Sega Mega Drive Black Console (NTSC)

I'm actually a kid reviewing this, so you kind of have to look at this from a kid's point of view. Specifically, an eleven year-old. Anyhow, the Sega Genesis (Known as the Sega Mega Drive overseas) is a video game console that was released in 1989 in the North American market. It was created to compete against the Super Nintendo, but it also competed against other systems of it's time, such as the Atari XE, and, I guess, also the Game Boy if you want to include that. Now, what exactly makes the Genesis still fun today? Is it the massive library of games? How about the many different personalities (I'll never forget the manly humor in Earthworm Jim or the stubbornness of Sonic the Hedgehog.) ALL of the above and more! This system gave you lots of bang for your buck, because it was expensive. $100? 200? 300? No. 400. But there's actually 2 different models of the Sega Genesis. There's the Normal version, and then there's the High Definition Graphics model. The HD model was actually something that the Super Nintendo didn't have. Also, the doubts among the fans and Sega's campaign came down to one simple fact: The Genesis was 16-bit, and the better selling NES was only 8. But what are bits? Each bit does something special: 1. It improves the graphics. 2. It adds more memory. 3. It enables certain other things, such as save states. The extra 8 bits alone in the system caused Nintendo's share of the market to drop like a damn rock. Let me explain a bit. Originally, Nintendo's share of the market was 90%. But when the Genesis (Armed with it's ever lovable Sonic the Hedgehog) fell into place, Nintendo's share of the market fell to just 35%, a drop of 55%. Eventually Nintendo realized that they finally had an archenemy in town and fired back at Sega with the Super Nintendo, but that's another story altogether. So, is it worth buying? Most definitely. In fact, I don't know an old-school gamer who doesn't have a Sega Genesis, let alone a Super Nintendo as well. So, if you see it complete with everything and in the box, and it's under $350, do yourself a favor and pick it up! It will make your gaming life a whole lot more interesting.

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The model 1 High Def version is the best of all three models of the Genesis in my opinion. It has stereo sound and is well built and sturdy. The later models (2 and 3) were built with economy in mind making those consoles of lesser quality that the model 1. The Model 1 is compatible with the Sega CD and Sega 32X attachments also. Overall great product, hours of fun ahead of you!

Great console, sadly did not win the 16 bit wars of the 90's, but it certainly produced some great games. You can pick one up for so cheap now a days that there is no reason not to have one and experience some quality retro games.