History Platform / GameGear

* Eight kilobytes of main UsefulNotes/RandomAccessMemory, with 16 KB of MediaNotes/VideoRAM. Games like ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1992'' really showed all this memory off.

After achieving success in the US and European markets with the Platform/SegaGenesis, Creator/{{Sega}} decided to expand their MediaNotes/ConsoleWars against Creator/{{Nintendo}} to the handheld domain. Their answer to the Platform/GameBoy was called the '''Game Gear'''.

To combat the Game Boy, Sega purposefully designed the Game Gear to address common complaints levied at its competitor. The Game Boy had a dinky dot matrix screen that only worked with four shades of grey, so the Game Gear displayed in color and had a backlight to boot. The Game Boy had an awkward brick-shaped and portrait-style form factor, so the Game Gear was made in a wider landscape format to be more comfortable to hold. The Game Gear is also significantly more powerful than its competition, effectively being a Platform/SegaMasterSystem in handheld form. All of this led to a higher, though still somewhat reasonable, price point of US$149.99 (£99.99 in the UK). While not the most advanced handheld system of its day, the Game Gear was a very noticeable improvement over the omnipresent Game Boy and had brand recognition to give it an edge over the Platform/AtariLynx and [[Platform/TurboGrafx16 TurboExpress]].

In 2000, third-party game developer Creator/{{Majesco}}, with assistance from Sega, reissued the Game Gear for a reduced price of US$30. Only one new game was released for it (''VideoGame/SuperBattletank'', an unreleased game developed in 1994), just a few existing games were re-issued with it (specifically ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogChaos'' and ''VideoGame/{{Columns}}'') for US$15, and a couple of accessories did not function with the reissue. The battery life was improved somewhat and the new version had a higher quality screen, but it didn't catch on with consumers aside from the {{retrogaming}} market. It was gone again by the end of the year. That said, the Platform/Nintendo3DS has some Game Gear games on offer in its Platform/VirtualConsole, using an emulator programmed by M2, who have a history of making emulators of Sega consoles. But note that the 3DS's storefront was closed in early 2023.

* ''Fray: Shugyou Hen''

* [[/index]]''Franchise/TheSimpsons'':[[index]]

* The graphics are handled by the [[UsefulNotes/{{GPU}} Video Display Processor]].

* Eight kilobytes of main UsefulNotes/RandomAccessMemory, with 16 KB of UsefulNotes/VideoRAM. Games like ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1992'' really showed all this memory off.

** ''Ariel: [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 The Little Mermaid]]''

After achieving success in the US and European markets with the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, Creator/{{Sega}} decided to expand their UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars against Creator/{{Nintendo}} to the handheld domain. Their answer to the UsefulNotes/GameBoy was called the '''Game Gear'''.

To combat the Game Boy, Sega purposefully designed the Game Gear to address common complaints levied at its competitor. The Game Boy had a dinky dot matrix screen that only worked with four shades of grey, so the Game Gear displayed in color and had a backlight to boot. The Game Boy had an awkward brick-shaped and portrait-style form factor, so the Game Gear was made in a wider landscape format to be more comfortable to hold. The Game Gear is also significantly more powerful than its competition, effectively being a UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem in handheld form. All of this led to a higher, though still somewhat reasonable, price point of US$149.99 (£99.99 in the UK). While not the most advanced handheld system of its day, the Game Gear was a very noticeable improvement over the omnipresent Game Boy and had brand recognition to give it an edge over the UsefulNotes/AtariLynx and [[UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 TurboExpress]].

Despite Sega's best efforts, they were unable to establish themselves as a big competitor in the handheld scene like they had in the home console space, and the Game Gear failed to claim any significant slice of the market. Not that it was a flop, mind you -- the system lasted until 1997 and sold 10 million units. That might not be as impressive as the Game Boy's 118 million units, but it was way better than the Lynx's 3 million and the [=TurboExpress=]'s 1.5 million. Sega's brand recognition at the time is likely the reason the Game Gear ended up a modest hit instead of an outright flop like the other handhelds. It was actually the most successful handheld to go against Nintendo until Sony released the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable in 2004.

In 2000, third-party game developer Creator/{{Majesco}}, with assistance from Sega, reissued the Game Gear for a reduced price of US$30. Only one new game was released for it (''VideoGame/SuperBattletank'', an unreleased game developed in 1994), just a few existing games were re-issued with it (specifically ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogChaos'' and ''VideoGame/{{Columns}}'') for US$15, and a couple of accessories did not function with the reissue. The battery life was improved somewhat and the new version had a higher quality screen, but it didn't catch on with consumers aside from the {{retrogaming}} market. It was gone again by the end of the year. That said, the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS has some Game Gear games on offer in its UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole, using an emulator programmed by M2, who have a history of making emulators of Sega consoles. But note that the 3DS's storefront was closed in early 2023.

In 2020, following the trend of "mini" consoles started by the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Nintendo Classic Mini]], Sega announced the Game Gear Micro line for the Japanese market. It has four different color variations, each with four games.[[labelnote:''Games'']]''Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Puyo Puyo Tsu'', ''[=OutRun=]'', and ''Royal Stone'' for the black Game Gear, ''Sonic the Hedgehog Chaos'', ''Gunstar Heroes'', ''Sylvan Tale'', and ''Baku Baku Animal'' for the blue Game Gear, ''Shining Force Gaiden'', ''Shining Force Gaiden 2'', ''Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict'' and ''Nazo Puyo: Arle no Roux'' for the yellow Game Gear, ''Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible'', ''Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special'', ''The GG Shinobi'', and ''Columns'' for the red Game Gear.[[/labelnote]] It mercifully only requires two AAA batteries, or alternatively a micro USB cable. Later in the year, a special white variation was announced that compiles the four ''VideoGame/{{Aleste}}'' games for the Game Gear and Master System, plus a new game in ''GG Aleste 3''.

As mentioned earlier, the specs are nearly identical to those of the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem bar the resolution and increased color palette. This allowed many games from the Game Gear to be easily ported to the Master System and vice versa.

** ''VideoGame/TheLuckyDimeCaper starring Donald Duck'' (different from the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version)

* AwesomeYetImpractical: The Game Gear was an ambitious, slick looking and enjoyable portable device with full color and a fairly large backlit screen, with hardware superior to even the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, but like the UsefulNotes/AtariLynx before, it (combined with limited third-party support) had several obvious flaws that ultimately doomed it to a lesser status than its rival, the UsefulNotes/GameBoy. The biggest deal breaker was its mediocre battery life; due to its backlit screen, it needed six AA batteries, and it would consume them in five to six hours[[note]]Fortunately, it is possible to use a model 2 Sega Genesis plug for it indoors, and a car charger was released for it[[/note]]. Another flaw was its impractical size; while it's landscape format and control format was comfortable to hold, it was so bulky that it was difficult to store, much less stick in your pocket. On top of that, its more advanced hardware prompted a price of $150, considerably higher than the $99 Game Boy.

** As they did with the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, Sega released snipe ads to support the Game Gear, mocking the Game Boy's [[GreenBoyColor blurry cream spinach screen]] and dissing it as a kiddy portable in contrast to their full color backlit portable.

Despite all of its issues, it's not a system to ignore if you have the batteries, a rechargeable battery pack or an umbilical AC adapter (conveniently, it was compatible with Genesis Model 2 AC adapters).

In 2000, third party game developer Majesco, with assistance from Sega, reissued the Game Gear for a reduced price of US$30. Only one new game was released for it (''Super Battletank'', an unreleased game developed in 1994), just a few existing games were re-issued with it (specifically ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogChaos'' and ''VideoGame/{{Columns}}'') for US$15, and a couple of accessories did not function with the reissue. The battery life was improved somewhat and the new version had a higher quality screen, but it didn't catch on with consumers aside from the {{retrogaming}} market. It was gone again by the end of the year. That said, the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS has some Game Gear games on offer in its UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole, using an emulator programmed by M2, who have a history of making emulators of Sega consoles. But note that the 3DS's storefront was closed in early 2023.

* Thirty-two colors allowed on screen, out of 4,096 total. Funnily enough, the system can display more colors at once than the Sega Genesis.

* The Sega TV Adaptor is a very unique peripheral that allowed the Game Gear to function as an analog TV via its antenna. This accessory is useless nowadays outside of being a collector's item, though it also gives AV inputs to the Game Gear for potentially interesting applications.[[note]]As a portable TV it was kind of useless since it drained the Game Gear's batteries even faster than playing games on it, plus no matter what you hook up to it it's still on a 160x140 screen (analog TV in North America was 486x440) so it's not gonna look very good. But if you were a kid in a house with only 1 TV it was good enough. Note that these will no longer pick up TV signals in many countries where analog TV transmission has ended[[/note]]

* The Sega TV Adaptor is a very unique peripheral that allowed the Game Gear to function as an analog TV via its antenna. This accessory is useless nowadays outside of being a collector's item, though it also gives AV inputs to the Game Gear for potentially interesting applications.[[note]]As a portable TV it was kind of useless since it drained the Game Gear's batteries even faster than playing games on it, plus no matter what you hook up to it it's still on a 160x140 screen (analog TV in North America was 486x440) so it's not gonna look very good. But if you were a kid in a house with only 1 TV it was good enough. Note that these will no longer pick up TV signals, as analog TV transmission ended in 2009[[/note]]

* AwesomeYetImpractical: The Game Gear was an ambitious, slick looking and enjoyable portable device with full color and a fairly large backlit screen, with hardware superior to even the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, but like the UsefulNotes/AtariLynx before, it (combined with limited third-party support) had several obvious flaws that ultimately doomed it to a lesser status than its rival, the UsefulNotes/GameBoy. The biggest deal breaker was its mediocre battery life; due to its backlit screen, it needed six AA batteries, and it would consume them in five to six hours[[note]]Fortunately, it is possible to use a model 2 Sega Genesis plug for it indoors, and a car charger was released for it.[[/note]]. Another flaw was its impractical size; while it's landscape format and control format was comfortable to hold, it was so bulky that it was difficult to store, much less stick in your pocket. On top of that, its more advanced hardware prompted a price of $150, considerably higher than the $99 Game Boy.

In 2000, third party game developer Majesco, with assistance from Sega, reissued the Game Gear for a reduced price of US$30. Only one new game was released for it (''Super Battletank'', an unreleased game developed in 1994), just a few existing games were re-issued with it (specifically ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogChaos'' and ''VideoGame/{{Columns}}'') for US$15, and a couple of accessories did not function with the reissue. The battery life was improved somewhat and the new version had a higher quality screen, but it didn't catch on with consumers aside from the {{retrogaming}} market. It was gone again by the end of the year. That said, the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS has some Game Gear games on offer in its UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole, using an emulator programmed by M2, who have a history of making emulators of Sega consoles.

To combat the Game Boy, Sega purposefully designed the Game Gear to address common complaints levied at its competitor. The Game Boy had a dinky dot matrix screen that only worked with four shades of grey, so the Game Gear displayed in color and had a backlight to boot. The Game Boy had an awkward brick-shaped and portrait-style form factor, so the Game Gear was made in a wider landscape format to be more comfortable to hold. The Game Gear is also significantly more powerful than its competition, effectively being a UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem in handheld form. All of this led to a higher, though still somewhat reasonable, price point of US$149.99 (£99.99 in the U.K.). While not the most advanced handheld system of its day, the Game Gear was a very noticeable improvement over the omnipresent Game Boy and had brand recognition to give it an edge over the UsefulNotes/AtariLynx and [[UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 TurboExpress]].

To combat the Game Boy, Sega purposefully designed the Game Gear to address common complaints levied at its competitor. The Game Boy had a dinky dot matrix screen that only worked with four shades of grey, so the Game Gear displayed in color and had a backlight to boot. The Game Boy had an awkward brick-shaped form factor, so the Game Gear was made in a wider landscape format to be more comfortable to hold. The Game Gear is also significantly more powerful than its competition, effectively being a UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem in handheld form. All of this led to a higher, though still somewhat reasonable, price point of US$149.99 (£99.99 in the U.K.). While not the most advanced handheld system of its day, the Game Gear was a very noticeable improvement over the omnipresent Game Boy and had brand recognition to give it an edge over the UsefulNotes/AtariLynx and [[UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 TurboExpress]].

** ''GG Aleste 3''

The issue is that the Game Gear ultimately fell into the same traps that the other non-Nintendo handhelds had found themselves caught in. The first problem was battery life. Even if the chips didn't consume a lot of power on their own, the screen's backlight did. And you couldn't turn it off or adjust the brightness level to converse power. The Game Gear was infamously a battery hog as a result; it took '''six''' AA batteries, and those batteries only lasted a measly 2-5 hours thanks to the inefficient power usage. The original model Game Boy might have lacked a backlight, but it only needed four AA batteries and could potentially last up to 30 hours. The Game Gear's battery issues could be alleviated by a rechargeable battery pack or circumvented entirely by plugging it in with an AC adapter, though these solutions heavily compromised the portability of the system. Not that the portability was amazing in the first place, as the system was larger than the Game Boy and its form factor meant it couldn't be slipped into pockets as easily. Additionally, the first production runs of the system were faulty, and that along with the battery life caused the audience in Japan to largely ignore it. This contributed to the minor support from third parties.

* Eight kilobytes of main UsefulNotes/RandomAccessMemory, with 16 KB of UsefulNotes/VideoRAM. Games like ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' really showed all this memory off.

** ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1''

** ''Film/JurassicPark''

* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
** ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers''
** ''Film/MightyMorphinPowerRangersTheMovie''

* ''VideoGame/ChuckRock''

* ''VideoGame/{{Columns}}''

* ''The G.G. VideoGame/{{Shinobi}}''
** ''The G.G. Shinobi II: The Silent Fury''

** ''Shining Force Gaiden II'' (aka ''Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya'', the only one that got an overseas release)

* ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage''

** ''VideoGame/WonderBoy1'' (aka ''Revenge of Drancon'')

* TakeThat: As they did with the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, Sega released snipe ads to support the Game Gear, mocking the Game Boy's [[GreenBoyColor blurry cream spinach screen]] and dissing it as a kiddy portable in contrast to their full color backlit portable.