Mega Drive consoles in North America

This short article is in need of work. You can help Sega Retro by adding to it.

The Sega Mega Drive debuted in North America in August 1989, with a regionwide release in September of that year. 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 1997. It was then passed to Majesco, who kept the system alive for an extra two years 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. The Genesis 3 was also released in this region.

All North American units output an NTSC signal.

United States

CONVERSION IN PROCESS

Box	Name	Date & Price	Hardware	Software	Documentation
	Genesis		??		Control Pad	Altered Beast
	Genesis		??		Control Pad	Sonic
	Genesis Sonic System		??		Control Pad	Sonic
	Genesis: The Core System		??		Control Pad
	Genesis Fighting System		??		Control Pad	Streets of Rage 2
80px	Genesis: The Core System	>= 199x		?	x1	None
	Genesis: Sonic 2 System	>= 199x		?	x1	Sonic the Hedgehog 2
	Genesis: Sega Sports System	>= 1993		?	x2	NFL Football '94 Starring Joe Montana, "Stadium Cushion"
	Genesis	>= 1993		?	x1	Sonic Spinball
	Genesis	>= 1993		?	x1	Eternal Champions		Genesis	??	Control Pad	50x50px NFL '95
	Genesis	>= 1994		?	x1	The Lion King		Genesis	??	Control Pad	Sub-Terrania Sonic the Hedgehog 3
	Genesis	>= 1994		?	x1	Sonic and Knuckles
	Genesis Sonic System	>= 1994		?	?? x1	Sonic the Hedgehog, Taz in Escape from Mars	Stock clearance?
	Genesis: Supersonic System	>= 1994		?	x1	Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic and Knuckles
	Genesis	>= 1995		?	x1	6 Pak
	Genesis	>= 1995		?	x1	6 Pak	Newer variant?
	Genesis Garfield: Caught in the Act Pack	>= 1995		?	x1	Garfield: Caught in the Act
	Genesis College Football's National Championship II Pack	>= 1995		?	x1	College Football's National Championship II
	Genesis	>= 199x		?	x1	Columns		Genesis: The Core System	??	Control Pad	Sub-Terrania Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Genesis 2 (The Core System)

When the redesigned Genesis 2 came into production, packaging for both consoles and games adopted the new red/black color scheme. As with the model 1, "The Core System" contains nothing but the console, cables and one controller.

Mega Drive, US (Genesis 2, "The Core System")
<div style="margin:auto; max-width:Expression error: Unexpected < operator.px"> 320x80px Cover
Console Control Pad

Genesis 2 (with Sonic the Hedgehog 2)

A Genesis 2 bundle containing Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Mega Drive, *US (Genesis 2, with Sonic the Hedgehog 2)*
Cover
Console Control Pad Sonic 2

Genesis 2 (Sega Sports System)

Mega Drive, US (Genesis 2, "Sega Sports System")
Cover
Console Control Pad (x2) NFL '94 "Stadium Cusion"

Genesis 2 (with The Lion King)

A Genesis 2 bundle containing The Lion King.

Mega Drive, *US (Genesis 2 with The Lion King)*
Cover
Console Control Pad Lion King

Genesis 2 (with Sonic & Knuckles)

Mega Drive, *US (Genesis 2 with Sonic & Knuckles)*
Cover
Console Control Pad Sonic & Knuckles

Genesis 2 (with 6-Pak)

A bundle containing the 6-Pak compilation was released in 1995, during the latter part of the system's lifetime.

Mega Drive, *US (Genesis 2 with 6-Pak, older)*
Cover
Console Control Pad 6-Pak

Mega Drive, *US (Genesis 2 with 6-Pak, newer)*
Cover
Console Control Pad 6-Pak

Canada

Name	Hardware	Documentation
Genesis	??	Control Pad	Altered Beast
Genesis: Sonic 2 System	??	Control Pad	Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Ecco the Dolphin
Genesis: The Core System	??	Control Pad	NFL Football '94 Starring Joe Montana

Sega Mega Drive
Topics	Technical specifications (Hardware comparison) \| History \| List of games \| Magazine articles \| Promotional material \| Merchandise \| Cartridges \| TradeMark Security System
Hardware	Japan \| North America \| Western Europe \| Eastern Europe \| South America \| Asia \| South Korea \| Australasia \| Africa EZ Games \| LaserActive \| Mega Jet \| Mega PC \| Mega Play \| Mega-Tech System \| Nomad \| Teradrive \| Mega Drive Mini \| Mega Drive Mini 2 New Mega Drive \| Tianli VCD/DVD Players \| "Consoles on a chip" \| Licensed clones (Magic 2 \| Mega Game II \| Power Pegasus \| Super Bitman) Unlicensed clones
Add-ons	Game Box \| Power Base Converter \| Mega-CD \| 32X (Mega-CD 32X) \| Mega Modem \| Demo System DS-16
Cases	Sega Genesis Nomad Carrying Case \| System Carry Case
Controllers	Control Pad \| Six Button Control Pad \| 6 Button Arcade Pad \| Arcade Power Stick 6B \| Konami Justifier \| MK-1470 Action Chair \| Activator \| Arcade Power Stick \| Keyboard \| MegaFire \| Mouse \| Mega Stick \| Menacer \| Remote Arcade System \| Ten Key Pad \| Third Party Controllers
Accessories	4 Way Play \| Cleaning System \| Control Pad Extension Cord \| Genesis Speakers \| Headset \| HeartBeat Catalyst \| Microphone \| Region converter cartridges \| Mega Terminal \| Nomad PowerBack \| RF Unit (Mega Drive 2) \| SCART Cable (Mega Drive 2) \| Stereo Audio Video Cable \| Team Player \| Video Monitor Cable \| Third Party Accessories
Network services	Sega Channel \| Sega Game Toshokan \| Mega Anser \| Mega Net \| TeleBradesco Residência \| XB∀ND
Development tools	ERX 308P \| ERX 318P \| Sprobe \| SNASM68K \| SNASM2 (Mega Drive) \| SNASM2 (32X) \| PSY-Q Development System (Mega Drive) \| PSY-Q Development System (32X) \| 32X CartDev \| Sega Mars Development Aid System \| Sega 32X Development Target
Unreleased	Edge 16 \| Floppy Disk Drive \| Mega Play 1010 \| Sega VR \| Teleplay System \| Video Jukebox