Category Archives: Sega Genesis Reviews

The Sega Genesis was released on August 14, 1989 as the follow-up to the Sega Master System. While the Master System was unable to attain widespread popularity in North America due to the overwhelming dominance of the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega was looking to fare better in the 16-bit generation. The Genesis was marketed to older gamers, promised near-perfect ports of Sega’s popular arcade titles, catered to sports fans, and was released a full 2 years before Nintendo’s 16-bit console. The Genesis dominated the early years of the 16-bit generation, but its market share was slowly eroded by the Super Nintendo in an epic console war that spilled out onto the schoolyards of America. The releases of the Sega CD and 32X were meant to enhance and extend the life span of the Genesis, but neither were the success that Sega had hoped for and both diluted the company’s focus on their core product. Sega all but dropped support for the Genesis when the Saturn was released in 1995, and this abandonment of their customer base is often cited as a reason for the subsequent lack of consumer confidence in Sega’s hardware. The Genesis had a 6 year active life span and sold over 30 million consoles worldwide.