Talk:List of variations of the Sega Genesis

Model No
Both of my European Mega Drive I models ("Mega Drive PAL-G") state 1601-18 as model number while the article claims Model number 1600-05 (original model), 1601-05 (second variation without "High Definition Graphics - Stereo Sound" text or EXT port). While the 1601 as identifier for the revision without the EXT port is quite clear I wonder what's the difference between -05 and -18. One was made in Malaysia, the other one was made in China, so that's not the relevant part. --32X 19:49, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Comparisons between the different models of the same Version
While the list is pretty much interesting, after some reading the reader may get confused. Some Examples:

Japan

 * New square shape
 * No headphone jack
 * One custom multi-output for picture and sound
 * [...]
 * No power LED

Europe, Australia, and New Zealand

 * New square shape
 * No headphone jack
 * A/V port switched to one custom multi-output for picture and sound (previously, only mono sound was used, as the stereo sound came through the headphone jack)
 * [...]

Sega Genesis (North America, second model)
Note: This model was not officially named "Genesis 2".
 * New square shape
 * No headphone jack
 * One custom multi-output for picture and sound
 * Has a power LED
 * [...]

The "new square shape" and the removed headphone jacke are mentioned everywhere, while the Mini-DIN 9 pin AV port is described different, the power LED is mentioned sometimes.

That's bad style.

Good would be (maybe not good but better):

Sega Mega Drive 2
While the Mega Drive had seen some minor changes, in 1992 Sega brought a new major version of its console. It was cheaper to produce, remained completely compatible and brought some changes to the user:It has clearer 8 bit sound than the first Mega Drive,which means you can here the hi hat cymbals more and computer octaves.

General

 * New square shape
 * Headphone jack was removed from in this design
 * One custom multi-output for picture and sound (Mini-DIN 9 pin)

Japan

 * Has no power LED
 * Power switch is a Mega Drive 1 style switch
 * 60 Hz NTSC, Japanese language setting
 * [...]

North America
Note: This model of the Sega Genesis was not officially named "Genesis 2".
 * Has a power LED
 * Power switch is a push button
 * 60 Hz NTSC, English language setting
 * [...]

Europe, Australia, and New Zealand

 * Has a power LED
 * Power switch is a push button
 * 50 Hz PAL, English language setting
 * [...]

It's quite obvious what I'd like to have - a list where the same stuff is mentioned only once and the different stuff is mentioned in a "standard" order for each region. That allows the reader to recognize what was changed between Mega Drive and Mega Drive 2 and what was changed between the Japanese Mega Drive 2 and the second model of the Genesis. Since the Genesis is only a rebranded Mega Drive (as we've learned from a recent discussion), I've put it in the same order, but on the second place since North America was a more important market than Europe.

Oh and ... some additional text at the beginning of each major paragraph doesn't hurt.

Questions appear:
 * Who supports this and will rewrite that list? (I myself aren't bold enough.)
 * What should be mentioned where?
 * Extra task for the original Mega Drive: How should the two Versions (MK 1600 and MK 1601) be mentioned?

Think about it. --32X 21:13, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Sega Scorpion?
There used to be a games show in TV in the UK that once showed a demo unit of a Sega Mega Drive called the Scorpion that could play any game regardless of country of origin, without requiring a Universal Adaptor cartridge.

The console also had a built-in game similar to the Master System II, which was selected from a small range on purchase.

Thing is, I haven't seen a single mention of the console anywhere on the Internet.

Anyone have more information?80.195.249.202 19:37, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

- A little update, I've found the Scorpion article from the Bad Influence TV series. It wasn't an official Sega product, rather it was a UK made unlicensed Mega Drive variant. Should I add what I know to the article?80.195.249.202 19:57, 16 January 2007 (UTC)


 * It would be better if you put that text into this discussion first. --32X 09:07, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

You're right, sorry. I'll tell you what I know.

The Scorpion was an unlicensed variant of the Mega Drive, built bay an unspecified British company and available in certain stores of the hobby chain Beatties for around £70 (in 1991/2). One of the interesting features was that the Scorpion came with a built-in game, like the Master System II. What's different is how it was done: A second cartridge slot was built into the bottom of the unit under a hidden panel and had space to accomodate the internals of one game. This game was selected from a small selection at the store it was bought from. The secondary slot was bypassed whenever a cartridge was plugged into the primary slot.

The Scorpion also incorporated a Universal Adaptor cartridge on it's side, that was operated by a pair of switches that enabled it to play any regionally locked-out game.

Unfortunately, the Scorpion was incompatible with the 32X, as the port that connects the 32x to the Mega Drive was the wrong size. Even with a customised cable, the 32X still will not work.

The Scorpion usually came supplied with a bootleg six-button "turbo" joypad.

Hope this is useful. Sorry, I'm not very good with words.80.195.249.202 22:34, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Justification for the edit of Japan MD2 Systems.
G'day. Went looking through this topic about the variants of Megadrive systems. One I own is one that looks like the Japanese system, but is actually a PAL variant. Looks exactly the same, but will only play PAL games.

I've tested this - I own PAL, US and JPN versions of Sonic 3, which has region lockout. The JPN and US versions refuse to play [Get error about only playable on NTSC systems], but PAL version starts up fine.

The package I had it in is this:

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/6443/md26pakaw9.png

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/1613/md26pakinsideeu9.png

I'm in Australia. The system also includes a manual which is both in English and Japanese. I'd imagine that the console could have been refitted, since the system didn't take off in Japan.

- Rlan —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Rlan (talk • contribs) 05:50, 12 March 2007 (UTC).


 * Most likely to be a Hong Kong model since they're PAL and look like Japanese machines -Halo 06:19, 12 March 2007 (UTC)


 * This looks quite strange. The first image shows clearly a European (*) Mega Drive II with the Mega Games 2 cartridge (red buttons, European logo). The second image however shows a japanese Mega Drive 2 (power switch, Japanese logo). From what you've written this will most probably a "PAL asia" Mega Drive, Japanese Layout with European board settings. PAL asia stuff shouldn't differ from other PAL areas' stuff, since the MD had only 4 settings: 50/60 Hz and English/Japanese.
 * I have a Motocross Championship PAL cartrigde for the Mega Drive 32X "for sale and use in asia". The booklet came in 3 languages: English, one in Chinese characters, one in latin characters (maybe Indonesian). It works without problems on my European 32X.
 * (*) When I'm talking about European Mega Drives I in fact mean those from Europe, Australia and Oceania. --32X 00:56, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Aiwasegacd.jpg
Image:Aiwasegacd.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in Wikipedia articles constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale.

If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 19:19, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Four Genesis models?
I could have sworn that prior to the Majesco version, there were three Sega Genesis models released in America. I remember going to Toys R Us in 1992 and there were three models available. I chose the second model, which is in this picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sega_Genesis_original_model.jpg. The third model available was the "Genesis 2" that's listed in this article. The first model available looked like the Japanese original model that's listed, with the larger "16-bit" font. When I chose the second model, I got a free copy of Sonic 1 and was able to get Sonic 2 for free through the mail. So what's going on here? Are you guys sure this information in the article isn't missing something? Cyborg Ninja 03:56, 10 June 2007 (UTC)
 * The one you saw that looked like the Japanese original had to be just that, a Japanese system. The one in your picture is the first one actually released in America, but a lot of the early press images used prototypes that looked like Japanese models (mainly the larger 16 BIT text) instead of the actual American Genesis. How you would've seen one at a TRU is beyond me, are you sure you aren't conflating two memories? Like you saw the Japanese looking one in a magazine and then chose between the other two in the store? I got a Genesis at launch, and believe me, they looked like the picture you posted, not like the Japanese models.76.226.203.71 (talk) 01:36, 6 March 2009 (UTC)
 * If you want to count it as a variation, they did take off "High Definition Graphics" when they added in the TMSS lockout, but all US retail systems had the small 16 bit.76.226.136.43 (talk) 00:41, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

Sega Genesis First Model
I have both the first and second models for North America. Since i did not have the proper RF adaptor to connect the original model (MK-1601) to the TV, i had to make due with a Nintendo Entertainment System RF adaptor. I was blown away that it actually works! The NES RF adaptor is a bit snug in the Genesis/Mega Drive port, but it works flawlessly, as if it were the Sega RF adaptor. Should this be mentioned on the page for others that have this console, but not the proper RF adaptors? It helped me and saved me from having to buy one off ebay... RingtailedFox • Talk • Stalk 02:49, 18 June 2007 (UTC)
 * I wouldn't mention that. I thought it is common knowledge that these cables/adapters fit on other consoles, too. IIRC the Atari VCS 2600 just had a simple cable, one side with that cinch (RCA) jack, and the other side with the fitting TV jack. My MD I had not much more, a small box with a switch to select for TV or console. The NES' adaptor is a bit more advanced, IIRC it mixes the signals. --32X 21:02, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

No sources
There's no sources on this article. For as much content as there is here, I'm a little surprised. Red Phoenix (Talk) 23:14, 28 March 2008 (UTC)
 * For as mundane as a lot of the info is, I'm not surprised. Stuff like that doesn't exactly zazz up a website.76.226.203.71 (talk) 01:38, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:Pioneer Laseractive.jpg
The image Image:Pioneer Laseractive.jpg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check


 * That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
 * That this article is linked to from the image description page.

The following images also have this problem:


 * Image:Teradrive.jpg

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Media copyright questions. --09:26, 1 October 2008 (UTC)

New versions 2008
There is a new version released in Brazil with some games in internal memory without cartridge slot. Some of those games in memory are mobile ported games such FIFA 2008, Need for Speed Pro Street and The Sims 2. Also was released a portable Mega Drive PSP-LCD like:


 * http://www.tectoy.com.br/produto_interna.php?id=26
 * http://www.tectoy.com.br/produto_interna.php?id=8 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.78.91.31 (talk) 11:33, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

Blaze Megadrive sound emulation
Only mentions I could find on this issue are listed below. And even then there's a lot of text to wade through to get to those parts. I did, however, buy this machine myself and can vouch for the horrible sounds it produces, even if most customers tend to focus on other things when complaining about it. Sorry for just dropping this here, I'm not that familiar with wikipedia procedures and don't know how to insert the source myself without breaking everything.


 * http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sega-Megadrive-Cartridge-Console-Players/dp/B001W6PWM2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295143697&sr=1-1
 * http://bits.of.beex.co.uk/post/628883075/an-evening-with-the-atgames-blaze-megadrive
 * http://www.piersolar.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1631 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kaysow (talk • contribs) 02:20, 16 January 2011 (UTC)


 * I appreciate that it's hard to find sources for this, but unfortunately none of those are usable as sources. The Amazon one isn't in any way fact checked etc (being a user review), the second states at the bottom "Posted by forum member End of an Era." and the third is simply a forum thread (forums aren't considered reliable sources on this). What you'd really need is for some relatively large gaming site or something (IGN, Eurogamer etc) to have reviewed it as such.  Alphathon  /'æl.f'æ.ðɒn/ ( talk ) 03:51, 16 January 2011 (UTC)


 * I think you could use creative wording to use those as a source. Like, "many fans claim" or whatever.--SexyKick 08:56, 16 January 2011 (UTC)


 * That wouldn't cut it either I don't think. Wikipedia policy is that everything must be verified by a reliable source, and that self-published sources, forums etc are not reliable. You cannot circumvent the rule using weasel words - anyone can justify a position by pointing to a source or sources that agree with their point. That is why reliable sources are required, to prevent data mining and the like. Not that I'm saying that this is data mining, just that it still not allowed.


 * BTW SexyKick, you really need to stop trying to find ways around rules. I don't know if it's your intention, but that's how it comes across.


 *  Alphathon  /'æl.f'æ.ðɒn/ ( talk ) 16:32, 16 January 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm just learning from what other editors do. Like Anomie uses blogs as sources in the SNES article for example, and the rules say sources like that are only good for talking about themselves. I would think there were articles reviewing the Firecore, Gencore, Retrogen, or Genmobile that would discuss the new emulation based sound limitations, but I haven't gone searching for such things.--SexyKick 20:46, 16 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah, it depends a great deal on what the context is though. When talking about a verifiable fact (whether a device supports a certain format, what its power usage is, how heavy it is etc.) then there is a certain amount of leway involved (only if there are no contradicting "reliable" sources though). When its something more subjective like "the sound isn't very good", it needs a stronger source. Most blogs etc can be situational sources, that is used for some things but not others.  Alphathon  /'æl.f'æ.ðɒn/ ( talk ) 23:47, 16 January 2011 (UTC)
 * This is why discussion owns. Especially when it comes to ambiguous things like that.--SexyKick 05:21, 17 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Makes sense that short user reviews aren't eligible. Weird though that noone mentions this in professional reviews, even when I tried to return the machine the clerk at the store said they didn't consider it big enough a problem to warrant a refund, as "previous generation consoles always did sound kinda crap". Lost my cool right there and failed to negotiate any further. Anyway, thanks a bunch for your input. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kaysow (talk • contribs) 21:53, 16 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah, it is a pain. I don't know what country you live in, but if you're in the EU you may be able to argue it on the basis of not fit for function, since that is against EU law. As for reviews, the only reasons I can think of are corruption and ignorance.  Alphathon  /'æl.f'æ.ðɒn/ ( talk ) 23:47, 16 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah that story angers me as well. If you're in the US you should be able to demand a return. Just keep insisting it sounds wrong, must be malfunctioning, whatever. I suggest trying again. We all know how bad those new clone systems sound.--SexyKick 05:21, 17 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the encouragement, but this was months ago and I sorta gave up on the whole deal when they also managed to lose a cable while trying it out for themselves. There's no way they wouldn't blame me for that now. Anyway, I had no idea what I was buying so I figured it'd be a good idea to let everyone know it isn't nearly up to par with any of the original Megadrives. I'll keep looking for a better source. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kaysow (talk • contribs) 20:39, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Here we go.--<b style="color: #00BFFF ">Sexy</b><b style="color: #347235">Kick</b> 02:11, 19 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Nice one. I guess linking to that means I should move the info up to the Firecore paragraphs, of which the Blaze is a derivative? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kaysow (talk • contribs) 00:06, 20 January 2011 (UTC)
 * I think it'd be better as a note about AtGames' Sega consoles period.--<b style="color: #00BFFF ">Sexy</b><b style="color: #347235">Kick</b> 01:09, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress which affects this page. Please participate at Talk:List of Sega Mega Drive games - Requested move and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RM bot 23:00, 16 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Updating to note that this RM was closed as 'no consensus', with advice to make individual move requests on their respective pages so they can be argued individually. TechnoSymbiosis (talk) 04:20, 23 December 2011 (UTC)

Proposed title change: Variations of the Mega Drive
(Note: As of this writing, this article's title is Variations of the Sega Mega Drive.)

Per a series of discussion in Talk:Sega Genesis, a group of editors (including myself) agreed that this article's title should continue to reflect the "Mega Drive" even though the parent article will continue to be titled "Sega Genesis" - the reason for this difference is that the majority of the variations covered in this article occurred in markets where the console was marketed as the Mega Drive and have their own notability in those markets.

However, agreement was also reached in that this title should be "Variations of the Mega Drive", since the console's title outside North America does not officially include Sega's company name. (ie. "Mega Drive, by Sega"). I'm proposing that we go ahead and move this article to the shortened name and fix all occurrences of "Sega Mega Drive" in the article to just "Mega Drive", mentioning Sega by name where needed in the context of the company. I'm proposing this informally because I believe there will be little controversy on this move, but I'm willing to turn it into a formal move proposal if that's desired. &mdash; KieferSkunk (talk) &mdash; 20:02, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Given support from Talk:Sega Genesis, I went ahead and just did this, per WP:BOLD. &mdash; KieferSkunk (talk) &mdash; 00:27, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

Proposed merge with Sega Genesis
See Talk:Sega Genesis to discuss this merger proposal. Red Phoenix build the future...remember the past... 20:01, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

Strong Oppose That would make the parent article overly lengthy. 77.97.141.75 (talk) 20:58, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Snow Oppose &mdash; No chance in hell that this could be whittled down to fit into the Genesis article. DK  qwerty     18:15, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
 * The edit wanting the merge has started up the same discussion again at Talk:Sega_Genesis.  D r e a m Focus  23:54, 11 October 2013 (UTC)


 * I propose that since the tags of needing improvement have been on this article since 2009, that if no one is interested in resolving those issues and reworking this article within a months time, that the redirect of this article pass. Since the discussion was reopened, a couple editors changed their votes around from last time. If you believe this article can be properly sourced and efficiently converted into List format...then please do so.--<b style="color: #00BFFF ">Sexy</b><b style="color: #347235">Kick</b> 17:06, 16 October 2013 (UTC)
 * No one changed their vote from the last time. I certainly didn't, and the other two haven't participated in the new discussion.  And everyone ignores those useless tags on every article they are on.  You can't get rid of an article you don't like simply because people ignore the tag spam someone tossed up years ago.   D r e a m Focus  17:14, 16 October 2013 (UTC)
 * I changed my vote to support the redirect.--<b style="color: #00BFFF ">Sexy</b><b style="color: #347235">Kick</b> 05:06, 17 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Was it discussed elsewhere before? You didn't participate in the previous discussion above.   D r e a m Focus  02:40, 18 October 2013 (UTC)

This could really be blanked and started over in the style of List of 32X games.
I know it's a bit of work to do that. But that's probably the easiest way to get it to a solid state.--<b style="color: #00BFFF ">Sexy</b><b style="color: #347235">Kick</b> 03:55, 9 October 2013 (UTC)

A reliable source links to this forum post
http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?7796-GUIDE-Telling-apart-good-Genesis-1s-and-Genesis-2s-from-bad-ones seems to have some information in it. I tried registering on that forum yesterday, but aren't getting a notification email, so can't message the guy to ask for sources, nor post anything on their forums. Maybe AT&T blocks emails from them for some reason, they doing that at other forums sometimes, and no way to stop them from doing that. If someone has better luck registering please post there, asking about where the various variations have information about themselves listed.  D r e a m Focus  14:18, 17 October 2013 (UTC)
 * I want to say that I respect your efforts. That Kotaku page you recently is a great source, if you keep this work up I may consider changing my support for the redirect. Unless the current page gets majorly reworked towards list style though, it honestly seems like we can fit it all into the main article.--<b style="color: #00BFFF ">Sexy</b><b style="color: #347235">Kick</b> 06:39, 21 October 2013 (UTC)

Requested move
<div class="boilerplate" style="background-color: #efe; margin: 2em 0 0 0; padding: 0 10px 0 10px; border: 1px dotted #aaa;">
 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: Move to List of variations of the Sega Genesis. We have consensus for this change as the article currently stands before the merge discussion closes. That discussion should continue at the other page. Cúchullain t/ c 01:29, 31 October 2013 (UTC)

List of variations of the Sega Genesis/ Mega Drive → Variations of the Sega Genesis and Mega Drive – I feel like there should be an "and" instead of slash. Certainly not a slash with a space after it. Not sure if the "List of" is entirely necessary, either. Move would be consistent with the article's previous title before a BOLD merge either in the year  p  b  p  21:01, 21 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Support. Forward slashes should be avoided in title wherever possible, and "List of variations of..." doesn't confer any information that's not covered by "Variations of..." 168.12.253.66 (talk) 21:34, 21 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Support move to List of variations of Sega Genesis. There are multiple issues at play here. First, as the nominator rightly points out, a slash with a space after it is definitely not an appropriate construction for an article title. Since Mega Drive is an alternate name for Sega Genesis, however, including both names in the article title (e.g. "...Sega Genesis and Mega Drive") is also inappropriate. We should settle on the more common name and drop the other name. In this case, we should retain Sega Genesis and drop Mega Drive, per Talk:Sega Genesis. "List of..." conveys that this is a list class article rather than a prose article. See WP:LISTNAME. Thus we arrive at "List of variations of Sega Genesis". <span style="font-family: Frankenstein SF, Luftwaffe, Fraktur, Old English Text MT">Wilhelm Meis (&#9742; Diskuss &#124; &#x270D; Beiträge) 04:45, 22 October 2013 (UTC)
 * I agree with Wilhelm Meis. It should be renamed List of variations of the Sega Genesis.  Genesis is the first name it was released in an English speaking market, more copies sold in North America than all other English speaking markets combined, and to be in tune with what the main article is named.  This is the English language Wikipedia after all.   D r e a m Focus  08:01, 22 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Observation The name was fine until someone just randomly renamed the article without a discussion like this, but...I don't suppose anyone would like to comment on the current merge proposal?--<b style="color: #00BFFF ">Sexy</b><b style="color: #347235">Kick</b> 14:49, 22 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Good point. The article's name doesn't matter if it gets replaced by a redirect, which appears to be about to happen.   D r e a m Focus  15:28, 22 October 2013 (UTC)
 * On the other hand, a move is a lot quicker and easier to complete than a merger. Since there does appear to be sufficient consensus (so far, anyway) to support a move here, it may be counterproductive to wait for (or try to anticipate) the result of the merge request at the other article, which could go either way. <span style="font-family: Frankenstein SF, Luftwaffe, Fraktur, Old English Text MT">Wilhelm Meis (&#9742; Diskuss &#124; &#x270D; Beiträge) 03:31, 23 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Support List of variations of the Sega Genesis to match the parent article, but a merge would be fine too. --BDD (talk) 18:14, 28 October 2013 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.