1990 Sega Game Gear

The Sega Game Gear was a portable handheld console manufactured by Sega and released in 1990.

Background

In 1989, Nintendo released the original Game Boy, quickly dominating the handheld gaming market. Sega, seeing an opportunity, decided to develop their own color handheld console to compete with Game Boy. The Game Gear was designed to be more powerful than Nintendo’s device, with a full-color LCD screen, improved graphics, and compatibility with Sega Master System games through an adapter.

Sega introduced the Game Gear in the Japanese market in 1990, and a few months later, in April 1991, it entered the US market with a price tag of $149.99. Sega had apparently targeted Nintendo’s Game Boy, which had been on the market for a year, already developing a near-monopoly in the handheld console space. These developments, plus the fact that Sega preferred to focus its efforts on developing the 32-bit Saturn console, forced the company to not put much weight on the successor of Game Gear.

Features

The Game Gear was essentially a portable Sega Master System, sharing much of the same hardware and capabilities. It featured a full-color LCD screen, a major selling point over the Game Boy’s monochrome display. The Game Gear also had improved graphics and sound compared to the Game Boy.

Additionally, the Game Gear had a horizontal design, unlike the vertical orientation of Game Boy, which was intended to provide a more comfortable and ergonomic handheld gaming experience. The console was powered by 6 AA batteries, providing around 3-5 hours of gameplay.

One of the downsides of the Game Gear was its high power consumption, leading to relatively short battery life compared to Game Boy. The console also required an additional adapter to play Master System games, which added to costs for consumers.

Popularity and Legacy

Despite Sega’s heavy marketing and strong initial software support, the Game Gear failed to significantly challenge Game Boy’s dominance in the handheld market. By the mid-1990s, the Game Gear was struggling to compete with more advanced 32-bit consoles like Nintendo 64 and Sony’s PlayStation.

The Game Gear’s library eventually grew to around 400 games, but this paled in comparison to Game Boy’s library of over 1,000 titles. Sega discontinued the Game Gear in 1997 after selling around 11 million units worldwide.

While the Game Gear may not have toppled Game Boy, it was the closest anyone got to challenging Nintendo’s handheld dominance for many years. The console’s color screen, improved graphics, and ergonomic design were significant innovations that influenced the development of future handheld devices.

Video Reviews and Commercials

The Sega Game Gear, an 8-bit handheld released in 1990, competed with Nintendo’s Game Boy and Atari Lynx. Despite a color screen, it was bulkier, drained batteries quickly, and sold around 11 million units—far fewer than the Game Boy. It shared hardware with the Sega Master System, allowing play of its games with an adapter. The reviewed unit had a damaged screen replaced with an LCD and capacitors refurbished to resolve common age-related issues, restoring functionality.

Availability and Collectability

The Sega Game Gear was available in several color variants, including the standard black and blue models, as well as limited edition versions in colors like red, green, and clear. The console and its games can still be found on the secondhand market, though prices vary depending on condition and rarity.

Collectors of vintage gaming hardware and software often seek out the Game Gear, both for its historical significance and unique features compared to the ubiquitous Game Boy. While it may not have achieved the same level of success as its Nintendo rival, the Game Gear remains an important part of Sega’s legacy and the evolution of handheld gaming.