Sega Game Gear - A Look Back
In the year 2006, handheld system owners are used to playing games that may include great graphics, excellent audio & video capabilities, and sometimes even the touch-screen feature. However, 15 years ago, the mainstay of handheld video games came with the release of the Game Gear from, then a video game powerhouse, Sega. I, for one, was a proud owner of the Sega Game Gear, a system that drained the life of hundreds of dollars of AA batteries, a system. Its horizontal approach made most gamers feel less “cramped” and allowed them to have longer, more extended periods of play.
When it was released in 1991, games started flying onto shelves from developers that were trying to get some small cut of the profit. With the usual Sega games, such as Golden Axe, all of the Sonic series, Road Rash, Shinobi, Mortal Kombat, and many more. The Game Gear later added add-ons for the system, which included the famous “TV Tuner.” For most handheld owners at the time, the Game Gear was a shining example of Sega’s bright future. Now, though, as we look back, we see that the Game Gear was maybe a dying attempt by Sega’s to try to slowly get back into the console market. Only a brief decade later, Sega would end their console production and try to solely focus on software manufacturing.