Skip to content
GAMEPORT
JA/EN
SEGA Game Gear handheld

Game Gear

ゲームギア

No. 0096 Oct 1990

Game Gear

Manufacturer
SEGA
Type
Handheld game console · 8-BIT
Note
Model HGG-3200

03

Overview

Overview

A handheld console released by Sega in 1990, with a 3.2-inch backlit color LCD displaying 32 colors from a 4,096-color palette. An optional tuner pack allowed it to receive TV broadcasts.

Name in Japan
ゲームギア
Name in North America
Game Gear
Name in Europe
Game Gear

04

Industrial Design

Industrial design

A landscape body with batteries placed left and right for balance, shaped like a Genesis controller with curved surfaces for comfortable grip.

05

Technical Specifications

Technical specifications

Model number
HGG-3200
CPU
Zilog Z80 (Z80A) @ 3.58 MHz
Memory
RAM 8 KB / VRAM 16 KB
Graphics
4,096-color palette, 32 colors on screen
Display
3.2-inch backlit color LCD, 160×144
Bits (period term)
8-bit
Generation (Wikipedia)
4th generation

Values are from the sources below. Where sources differ, see the notes under Sources.

06

Controller

Controller

Controls are built into the landscape body; it runs on six AA batteries for roughly 3-5 hours of play.

07

Media Format

Media format

  • ROM cartridge

  • ROM cartridge

    A software medium housing ROM chips on a circuit board inside a plastic shell. The Famicom used this format from its 1983 launch; Nintendo's Western packaging called them 'Game Paks'.

08

Launch & Context

Launch & historical context

Release (Japan)
6 Oct 1990[1]
Release (North America)
Apr 1991[1]
Release (Europe)
Apr 1991[1]
Release (Australia)
1992[1]
Launch price (Japan)
¥19,800[1]

Brought to market as Sega's competitor to Nintendo's Game Boy, which had launched in 1989.

09

Notable Games

Notable games

No games from this platform are in the archive yet.

10

Gallery

Gallery

  • SEGA Game Gear handheld

    Game Gear

11

Timeline

Timeline

  1. 1988.12.04PC Engine CD-ROM² SystemNEC
  2. 1989.04.21Game BoyNintendo
  3. 1990.04.26Neo Geo AESSNK
  4. 1990.10.06Game GearSEGA
  5. 1990.11.21Super FamicomNintendo
  6. 1991.12.12Mega-CDSEGA
  7. 1994.09.09Neo Geo CDSNK

12

Related Consoles

Related consoles

About Sega →

13

Sources

Sources

  1. [1]
    Game Gear

    Wikipedia (EN)

    ReferenceAccessed 2026-09-26
  2. [2]
    ゲームギア

    Wikipedia (JA)

    ReferenceAccessed 2026-09-26
Notes on conflicting sources

bits: EN describes the Z80 as an 8-bit processor (no manufacturer source fetched). CPU clock EN 3.5 MHz vs JA 3.58 MHz. Battery life EN 3-5h, JA 3-4h. Units: EN ~14M, JA 10.62M worldwide / 1.78M Japan; sources disagree and shipped/sold unclear, so unitsSold omitted. JA article's 'Japan's first color LCD handheld' claim deliberately not used. Not in SEGA corporate history page fetched.

14

Image Credits

Image credits