SEGA Mega Drive II/Genesis
The SEGA Mega Drive II (or simply ‘Genesis’ in North America), is a cost-reduced redesign of the original Mega Drive that features an aesthetic overhaul, weight reduction and smaller footprint.
The biggest difference between this model and the original revision is the lack of headphone jack. This has often lead people to incorrectly believe the Mega Drive II has no stereo capabilities for audio, but a redesigned A/V-out connector actually provides stereo sound directly from the console itself.
The console also comes with a simpler mainboard that was less expensive to produce and it also requires less power. Outside of these minor changes, the console features no boost in graphical or audio capabilities and is largely identical to its predecessor.
The Mega Drive II still features an edge connector and can be used in conjunction with the Mega-CD, but a revised top-loading Mega-CD II was also developed to better fit the design ethos of the Mega Drive II. Ironically, the Mega Drive II connected to a Mega-CD II actually has a larger footprint than a Mega Drive connected to an original Mega-CD model.
Release Dates
Japan: 1993
North America: 1993
United Kingdom: 1993
Australia: 1993
China: 10/1993
Russia: 04/1994
India: 04/1994
Specifications
CPU
Motorola 68000 @ 7.6 MHz
Zilog Z80 @ 3.58 MHz
Display
Progressive: 320×224, 256×224 (NTSC) or 320×240, 256×240 (PAL) pixels, 512 color palette, 61 colors on-screen
Interlaced: 320×448, 256×448 (NTSC) or 320×480, 256×480 (PAL)
Audio
Yamaha YM2612
Texas Instruments SN76489
RAM
72 kB of RAM
64 kB of video RAM
Storage
ROM Cartridge
