited Sega of America to assist in development of the new add-on.

Although the new unit was a stronger console than originally proposed, it was not compatible with Saturn games. Before the 32X could be launched, the release date of the Saturn was announced for November 1994 in Japan, coinciding with the 32X's target launch date in North America. Sega of America now was faced with trying to market the 32X with the Saturn's Japan release occurring simultaneously. Their answer was to call the 32X a "transitional device" between the Genesis and the Saturn. This was justified by Sega's statement that both platforms would run at the same time, and that the 32X would be aimed at players who could not afford the more expensive Saturn.

The 32X was released in November 1994, in time for the holiday season. Demand among retailers was high, and Sega could not keep up orders for the system. More than 1,000,000 orders had been placed for 32X units, but Sega had only managed to ship 600,000 units by January 1995. Launching at about the same price as a Genesis console, the price of the 32X was less than half of what the Saturn's price would be at launch. Notwithstanding the lower priced console's positioning as an inexpensive entry into 32-bit gaming, Sega had a difficult time convincing third-party developers to create games for the new system. After an early run on the peripheral, news soon spread to the public of the upcoming release of the Sega Saturn, which would not support the 32X's games. The Saturn was released on May 11, 1995, four months earlier than its originally intended release date of September 2, 1995. The Saturn, in turn, caused developers to further shy away from the console and created doubt about [[List of Sega 32X games|the library for the 32X]], even with Sega's assurances that there would be a large number of games developed for the system. In early 1996, Sega conceded that it had promised too much out of the 32X and decided to stop producing the system in order to focus on the Saturn. Prices for the 32X dropped to $99 and cleared out of stores at $19.95.

==Variations==
More than a dozen licensed variations of the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive have been released. In addition to models made by Sega, alternate models were made by other companies, such as [[Majesco Entertainment]], AtGames, [[JVC]], [[Pioneer Corporation]], [[Amstrad]], and [[Aiwa]]. A number of [[Counterfeit consumer goods|bootleg]] clones were created during its lifespan.

===First-party models{{anchor | #First-party variations}}===
{| class="wikitable" style="float:left; margin-right:1em;"
|-
| [[File:Sega-Genesis-Mod2-Bare.jpg|none|120px|Genesis II]]
| [[File:Sega-CDX-FL.jpg|none|120px|Sega CDX]]
|-
| style="width:120px;"| <center><small>Genesis<br>(second model)</small></center>
| style="width:120px;"| <center><small>Genesis CDX</small></center>
|-
| [[File:Sega-Nomad-Front.jpg|none|120px|Sega Genesis Nomad]]
| [[File:Teradrive-2007-05-19-front.jpg|none|120px|Sega TeraDrive]]
|-
| style="width:120px;"| <center><small>Genesis Nomad</small></center>
| style="width:120px;"| <center><small>TeraDrive</small></center>
|}
In 1993, Sega introduced a smaller, lighter version of the console, known as the '''Mega Drive 2''' in Japan, Europe, and Australia{{efn|Spelled as '''Mega Drive II''' (with a Roman numeral) in the PAL region.}} and simply sold as '''Genesis''' (without the Sega prefix) in North America. This version omits the headphone jack in the front, replaces the A/V-Out connector with a smaller version that supports stereo sound, and provides a simpler, less expensive [[mainboard]] that requires less power.

In April 1994, Sega released a combined, semi-portable Genesis/Sega CD unit called the Genesis CDX (marketed as the Multi-Mega in Europe). This unit retailed at $399.95 in the U.S. (roughly $100 more than the individual Genesis and Sega CD units put together, since the Sega CD dropped its price to $229 half a year before), and was bundled with ''[[Sonic CD]]'', ''[[Sega Classics Arcade Collection]]'', and the Sega CD version of ''[[Ecco the Dolphin]]''. The CDX features a small [[Liquid crystal display|LCD]] screen that, when the unit is used to play audio CDs, displays the current track being played. With this feature and the system's lightweight build (weighing two pounds), Sega marketed it in part as a [[portable CD player]]. While the Sega CD add-on received negative reviews, the CDX received most positive reviews, becoming the best-selling hybrid console of all time, due to requiring one power adapter.

In October 1995, Sega released a [[Handheld game console|handheld]] version of the Genesis called the [[Genesis Nomad]]. Its design was based on the Mega Jet, a Mega Drive portable unit featured on airplane flights in Japan. As the only successor to the [[Game Gear]], the Nomad operates on 6 [[AA battery|AA batteries]], displaying its graphics on a 3.25-inch (8.25-mm) LCD screen. The Nomad supports the entire Genesis library, but cannot be used with the Sega 32X, the Sega CD, or the Power Base Converter.

Exclusive to the Japanese market was the [[Sega TeraDrive|TeraDrive]], a Mega Drive combined with an [[IBM PC compatible]] computer. Sega also produced three [[List of Sega arcade system boards|arcade system boards]] based on the Mega Drive: the System C-2, the MegaTech, and the MegaPlay, which support approximately 80 games combined. {{clear}}

===Third-party models===
{| class="wikitable" style="float:left;margin-right:1em;"
|-
| [[File:Console-wondermega.jpg|none|90px|Wondermega]] || [[File:Victor-WonderMega-RG-M2-Console-Set.jpg|none|90px|Wondermega 2]] || [[File:MegaPC Front.jpg|none|90px|Amstrad Mega PC]]
|-
|width="90"| <center><small>Wondermega (JVC model)</small></center> ||width="90"| <center><small>Wondermega 2</small></center> ||width="90"| <center><small>Amstrad Mega PC</small></center>
|-
| [[File:Sega-Genesis-3-Console-FL.jpg|none|90px|Majesco's Sega Genesis 3]] || [[File:Sega-Firecore-Set.jpg|none|90px|AtGames's Sega Firecore]]|| [[File:Pioneer-LaserActive-Set-FL.jpg|none|90px|Pioneer LaserActive]]
|-
|width="90"| <center><small>Genesis 3</small></center> ||width="90"| <center><small>Firecore</small></center> ||width="90"| <center><small>LaserActive</small></center>
|}
Working with Sega Enterprises, JVC released the Wondermega on April 1, 1992, in Japan. The system was later redesigned by JVC and released as the X'Eye in North America in September 1994. Designed by JVC to be a Genesis and Sega CD combination with high quality audio, the Wondermega's high price ($500 at launch) kept it out of the hands of average consumers. The same was true of the [[Pioneer LaserActive]], which requires an add-on known as the Mega-LD pack, developed by Sega, in order to play Genesis and Sega CD games. Although the LaserActive was lined up to compete with the [[3DO Interactive Multiplayer]], the combined price of the system and the Mega-LD pack made it a prohibitively expensive option for Sega players. Aiwa released the CSD-GM1, a combination Genesis/Sega CD unit built into a [[boombox]]. Several companies added the Mega Drive to personal computers, mimicking the design of Sega's TeraDrive; these include the [[MSX]] models AX-330 and AX-990, distributed in [[Kuwait]] and [[Yemen]], and the [[Amstrad Mega PC]], distributed in Europe and Australia.

After the Genesis was discontinued, Majesco Entertainment released the Genesis 3 as a budget version in 1998. In 2009, AtGames began producing two new variations: the Firecore, which can play original Genesis cartridges as well as preloaded games, and a handheld console preloaded with 20 Genesis games. Companies such as [[Radica Games]] have released various compilations of Genesis and Mega Drive games in "[[Handheld TV game|plug-and-play]]" packages resembling the system's controller. {{clear}}

===Re-releases and emulation===
A number of Genesis and Mega Drive [[Video game console emulator|emulator]]s have been produced, including GenEM, KGen, Genecyst, VGen, St0rm, and Gens. The [[GameTap]] subscription gaming service included a Sega Genesis emulator and had several dozen licensed Genesis games in its catalog. The Console Classix subscription gaming service includes an emulator and has several hundred Sega Genesis games in its catalog.

Compilations of Sega Genesis games have been released for other consoles. These include ''[[Sonic Mega Collection]]'' and ''[[Sonic Gems Collection]]'' for [[PlayStation 2|PS2]], [[Xbox]], and [[Nintendo GameCube]]; ''[[Sega Genesis Collection]]'' for PS2 and [[PlayStation Portable|PSP]], and ''[[Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection]]'' (known as the ''Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection'' in PAL territories) for [[PlayStation 3]] and [[Xbox 360]].

During his keynote speech at the 2006 [[Game Developers Conference]], Nintendo president [[Satoru Iwata]] announced that Sega would make a number of Genesis/Mega Drive games available to download on the [[Wii]]'s [[Virtual Console]]. There are select Sega Genesis games available on the Xbox 360 through [[Xbox Live Arcade]], such as ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' and ''Sonic 2'', as well as games available via the [[PlayStation Network]] and [[Steam (software)|Steam]].

[[Category:Sega consoles]]