Line #226 Platform/GameGear


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sega_game_gear_wb.png]]
2
3	->''"The full-color portable video game system that separates the men from the boys."''
4	-->--'''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORFLXbDMgio First commercial]]''' for the Game Gear, 1991
5
6	After achieving success in the North American and European markets with the Platform/SegaGenesis, Creator/{{Sega}} decided to expand their MediaNotes/ConsoleWars against Creator/{{Nintendo}} to the handheld domain. Their answer to the Platform/GameBoy was called the '''Game Gear'''.
7
8	To combat the Game Boy, Sega purposefully designed the Game Gear to address common complaints levied at its competitor. The Game Boy had a dinky dot matrix screen that only worked with four shades of grey, so the Game Gear displayed in color and had a backlight to boot. The Game Boy had an awkward brick-shaped and portrait-style form factor, so the Game Gear was made in a wider landscape format to be more comfortable to hold. The Game Gear is also significantly more powerful than its competition, effectively being a Platform/SegaMasterSystem in handheld form. All of this led to a higher, though still somewhat reasonable, price point of $149.99 (£99.99 in the United Kingdom). While not the most advanced handheld system of its day, the Game Gear was a very noticeable improvement over the omnipresent Game Boy and had brand recognition to give it an edge over the Platform/AtariLynx and [[Platform/TurboGrafx16 TurboExpress]].
9
10	The Game Gear released on October 6, 1990 in Japan, with North America and Europe receiving it in April of 1991. It was bundled with ''VideoGame/{{Columns}}'', a puzzle game similar to ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' that was clearly intended to replicate the latter game's explosive success as the console's KillerApp. The marketing for the system in America was similar in approach to the Genesis, with Sega playing to the teenage crowd and positioning the Game Gear as the handheld for cool kids. While insulting Nintendo was very much in line for Sega, they went a bit further and insulted their customers to sell the Game Gear; an advertisement famously claimed that Game Boy owners had [=IQs=] less than 12.
11
12	Despite Sega's best efforts, they were unable to establish themselves as a big competitor in the handheld scene like they had in the home console space, and the Game Gear failed to claim any significant slice of the market. Not that it was a flop, mind you -- the system lasted until 1997 and sold 10 million units. That might not be as impressive as the Game Boy's 118 million units, but it was way better than the Lynx's 3 million and the [=TurboExpress=]'s 1.5 million. Sega's brand recognition at the time is likely the reason the Game Gear ended up a modest hit instead of an outright flop like the other handhelds. It was actually the most successful handheld to go against Nintendo until Sony released the Platform/PlayStationPortable in 2004.
13
14	The issue is that the Game Gear ultimately fell into the same traps that the other non-Nintendo handhelds had found themselves caught in. The first problem was battery life. Even if the chips didn't consume a lot of power on their own, the screen's backlight did. And you couldn't turn it off or adjust the brightness level to conserve power. The Game Gear was infamously a battery hog as a result; it took '''six''' AA batteries, and those batteries only lasted a measly 2-5 hours thanks to the inefficient power usage. The original model Game Boy might have lacked a backlight, but it only needed four AA batteries and could potentially last up to 30 hours. The Game Gear's battery issues could be alleviated by a rechargeable battery pack or circumvented entirely by plugging it in with an AC adapter, though these solutions heavily compromised the portability of the system. Not that the portability was amazing in the first place, as the system was larger than the Game Boy and its form factor meant it couldn't be slipped into pockets as easily. Additionally, the first production runs of the system were faulty, and that along with the battery life caused the audience in Japan to largely ignore it. This contributed to the minor support from third parties.
15
16	While the Game Gear ended up with over 350 games, its library was dwarfed by the Game Boy's 1,000+ titles. Nintendo still had a stranglehold on third-party developers during the early days of the system, which siphoned pretty much all the support towards them. Sega was able to throw together a decent amount of original first-party games to keep the system alive -- including a bevy of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' titles -- but the Game Gear ended up heavily reliant on ports from the less-than-popular Master System to bolster its library. Many of the Master System games also ended up suffering from {{screen crunch}} due to being straight port jobs that weren't properly adjusted for the smaller screen resolution. Even with Sonic on its side, none of the Game Gear's games lit the world on fire like ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' did for the Game Boy.
17
18	Despite all of its issues, 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 Genesis Model 2 AC adapters). Especially since it always had [[BackThatLightUp backlights]], which make the color palettes look the same as home consoles --except in direct daylight.
19
20	In 2000, third-party game developer Creator/{{Majesco}}, with assistance from Sega, reissued the Game Gear for a reduced price of $30. Only one new game was released for it (''VideoGame/SuperBattletank'', an unreleased game developed in 1994), just a few existing games were re-issued with it (specifically ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogChaos'' and ''VideoGame/{{Columns}}'') for $15, and a couple of accessories did not function with the reissue. The battery life was improved somewhat and the new version had a higher quality screen, but it didn't catch on with consumers aside from the {{retrogaming}} market. It was gone again by the end of the year. That said, the Platform/Nintendo3DS has some Game Gear games on offer in its Platform/VirtualConsole, using an emulator programmed by M2, who have a history of making emulators of Sega consoles. But note that the 3DS's storefront was closed in early 2023.
21
22	In 2020, following the trend of "mini" consoles started by the [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Nintendo Classic Mini]], Sega announced the Game Gear Micro line for the Japanese market. It has four different color variations, each with four games.[[labelnote:''Games'']]''Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Puyo Puyo Tsu'', ''[=OutRun=]'', and ''Royal Stone'' for the black Game Gear, ''Sonic the Hedgehog Chaos'', ''Gunstar Heroes'', ''Sylvan Tale'', and ''Baku Baku Animal'' for the blue Game Gear, ''Shining Force Gaiden'', ''Shining Force Gaiden 2'', ''Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict'' and ''Nazo Puyo: Arle no Roux'' for the yellow Game Gear, ''Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible'', ''Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special'', ''The GG Shinobi'', and ''Columns'' for the red Game Gear.[[/labelnote]] It mercifully only requires two AAA batteries, or alternatively a micro USB cable. Later in the year, a special white variation was announced that compiles the four ''VideoGame/{{Aleste}}'' games for the Game Gear and Master System, plus a new game in ''GG Aleste 3''.
23	----
24	!!Specifications:
25
26	[[AC:Processor]]
27	* CPU runs at 3.55 or 3.58 [=MHz=], depending on the region.
28	* The graphics are handled by the [[MediaNotes/{{GPU}} Video Display Processor]].
29	* Part of the chipset involves that mighty little 8-bit controller known as the Zilog [=Z80=].
30
31	[[AC:Memory]]
32	* Eight kilobytes of main MediaNotes/RandomAccessMemory, with 16 KB of MediaNotes/VideoRAM. Games like ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1992'' really showed all this memory off.
33	* ROM size ranged from 8 KB to 1024 KB.
34
35	[[AC:Sprites]]
36	* Like the NES, SMS sprites are 8×8 or 8×16 pixels, with up to 64 on screen.
37
38	[[AC:Display]]
39	* Resolution is 160×144 pixels.
40	* Thirty-two colors allowed on screen, out of 4,096 total. Funnily enough, the system has a larger available color palette than the Sega Genesis.
41
42	[[AC:Batteries]]
43	* 6 AA batteries give 3-5 hours of play time.
44	* The system could be plugged in to an outlet or external battery pack for power.
45
46	[[AC:Add-Ons and Accessories]]
47	* The Gear-to-Gear Cable allows multiplayer in the same vein as the Game Boy's Link Cable.
48	* The Master Gear Converter allows Master System cartridges to be a played on the Game Gear. While novel, this was somewhat redundant due to the slew of Master System ports already made for the handheld.
49	* The Sega TV Adaptor is a very unique peripheral that allowed the Game Gear to function as an analog TV via its antenna. This accessory is mostly useless nowadays (see the note) outside of being a collector's item, though it also gives AV inputs to the Game Gear for potentially interesting applications.[[note]]As a portable TV it was kind of useless since it drained the Game Gear's batteries even faster than playing games on it, plus no matter what you hook up to it it's still on a 160x140 screen (analog TV in North America was 486x440) so it's not gonna look very good. But if you were a kid in a house with only 1 TV it was good enough. Note that these will no longer pick up TV signals in many countries where analog TV transmission has ended[[/note]]
50	* The Super Wide Gear is a magnifying glass for the screen.
51	* The Game Gear Battery Pack and [=PowerBack=] are both external batteries designed to help compensate for the system's poor battery life. The Battery Pack was made to clip onto a belt while the [=PowerBack=] attaches to the back of the system. Both are rechargeable and can boost the Game Gear's life by up to 8 hours.
52
53	As mentioned earlier, the specs are nearly identical to those of the Platform/SegaMasterSystem bar the resolution and increased color palette. This allowed many games from the Game Gear to be easily ported to the Master System and vice versa.
54	----
55
56	!!Games/Series:
57
58	[[foldercontrol]]
59
60	[[folder:A-D]]
61	[[index]]
62	* ''VideoGame/{{Aleste}}'':
63	** ''GG Aleste''
64	** ''GG Aleste II''
65	** ''GG Aleste 3''[[note]]Only available as part of the Game Gear Micro and ''Aleste Collection''; it is not available as a standalone title.[[/note]]
66	* ''VideoGame/AsterixAndTheGreatRescue''
67	* ''Ax Battler: A VideoGame/GoldenAxe Legend''
68	* ''VideoGame/BakuBakuAnimal''
69	* ''VideoGame/BatmanReturnsGameGear''
70	* ''VideoGame/BerenstainBearsCampingAdventure''
71	* ''The Berlin Wall''
72	* ''[[VideoGame/SailorMoonSGameGear Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S]]''
73	* ''VideoGame/BubbleBobble'':
74	** ''Bubble Bobble''
75	** ''Bust-A-Move''
76	* ''ComicBook/ChakanTheForeverMan''
77	* ''Chicago Syndicate'' (an ''VideoGame/EternalChampions'' SpinOff game starring Larcen Tyler)
78	* ''VideoGame/ChuckRock'':
79	** ''Chuck Rock''
80	** ''Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck''
81	* ''VideoGame/CocaColaKid''
82	* ''VideoGame/{{Columns}}'':
83	** ''Columns''
84	** ''Super Columns''
85	* ''VideoGame/CrystalWarriors''
86	* ''Defenders of Oasis''
87	* ''VideoGame/DesertStrike''
88	* [[/index]]''Creator/{{Disney}}'':[[index]]
89	** ''[[VideoGame/AladdinSIMSCo Aladdin]]'' (different from the Genesis version)
90	** ''VideoGame/ArielTheLittleMermaid''
91	** ''WesternAnimation/{{Bonkers}}: Wax Up!''
92	** ''VideoGame/CastleOfIllusion starring WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse''
93	** ''VideoGame/DeepDuckTrouble starring WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck''
94	** ''VideoGame/TheJungleBook''
95	** ''VideoGame/LandOfIllusion starring Mickey Mouse''
96	** ''VideoGame/LegendOfIllusion starring Mickey Mouse''
97	** ''VideoGame/TheLionKing''
98	** ''VideoGame/TheLuckyDimeCaper starring Donald Duck'' (different from the Platform/SegaMasterSystem version)
99	** ''Mickey's Ultimate Challenge''
100	** ''VideoGame/{{TaleSpin\|Sega}}''
101	* ''VideoGame/DynamiteHeaddy''
102	[[/index]]
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:E-H]]
106	[[index]]
107	* ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin''
108	* ''Eternal Legend''
109	* ''VideoGame/FantasyZone Gear''
110	* ''VideoGame/FatalFury Special''
111	* ''[[VideoGame/{{Xak}} Fray: Shugyou Hen]]''
112	* ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}} '91''
113	* ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}: Monsters Attack''
114	* ''VideoGame/GunstarHeroes''
115	* ''Head Buster''
116	* ''VideoGame/{{Home Alone\|Sega}}''
117	* ''VideoGame/{{Hook}}''
118	[[/index]]
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:I-L]]
122	[[index]]
123	* ''Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's VideoGame/SuperOffRoad''
124	* ''VideoGame/JudgeDredd''
125	* [[/index]]''Franchise/JurassicPark'':[[index]]
126	** ''VideoGame/{{Jurassic Park\|SegaMasterSystem}}''
127	** ''VideoGame/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'' (the last Sega-published Game Gear release)
128	* ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail''
129	* ''Manga/KishinDoujiZenki''
130	* ''VideoGame/{{Klax}}''
131	* [[/index]]''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':[[index]]
132	** ''VideoGame/BugsBunnyInDoubleTrouble''
133	** ''VideoGame/CheeseCatAstrophe Starring WesternAnimation/SpeedyGonzales''
134	** ''WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck in Hollywood''
135	** ''VideoGame/DesertSpeedtrap Starring [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote]]''
136	** ''[[VideoGame/TazManiaSega Taz-Mania]]''
137	** ''VideoGame/TazInEscapeFromMars''
138	* ''VideoGame/LunarWalkingSchool''
139	[[/index]]
140	[[/folder]]
141
142	[[folder:M-P]]
143	[[index]]
144	* ''VideoGame/MadouMonogatari'':
145	** ''Madou Monogatari I: 3-tsu no Madouryoku''
146	** ''Madou Monogatari II: Arle 16-sai''
147	** ''Madou Monogatari III: Kyuukyoku Joou-sama''
148	** ''Madou Monogatari A: Doki Doki Vacation''
149	* ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'':
150	** ''Magic Knight Rayearth''
151	** ''Magic Knight Rayearth 2: Making of Magic Knight''
152	* ''Manga/MagicalTarurutoKun''
153	* ''VideoGame/{{Mappy}}''
154	* ''VideoGame/MarbleMadness''
155	* ''VideoGame/MasterOfDarkness'' (known on this system as ''Vampire Master Of Darkness'')
156	* ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic''
157	* ''[[VideoGame/LastBible Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible]]''
158	* ''Moldorian: The Sisters of Light and Darkness''
159	* [[/index]]''Franchise/MortalKombat'':[[index]]
160	** ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1992''
161	** ''VideoGame/MortalKombatII''
162	** ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3''
163	* ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden''
164	* ''Manga/{{Ninku}}'':
165	** ''[=Ninku=]''
166	** ''Ninku 2: Tenkuryu-e no Michi''
167	** ''Ninku Gaiden: Hiroyuki Daikatsugeki''
168	* ''VideoGame/PacMan'':
169	** ''Pac-Man''
170	** ''VideoGame/PacAttack''
171	** ''Ms. Pac-Man''
172	* ''VideoGame/PanzerDragoon Mini''
173	* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar Gaiden''
174	* ''VideoGame/PinballDreams''
175	* [[/index]]''Franchise/PowerRangers'':[[index]]
176	** ''VideoGame/MightyMorphinPowerRangersSega''
177	** ''VideoGame/MightyMorphinPowerRangersTheMovie''
178	* [[/index]]''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'':[[index]]
179	** ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo1992 Puyo Puyo]]'' (becomes ''Puzlow Kids'' when used in a non-Japanese system)
180	** ''VideoGame/NazoPuyo''
181	** ''Nazo Puyo 2''
182	** ''Nazo Puyo: Arle no Roux''
183	** ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo2''
184	[[/index]]
185	[[/folder]]
186
187	[[folder:Q-T]]
188	[[index]]
189	* ''VideoGame/QuestForTheShavenYakStarringRenHoekAndStimpy''
190	* ''VideoGame/{{Rampart}}''
191	* ''VideoGame/{{Rastan}}''
192	* ''VideoGame/{{Ristar}}''
193	* ''Royal Stone''
194	* ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown''
195	* ''Franchise/SDGundam: Winner's History''
196	* ''VideoGame/ShaqFu''
197	* [[/index]]''VideoGame/ShiningSeries'':[[index]]
198	** ''[[VideoGame/ShiningForceGaidenGames Shining Force Gaiden]]''
199	** ''Shining Force Gaiden II'' (also known as ''Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya'', the only one that got an overseas release)
200	** ''Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict''
201	* ''VideoGame/{{Shinobi}}'':
202	** ''The G.G. Shinobi''
203	** ''The G.G. Shinobi II: The Silent Fury''
204	* ''Slider''
205	* ''[[VideoGame/TheSmurfs1994 The Smurfs]]''
206	* [[/index]]''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':[[index]]
207	** ''VideoGame/DoctorRobotniksMeanBeanMachine''
208	** ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog18Bit Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)]]''
209	** ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog28Bit Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)]]''
210	** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogChaos''
211	** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogTripleTrouble''
212	** ''VideoGame/SonicDrift'' ([[NoExportForYou Japan exclusive]])
213	** ''VideoGame/SonicDrift 2''
214	** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogSpinball''
215	** ''VideoGame/SonicLabyrinth''
216	** ''VideoGame/SonicBlast''
217	** ''VideoGame/TailsAdventure''
218	** ''VideoGame/TailsSkyPatrol'' ([[NoExportForYou Japan exclusive]])
219	* ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier''
220	* ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage'':
221	** ''[[VideoGame/StreetsOfRage1991 Streets of Rage]]''
222	** ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage2''
223	* ''VideoGame/StriderReturns''
224	* ''[[VideoGame/SmashTV Super Smash T.V.]]''
225	* ''Film/SurfNinjas'' ([[TheProblemWithLicensedGames licensed game]] based on a movie which had someone playing a Game Gear and [[ProductPlacement seeing the future through playing said licensed game of the movie]])
226	* ''Sylvan Tale''
227	* [[/index]]''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':[[index]]
228	** ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsBartmanMeetsRadioactiveMan''
229	** ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsBartVsTheSpaceMutants''
230	** ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsBartVsTheWorld''
231	[[/index]]
232	[[/folder]]
233
234	[[folder:U-Z]]
235	[[index]]
236	* ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter Animation'' (based on the ''Anime/VirtuaFighter'' anime)
237	* ''Series/VRTroopers''
238	* ''VideoGame/{{Wolfchild}}''
239	* ''VideoGame/WonderBoy'':
240	** ''VideoGame/WonderBoy1'' (also known as ''Revenge of Drancon'')
241	** ''[[VideoGame/WonderBoyIIITheDragonsTrap Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap]]''
242	* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
243	** ''X-Men''
244	** ''X-Men: Gamesmaster's Legacy''
245	** ''X-Men: Mojo World''
246	* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'':
247	** ''[=YuYu=] Hakusho: Horobishi Mono no Gyakushuu''
248	** ''[=YuYu=] Hakusho II: Gekitou! Nanakyou no Tatakai''
249	* ''VideoGame/{{Zoop}}''
250	[[/index]]
251	[[/folder]]
252	----
253	!Tropes:
254	* 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 Platform/SegaMasterSystem, but like the Platform/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 Platform/GameBoy. The biggest deal breaker was its 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 its 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.
255	* FollowTheLeader: Sega bundled the system with ''VideoGame/{{Columns}}'' to copy the Game Boy's success with ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}''. It didn't work since ''Columns'' lacked the prestige ''Tetris'' had earned before it was released on the Game Boy.
256	* TakeThat:
257	** As they did with the Platform/SegaGenesis, Sega released snipe ads to support the Game Gear, mocking the Game Boy's [[GreenBoyColor blurry cream spinach screen]] and dissing it as a kiddy portable in contrast to their full color backlit portable.
258	** One memorable ad had a kid (played by Ethan "[[Series/MyNameIsEarl Randy Hickey]]" Suplee) 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.]]

Context Platform / GameGear