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History of video games/Platforms/Genesis Nomad

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  • A Sega Nomad handheld.
    A Sega Nomad handheld.

History

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Development

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The Genesis Nomad was originally the Sega Venus,[1] which kept the naming scheme Sega had been using at the time.

Launch

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The Genesis Nomad was released in October of 1995 in North America, a development on the previous Japanese Mega Jet which was a portable Mega Drive without a built in screen.[2][3]

Legacy

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The Genesis Nomad sold about one million units in North America, the only area where it was released.[2] Around the end of 1996 the Genesis Nomad was discontinued.[4]

The Genesis Nomad is typically either classified as a fourth generation console, or a fifth generation console. The classification of fourth generation console is typically used when viewing the system as a Sega Genesis that happens to be portable, and thus should be in the same generation. The classification of fifth generation console is used when observing its capabilities as a handheld in relation to other handheld systems of the era, which more closely match with fifth generation systems. Chronologically the console was either launched very late in the fourth generation, or rather early in the fifth generation. As a result of these factors, this console tends to be categorized differently under different points of view.

Technology

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The Genesis Nomad has a 3.25" passive matrix LCD which uses composite video internally and tends to ghost.[5]

The Genesis Nomad takes six AA batteries, which can power the Genesis Nomad for about two to three hours.[2][6]

The Nomad audio is powered by a YM3438 chip and has a single speaker for mono audio, though it has a headphone jack.[5]

Game Library

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The Nomad is essentially a portable Sega Genesis, and plays standard North American region Genesis games.[7] Add on devices like the 32X do not work with the Genesis Nomad.[5]

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Console

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    Nomad bottom. The Control 2 Port allows for a second player to connect a controller.
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    Nomad top, showing AV out port, game cartridge port, DC in, and power toggle.
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Internals

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    Rare for a handheld, the Genesis Nomad contains a high voltage warning.
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    The backlight for the Genesis Nomad LCD.
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    The PCB still refers to "Venus" instead of the Nomad.
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External Resources

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Wikipedia has related information at Genesis Nomad

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sega Nomad

References

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  1. ↑ "Sega Shows Old Handheld Prototype Publicly For The First Time". Kotaku. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  2. ↑ a b c Life, Nintendo (5 November 2014). "Hardware Classics: The Sega Genesis Nomad". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  3. ↑ "The 10 Worst-Selling Handhelds of All Time Feature on GamePro.com". web.archive.org. 13 October 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  4. ↑ Zell-Breier, Sam (16 October 2020). "There was a Sega Genesis handheld and you probably didn't realize it". Looper.com. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  5. ↑ a b c Linneman, John (13 May 2018). "DF Retro: Revisiting Sega's Nomad - the original Switch?". Eurogamer. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  6. ↑ "USB-powered Sega Nomad gives you near-endless game time". Engadget. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  7. ↑ "Someone Fixed The Genesis Nomad's Biggest Problem". Kotaku. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
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