 | |
 | |
| Manufacturer | Sega |
|---|---|
| Type | Handheld game console |
| Generation | Fourth |
| Release date | |
| Introductory price | ¥19,800 (equivalent to ¥22,000 in 2019) US$149.99 (equivalent to $340 in 2023)[2] £99.99 (equivalent to £270 in 2023) |
| Discontinued |
|
| Units sold | 10.62 million |
| Media | ROM cartridge |
| CPU | Zilog Z80 @ 3.5 MHz |
| Memory | 8 KB RAM, 16 KB VRAM |
| Display | 3.2 in (81 mm) backlit LCD, 160 × 144 px |
| Graphics | 4,096-color palette, 32 colors on-screen |
| Sound |
|
| Power | 6 × AA batteries (3 to 5 hours) |
| Dimensions | 210 × 113 × 38 mm (8.3 × 4.4 × 1.5 in) |
| Best-selling game | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (400,000)[4] |
| Successor | Genesis Nomad |
The Game Gear[a] is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily competed with Nintendo's Game Boy, the Atari Lynx, and NEC's TurboExpress. It shares much of its hardware with the Master System, and can play Master System games through the use of an adapter.
Although the Game Gear was rushed to market, it still went on more than a year after the Game Boy. Sega positioned the device, which had a full-color backlit screen with a landscape format and a more powerful Z80 CPU, as a technologically superior handheld to the Game Boy. Ultimately, it's unique game library and price point gave it an edge over the Atari Lynx and TurboExpress, but it's short battery life and large size (due to its screen), lack of original games, and weak support from Sega left the Game Gear unable to surpass the Game Boy, selling 10.62 million units by March 1996.
The Game Gear was discontinued in 1997. It was re-released as a budget system by Majesco Entertainment between 2000 and 2002, under license from Sega.
- ^ "The Next Generation 1996 Lexicon A to Z: Game Gear". Next Generation. No. 15. Imagine Media. March 1996. p. 34.
- ^ "The Real Cost of Gaming: Inflation, Time, and Purchasing Power". October 15, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
- ^ "Game Gear - Hardware". SMS Power. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
- ^ Guinness World Records 2016 Gamer's Edition. Jim Pattison Group. 2015. p. 149. ISBN 978-1910561096.
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