35 years ago, one of the best consoles of all time changed gaming forever

It was the shot heard around the world: “Sega does what Nintendon’t.”

In the late 1980s, Nintendo was on top of the world. Atari’s star was falling and mascots like Mario were catapulting the Japanese studio to stardom. Nintendo was becoming synonymous with video games, herding players to one plastic box during gaming’s early Wild West days. Competing with a Nintendo system was no easy task. It wouldn’t just require a better system, but a fierce message that would stick with players.

That’s exactly what Sega pulled off in 1989 when it brought its 16-bit Mega Drive to North America on August 14, 1989, with a new name: the Sega Genesis. Thirty-five years later, that name stands as a symbolic one. The Genesis wasn’t just the birthplace of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sega’s overall legacy; it created the modern video game console war as we know it. Though Sega has long since lost the battle it started, its impact can still be felt today, making the Genesis one of the most consequential systems in history.

Starting a war

In 2024, the Sega Genesis is a well-regarded system — and for good reason. Sega’s NES was a powerful system for the time that showed off the power of 16-bit visuals. It did that with a deep roster of games. I still regularly uncover gems from the era to this day (Nintendo Switch Online’s Sega Genesis catalog is especially great for unearthing surprises). Sonic the Hedgehog showed how fast video games could be, whileEcco the Dolphin sold how transportive digital adventures could be. It was a weird and wonderful expansion of the medium that paved the way for a more creative industry.

More crucially, it created a more heated one. too.

When it came to marketing the Genesis, Sega knew that it couldn’t afford to play nice. Nintendo seemed unreachable, like Donkey Kong sitting atop his mountain of girders. It wouldn’t be enough to simply drop another console into a crowded marketplace. The Genesis would need to make a name for itself. So, like a new prisoner taking