In 2014, USgamer's Jeremy Parish wrote, "If the Atari generation introduced video games as a short-lived '70s fad... and the NES generation established it into an enduring obsession for the young, Sega's Genesis began pushing the medium toward something resembling its contemporary form", expounding that the system served as "the key incubator for modern sports franchises", made "consoles truly international" by providing Western third-parties previously put at a disadvantage by Nintendo's restrictive licensing policies with a more profitable alternative, created "an online subscription service" that foreshadowed " PlayStation Plus more than 15 years early" with the Sega Channel, and "played a key role in ensuring the vitality and future of the games industry by breaking Nintendo's near-monopolistic hold on the U.S. and awakening the U.K. to the merits of television gaming". [213] a b Kennedy, Sam. "The Essential 50 Part 28 – Sonic the Hedgehog from 1UP.com". 1UP.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 14, 2016 . Retrieved December 11, 2016. Damien McFerran. "Retroinspection: Mega-CD". Retro Gamer. Vol.61. London, UK: Imagine Publishing. p.84. During the run-up to the Western launch of Mega-CD... [Former Sega of America technical director Scot Bayless] mentioned the fact that you could just 'blast data into the DACs'. [The PR guys] loved the word 'blast' and the next thing I knew 'Blast Processing' was born." Schilling, Melissa A. (2006). Strategic management of technological innovation. Indiana University: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. p.292. ISBN 978-0-07-321058-2. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016.

The standard controller features a rounded shape, a directional pad, three main buttons, and a START button. In 1993, Sega released a slightly smaller pad with three additional face buttons, similar to the design of buttons on some popular arcade fighting games such as Street Fighter II. Sega also released a wireless revision of the six-button controller, the Remote Arcade Pad. [126]

Come back when you're older

Kent, Steven L. (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. Roseville, California: Prima Publishing. p.405. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4. Not considered by many users as the best of the Mega Drives, it has always been much cheaper to source on the second hand market as a result.

Exists on all first-model Japanese Mega Drive units, and on early American Genesis and PAL (European, Australasian and Asian) Mega Drive unitsa b "Megadrive – Official at Last". Computer and Video Games. No.106. United Kingdom: Future Publishing. September 1990. p.13. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016. McFerran, Damien (May 9, 2023). "This Mega Drive Dungeon Crawler Was Made In Just Four Weeks". Time Extension. Hookshot Media . Retrieved May 9, 2023. There is an extremely rare version of the console called the Mega Jet, which was originally available only for rent by JAL passengers, but later sold in small quantities.

In Japan, the Mega Drive fared poorly against its two main competitors, Nintendo's Super Famicom and NEC's PC Engine, but it achieved considerable success in North America, Brazil, and Europe. Contributing to its success was its library of arcade game ports, the popularity of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series, several popular sports franchises, and aggressive youth marketing that positioned it as the cool console for adolescents. The 1991 North American release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System triggered a fierce battle for market share in the United States and Europe known as the " console war". [4] [5] This drew attention to the video game industry, and the Genesis and several of its games attracted legal scrutiny on matters involving reverse engineering and video game violence. Controversy surrounding violent games such as Night Trap and Mortal Kombat led Sega to create the Videogame Rating Council, a predecessor to the Entertainment Software Rating Board. Court: Copying Sega's Code Ok an Appeals Court Ruling Protects The Practice of 'Reverse Engineering.' ". San Jose Mercury News. Associated Press. September 1, 1992 – via NewsBank. Langberg, Mike (May 1, 1993). "Accolade, Sega Settle 'Reverse Engineering' Case Out of Court". San Jose Mercury News . Retrieved June 20, 2013– via NewsBank. Majesco Sales – Overview". AllGame. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013 . Retrieved October 5, 2013. a b Graham, Lawrence D. (1999). Legal Battles That Shaped the Computer Industry. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 112–118. ISBN 1-56720-178-4.

Composite

Buffa, Chris (March 5, 2008). "Top 10 Greatest Consoles". GameDaily. Archived from the original on March 9, 2008 . Retrieved October 24, 2010.

DF Developers: Brand New Mega Drive/Genesis Games With Bitmap Bureau and Big Evil Corp [Sponsored]. YouTube: Digital Foundry. October 25, 2020. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020 . Retrieved November 21, 2020. Both the original Mega Drive and the Mega Drive II could be connected to a Mega CD and 32X add-ons. The Mega CD was remodelled at the same time to better fit the design of the Mega Drive II. It had a proper cradle for the MD II to sit side by side. a b Buchanan, Levi (October 24, 2008). "32X Follies". IGN. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016 . Retrieved May 25, 2013.a b c d e f g h i j k l "Software List (Released by Sega)". セガ 製品情報サイト (in Japanese). Sega . Retrieved May 15, 2023. The Genesis, also known as the Mega Drive [b] outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan as the Mega Drive, and in 1989 in North America as the Genesis. In 1990, it was distributed as the Mega Drive by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe, Ozisoft in Australasia, and Tectoy in Brazil. In South Korea, it was distributed by Samsung Electronics as the Super Gam*Boy and later the Super Aladdin Boy. [c]