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Lemmings Game Gear

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Game Gear Mega Man - Box - Front (North America) - You Tube

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Here's an obscure MegaMan game that many people don't know about. It was released at the end of the Game Gear's life (North America only)

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Ristar Game Gear

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Game Gear Star Wars - Box - Front (Europe)

Star Wars Game Gear

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Game Gear The Chessmaster - Box - Front (Europe) - You Tube

The Chessmaster Game Gear

Games inspired by this game also appeared, such as Game Gear, a game called The Chessmaster, programmed by NovaLogic, published and published by Sega, released in

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Sega Game Gear Ultimate Collection

The Sega Game Gear, released in 1998 in North America and 1999 in Japan, was the third handheld console manufactured by Sega. He competed with the game boy of Nintendo and the PlayStation of Sony in the portable console market. It cost $129.96 when it debuted and had a smaller screen than its two main competitors.

Despite this, players remained enthusiastic about the console due to the large number of games it offered during its useful life. Newcomers to the world of retro gaming may not know much about this console, but if you're reading this, chances are you like retro gaming, and you know it! Here's everything you need to know about the history of the Sega Game Gear?

What is the Sega Game Gear?

The console also had an exclusive feature that allowed players to play in color. It also had a light that allowed the screen to be seen in a dark room, and included a radio receiver that allowed the radio to be heard through the console. For those who wanted to listen to music through their Game Gear, a CD-ROM drive was also included. However, the console had some flaws. It was not as powerful as its competitors and had a smaller game library than other consoles.

The history of the Sega Game Gear

When it was first announced in March 1995, it was announced as a "high-capacity new portable system" that would be "the ultimate companion for gamers and Pokémon fans alike." The announcement came just three months after the launch of the Nintendo Game Boy, which was one of the first portable video game consoles to hit the market.

At first, Nintendo had the upper hand, as the Game Boy was cheaper and more popular, and sold better than the Game Gear. However, the Game Gear would end up surpassing its competitor and become the third best-selling portable console of all time. When the Game Gear went on sale in Japan, it was a hit there as well.

The birth of the Game Gear

When the Game Gear was first announced in March 1995, it was as a "high-capacity new portable system" that would be "the ultimate companion for gamers and Pokémon fans alike." The announcement came just three months after the launch of the Nintendo Game Boy, which was one of the first portable video game consoles to hit the market.

It was advertised as having "15 times more memory than its predecessor and more than twice the available gaming space." It also had longer battery life, higher resolution graphics, and was compatible with the Game Boy's software library. However, it was not a launch pad for Pokémon, instead it was announced for release in the summer of 1996, which was delayed several times.

It was also not a success, and Sega discontinued production of the console in April 1997, after selling only 10.32 million units worldwide. Most were sold in Japan, where it went on sale in November 1995, and only 1.23 million in North America and Europe. In North America, inventory was so tight that some units of the Game Gear were resold for prices as high as $3,000.

A game console for Pokémon hunters

In 1997, the future looked bright for the Game Gear. The Nintendo Game Boy Color went on sale, which brought color to the portable market, and Sony launched the PlayStation, a more powerful console than the Game Gear. Despite these setbacks, the Game Gear was making a comeback in North America. At this time, the first Pokémon games were very popular, but by the time the Game Gear went on sale, the craze for the little creatures had died down.

The portable console was intended for Pokémon hunters, and had an infrared port that allowed the Game Gear to communicate with a special infrared device so that the user could interact with Pokémon without having to connect to a computer. It was also the first portable console with a built-in light.

The rise of Pokemon and Mario Kart

The Game Gear went on sale just at the time when Pokémon dominated the world of video games, and it was intended to be a companion to this fashion. Pokémon Gold and Silver were released for the Game Gear, and the console also came with the Pokédex, a book containing the complete list of Pokémon.

The Game Gear was also one of the first consoles to receive an official Pokémon game, and it was Mario Kart that sought to unite both franchises. The game came with a steering wheel controller in which Mario drove on the screen, and the player's direction moved the kart on the screen. The kart looked like a koopa troop carrier from Mario Kart.

Game Gear Games

The game catalog had about 300 titles, between 2 and 8 megabytes, of which a third were produced by third parties such as EA, Capcom, Konami, Domark, Codemasters, etc. 38.2 million games were sold during its lifetime.

The best games on the Game Gear are sonic the hedgehog 2 Y Super Monkey Ball.

Some of the most notable games are:

  • Sand
  • Aladdin
  • Asterix and the Great Rescue
  • Caesar's Palace
  • chuck rock
  • Cool Spot
  • Dynamite Headdy
  • Donald Duck, The Lucky Dime Caper
  • Donald Duck, Deep Duck Trouble
  • Earthworm Jim
  • factory panic
  • Fatal Fury Special
  • Fifa International Soccer
  • garfield
  • gp raider
  • James Pond 2
  • jurassic-park
  • Lion King
  • The Smurfs
  • Marble Madness
  • Marko's Magic Football
  • Mickey Mouse Castle of Illusion
  • Mickey Mouse Land Illusion
  • Mickey Mouse Legend Illusion
  • Micro Machines
  • Micro Machines 2 Turbo Tournament
  • Mortal Kombat
  • Mortal Kombat 2
  • nba jam
  • nhl-hockey
  • PGA Tour Golf II
  • Mighty Morphing Power Rangers
  • Power Strike II
  • OutRun
  • olympic gold
  • Robocop vs Terminator
  • Sensitive Soccer
  • shinobi
  • shinobi II
  • Sonic
  • Sonic 2
  • sonic chaos
  • Sonic Triple Trouble
  • sonic drift racing
  • sonic blast
  • Speedy Gonzalez
  • starwars
  • street of rage
  • street of rage 2
  • super off road
  • Super Columns
  • Super Monkey Ball
  • Tempo Jr.
  • The Incredible Hulk
  • The Juggle-Book
  • true lies
  • Virtua Fighter Animation
  • wonder boy
  • World Cup USA 94
 

Features and technical specifications

The computer's Z80 processor is identical to that of the Master System desktop companion. Its RAM memory is 8 kB and its video is 16 kB. Its screen displays graphics at a resolution of 160 x 144 pixels like the Game Boy. However, it has two significant differences that would be its biggest triumph and biggest mistake: the ability to run games in all environments and the ability to display a 4096-pixel color palette. It has stereo output through headphones, a 3.2-inch screen and a power supply integrated into the system.

  • CPUs: Zilog Z80 (8-bit) 3.579545 MHz.
  • RAM: 8kB of RAM and an additional 16kB of video RAM.
  • Screen: 3.2 inches.
  • Resolution: 160 x 144 pixels.
  • Color palette: 4096 colors.
  • Screen colors: 32 colors.
  • Sprites on screen: 64.
  • Sprite Size: 8x.
  • Audio: Texas Instruments SN76489 4 Channels, 8 Voices.

Accessories

  • Sega produced most of the accessories, but third companies such as Logic 3 developed the occasional case, backpack or accessory.

    The most notable accessories are:

    • Game Gear Battery Pack (external battery)
    • TV Tuner (analog blackout)
    • Gear To Gear cable (double play with two consoles)
    • Master Gear Converter (Master System games on Game Gear)
    • Universal power supply
    • car power supply
    • Rechargeable battery
    • Wide Gear (screen magnifier)

Final thoughts

  • It was one of the first portable consoles to be widely adopted in Japan, helping to make it a strong competitor to Nintendo's Game Boy. As with all portable consoles, there are some limitations to keep in mind when choosing games for the Game Gear. The main one is the battery life, which is much smaller than other systems.
  • This means that games will have to last longer between loads. There's also the issue of portability; Although the Game Gear is small enough to fit in your pocket, it is not as small as other consoles such as the Nintendo DS or 3DS. This means you'll need to consider how much you're willing to carry before purchasing your next portable console.
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