Sega Genesis Mod1 Bare

It's a day of hardware anniversaries, with the 19 year old Virtual Boy being joined by the 25th Anniversary of the Sega Genesis; as the name should have tipped you off, it's the North American anniversary of Sega's 16-bit beast.

Known as the Mega Drive in PAL regions, the Genesis arrived before the Super NES and kicked off the mainstream 16-bit era; in the years of its lifespan it would be engaged in what became known as the Console Wars, a phrase utilised by Blake Harris for his book Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation. Gamers of a certain age will remember that you were either Sega or Nintendo, in an era where owning multiple game consoles was a luxury enjoyed far less than today. It was all about choosing sides, and this writer admits he sided with Sega in that era — Please Understand.

The arguments over which was better — Genesis or Super NES — rages on today, but we can all agree that they were both terrific systems. Sega's console boasted some legendary titles, and can stand tall as the system that made Sonic the Hedgehog an icon in the industry; the mascot has ups and downs nowadays, but in the Genesis era his 2D platformers were exceptional. The Genesis also benefited from various ports of outstanding Sega arcades, and possessed too many classic titles to list here.

So, it's a happy quarter century anniversary to the Sega Genesis. If you want to bask in its glow a little more, be sure to check out our Sega Mega Drive hardware classic feature.