Mega Drive vs Genesis
The Mega Drive and the Genesis are one 16-bit Sega console under two names. An American company already owned the name Mega Drive, so the American arm of Sega, run by co-founder David Rosen, put the same console on sale as the Genesis. The same machine then came third in Japan and, for a few years, outsold Nintendo in America after Tom Kalinske took over there in 1990. The cartridges still do not fit each other.
Updated:
| Mega Drive | Genesis | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sega Mega Drive | Sega Genesis |
| Maker | Sega | Sega |
| Generation | 4th generation (16-bit) | 4th generation (16-bit) |
| Released | October 29, 1988 (Japan) | August 14, 1989 (North America) |
| Launch price | ¥21,000 | US$189 |
| CPU | Motorola 68000 @ 7.67 MHz | Motorola 68000 @ 7.67 MHz (same) |
| Sound | Yamaha YM2612 FM + Zilog Z80 | Yamaha YM2612 FM + Zilog Z80 (same) |
| Name used in | Japan, Europe, Australia, Brazil, and most of the world | North America only |
| Cartridges | Mega Drive shape (region-locked) | Genesis shape (region-locked) |
The name Mega Drive was already taken in America
Sega could not register "Mega Drive" as a trademark in the United States. A computer storage company called Mega Drive Systems Inc. was already using the name there.
David Rosen, the American who had co-founded Sega and still ran its US side, disliked "Mega Drive" anyway. He wanted a word that said Sega was starting over in America, and the company settled on Genesis. Japan, Europe, Australia and Brazil kept the original name. In Brazil the licensee Tec Toy kept making and selling Mega Drives for decades, and had sold about three million of them by 2012.
Same machine, two completely different lives
Underneath, nothing changed. Both machines run the same Motorola 68000, a chip designed for workstations rather than living rooms, with the same Yamaha FM sound chip and the same Zilog Z80.
In Japan the Mega Drive never escaped third place behind Nintendo and NEC, selling about 3.58 million. In North America the Genesis sold roughly twenty million and, for a stretch of the early 1990s, outsold Nintendo outright.
In 1990 Tom Kalinske took over Sega of America and flew to Tokyo with four things he wanted to change: drop the price, build games in America for Americans, attack Nintendo by name in the advertising, and put Sonic the Hedgehog in the box instead of Altered Beast. The board said no. Kalinske has said that Sega’s president, Hayao Nakayama, was furious, and then told him to go ahead anyway, because that was what he had hired him for. All four things happened.
Do the cartridges swap?
They run the same code, but they do not fit. The cartridge shells are shaped differently, and the consoles carry a region check, so a Japanese Mega Drive cartridge will neither slide into an American Genesis nor boot if you force it.
You can get around this in two ways. A passthrough converter handles the shape and the region together, and a small internal modification (usually a switch wired to the region and 50/60 Hz jumpers) turns one machine into both. Neither is unusual, and both are common on second-hand machines. If you are buying one, ask the seller which of the two has already been done to the machine in front of you.
Frequently asked questions
- Why is the Mega Drive called the Genesis in North America?
- Sega could not register the name in the United States: a computer storage company called Mega Drive Systems Inc. was already using it there. So the American arm of Sega, run by David Rosen, put the same console on sale as the Genesis in August 1989. Japan, Europe, Australia and Brazil kept the Mega Drive name.
- Are the Mega Drive and Genesis the same console?
- Yes, the same 16-bit hardware: a Motorola 68000 at 7.67 MHz, a Yamaha YM2612 FM sound chip and a Zilog Z80. Sega released it as the Mega Drive in Japan on 29 October 1988 and as the Genesis in North America on 14 August 1989. What differed was the name, the packaging and the marketing, not the machine.
- Can a Mega Drive play Genesis games?
- Not as they come. The cartridge shells are shaped differently and the consoles are region-locked, so a cartridge you bought in Japan will not fit an American Genesis, and will refuse to boot if you force it. A passthrough converter or a small internal region modification solves both problems at once.
- Why did the Genesis sell so much better than the Mega Drive?
- In 1990 Tom Kalinske, newly running Sega of America, cut the price, had games built in America for Americans, ran advertising that named Nintendo, and put Sonic the Hedgehog in the box. The Genesis went on to sell roughly twenty million in North America, while the Mega Drive sold about 3.58 million in Japan.
- How much did the Mega Drive and Genesis cost at launch?
- The Mega Drive launched in Japan at ¥21,000 on 29 October 1988. The Genesis launched in North America at US$189 on 14 August 1989. Those are the 1980s launch prices, not what a used console is worth today.