Sega CD CD Drive for Sega Genesis

Released in 1989,following the release of the TurboGrafx-16 by NEC, the Sega Genesis was in the right place at the right time... briefly.

Although the Super Nintendo (SNES) was set to ship in a couple years, only the Genesis had the "normal" name recognition (due to Sega's Master System, their response to the Nintendo Entertainment System) and the 16 bit on-the-market technology to lure gamers to "the next level" - NEC's system just LOOKED and sounded expensive, and though some balked at Sega's initial retail launch price of $189.99 (which later droppd to about $160) for the Genesis, its sales easily passed up the TurboGrafx-16 whose few anemic titles, compared to the surprisingly large Genesis selection, caused its quick death and allowed Genesis to lead the console field, however briefly, as it was only a bit more expensive but had DOUBLE the raw gaming power and graphics of the 8 bit Nintendo.

Genesis also had an additional quality other systems lacked - SEX APPEAL. It was sleek, black, ergonomically rounded like something out of a sci-fi movie, and contained in a subdued yet high-tech console case with a spherical hub in its center, a couple of shiny identifying markings and a red light, contrasted with the black case, making it look like a flattened face of a Cylon from the original Battlestar Galactica series. The controllers featured a mysterious THIRD button and were also sleek and ergonomic and did not leave permanent puncture wounds in your palms like the unforgivably boxy Nintendo controllers.

Basically, the Sega Genesis, when looked at objectively, ignoring its seeming physical differences, was simply a "Nintendo - But Twice As Good". It more or less played and featured the same types of games, though role-playing games (some even featuring an unheard of "battery" to let you save games right onto the cartridge itself) inundated the lineup, and happily most were quite good, if pricey - the true graphics and gaming capabilities were really brought out with multi-player, "freestyle" side-scrolling and fighting games such as Golden Axe, Streets of Rage and Pit Fighter, which opened up an incredible world of gaming for two players at a time.

Coupled with usually decent or even GOOD stereo-type music and sound effects, the Genesis loudly announced its intention to not only bask in the limelight as the premier gaming system, but to maintain that position - and it did for quite a while until finally the Super Nintendo had amassed enough quality titles and developed their programming techniques well enough that the Sega Genesis was eventually toppled by sheer attrition, as Nintendo dropped loads of cash to promote its SNES and make its games easily available to retailers.

Although various modifications, add-ons and other attempts to modernize and upgrade the Sega Genesis were attempted, they were always seen as last-minute straw-grasping, usually not even fully tested and functional, and so Nintendo once again reclaimed the Console Throne. Still, every now and then, its fun to pull out Streets of Rage or some of the other quality games that even the SNES just never seemed to be able to emulate or capitalize on effectively, and realize just how much of a technical marvel the Sega Genesis was.

When I first heard of Genesis in 1989. I have once heard a comment from someone I knew. They said "I don't want a Genesis because its a CD based system. And these are too prone to failures and breakage of the CD systems". People thought this because the way the circular part that surrounds the cartridge slot is shaped, it makes it look like it's a CD system.

I knew at the start, that the Genesis is not CD based, funny guys, haha

I had bought mine in 1990 when I was 20 yrs old. I had basically wanted the Genesis because I wanted to impress the peers (friends) and to feel "first on the block" with the latest video game products etc. It was not because I loved video games. My 10 yr old sister owned the 8 bit Nintendo at that time

I paid $189 at that time, which included the console, one control pad, and the Altred Beast game. BUT at that time I had a promotional coupon for a free game and control pad if I bought a Genesis before Sept 30, 1990 (or something like that). I mailed it in, 1 month later, I got the free game (Ghouls N Ghosts) and the control pad, NICE! I got a GREAT deal, I went to Toy R Us store, I saw $54.99 for this game! and $19.99 for the extra pad, WOW saved $80 incl taxes! I was happy!

Some of the things about Genesis that was very impressive to me were: The graphics were "unbelievable" (compare to the 8 bit NES) and sound is incredibly good too. It has very good quality stereo sound. One other thing that was impressive too, was the size of the console, half the size of the 8 bit NES, and is a very nice looking console! Still what I liked too, was the cartridges look cool and had that impressive compact size, looks more sleek than the 8 bit NES cartridges!

One of the biggest things I liked about the Sega Genesis (or just simply the Sega) is because all the games (or most) came in nice plastic cases. Not like these stupid cheap cardboard boxes that the 8 bit NES came in. Just think about it. We work hard for our money, the least they can do is package it nicely, make our $50 a game investment look really good!

These plastic cases make the games "look" even better. and not only that we have less tendency to lose the instructions etc!

Some of my very first games I had bought were Super Hang-On $39, Columns $29, Populous $49, Tommy Lasorda Baseball $59, others I had were Sonic 1 & 2, Sports Talk Football, Outrun, Fantasia, Flicky, etc

I had later found out that the Sega Genesis had become one of the most popular systems EVER! And speaking of which, I had come across a scenario later on for which I was wanted out of my Genesis purchase! That is "impress my peers". I had friends "coming" to me to borrow my Genesis. This "felt" so good to me, I liked that one! (peer preasure). In those times (1991) I felt I "looked" so good being an owner of the latest and the "most wanted" games. I loved that one!

Some of my favorite games I had of all time were, Ghouls' N Ghosts, Castle of Illusion (micky mouse), Insector X, Eswat, Populous, Klax, DJ Boy. I think the best EVER favorite for me were, Ghouls' N Ghosts and Insector X! I ended at 17 games in my collection in 1992 on which Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was the final game I bought (full price anyway) at $54.99 at Kmart. Evidently, I paid FULL price ($50 average) for most of them!

And the music on the games, I LOVE IT! As of now, I still have the Genesis with all the games I had then! Its still a blast for me to play (and remember) the games!

For all of you gamers and parents out there, pay attention. The old Sega Genesis consoles are a great source of video gaming. This console is still hanging tuff and you can still find a plethora of titles for it here on eBay. One of the main things I love about it is its durability. If you have young ones around that are very likely to just destroy any expensive CD or DVD based games you have, this is the game system for you! These old games are almost indesructible!!! It really is amazing how well the hold up compared to newer games like the Playstation and Xbox. Another great thing is the price! You should be able to pick up a Sega Genesis here on eBay in about the $20 - $40 range I'd say. One thing that you should be aware of though is this: For whatever reason, the RF switch (the part the connects the Sega to your TV) that Sega made, just doesn't hold up very well. So if you buy a Sega Genesis console and it doesn't work, it's probably just the RF that's gone bad. You can pick one of these up for about $5.00 or so. It's just the original Sega brand ones that don't work too well. If you buy an after market RF, you shouldn't ever have to replace it. So other than the RF switch, I'd say they're perfect! Well, there you go, I hope this helps anyone who's thinking of buying a Sega Genesis. In conclusion, a Sega Genesis in my opinion would be a very good and inexpensive investment for entertainment. Just be prepared to spend an extra five bucks on a new RF switch, which is well worth it.

The Sega Genesis seems to continue to stand out as a great video game system purchase. It is fun, simple and has a good resale value.

GAMES
None of the games, not even the worst, is as graphically disturbing as todays modern games. This makes nearly the whole US catalog of 700+ games acceptable for your kids. Also, the games of the 16-bit era had a mastery of 2D platform games. Even today, classic style 2D adventure, fighting, platforming, RPG's are making a comeback on the PSP and Nintendo DS. Many of these are direct ports to the new consoles such as the Wii downloadable games and the XBLA downloadable games. Not sure if Sony has their PS3 network up and running, yet...

INEXPENSIVE
Many of the games, accessories and consoles are inexpensive to buy because of its popularity - there are a lot of these around.

POPULAR
The popularity of the Genesis means you will likely know someone who also has/had one and is interested in talking about or playing your system.

BETTER CONTROLLERS
The controllers feel better in the hand and have a more solid feel than that of the main competitor of the time, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. You can also use the Genesis controller in your Sega Master System console.

EXPANDABLE
The Genesis was expandable. You could add the 32X attachment (skip the 32X - very few good games) to play Sega's 32-bit games. You could add the Sega CD attachment to play the Sega CD game disks (get this attachment - some real gems like Sonic CD, Lunar, Keio, Lords Of Thunder, Wonder Dog). This system was also backwards compatible with the Sega Master System via the Sega Base Converter attachment.

Many of the popular games of the day were ported to the Genesis. Missing are some SNES exclusives that contain the word Mario or Kong or Zelda - but most everything else can be found like Castlevania, NBA Jam, Frogger, Mickey's ILLUSION series plus Sega exclusives like Sonic games, Truxton, Toejam & Earl, Valis, Gaiares, Sol-Deace.

GREAT FOR KIDS
Game cartridges don't go bad. You might crack the cartridge case but the IC board will usually take some punishment. You can not say the same for disks. Disks scratch and crack. Kids can handle cartridges just fine but disks may not last long around kids.

One little curve ball - The Sega Genesis 3, (the last one to be produced - much smaller that the first two), can not handle the add-on attachments.

What's out there?
Genesis (#1601 - model one - has a headphone volume control)
Genesis (#1631 - model two - a little smaller, no headphone jack)
Genesis 3 (#1461 - tiny and not expandable)
Sega 32X (#84000A - allows play of 32X cartridges [and disks if you have the Sega CD expansion)
Sega CD (#1690 - model 1 - rests under a Genesis 1 and has motorized tray)
Sega CD (#4102 - model 2 - sits to the side of a Genesis 1 or 2)
Sega 4-player adapter (#1647 - allows 4 controllers at one time; not needed - just pass the controller to the next person)
Sega Master Base Converter (allows Sega Master System game cartridges to be played through your Sega Genesis)

BOTTOM LINE - Great system to have around for kids and for those who grew up around one. Inexpensive to buy and great selection of games available on Internet auction sites, classifieds. Can expand the system fairly cheaply. Graphics and sound are as good as ANYTHING else from that time - which is pretty good. Buy a Genesis and get the Sega CD attachment.

Did you find any useful information in this review?

This was a technology wonder for the video game system industry in the 90's.

when this came out, there was already nintendo, atari, sega master, ect. The genesis though broke through and the expectations were great- good thing it stood up to those expectations and beyond...
The sega genesis was faster, better, brighter, and the graphics were 20 times better than it preceders. The characters were also well recepted and still to this day are kinkin butt and loved by every game-aficionado.
You get cool combo moves on combat games, you get bright detailed graphics in games, and the characters move fast (sonic moves so fast I can hardly keep my eyes on him while playing).
Some games that are a must have are- phantasy star, warsong, toejam & earl, shining force, mortal kombat, pirates gold, uncharted waters, lethal enforcers, and ofcourse anthing with the Iconic character Sonic the Hedgehog.
There is alot of cool accessories for the genesis system plus other system like 32x & sega cd that attach to the genesis to make a whole new playground with more games available on those systems. This was truly a tremendous edition to our video game console history.
There is 3 versions of the sega genesis...
1st generation 16-bit is still just as great as the 2nd and 3rd gens but this is the only one that a sega master powerbase converter will attach to so if you want to convert to play your old master games this is the console for you.

the 2nd gen is smaller and the 3rd is even smaller but more rare than it preceders. The 32x will attach to an of the 3 genesis' but the sega cd only attaches to the 1st and 2nd, not the 3rd.

Lots of cool josticks and adapters out there. Its always best to use official sega accessories though as some 3 party hardware like controllers dont work with some sega games for some odd reasons. though 3rd party controllers can be fun if you pros out there like turbo, auto, and slow motion.

Dont under-estimate the sega genesis family because of its age, I think it is every bit as good as anything else out there. The system does not accept memory cards but games you would want to save have internal memory inside the carts and most of the batteries still work to or can be replaced with the right tools and a little know-how. The sega cd system has internal memory and also can save more with a sega cd back-up ram cart.

I specialize in several game systems. i think sega genesis is probably the best of my expertise, so any questions or looking for something in particular- please dont hesitate to contact me through ebay. And dont forget to checkout our store. Keep on gaming.....Later:)