Unlicensed Mega Drive clones

The Sega Mega Drive was a commonly cloned console during the 1990s, especially in smaller markets. There are potentially hundreds of different models, though few have been documented on the internet. This page covers some of the consoles that we know exist, but don't know much else about.

Mega Drive

In the early 1990s, Sega were unable or unwilling to release the original Sega Mega Drive in multiple markets at once. Instead the release was staggered across the globe between 1988 and 1992/1993, which meant that for many, the only short-term option was to import Mega Drive systems from countries like Japan. This was costly, and so Taiwanese firms often made their own to capitalise on this shortage. By the time this skill had been mastered, however, much of the world was supplied with the console by official vendors, so most older Mega Drive clones were only sold in regions such as South America.

Dr Super Star Drive

Mega Drive clone made in China by Shenzhen Jichang Elec. Co.

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  DrSUPER Star Drive

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  Back label

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  Internals

Generation II

Clone sold by Argo in Argentina. Argo also made Famiclones (including a Famiclone which uses a Mega Drive 2 shell).

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Mega 16 Plus

Mega Drive with a different label. The underside calls it a Dr. Super Star Drive, however it has a different to the console described above.

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  Mega 16 Plus

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  PCB

Mega Drive (Argevision)

Argevision made knock-off video game consoles and accessories for Argentina. This is their stab at the Mega Drive.

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Mega Drive (Kinyo)

Bog standard Mega Drive clone by Kinyo. Found in South America.

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Mega Drive (unknown)

A fairly boring Mega Drive clone which appears from time to time. Shipped with two odd-looking six button controllers and a multicart of some description, and the colours are off.

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Mega-Ken

Reportedly made by Kenga. Two variants, both sold in Russia.

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  "SG-900"

Pro 16 Bit

Mega Drive clone found in Russia. This one was distributed by Steepler, who were responsible for the hugely successful Dendy Famiclone in the region. Suffice to say the Pro 16 Bit did not match that success.

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Saga

We have no clue about this one. This 2011 auction from seller dxghunterchen for 1,200 TWD has the title "SAGA 16 bit 電玩 主機 整套 含 ～ 1款卡匣 兩個把手 一個搖桿" and no product description — just the three photos below. It could be just a compilation showing an official Mega Drive with unofficial peripherals in an alternate Macro Drive box, but who knows for certain. The only identifiable peripheral is the HonyU Explorer-I one. The cart shown is Ma Jiang Qing Ren: Ji Ma Jiang Zhi.

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Siga

Mega Drive with a different label.

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  Siga

Super Songa

One of several attempts to crack the Mega Drive clone market by Songa. Available in South America.

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Mega Drive 2

From the mid-to-late 90s the Mega Drive template of choice predictably became the cost-reduced Mega Drive 2. Similar to before clones of this system became popular in South America, although there was also a following in parts of Asia. The simplified design of the Mega Drive 2 makes it very easy to reproduce - the number of Mega Drive 2 clones worldwide far exceeds that of other Sega clones, and was even the basis for some Famiclones.

Game Star

"Angular" Mega Drive 2 clone. This particular unit was found in Turkey.

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Genesis

These "hybrid" Mega Drive 2s borrowing elements from both the Japanese and North American releases of the console are relatively common in South America. They shipped in Genesis 2 boxes (based on the Canadian packaging), however the instruction manuals call the system "Mega Drive 2".

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Macro Drive

Originates from Taiwan.

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Mega Drive 2 (16 Bits; The Alien System)

Relatively common Mega Drive 2 clone from South America.

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Mega Drive 2 (Argevision)

Argevision's attempt at a Mega Drive 2. Not uncommon.

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Mega Drive 2 (Kontorland)

Asian born clone found in South America. Shipped with PlayStation-style controllers.

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  Mega Drive 2 clone by Kontorland

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Mega Drive 2 (MG Electronics Industry Co., Ltd)

Chinese-born Mega Drive 2 clone with slight colour differences. The board is dated 19th October 2001.

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Mega Drive 2 (Simba's)

Mega Drive clones built by Russian-based Simba's Video Games. These Mega Drive 2 clones are perhaps the least interesting of their produce, and despite being offered in three different box colours, each system is identical. Also offered is a "black box" variant with 25 built in games. All four packages are fairly common in Russia and are rumoured to still have the expansion port, a feature usually missing in these types of clones.

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  Black (25 games)

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  Green

Mega Drive 2 (StarGame)

Chinese company StarGame (the trading name of Shenzhen Kodaka Electronics Co., Ltd.) like to make Mega Drives on the cheap. They've produced a lot between 2010 and 2012 - whether the consoles differ in any way (aside from box art) is unknown.

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  This is a Sega-less PAL clone from 2011.

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  Here they weren't so worried.

http://img07.prodavalnik.com/images_prodavalnikcom/15307303_1_585x461.jpg http://static.weloveshopping.com/shop/client/000063/sira-music/Console-091.jpg

Mega Drive 2 (unknown)

This is perhaps the mother of all Mega Drive 2 clones. Not only is it fairly common, it sticks as closely as possible to the original Mega Drive 2 design so is very difficult to spot. Although build quality (and weight) are an obvious giveaway to its illegitimacy, the main clue is the box, which shows a Japanese Mega Drive 2 while mimicking the European packaging. Nevertheless it is still frequently misrepresented as the real thing and is possibly the best attempt of the bunch at looking "real".

Both one and two control pad variants exist. It is only assumed at this stage that they were both made by the same company.

• MD2Clone9 Box Front.jpg
• MD2Clone23 MD Box Front.jpg

Mega Drive 2 (unknown)

Similar to the above. Copied European packaging showing a Japanese-style system, however here all Sega branding is removed. Common in Russia.

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Mega Drive 2 (unknown)

Possibly related to the Mega Drive One and Mega Drive III, this clone turns up from time to time in Russia. There's a few box variants.

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Mega Drive 2 (unknown)

Another unnamed Russian clone.

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Mega Drive 2 (unknown)

...and another...

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Mega Drive 2 (unknown)

...and another...

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Mega Drive 2 (Unknown)

This one is from South America and it's very telling of the state of the unlicensed game market in the region - this one is labeled "NEW 2009" so there must still be a demand for these things.

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Mega Drive 2 (unknown)

These Mega Drive 2s from Chinese based, Dubai owned Gigatron were produced with minimal changes and distributed in the Middle East in the mid-2000s to early 2010s. Each one comes with a "132-in-1" multicart (later raised to 368) (which of course has far fewer than the advertised number of games).

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  2005 model

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  2006 model

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  2007 model

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  2008 model

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  2010 model

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  2011 model

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  2011 model

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  2012 model

Mega Drive 2 (unknown)

North Amercan-style packaging, but same knock-off Japanese console you'll find elsewhere. Some adopt the North American colour scheme however.

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Mega Drive 2 (unknown)

Here an 368-in-1 multicart gets a mention on the system itself.

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Mega Drive 2 (unknown)

A close copy of the "green" Asian model, but with a number of subtle differences.

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Mega Drive 2 (unknown)

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Mega Drive 2 (unknown)

More Chinese-built Arab-sold Mega Drive 2s. Poor picture quality makes it difficult to deduce where they're from - could be StarGame, could be Gigatron. Other colours exist.

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  2010

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  2012

Mega Game II

Apparently released exclusively in Portugal, this is a clone of the Portuguese Mega Drive II. It has been suggested that Sega's official distributor in the region, Ecoplay, might have had something to do with this system,

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Mega Nan II

One of the more entertaining clones. Once again it's from Russia.

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Sedaa

Spotted in South America although likely originates from Taiwan or China.

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Star Drive 2

A clone from Asia. Three variants exist - whether they were produced by the same company has not been determined.

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  Star Drive 2

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  Star Drive 2 by Dolphin

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  (has expansion port)

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Super Drive 2

Clone manufactured in Argentina by Songa.

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  Songa Super Drive

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  Underside of console

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Genesis 3

Despite its late arrival, the redesigned and further cost-reduced Genesis 3 unit became a popular item in South America... despite not being officially released there. Though some were imported from North America, many more clone consoles were manufactured on the cheap (the Mega 3 for example is extremely common in Argentina). Unlicensed Genesis 3 clones were manufactured well into the 2000s and may still be in production to this day.

16 Bit (NipponGame)

A common Genesis 3 clone found in Argentina.

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16 Bit 3 (Apevtech)

Relatively modern Genesis 3 from South America.

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16 Bits("The Alien System")

A Genesis 3 without any Genesis 3 branding, also sold in South America.

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Century Japan

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Dream Play

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Genesis 3 (16-Bit")

Genesis 3 minus Sega branding, sold in South America.

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Genesis 3 (C&E?)

A very dodgy Genesis 3 clone which despite its many claims, is not thought to be officially licensed. This one resembles the official product more than any other Genesis 3 clone out there, though its box text is translated into Spanish for markets such as Argentina. Font sizes and build quality are also slightly different on the unit.

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Genesis 3 (Fun Time)

Relatively modern Genesis 3 from South America.

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Genesis 3 (unknown)

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Genesis 3 (unknown)

There are many Genesis 3 clones, all with subtle changes.

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Magic Drive Pro

Genesis 3 clones from Russia. Available in both black and white.

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Mega Drive 3

Another modern Genesis 3 from South America. These ones add a dash of red to the console and control pads.

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Pego

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"Mini" Mega Drive 2

The origins of this smaller Mega Drive 2 are currently unknown. Many unlicensed Mega Drives from the 2000s opt for this shell over the full size Mega Drive 2, although it was never used by any official Sega consoles. Interestingly, like its full size counterpart, both the "push down" and "horizontal" power switches were brought forward for unexplained reasons.

Magic Drive 2

The name "Magic Drive" has been used by several clone consoles (and the Super Magic Drive peripheral). This may or may not be related to some of them.

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MD2 Compact

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Mega Drive 6

From Russia. It is unknown if it succeeds a "Mega Drive 5".

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Sega-Boy

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Others

"16 Bit Game"

Dodgy looking Mega Drive clone from China, complete with crazy light gun.

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16 Bit TV Game

Also from China, two clones by a company known as "Gap International Limited". One looks like a Mega Drive 2 in white, the other is completely new. Model numbers GA-16B1 and GA-16B2 respectively.

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  GA-16B1

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  GA-16B2

Car Game (CA-111)

Console manufactured by "First Game" in South Korea in July 2003. Sold for W110,000 it has 33 games integrated, and is meant for use within cars.

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GamBrothers (FBH-777)

Also manufactured by "First Game" in South Korea in December 2002; this was sold for W88,000 and has 20 games integrated into the console.

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GamBrothers+ (FBH-888)

An enhanced version of the above, released in July 2004 for the same price. This one has 33 games.

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Game Dunk

A Mega Drive clone from South Korea with a basketball theme. The top half seems to have been lifted from a Japanese Mega Drive model 1, but the console as a whole is more "square" in shape, similar to the Mega Drive Model 2. It shipped with two controllers similar to the standard three button pad but with an extra  SELECT  button.

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  Front of box

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  Console in packaging

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  Control Pad

Kid Box (FBH-999)

Another console manufactued by "First Game" in in South Korea. This debuted in March 2003 for W93,000 and has 33 games.

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Megagame

Developed by the South Korean company "Phillko", it was sold for W195,000 and is heavily based on a Mega Drive I.

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Neo-16

Released in 2005 by the South Korean company "Techline", the Neo-16 sold for W85,000 and has 33 games built-in. Its design is taken from a Star Trek Famiclone also from South Korea.

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Sponge

Also produced by the South Korean company "Techline", this debuted in 2006 for the price of W72,000 and has 7 built-in games. It's shell is that of a Genesis 3.

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Mega Drive III

Sega Mega Drive clone with custom body shape

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  Mega Drive III

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  Control buttons

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  Mega Drive III top

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  Mega Drive III bottom

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  Mega Drive III Mainboard PCB

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  Mega Drive III with cartridge