Originally released in 1988, the Sega Genesis (or Mega Drive, as it was known in PAL territories). was the primary competitor of Nintendo's Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The Genesis featured 16-bit graphics processing which allowed it to produce much smoother-running gameplay than that of its predecessor, the Master System. This new processing power also bumped up the resolution of the games considerably from that of the 8-bit systems. The system utilized ROM cartridges as its media for games. It was during the Genesis' lifetime that third party companies such as Electronic Arts began creating their own cartridges for use on the system. 

The Genesis went through two hardware revisions during the course of its life. The first revision made the unit considerably smaller and removed the outer headset jack and volume control slider from the original. The second revision shrunk the console down even more, allowing room for just the two standard controller ports and a slot for the cartridges to be inserted. The Genesis' best selling game was Sonic the Hedgehog 2, totaling over 6 million units sold.