Sega Game Gear Games Collection

The Sega Game Gear, released in 1990 (Japan) and 1991 (North America), was Sega's color handheld competitor to Nintendo's Game Boy. Technically superior with a full-color backlit screen (unlike the original Game Boy's monochrome display), the Game Gear suffered from short battery life (requiring 6 AA batteries for about 3-5 hours of play). The system was essentially a portable Master System, with many games being conversions of Sega's 8-bit console titles. Its library included Sonic the Hedgehog titles, Shinobi, and a variety of arcade ports. The Game Gear supported accessories like a TV tuner and magnifier, but these added to the system's already bulky design. While it sold approximately 11 million units (far less than the Game Boy's 118 million), the Game Gear established Sega as Nintendo's primary handheld competitor throughout the early 1990s. The system developed a cult following for its vibrant (for the time) color display and strong arcade-style games. Today it's remembered as an ambitious but flawed attempt to challenge Nintendo's handheld dominance, though its legacy influenced later color handhelds including Sega's own Nomad portable Genesis system.