Thursday, March 10, 2011

Remember Sega Game Gear?

Of course you do, It was freaking sweet! Back in the day the handheld video game world was ruled by the Gameboy who's only limitation was the fact that it did not have a color screen. Sega decided it was time to release colored screen handheld device and started development on the Game Gear in 1989. The system made it's way into the US in 1992 and was a definite success, if only for a short while.


The major problem's with the game gear was that it was expensive to own and operate. Game Gear cost $149.99 compared to the Gameboys measly $89.99 price tag, but the Game Gear also require 6 AA batteries to work vs. the Gameboys battery requirement of 4 AA. Possibly the biggest reason why the Game Gear never over took the Nintendo Gameboy, was the lack of games; Sega never managed to get enough developers on board for the console.

It's a real shame that the Game Gear never reached (in my opinion) its full potential, although it did have some awesome accessories that you could buy, one of which was a TV tuner. Imagine today's technology with the unlimited access to endless media that we have, then think of yesterday's equipment where people were excited if a device was considered "Mobile". The ability to watch TV on a hand held device that also played video games must have been ridiculous.

On a final thought for this post, don't ever go into nostalgia mode when drunk, you might just go on eBay and start buying up all of this cool shit.

On one other final thought, I've decided to buy every video game console released in the US (from 1980 on [but also maybe even later than that]).

21 comments:

  1. Hell yeah! I used to sit with my Game Gear plugged into the wall so that I didn't have to use up batteries. I remember the three games I owned for it too.

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  2. Yes! I had one of these and I loved it.
    None of my friends had one though.
    The only games I remember playing on it are Sonic and some game where you play as Taz the Tasmanian devil.

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  3. yeah, a friend of mine had one. Had to buy batteries every day.

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  4. Maybe a shame, but the reasons you list are exactly why it was doomed vs. the gameboy.

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  5. I was so jealous of my friend who had this.

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  6. I think my little brother still has his somewhere.

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  7. To be honest I dont remember. Look like a fat sandwich.

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  8. sure i remember! i loved it, but hate the short battery lifetime.

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  9. So what you're saying is that you ended up buying a Game Gear? haha

    But seriously, I know where you are coming from. I still own mine. I think I have like all 15 games that ever came out on it. @_@

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  10. I remember this! played it religiously! Love it!

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  11. Sorry my man, I was a gameboy-kid all the way. I do hear sometimes that this thing was way better.

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  12. I had a gameboy bro, never even SEEN these.

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  13. I loved my game gear to death, primal rage!

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  14. Yeah, i had a hand-me-down one as a kid; six AA batteries? As good looking as sonic and aladdin were, it was just so much more worth it to play black and white mario

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  15. I remember a kid at daycare having one of these when I was in elementary school. I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

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