Mega Drive consoles in Europe

From Sega Retro

The European Sega Mega Drive debuted in the Winter of 1990. As with most European consoles, the systems are identical across all European countries, however were often marketed differently and received localised content.

Current sources do not make the distinction between "Europe" and "United Kingdom", so it is unknown exactly which regions each model was released in. In countries such as Australia and New Zealand, consoles were often imported from Europe due to similarities in television hardware. Again at this present time it is difficult to confirm which systems reached these countries.

All European models output a PAL signal.

Mega Drive

The original Mega Drive package for Europe, debuting in 1990. It shipped with the earlier style European gamepad and with no pack-in games. In fact, it's the only version of the console not to have any game screenshots on its box, presumably because not many games had been released by this point.

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Mega Drive (with Sonic the Hedgehog)

Like its North American and Japanese cousins, the Mega Drive was bundled with Sonic the Hedgehog in mid-1991, and was also sold with an extra control pad.

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Mega Drive (with Sonic the Hedgehog (One control pad))

Oddly the above model was replaced with this cut-down version, that lacked the extra control pad. Rather than produce a brand new box, Sega simply put a sticker over the image.

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Mega Drive (with Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Games 1)

The two control pad bundle had Mega Games 1 added to the set in 1992.

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Mega Drive Combat Pack (with Mega Games 2)

Mega Games 2 replaces Mega Games 1 and the bundle is renamed "Mega Drive Combat Pack"

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Mega Drive II

Back to square one with the Mega Drive II re-release, with two control pads but no games included.

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Mega Drive II

And again there was a single control pad option without much change to the box outside of a sticker.

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Mega Drive II (with Sonic the Hedgehog 2)

The first Mega Drive II bundle threw in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with two control pads.

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Mega Drive II (with Sonic Compilation)

A smaller than usual box with Sonic Compilation added.

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Mega Drive II (with Aladdin)

The Mega Drive version of Aladdin was a very big deal at the time of release, and so Sega started selling an Aladdin package. Most of these bundles recycled the standard box but added an extra outer cardboard sleeve.

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Mega Drive II (with The Lion King)

Another bundle, but now with The Lion King' as the pack-in game.

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Mega Drive II (with Sonic the Hedgehog 3)

Another bundle, but now with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 as the pack-in game.

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Mega Drive II (with Sonic & Knuckles)

Another bundle, but now with Sonic & Knuckles as the pack-in game.

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Mega Drive II (with Virtua Racing)

In an attempt to combat Star Fox on the SNES, Sega released Virtua Racing and also bundled it with a Sega Mega Drive II.

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Mega Drive II (with Mega Games 6 Volume 1)

Mega Games 6 Volume 1 was bundled with the Mega Drive II for a short period, and the box openly advertised the Sega Mega CD and Sega 32X add-ons.

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Mega Drive II (with Toy Story)

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Mega Drive II (with Mega Games 6 Volume 2)

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Mega Drive Big 6 Pack (with Mega 6 Volume 3)

Released late in the console's lifespan, the Big 6 pack boasts the 6-game compilation Mega 6 Volume 3 and a six button control pad.

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Sega Mega Drive
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New Mega Drive | Tianli VCD/DVD Players | "Consoles on a chip" | Licensed clones (Magic 2 | Mega Game II | Power Pegasus | Super Bitman)
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Accessories 4 Way Play | AC adaptor | Cleaning System | Control Pad Extension Cord | Game Factory | Genesis Speakers | Headset | HeartBeat Catalyst | Microphone | Region converter cartridges | Mega Terminal | Nomad PowerBack | RF Unit | SCART Cable | Stereo Audio Video Cable | Team Player | Video Monitor Cable | Third-party AC adaptors | Third Party Accessories
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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