Mega Drive
The Sega Mega Drive, known as the Genesis in North America, is a 16-bit home video game console developed and sold by Sega. The Mega Drive was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it as the Mega Drive in Japan in 1988, followed by North America as the Genesis in 1989. In 1990, it was distributed as the Mega Drive by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe, Ozisoft in Australasia, and Tec Toy in Brazil.
Models
Model | Image | CPU | Co-processor | RAM | ROM | Graphics | Display | Sound | Connectivity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mega Drive | 16-bit Motorola 68000 running at 7.61 MHz | Zilog Z80 | 64 KB | 1 MB | VDP (Video Display Processor) dedicated video display processor for playfield and sprite control, 3 Planes, 2 scrolling playfields, 1 sprite plane. 64 KB VRAM. | Progressive: 320x224, 256x224 (NTSC) or 320x240, 256x240 (PAL) pixels, 64 colors on-screen from a 512 colour palette.
Interlaced: 320x448, 256x448 (NTSC) or 320x480, 256x480 (PAL) |
Texas Instruments SN76489 chip, Yamaha YM2612 FM chip. 6 stereo sound channels. 8 KB sound ROM. | DE-9 controller port | |
Mega Drive 2 |
Buying Guide
The Mega Drive Mk1 only outputs stereo through its headphone port. Playing stereo audio through the TV can be achieved simply by using a specially designed RGB cable. These can be obtained from [RetroGamingCables|https://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/sega-mega-drive-1-sega-genesis-1-stereo-rgb-av-scart-cable-tv-lead-pro-build?search=mega%20drive]
Maintenance
Modifications
Storage Solutions
Mega Everdrive
This flash cart comes in 3 versions; X3, X5, and X7.