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.

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

Images