History Platform / GameGear

-->--'''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORFLXbDMgio First commercial]]''' for the Game Gear, 1991

In 2001, third party game developer Majesco, with assistance from Sega, reissued the Game Gear for a reduced price. Only a few games were re-issued with it (notably ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogChaos'' and ''VideoGame/{{Columns}}''), it still had the battery problems and aside from the retro gaming market, did not catch on with the consumers. It was gone again by the end of the year. That said, the UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 3DS}} has some Game Gear games on offer in its UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole, using an emulator programmed by M2, who have a history of making emulators of Sega consoles.

** ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark''

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''

* ''Videogame/TheLuckyDimeCaper'' (different from the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version)

In 2001, third party game developer Majesco, with assistance from Sega, reissued the Game Gear for a reduced price. Only a few games were re-issued with it (notably ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogChaos'' and ''VideoGame/{{Columns}}''), it still had the battery problems and aside from the retro gaming market, did not catch on with the consumers. It was gone again by the end of the year. That said, the UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 3DS}} has some Game Gear games on offer in its UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole, using an emulator programmed by Sega themselves.

** One memorable ad had a kid hit himself over the head with a dead squirrel so that in his daze his Game Boy looked like it had color, until presented with a superior Game Gear. You may find it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVQ1fP7dNEE here.]]

** One memorable ad had a kid hit himself over the head with a dead squirrel so that in his daze his Game Boy looked like it had color, until presented with a superior Game Gear.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/327b2757caa6577cbe534447143d6c50.jpg]]

* ''[[VideoGame/TaleSpinSega TaleSpin]]''

* ''VideoGame/DoctorRobotniksMeanBeanMachine''

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1''

* ''VideoGame/TailsAdventure''
* ''VideoGame/TailsSkyPatrol'' ([[NoExportForYou Another Japan only release)]]
* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsBartVsTheSpaceMutants''
* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsBartVsTheWorld''

Aside from the display, these specs are nearly identical to the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem. This allowed many games from the Game Gear to be ported to the Master System and vice versa. There was even an adapter, called the Master Gear, that allowed Master System games to be played on the Game Gear. A hard-to-find accessory called the TV Tuner was made available at one point, which turned it into a little television set.

* AwesomeYetImpractical: The Game Gear was an ambitious, slick looking and enjoyable portable device with full color and a fairly large backlit screen, with hardware superior to even the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, but like the AtariLynx before, it (combined with limited third party support) had several obvious flaws that ultimately doomed it to a lesser status than its rival, the UsefulNotes/GameBoy. The biggest deal breaker was it's mediocre battery life; due to its backlit screen, it needed six AA batteries, and it would consume them in five to six hours[[note]]Fortunately, it is possible to use a model 2 Sega Genesis plug for it indoors, and a car charger was released for it.[[/note]]. Another flaw was it's impractical size; while it's landscape format and control format was comfortable to hold, it was so bulky that it was difficult to store, much less stick in your pocket. On top of that, its more advanced hardware prompted a price of 150$, considerably higher than the 99$ Game Boy.

* ''{{Lunar}}: Sanposuru Gakuen''

->''"The full-color portable video game system that separates the men from the boys."''

In 2001, third party game developer Majesco, with assistance from Sega, reissued the Game Gear for a reduced price. Only a few games were re-issued with it (notably ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogChaos'' and ''VideoGame/{{Columns}}''), it still had the battery problems and aside from the retro gaming market, did not catch on with the consumers. It was gone again by the end of the year.

Not that it was a flop, mind you — it lasted from 1990-97 and sold 10 million units. That might not be as impressive as the Game Boy's 118 million, but it was the most successful handheld to go against Creator/{{Nintendo}} until the UsefulNotes/{{PSP}}, and had the advantage of being in color at a time when the Game Boy was still in its green-and-black days.

* AwesomeYetImpractical: The Game Gear was an ambitious, slick looking and enjoyable portable device with full color and a fairly large backlit screen, with hardware superior to even the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, but like the AtariLynx before, it (combined with limited third party support) had several obvious flaws that ultimately doomed it to a lesser status than its rival, the GameBoy. The biggest deal breaker was it's mediocre battery life; due to its backlit screen, it needed six AA batteries, and it would consume them in five to six hours[[note]]Fortunately, it is possible to use a model 2 Sega Genesis plug for it indoors, and a car charger was released for it.[[/note]]. Another flaw was it's impractical size; while it's landscape format and control format was comfortable to hold, it was so bulky that it was difficult to store, much less stick in your pocket. On top of that, its more advanced hardware prompted a price of 150$, considerably higher than the 99$ Game Boy.

* ''TailsSkyPatrol'' ([[NoExportForYou Another Japan only release)]]

In 2001, third party game developer Majesco, with assistance from Sega, reissued the Game Gear for a reduced price. Only a few games were re-issued with it (notably ''SonicTheHedgehogChaos'' and ''VideoGame/{{Columns}}''), it still had the battery problems and aside from the retro gaming market, did not catch on with the consumers. It was gone again by the end of the year.

* ''Videogame/TheLuckyDimeCaper'' (different from the MasterSystem version)

Even then, it's not a system to ignore if you have the batteries, a rechargeable battery pack or an umbilical AC adapter (conveniently, it was compatible with SegaGenesis Model 2 AC adapters).

* AwesomeYetImpractical: The Game Gear was an ambitious, slick looking and enjoyable portable device with full color and a fairly large backlit screen, with hardware superior to even the SegaMasterSystem, but like the AtariLynx before, it (combined with limited third party support) had several obvious flaws that ultimately doomed it to a lesser status than its rival, the GameBoy. The biggest deal breaker was it's mediocre battery life; due to its backlit screen, it needed six AA batteries, and it would consume them in five to six hours[[note]]Fortunately, it is possible to use a model 2 Sega Genesis plug for it indoors, and a car charger was released for it.[[/note]]. Another flaw was it's impractical size; while it's landscape format and control format was comfortable to hold, it was so bulky that it was difficult to store, much less stick in your pocket. On top of that, its more advanced hardware prompted a price of 150$, considerably higher than the 99$ Game Boy.
* TakeThat: As they did with the SegaGenesis, Sega released snipe ads to support the Game Gear, mocking the Game Boy's blurry cream spinach screen and dissing it as a kiddy portable in contrast to their full color backlit portable.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Gamegear01withbox.jpg

-->''The full-color portable video game system that separates the men from the boys.''

* Eight kilobytes of main RAM, with 16 KB of VideoRAM. Games like ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' really showed all this memory off.

* TakeThat: As they did with the SegaGenesis, Sega released snipe ads to support the Game Gear, mocking the Game Boy's blurry cream spinach screen and dissing it as a kiddy portable in contrast to their full color backlit portable.

* The graphics are handled by the [[{{GPU}} Video Display Processor]].

-->''The full-color portable video game system that separates the men from [[GameBoy the boys]].''