Back Mega Drive AN ميجا درايف Arabic سيجا جينسيس ARZ Mega Drive AST Sega Mega Drive Byelorussian Sega Mega Drive Bulgarian Mega Drive Breton Sega Mega Drive Catalan سێگا جێنیسیس CKB Mega Drive Czech
  Top: Original Japanese Mega Drive Bottom: Genesis Model 2 Other variations are pictured under Variations below | |
| Manufacturer | Sega |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Fourth generation |
| Release date | |
| Lifespan |
|
| Discontinued |
|
| Units sold |
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| Media | ROM cartridge |
| CPU |
|
| Display | |
| Sound | |
| Online services | Sega Meganet Sega Channel XBAND |
| Best-selling game | Sonic the Hedgehog (15 million)[1] |
| Backward compatibility | Master System[a] |
| Predecessor | Master System[b] |
| Successor | Sega Saturn |
The Sega Mega Drive (メガドライブ, Mega Doraibu), called the Sega Genesis, in North America is a 16-bit video game console made by Sega. It is Sega's third video game console. Sega released it as the Mega Drive in Japan in 1988. In 1989, they released it in North America as the Genesis.
In Japan, the Mega Drive sold poorly against its two main competitors, Nintendo's Super Famicom and NEC's PC Engine. However, it sold well in North America, Brazil, and Europe. Some of the reasons it sold well is because it had many arcade game ports, Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series, several popular sports franchises, and an aggressive youth marketing that made the system seem like the cool console for teens. Controversy about violent games such as Night Trap and Mortal Kombat led Sega creating the Videogame Rating Council. It was a predecessor to the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).
30.75 million first-party Mega Drive/Genesis consoles were sold around the world. By the mid-2010s, third-party Mega Drive/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 Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Steam. The Genesis was succeeded in 1994 by the Sega Saturn.
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog GameTap Retrospective Pt. 3/4. GameTap. February 17, 2009. Event occurs at 1:25. Archived from the original on July 21, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2011. cf. "Review: Sonic Jam". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 22. August 1997. p. 68.
The original Megadrive game sold over 14 million copies.
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