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Sega Game Gear: Handheld Games, Master System, Megadrive And Nintendo Gameboy
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Published: March 15, 2007
In the early 1990s there was a rivalry in the video game industry. Japanese companies Sega and Nintendo were both producing video game systems that regularly competed with each other for the public's interest and money. Once the handheld game console Nintendo Game Boy came out in 1989, Sega swiftly responded by releasing their own handheld game console. The Sega Game Gear had features that were much better than that of the Game Boy, but did it win the battle?
The Sega Game Gear came out in Japan in 1990, in North America and Europe in 1991, and Australia in 1992. The portable system featured games that were previously released for the Sega Master System. The Master System was much like Nintendo's NES, both having 8-bit graphics. Those graphics then translated to the Sega Game Gear.
Although the Sega Game Gear had a color screen, as opposed to Nintendo Game Boy's black and white screen, it still wasn't easy for it to achieve success. The Sega Game Gear debuted at $149.99 , while the Game Boy came out at $89.99. This large price difference swayed a lot of people away from buying the Game Gear.
There are other things that the Sega Game Gear had to offer that the Game Boy lacked. Besides the screen being colored, the Game Gear also had a backlit screen. This means that the screen lit up, much like a television. This wasn't the case for the Game Boy, which needed to be played in a well lit room in order to see the screen. The Sega Game Gear also had stereo sounds and an ergonomic holding scheme, both of which the Game Boy lacked.
Even though the Game Gear was better in many ways, it still lost the battle with the Game Boy. Sega Game Gear just never seemed to gain popularity in Japan, which was the main gaming market at the time. One major drawback to the Game Gear was its very poor battery life. It required six AA batteries that then only lasted five hours.
The technology of the backlit and color screen, although great, ended up sapping the batteries of their energy. This was a major problem that many gamers took issue with. In the end, the Sega Game Gear fell out of favor and the less technically capable Nintendo Game Boy won the race.
Although Nintendo blatantly beat out Sega in the way of handheld game consoles, there was still fight left in Sega. The Sega Mega Drive, otherwise known as the Sega Genesis, was Sega's answer to Nintendo's Super Nintendo. The Sega Mega Drive put up much more of a fight than the Sega Game Gear, coming out with scores of 16-bit quality games.
Even though the Sega Game Gear failed as a system, it still had great games. Coleco came out with a redesign of the Game Gear in late 2006. The Coleco Sonic Handheld is pre-filled with twenty popular Game Gear games and doesn't require cartridges. They offer great games such as Altered Beast, Columns, and Fantasy Zone. Coleco improved on the Sega Game Gears previous problems. It's smaller and has a better screen and battery life. The Coleco Sonic Handheld also came out at the great price of $49.99, one hundred dollars cheaper that the original.
The Sega Game Gear had great games that were previous hits of the Sega Master System. Although it didn't succeed as well as the Nintendo Game Boy, it still left a great mark on video game history.
Sources:
"Sega Game Gear." Wikipedia. 8 Mar. 2007. 14 Mar. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Game_Gea> .r
"Sega Master System." Wikipedia. 8 Mar. 2007. 14 Mar. 2007
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Master_Sys tem>.
Game Gear. Midnight Sun Entertainment Group, Inc. 2004. 14 Mar. 2007
<http://gameconsoles.com/gamegearhome.htm> .
Ransom-Wiley, James. "Coleco Tiptoes Back with Sega-Filled Handheld." Joystiq. 26 Oct. 2006. Weblogs, Inc. 14 Mar. 2007
<http://www.joystiq.com/2006/10/26/coleco-tip toes-back-with-sega-filled-handheld/>.
The Sega Game Gear came out in Japan in 1990, in North America and Europe in 1991, and Australia in 1992. The portable system featured games that were previously released for the Sega Master System. The Master System was much like Nintendo's NES, both having 8-bit graphics. Those graphics then translated to the Sega Game Gear.
Although the Sega Game Gear had a color screen, as opposed to Nintendo Game Boy's black and white screen, it still wasn't easy for it to achieve success. The Sega Game Gear debuted at $149.99 , while the Game Boy came out at $89.99. This large price difference swayed a lot of people away from buying the Game Gear.
There are other things that the Sega Game Gear had to offer that the Game Boy lacked. Besides the screen being colored, the Game Gear also had a backlit screen. This means that the screen lit up, much like a television. This wasn't the case for the Game Boy, which needed to be played in a well lit room in order to see the screen. The Sega Game Gear also had stereo sounds and an ergonomic holding scheme, both of which the Game Boy lacked.
Even though the Game Gear was better in many ways, it still lost the battle with the Game Boy. Sega Game Gear just never seemed to gain popularity in Japan, which was the main gaming market at the time. One major drawback to the Game Gear was its very poor battery life. It required six AA batteries that then only lasted five hours.
The technology of the backlit and color screen, although great, ended up sapping the batteries of their energy. This was a major problem that many gamers took issue with. In the end, the Sega Game Gear fell out of favor and the less technically capable Nintendo Game Boy won the race.
Although Nintendo blatantly beat out Sega in the way of handheld game consoles, there was still fight left in Sega. The Sega Mega Drive, otherwise known as the Sega Genesis, was Sega's answer to Nintendo's Super Nintendo. The Sega Mega Drive put up much more of a fight than the Sega Game Gear, coming out with scores of 16-bit quality games.
Even though the Sega Game Gear failed as a system, it still had great games. Coleco came out with a redesign of the Game Gear in late 2006. The Coleco Sonic Handheld is pre-filled with twenty popular Game Gear games and doesn't require cartridges. They offer great games such as Altered Beast, Columns, and Fantasy Zone. Coleco improved on the Sega Game Gears previous problems. It's smaller and has a better screen and battery life. The Coleco Sonic Handheld also came out at the great price of $49.99, one hundred dollars cheaper that the original.
The Sega Game Gear had great games that were previous hits of the Sega Master System. Although it didn't succeed as well as the Nintendo Game Boy, it still left a great mark on video game history.
Sources:
"Sega Game Gear." Wikipedia. 8 Mar. 2007. 14 Mar. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Game_Gea> .r
"Sega Master System." Wikipedia. 8 Mar. 2007. 14 Mar. 2007
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Master_Sys tem>.
Game Gear. Midnight Sun Entertainment Group, Inc. 2004. 14 Mar. 2007
<http://gameconsoles.com/gamegearhome.htm> .
Ransom-Wiley, James. "Coleco Tiptoes Back with Sega-Filled Handheld." Joystiq. 26 Oct. 2006. Weblogs, Inc. 14 Mar. 2007
<http://www.joystiq.com/2006/10/26/coleco-tip toes-back-with-sega-filled-handheld/>.
