GAME GEAR
1990
LAUNCH
OFFICIALLY LICENSED
365 GAMES
10.6 MILLION
UNITS SOLD WORLDWIDE
GAME GEAR
1990
Library
Launch
The Sega Game Gear was first released on October 6 1990 in Japan and April 1991 in North America. The Game Gear was essentially a powered down handheld Sega Genesis. The Game Gear boasted a full-color illuminated screen and provided a few hours of entertainment at the expense of six AA batteries which gave you approximately 3-5 hours of play time.
While other handhelds at the time boasted better battery life, a better entry price, and maybe even bigger library the Game Gear was the superior device in a lot of aspects by providing gamers with an illuminated color screen on the go in the early 90s, something that even the more commercially successful Game Boy could not offer.
The Sega Game Gear offered a library of 365 officially licensed games which wasn't the largest when compared to the Game Boy's 1000+ but did offer quite a few memorable titles and neat exclusives.
The Game Gear did shine a lot with some games because it provided a near home console like experience on the go. Some of the best sellers and fan favorite games include Sonic the Hedgehog, Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, Mortal Kombat II, Prince of Persia, Shinobi, Streets of Rage II, Tails Adventures, and The Lion King.
It is rumored that one of the reasons Sega didn't manage to grow the Game Gear library further was due to third party developers being tied up with production of Nintendo titles for the more popular Game Boy.
Check out our curated list of our top games on the Game Gear.
TOP GAMES
