HeartBeat Personal Trainer
From Sega Retro
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| HeartBeat Personal Trainer | ||||||||||
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| Manufacturer: HeartBeat Corporation[1] | ||||||||||
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The HeartBeat Personal Trainer, also known as the HeartBeat System and the HeartBeat control deck, is a Sega Mega Drive variant themed around personal fitness. Designed and manufactured by HeartBeat Corporation and including the Catalyst body-mounted fitness sensor hardware[1], it was released exclusively in the United States in November 1993. Notable for having a production run of only 1,000 units, and sold with the exclusive pack-in game Outback Joey, both are considered some of the rarest pieces of Mega Drive history in existence.[3]
Contrary to popular belief, the system is not required to operate the HeartBeat Catalyst fitness sensor hardware, and the latter was even sold separately for those who already owned a Sega Mega Drive.[4][5]
Hardware
The HeartBeat Personal Trainer is compatible with any NTSC Genesis cartridge, and has no additional features over a standard Mega Drive. The upper half of the system itself is a custom shell using a smooth, sandpaper-like texture designed to mimic that found on the grips and handles of gym exercise machines, with the bottom half taken directly from a Model 1 Genesis. Though not a requirement, the Personal Trainer is intended for use with fitness machines such as exercise bikes and treadmills.
Physical scans
| Mega Drive, US |
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   Cover
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 Manual |
External links
- HeartBeat Personal Trainer at The Video Game Kraken
- Technology adds new thrills to boring exercise equipment article by Bob Condor at The Chicago Tribune (archive)
- THE GOODS: Technowatch: Gone! Last of the Excuses article by Lynn Simross at The Los Angeles Times (archive)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 http://videogamekraken.com/heartbeat-personal-trainer-catalyst (Wayback Machine: 2021-04-14 05:43)
- ↑ GamePro, "April 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 92
- ↑ https://www.sega-16.com/2004/08/genesis-accessory-peripheral-guide/ (Wayback Machine: 2013-10-11 18:57)
- ↑ https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-24-ls-7959-story.html (Wayback Machine: 2021-10-04 06:35)
- ↑ https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-02-24-9402240306-story.html (Wayback Machine: 2022-01-29 12:22)
| HeartBeat Catalyst | |
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| Topics | Magazine articles | Promotional material | Personal Trainer | HeartBeat Corporation |
| Games | NHLPA Hockey | Outback Joey | Outworld 2375 AD | PGA Tour Golf II |