Console
A 7.67 MHz 68000 console with 64 KiB main RAM, a Z80 audio processor and a tile-and-sprite VDP.
A first-model Japanese Mega Drive, shown with the three-button pad.
This is the original Japanese Mega Drive, not the later Mega Drive II. Its 68000-led design makes it Sega's direct counterpart to the contemporary cartridge consoles in this catalog.
| Component | Role | Count | Clock | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motorola 68000 The 3.58 MHz Z80 is an audio coprocessor; its clock is not added to this one. | Main CPU | 1 | 7.67 MHz Nominal clock | — |
| Sega Mega Drive VDP | GPU | 1 | unknown Nominal clock | — |
| Sega Mega Drive RAM | System memory | 1 | — | 64 KiB |
provisional A figure marked provisional is recorded but not accepted: its evidence is unsettled. It may rely on one source, an unconfirmed announcement, or a digit read from a damaged scan. The reason appears under the figure. The catalog shows the figure but never uses it in a multiplier. How records are judged.
| Metric | Value | Evidence | Basis | Method | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clock frequency cpu provisional | 7.67 MHz | Confirmed | Vendor-rated | Nominal clock Stated by the vendor Provisional record for sega-mega-drive: the cited primary manual is registered, but its page-level transcription and independent review are still pending. | |
| Memory capacity whole-system provisional | 65 536 B | Confirmed | Derived | Design capacity Computed here from figures the vendor stated Adds 1 memory-capacity figure obtained by design-capacity. Left out: removable game-cartridge ROM (removable program storage, not memory the console can write to). A total is only as trustworthy as the decision about what belongs in it, so both the terms and the exclusions are named records. | |
| Rated power consumption whole-system | 13 W | Confirmed | Vendor-rated | Rated power Stated by the vendorJapanese Mega Drive, model code HAA-2500, drawing from its dedicated DC9V AC adapter. Sega states this as 約13W — "approximately 13 W" — so the figure carries the vendor's own hedge. It is a consumption rating and not a measured draw, and it describes the Japanese HAA-2500; later Mega Drive and Genesis revisions are different hardware. |
| Metric | Value | Evidence | Basis | Method | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clock frequency gpu provisional | unknown The reviewed manual covers a different console revision. | Not stated | Vendor-rated | Nominal clock Stated by the vendor The reviewed service manual is for the later PAL Mega Drive II, not this original Japanese Mega Drive configuration, so its VDP timing does not apply. | |
| Memory bandwidth memory provisional | unknown The reviewed manual covers a different console revision. | Not stated | Vendor-rated | Theoretical peak Stated by the vendor The reviewed service manual is for the later PAL Mega Drive II, not this original Japanese Mega Drive configuration, so its memory timings do not apply. | |
| Storage capacity storage provisional | not applicable Game cartridges are removable media and their ROM capacity varies by title; no cartridge capacity is part of the base console. | Not stated | Vendor-rated | Design capacity Stated by the vendor |
| Metric | Value | Evidence | Basis | Method | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak FP32 rate cpu provisional | not applicable This console CPU has no integrated floating-point execution unit. | Not stated | Vendor-rated | Theoretical peak Stated by the vendor Provisional record for sega-mega-drive: the cited primary manual is registered, but its page-level transcription and independent review are still pending. |
| Metric | Value | Evidence | Basis | Method | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak FP32 rate gpu provisional | not applicable This is a tile, sprite or scanline graphics unit, not a floating-point processor; it executes no FP32 operations. | Not stated | Vendor-rated | Theoretical peak Stated by the vendor Provisional record for sega-mega-drive: the cited primary manual is registered, but its page-level transcription and independent review are still pending. |
provisional A figure marked provisional is recorded but not accepted: its evidence is unsettled. It may rely on one source, an unconfirmed announcement, or a digit read from a damaged scan. The reason appears under the figure. The catalog shows the figure but never uses it in a multiplier. How records are judged.
| Metric | Value | Evidence | Basis | Method | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memory capacity memory provisional | 64 KiB | Confirmed | Vendor-rated | Design capacity Stated by the vendor Provisional record for sega-mega-drive: the cited primary manual is registered, but its page-level transcription and independent review are still pending. |
65 536 B
a + b + … sum v1 Adds 1 memory-capacity figure obtained by design-capacity. Left out: not applicable (removable program storage, not memory the console can write to). A total is only as trustworthy as the decision about what belongs in it, so both the terms and the exclusions are named records.
Cartridge ROM remains removable storage and does not enter the RAM total.
Sonic the Hedgehog entered The Strong National Museum of Play’s World Video Game Hall of Fame with the class of 2016, and the museum’s record is direct about why the character exists at all. Sega wanted a rival to Nintendo’s Mario and ran an in-house design contest to get one. The winner was a hedgehog codenamed “Mr. Needlemouse”, colored cobalt blue and given large red shoes.
The record dates the game to 1991 and describes what the level design was for. Slopes, springs and loops were arranged so that a player could reach the end without slowing down, and the character died if a level took more than ten minutes.
On sales the museum states more than 15 million copies, which makes it the best-selling game for this console. It uses the North American name, Genesis; this catalog files the machine under the name Sega sold it with in Europe and Japan.