Graphics
320×224
- Resolutions
- 320×224 · 256×224 · 320×240 · 256×240 · 320×448 · 256×448 · 320×480 · 256×480
- Colors on screen
- 61
- Palette
- 512 colors
- Sprites
- 80
Sega Genesis / Mega Drive
Also known as Mega Drive · Genesis · Super Gam*Boy · Super Aladdin Boy
- Sega
- Home console
- Fourth generation
990 Sega Genesis / Mega Drive games, all playable free in your browser.
Sega's third home console went on sale in Japan as the Mega Drive in October 1988 and reached North America as the Genesis in 1989, followed in 1990 by releases in Europe, Brazil, Australasia and South Korea. Its design was adapted from Sega's System 16 arcade board: a Motorola 68000 runs the games while a Zilog Z80 handles sound and provides compatibility with the Master System.
- First released · Japan
- 1988
- Units sold
- 30.8M
- CPU
- 16-bit
- Games in the library · all playable
- 990
TIMELINE
1988–1997
- JPJapan
- NANorth America
- AUAustralia
- KRSouth Korea
- BRBrazil
- EUEurope
- ENDDiscontinued
Games per release year
| Year | Games |
|---|---|
| 1988 | 3 |
| 1989 | 15 |
| 1990 | 59 |
| 1991 | 114 |
| 1992 | 135 |
| 1993 | 172 |
| 1994 | 191 |
| 1995 | 99 |
| 1996 | 33 |
| 1997 | 11 |
| 1998 | 2 |
| 2000 | 1 |
| 2010 | 2 |
| 2015 | 2 |
- 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
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
7.67MHz
- CPU
- Motorola 68000
- Core
- Motorola 68000 (16/32-bit)
- Word size
- 16-bit
- Zilog Z80 — sound CPU and Master System compatibility · 3.58 MHz
- Yamaha YM7101 VDP — video display processor
7.67 MHz (NTSC) / 7.60 MHz (PAL)
Memory
64KB
- Main RAM
- 64 KB
- Video RAM
- 64 KB
- Audio RAM (Z80)
- 8 KB
Sound
10channels
- Chip
- Yamaha YM2612 + Texas Instruments SN76489
6-channel FM synthesis (one channel can play 8-bit PCM) plus 3 square-wave tone channels and 1 noise channel; stereo
Sales
30.8million
- Scope
- Worldwide (Sega)
- Best-selling game
- Sonic the Hedgehog · 15 million
Below: Atari 2600 30 million · Above: N64 32.9 million
Media
Cartridge
Launch price
¥21,000
- Japan
- ¥21,000
- North America
- $189
- Europe
- £189.99
Family line
- Before
- Sega Master System
- This system
- Sega Genesis / Mega Drive
- After
- Sega Saturn
THE STORY
About the Genesis
The console trailed the Super Famicom and PC Engine in Japan but sold strongly in North America, Europe, Brazil and Australia, supported by arcade conversions, sports franchises and the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Its rivalry with the Super NES became known as the console war. Sega extended the hardware with the Sega CD and 32X add-ons and ran online and download services such as Sega Meganet and Sega Channel.
Sega sold 30.75 million units before ending its own production in 1997. Majesco later re-released the console in North America, and Tectoy has continued to sell licensed versions in Brazil.
- Displays up to 61 colors at once from a palette of 512.
- The Yamaha YM2612 sound chip provides six concurrent FM synthesis channels.
- Up to 80 sprites on screen, 20 per line in 320-pixel mode.
- Virtua Racing (1994) is the only Genesis cartridge with an enhancement chip, the Sega Virtua Processor.
- Sonic the Hedgehog replaced Altered Beast as the pack-in game in 1991.
- The Sega Channel cable service, launched in 1994, reached 250,000 subscribers at its peak.
THE LIBRARY
990 Genesis games on Back2OldGames
990
games, all playable right in your browser
Release years 1988–2015
<p class="lib-span">268 developers</p>Genres
Top developers
Players
463 games with a known number of players.
Regions
THE GAMES
The Genesis library
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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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