Sega Genesis

There's a New Kid in Town

The Sega Genesis beat Nintendo to the punch insofar that it was one of the first 16-bit machines on the market. In this way, it initially competed head to head against the NES, and as such, had far superior graphics and sound compared to its 8-bit counterpart from Nintendo. However, things really got heated when the SNES came onto the scene, setting into motion what has now become the video game console wars. Nintendo could no longer just sit back and own over 90% of the market; Sega wanted a big piece of that pie.

When Sonic the Hedgehog hit shelves in 1991, Sega abandoned its old mascot -- Alex Kidd -- in favour of a new blue friend. He quickly became the flagship character for Sega. An ad campaign showing a turtle-paced Mario in comparison to the ultra fast Sonic was one of the first direct hits that Nintendo suffered.

The Hardware and Controllers

Unlike the boxy grey Super Nintendo, the Sega Genesis was a sleek package wrapped in glossy black. The same look was also found on the controllers, which were originally offered with a single directional pad and three face buttons (A, B, and C). This was one more face button than that found on the NES. Later on, three additional face buttons were put on the new controllers, bringing the total to six, perhaps to compete with the six buttons found on the SNES controllers. By not having any shoulder buttons, many fighting game enthusiasts found that playing Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat games were easier on the Genesis than on the Super Nintendo.

Shifting the Focus

Nintendo has always had a family-oriented focus, and competitors to this day have marketed against the big N by releasing games targetted at an older audience. Arguably, the Sega Genesis was the first machine to take this approach. Several of the titles found on the Genesis, such as Altered Beast, were either more complex, more graphic, or more "violent" than those found on the Super Nintendo. A prime example of this would be when Mortal Kombat hit the market. Whereas the Super Nintendo version eliminated the blood, and took out the most gruesome fatalities, the rendition found on the Sega Genesis included the blood and fatalities in all their head-ripping glory.

The Games

The Sega Genesis established Sonic the Hedgehog as a household name. In fact, Sonic even had his own Saturday morning cartoon on ABC. A little known fact is that Sonic was voiced by Jaleel White, better known as Steve Urkel from Family Matters. Other notable names found during the Genesis' run were Toejam and Earl, Ecco the Dolphin, Tails, and Knuckles. Here is a list of some of the most popular games found on the Sega Genesis:

• Altered Beast
• Ecco the Dolphin
• Fatal Fury
• Golden Axe
• Klax
• Lemmings
• Phantasy Star IV
• Populous
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Streets of Rage
• Toe Jam & Earl