Graphics
160×144
- Colors on screen
- 32
- Palette
- 4,096 colors
- Sprites
- 64
- Screen
- 3.2″ backlit color LCD
Sega Game Gear
Also known as Game Gear
- Sega
- Handheld
- Fourth generation
306 Sega Game Gear games, all playable free in your browser.
The Game Gear was Sega's first handheld console. Developed under the codename Project Mercury, it went on sale in Japan on October 6, 1990, in North America and Europe in April 1991 and in Australia in 1992. Its hardware is largely derived from the Master System, so games from that console were easy to convert and could also be played through the Master Gear adapter.
- First released · Japan
- 1990
- Units sold
- 14M
- CPU
- 8-bit
- Games in the library · all playable
- 306
TIMELINE
1990–1997
- JPJapan
- NANorth America
- EUEurope
- AUAustralia
- ENDDiscontinued
Games per release year
| Year | Games |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 3 |
| 1991 | 37 |
| 1992 | 38 |
| 1993 | 66 |
| 1994 | 86 |
| 1995 | 56 |
| 1996 | 15 |
| 1997 | 1 |
| 2006 | 1 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2020 | 1 |
- PCE CDPC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD: Dec 4, 1988 – end not recorded
- Game BoyGame Boy: Apr 21, 1989 – Mar 31, 2003
- LynxAtari Lynx: Sep 1, 1989 – 1995
- Neo GeoNeo Geo: Apr 16, 1990 – 2004
- Game GearSega Game Gear: Oct 6, 1990 – Apr 30, 1997
- SNESSuper Nintendo: Nov 21, 1990 – Sep 25, 2003
- Sega CDSega CD / Mega-CD: Dec 12, 1991 – 1996
- CPS-2Capcom CPS-2: Sep 10, 1993 – Dec 22, 2003
- Neo Geo CDNeo Geo CD: Sep 9, 1994 – 1997
All 36 systems
- Atari 2600Atari 2600: Sep 1977 – 1992
- SpectrumZX Spectrum: Apr 23, 1982 – 1992
- ColecoColecoVision: Aug 1982 – 1985
- Atari 5200Atari 5200: Oct 1982 – May 21, 1984
- VectrexVectrex: Oct 1982 – Feb 1984
- NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
- SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
- MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
- Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
- Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
- Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
- PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
- CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
- GenesisSega Genesis / Mega Drive: Oct 29, 1988 – 1997
- PCE CDPC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD: Dec 4, 1988 – end not recorded
- Game BoyGame Boy: Apr 21, 1989 – Mar 31, 2003
- LynxAtari Lynx: Sep 1, 1989 – 1995
- Neo GeoNeo Geo: Apr 16, 1990 – 2004
- Game GearSega Game Gear: Oct 6, 1990 – Apr 30, 1997
- SNESSuper Nintendo: Nov 21, 1990 – Sep 25, 2003
- Sega CDSega CD / Mega-CD: Dec 12, 1991 – 1996
- CPS-2Capcom CPS-2: Sep 10, 1993 – Dec 22, 2003
- Neo Geo CDNeo Geo CD: Sep 9, 1994 – 1997
- 32XSega 32X: Nov 1994 – 1996
- PS1PlayStation: Dec 3, 1994 – Mar 23, 2006
- N64Nintendo 64: Jun 23, 1996 – 2002
- CPS-3Capcom CPS-3: Nov 21, 1996 – end not recorded
- NAOMISega NAOMI: 1998 – end not recorded
- GBCGame Boy Color: Oct 21, 1998 – Mar 31, 2003
- NGPCNeo Geo Pocket Color: Mar 19, 1999 – Oct 30, 2001
- PS2PlayStation 2: Mar 4, 2000 – Jan 4, 2013
- WonderSwanWonderSwan Color: Dec 9, 2000 – 2003
- GBAGame Boy Advance: Mar 21, 2001 – 2010
- OpenBOROpenBOR: 2004 – today
- TIC-80TIC-80: Mar 22, 2017 – today
A bar that fades out means the end date is unknown. Fantasy consoles and game engines are still available.
UNDER THE HOOD
Technical specifications
Processor
3.58MHz
- CPU
- Zilog Z80
- Core
- Zilog Z80
- Word size
- 8-bit
Below: Spectrum 3.5 MHz · Above: Amstrad CPC 4 MHz
Memory
8KB
- Main RAM
- 8 KB
- Video RAM
- 16 KB
Below: Atari 7800 4 KB · Above: NGPC 12 KB
Sound
4channels
- Chip
- Texas Instruments SN76489
3 tone channels and 1 noise channel; mono speaker, stereo through headphones
Sales
14million
- Scope
- Worldwide (as of 1998)
- Best-selling game
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 · 400,000
Below: Master System 13 million · Above: Atari 2600 30 million
Media
Cartridge
Launch price
¥19,800
- Japan
- ¥19,800
- North America
- $149.99
- Europe
- £99.99
Power
5h
- Batteries
- 6 × AA (3 to 5 hours)
- Battery life
- about 5 hours
Family line
- This system
- Sega Game Gear
- After
- Genesis Nomad
THE STORY
About the Game Gear
The backlit color screen distinguished it from the monochrome Game Boy, and Sega marketed it as the more grown-up alternative. The trade-off was battery life: six AA batteries lasted roughly three to five hours, a frequent point of criticism. Accessories included a TV Tuner that turned the unit into a portable television, and the library grew to more than 300 games.
About 14 million units were sold. Sega ended support in 1997 after releasing the Genesis Nomad, and Majesco sold a licensed budget re-release from 2000 to 2002.
- A 3.2-inch backlit color LCD shows 32 colors at once from a 4,096-color palette.
- Up to 64 sprites on screen.
- More than 300 games were released, many of them Master System conversions.
- In Japan it sold 40,000 units in its first two days.
- 10.62 million units had been sold by March 1996, 1.78 million of them in Japan.
- By December 1992 it held 40% of the United Kingdom's handheld market.
THE LIBRARY
306 Game Gear games on Back2OldGames
306
games, all playable right in your browser
Release years 1990–2020
<p class="lib-span">119 developers</p>Genres
Top developers
Players
130 games with a known number of players.
Regions
THE GAMES
The Game Gear library
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Game Gear ARCHIVETITLE · CREATOR · PUBLISHER
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Sources
Specifications and history from the sources below (Wikipedia text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; facts summarized in our own words). Library numbers come from the Back2OldGames catalog.
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