Sega Genesis at 30: the console that made the modern games industry

In 1989, the machine the rest of the world called the Mega Drive was launched in the US with a new name and a bold new idea: that gaming could be cool

The US launch of the Sega Genesis, on 14 August 1989, probably didn't seem like a huge deal outside the video game industry. The machine was launched in Japan the year before under a different name - the Mega Drive - and with a couple of decent arcade conversions, Space Harrier II and Super Thunder Blade, but not much in the way of fanfare. Nintendo utterly dominated the games business at that time, with a 95% share of the console sector and most of the biggest Japanese developers locked into exclusive deals to make games for its NES and forthcoming SNES consoles. The Mega Drive did OK in Japan but it was small fry - a cult machine.

But David Rosen, who co-founded Sega after serving with the US air force in Japan during the Korean war, was determined to make a real event of the console's launch in his native country. The first games machine with a 16-bit processor, and boasting beautiful, colourful visuals, excellent sound and enough power to handle accurate arcade conversions, it had all the credentials of a hit. All he had to do was get US gamers to recognise it. So he rebranded it Genesis - a name he thought was cool and symbolised Sega's rebirth - and then he started building.