Sega Nomad
Encyclopedia
The Sega Nomad was a handheld game console
sold for the North America
n consumer market which played Mega Drive/Genesis game cartridges. The system was similar to the Japanese Sega Mega Jet, but featured a built-in color screen; the Mega Jet needed a separate monitor. The Nomad was never officially released in PAL
territories such as Europe
and Australia
, though the unit retained its PAL/NTSC switch on the internal board. It was released in Japan after a delay as the Mega Jet was already being sold in Japanese retail stores. The Nomad is one of the few Sega systems that can play most games regardless of region without an adapter. Its codename during development was Project Venus, as per Sega's policy at the time of codenaming their systems after planets.
180. Marketed as a portable Mega Drive/Genesis, the Nomad was primarily an evolution of the Japanese market Mega Jet. Whereas the Mega Jet was screenless and required an AC adapter, the Nomad featured a 3.25 inch color LCD screen and an external detachable battery pack was available that had room for six AA batteries, making it completely portable as opposed to simply being a small (travel-size) Mega Drive/Genesis system. In addition to its other improvements over the Mega Jet, an A/V Out plug was added at the top of the unit, letting owners play games on a television screen with a separate A/V cable. One particularly interesting feature of the Nomad was its ability to allow one player to play using a connected TV, while another watched on the Nomad. The directional pad on the unit controlled all one-player games, and a port on the bottom allowed a second controller pad to be plugged in for two-player games. This meant that the Nomad could be a fully functional home system as well as a hand-held solution with a preexisting library of games.
Following Sega's success with the Game Gear
, Sega originally intended for its successor to feature a touchscreen
interface, many years before the Nintendo DS
. However, such a technology was very expensive at the time, and the handheld itself was estimated to have cost $289 were it to be released. Sega eventually chose to shelve the idea and release the Sega Nomad as simply a handheld version of the Mega Drive.
, the Mega-CD, and the Power Base Converter. While they did work technologically, forcing compatibility involved modifying the add-on units' shapes or using 3rd party expanders. The Nomad had impressive technical specifications for the time including a full color backlit display, and supported an estimated 600 titles already on the shelves in addition to being a functional home system.
However, the Nomad was bulky and was not power efficient, offering limited battery life compared to contemporary handhelds (specifically Nintendo's Game Boy
system). Rechargeable AA batteries were not recommended due to voltage problems (as Ni-Cds provide 1.2V
instead of the 1.5V that alkaline batteries output), though a rechargeable battery pack was available separately for $79.
Even after a $100 price drop, the handheld did not garner enough support to continue. By the time it was released, the Mega Drive was at the end of its lifespan – already being replaced by the Sega Saturn
, PlayStation
, and upcoming Nintendo 64
, and general indifference towards 16-bit era titles hastened the unit's demise.
The game X-Men requires the player to reset the game at one point to progress. It is impossible to continue the game on the Sega Nomad due to the lack of a reset button.
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
sold for the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n consumer market which played Mega Drive/Genesis game cartridges. The system was similar to the Japanese Sega Mega Jet, but featured a built-in color screen; the Mega Jet needed a separate monitor. The Nomad was never officially released in PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
territories such as Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, though the unit retained its PAL/NTSC switch on the internal board. It was released in Japan after a delay as the Mega Jet was already being sold in Japanese retail stores. The Nomad is one of the few Sega systems that can play most games regardless of region without an adapter. Its codename during development was Project Venus, as per Sega's policy at the time of codenaming their systems after planets.
Release and features
Sega released the Nomad in October 1995 for US$United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
180. Marketed as a portable Mega Drive/Genesis, the Nomad was primarily an evolution of the Japanese market Mega Jet. Whereas the Mega Jet was screenless and required an AC adapter, the Nomad featured a 3.25 inch color LCD screen and an external detachable battery pack was available that had room for six AA batteries, making it completely portable as opposed to simply being a small (travel-size) Mega Drive/Genesis system. In addition to its other improvements over the Mega Jet, an A/V Out plug was added at the top of the unit, letting owners play games on a television screen with a separate A/V cable. One particularly interesting feature of the Nomad was its ability to allow one player to play using a connected TV, while another watched on the Nomad. The directional pad on the unit controlled all one-player games, and a port on the bottom allowed a second controller pad to be plugged in for two-player games. This meant that the Nomad could be a fully functional home system as well as a hand-held solution with a preexisting library of games.
Following Sega's success with the Game Gear
Sega Game Gear
The was Sega's first handheld game console. It was the third commercially available color handheld console, after the Atari Lynx and the TurboExpress....
, Sega originally intended for its successor to feature a touchscreen
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
interface, many years before the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. However, such a technology was very expensive at the time, and the handheld itself was estimated to have cost $289 were it to be released. Sega eventually chose to shelve the idea and release the Sega Nomad as simply a handheld version of the Mega Drive.
Issues
While the Nomad won praise for its screen resolution and features, there were compatibility problems with the sister system's add-ons: the Sega 32XSega 32X
The Sega 32X, codenamed Project Mars, is an add-on for the Mega Drive/Genesis video game console by Sega. Its aim was to increase the lifespan of the aging Mega Drive/Genesis system, which was facing stiff competition from the SNES...
, the Mega-CD, and the Power Base Converter. While they did work technologically, forcing compatibility involved modifying the add-on units' shapes or using 3rd party expanders. The Nomad had impressive technical specifications for the time including a full color backlit display, and supported an estimated 600 titles already on the shelves in addition to being a functional home system.
However, the Nomad was bulky and was not power efficient, offering limited battery life compared to contemporary handhelds (specifically Nintendo's Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
system). Rechargeable AA batteries were not recommended due to voltage problems (as Ni-Cds provide 1.2V
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
instead of the 1.5V that alkaline batteries output), though a rechargeable battery pack was available separately for $79.
Even after a $100 price drop, the handheld did not garner enough support to continue. By the time it was released, the Mega Drive was at the end of its lifespan – already being replaced by the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
, PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, and upcoming Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
, and general indifference towards 16-bit era titles hastened the unit's demise.
The game X-Men requires the player to reset the game at one point to progress. It is impossible to continue the game on the Sega Nomad due to the lack of a reset button.
Technical specifications
| Processor: | Motorola 68000 Motorola 68000 The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor... 16 bit processor running at 7.67 MHz |
| Co-processor (Sound Controller): | Zilog Z80 Zilog Z80 The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes... 8-bit at 3.58 MHz |
| Memory: | 156KB total - 64 KB Main RAM, 64KB VRAM, 8KB Sound RAM. 20 Kb ROM |
| Display Palette: | 512 |
| Onscreen colors: | 64 |
| Maximum onscreen sprites: | 80 |
| Resolution: | 320 × 224 |
| Sound: | Yamaha YM2612 Yamaha YM2612 thumb|right|Yamaha YM2612The YM2612, aka OPN2, is a six-channel sound chip developed by Yamaha. It belongs to Yamaha's OPN family of FM synthesis chips used in several game and computer systems. Developed as a stripped-down version of the YM2608, it lacks its larger sibling's ADPCM channel,... 6 channel FM, additional 4 channel PSG. Stereo sound. Also Texas Instruments SN76489 Texas Instruments SN76489 The SN76489 Digital Complex Sound Generator is a TTL-compatible Programmable Sound Generator chip from Texas Instruments. It contains three square wave tone generators and one white noise generator, each of which can produce sounds at various frequencies and sixteen different volume levels... PSG (Programmable Sound Generator Programmable sound generator A Programmable Sound Generator is a sound chip that generates sound waves by synthesizing multiple basic waveforms, and often some kind of noise generator, and combining and mixing these waveforms into a complex waveform, then shaping the amplitude of the resulting waveform using... ) |
| Display: | Integrated CSTN LCD at 320 x 224 |
| Power Rating: | 9V 850mA (same as Genesis/Mega Drive model 2) |