Unlicensed Mega Drive clones
From Sega Retro
I think it's totally worthwhile trying to document (or at least "list") the many, many unlicensed Mega Drive clones out there. Not just because some are genuinely interesting, but because in countries like Argentina, they're more common than official models.
But I'm running into problems - something I've also experienced with third-party controllers and official console bundles - there's not always a lot of stuff to say. I'm not particularly comfortable with giving every single system its own page (mostly because a lot of these don't have official names), but at the same time I find pages like this one pretty messy. I think we need a more elegant solution, but I'm not really sure what that should look like - any ideas? -Black Squirrel (talk) 05:26, 12 August 2013 (CDT)
- A table might look a bit better, but I think the list we have now is sufficient. Eventually every clone could have its own page. Potentially there's enough material per console to warrant it; box scans, PCB pics, and any cosmetic and regional variants. - Hivebrain (talk) 12:18, 15 August 2013 (CDT)
Mr. Dragon
http://www.stargame-cn.com/index.htm
StarGame and Gigatron are both (supposedly) housed in the same region of China, and there's certainly similarities between their crap - same company? -Black Squirrel (talk) 11:21, 22 August 2013 (CDT)
- Shenzhen is a massive industrial zone next to Hong Kong, lots of electronics are made there so it's probably just a coincidence. United Arab Emirates owner of Gigatron, but StarGame contacts have Chinese names. Maybe Gigatron just exports MDs manufactured by StarGame?--Pirate Dragon (talk) 11:34, 23 August 2013 (CDT)
- I guess you've probably already seen these, but just in case (click on images for larger);
stargame-cn.com/Sega/page422.htm--Pirate Dragon (talk) 11:56, 23 August 2013 (CDT)
reet
So this is what I can deduce
the details are a little sketchy and I'm no expert on these things but
A Chinese supplier (Shenzhen Qi Sheng Long Industrialist Co. Ltd?) produces knock-off Mega Drive 2s known internally by the product code "9901" (someone does a knock-off Genesis 3 too) . Other companies then buy these things in bulk with bespoke labels and boxes and sell it as their own, i.e. one company makes the product, 438924783 others sell them
the Mega Drive 2s in question come with either 132 games built in or 368 and you can specify if you want various forms of PAL or NTSC as well as power supplies. So essentially there are lots of Mega Drive 2 clones which all stem from the same place. The StarGame stuff, the Gigatron stuff, the Extreme Land Mega Drive 2, all sorts. Still going to give each clone (or group of clones) its own page when the time comes, but yeah, "confirmation" that a good chunk of these clones are the same. -Black Squirrel (talk) 05:13, 25 August 2013 (CDT)