Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the in regions outside of North America, is a 16-bit home video game console developed and sold by Sega. The Genesis was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released the console as the Mega Drive in Japan in 1988, followed by North America as the Genesis in 1989. In 1990, the console was distributed as the Mega Drive by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe, Ozisoft in Australasia, and Tec Toy in Brazil. In South Korea, the systems were distributed by Samsung as the Super Gam*Boy and later the Super Aladdin Boy.
Sega
In 1990, Sega launched the Game Gear, a handheld console, to compete against Nintendo's Game Boy. The console was designed as a portable version of the Master System, and featured more powerful systems than the Game Boy, including a full-color screen, in contrast to the monochrome Game Boy screen. However, due to its short battery life, lack of original games, and weak support from Sega, the Game Gear did not surpass the Game Boy, selling approximately 11 million units. Sega launched the Mega-CD in Japan on December 1, 1991, initially retailing at JP¥49,800. In North America, it was renamed the Sega CD and launched on October 15, 1992, with a retail price of US$299. It was released in Europe as the Mega-CD in 1993. The add-on greatly expanded the potential size of Genesis games and upgraded the graphics and sound capabilities with a second, faster processor, vastly expanded system memory, a graphics chip that performed scaling and rotation similar to Sega's arcade games, and an additional sound chip. The Mega-CD sold only 100,000 units during its first year in Japan, falling well below expectations. However, Sega had success with arcade games; in 1992 and 1993, the new Sega Model 1 arcade system board showcased Sega AM2's "Virtua Racing" and "Virtua Fighter" (the first 3D fighting game), which played a crucial role in popularizing 3D polygonal graphics.