Mega Drive consoles in North America

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The Sega Mega Drive debuted in North America on January 9, 1989. Due to trademark issues, it was renamed the "Sega Genesis", and has always operated under this name under this region.

In the US, the console was distributed by Sega between 1989 and 1998. It was then passed to Majesco, who kept the system alive for an extra year before it was shelved. In Canada, the Mega Drive was distributed by Irwin Toy in its early years, however Sega inevitably took back the distribution rights when the console proved successful. Many Canadian units and games were imported from the US.

All North American units output an NTSC signal.

United States

Genesis (with Altered Beast)

The first release of the Genesis console. Step one for Sega was to try and prove a 16-bit console was better than an 8-bit one, so the system was bundled with the arcade conversion of Altered Beast.

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Genesis: The Core System

Oddly Sega released a bare-bones bundle after the Altered Beast package. "The Core System" contains nothing but the console, leads and a controller.

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Genesis (with Sonic the Hedgehog)

Like other regions, the Genesis was bundled with the first Sonic the Hedgehog game.

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Genesis: Sonic System

The above Sonic bundle must have been a success for Sega, as they decided to repackage the product under the name "Sonic System". It is currently unknown if there are any other changes.

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Genesis: Fighting System

A bundle containing Streets of Rage 2

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Genesis II: The Core System

When the redesigned Genesis Model II came into production, packaging for both consoles and games adopted the red/black colour scheme. As with the model 1, "The Core System" contains nothing but the console, leads and one controller.

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Genesis II (with Sonic the Hedgehog 2)

A Genesis II bundle containing Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

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Genesis II: NFL Pack

A Genesis II bundle containing NFL '95. For many of these bundles, the standard core system box was used with added stickers.

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Genesis II (with The Lion King)

A Genesis II bundle containing The Lion King.

Genesis II (with Sub-Terrania and Sonic the Hedgehog 3)

Both Sub-Terrania and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 were included in this Genesis II package.

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Genesis II (with 6-Pak)

Released late in the Genesis' lifespan, a bundle containing the 6-Pak compilation.

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Genesis II: The Core System (Majesco re-release)

After Majesco obtained the rights to distribute older Sega consoles in the US, they re-released this Core System bundle. It is almost identical to Sega's, though the back of the box talks about more recent games. The front of the box can be identified as one of Majesco's if the text reads "Great Games Available!". Original Core Systems read "500+ Games Available!". It may have been foolish to claim 500+ Mega Drive games were still coming out of Sega's factories as late as 1998.

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Genesis 3

Main Article: Genesis 3

Majesco also made a cut-down version of the console, titled the Genesis 3. The smaller shell and PCB made it incompatible with many of the add-ons and as it was released so late, it failed to sell well.