Developer: SEGA Release: 1989 Notable Games: Sonic the Hedgehog, Phantasy Star IV, Super Street Fighter II Looking back on all of these older consoles, it becomes ever more apparent that SEGA's departure from the video game hardware industry was completely tragic. The SEGA Genesis (known as the Mega Drive outside of the United States) was by far the closest competition that Nintendo ever had during the fourth generation of gaming. The Genesis has a number of accolades to its name, beyond the remarkable achievement of surviving during the SNES era. It had what is often cited as one of the best controllers ever made, with the six button setup allowing for greater diversity than that offered by other consoles at the time. As well as the iconic Sonic the Hedgehog, the Genesis was long the absolute king of fighters, brawlers and sports titles, thanks to classic titles like Streets of Rage 2, Super Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat II, and NBA Jam TE.
