History of Sega in Russia

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Sega has had a presence in Russia for a good many years, however detailed information is in short supply. This page sums up what we know.

Early Mega Drive

As a soviet state up until the early 1990s, Russia's video game history is almost nonexistent. Video gaming only really kicked off in 1992, when a Russian importing company, Steepler created the "Dendy", an own-branded Famicom sourced from Chinese manufacturers. It is assumed the Sega Mega Drive arrived sometime shortly after, though the exact period is unclear. Copyright laws are hazy and the Dendy does not seem to have been challenged by Nintendo (they certainly failed to halt production - they might even have given permission to Steepler).

Though initially playing second best to the Dendy, the Mega Drive would rise in popularity and is still being sold in some form in Russia today. Initial distributors of the console are unknown - it is possible that Sega handled distribution themselves or consoles were sourced from other Asian markets. There were several clones of the Mega Drive created over the period coming in from mainland China or Taiwan. It is a similar story for games and accessories - there does not seem to have been much consistency or quality control.

Dreamcast

There have been no reported sightings of the Sega Saturn in Russia, however the Sega Dreamcast made it to the country in some form. Games were distributed by a company known as Vector (Вектор) with custom-made packaging, again potentially without a license.

Mega Drive Portable

During the mid-2000s when the technology became inexpensive, a new Mega Drive "standard" was adopted by a set of unknown Russian companies under the banner of Mega Drive Portable. Games were placed in custom-made Game Boy Advance-style cartridges and are compatible in a number of different devices, most of whom steal design tips from Nintendo consoles. Once again the legality is questioned.

NewGame Consoles

A company known as NewGame also took it upon themselves to translate Mega Drive games into Russian and produce their own set of consoles - the Magistr Drive.

Homebrew Games

There appears to be a strong homebrew Mega Drive community in Russia, with many of their creations leaking into the commercial market by dodgy eBay sellers.

AtGames Presence

The only guaranteed official source of Sega games and hardware in Russia throughout its entire history are products created by AtGames, which have a worldwide license to produce Sega consoles. A good chunk of their consoles have been released in the region, including the Arcade Classic and the Arcade Ultimate. Blue and green versions of the Arcade Ultimate appeared in Russia before other regions of the world (namely the UK, in which Blaze Europe introduced the blue variant in 2011), suggesting strong support from AtGames in that region.

The Micro Drive is currently exclusive to Russia.

Modern Titles

More modern games for the PlayStation 2 and beyond seem to be distributed in Russia legally without much concern. The country seems to have adopted the PEGI rating system and games are translated into Russian in a similar manner to other European regions.