NES Lovers and Sega Genesis

     The Sega Genesis was one of the most universally hated object of NES lovers back in the early 90's. In fact, most lovers (correctly) attribute the death of the 8-bit to the Genesis, and Sonic the Hedgehog in particular. The history is simple. Back in the late 80's Sega released the Sega Genesis, an affordable 16-bit system with graphics and sound that was superior to the 8-bit NE; plus, the Genesis was a top loader, so players didn't need to 'jimmy' the cart like NES games. Sega also wisely made adaptions of Sega greatest arcade hits onto the Sega, which increased sales.

     However at that time, the NES was still a steadfast power. That all began to change when in 1990 Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog, an innovative game that could process data quickly without slowing down scrolling, a problem of many NES games. Thus began the fall of the NES as Nintendo quickly rushed to make the Super NES, a 16-bit of their own. With the gaming wars at an all-time high, the NES was forgotten. Fewer games came out for the old 8-bit. While they new NES games had much better graphics than their predecessors, they weren't luricrative enough for Nintendo to make them. In 1994, the last NES game, Mega Man 6, was released.

     So, you might be asking yourself how this is relevant today. Well, many NES lovers no longer hated the Sega Genesis as being the causing factor in the death of the NES. They realized that the Sega Genesis DID have some kick-ass games like Outrun, After Burner, Golden Axe, Sonic, etc. They also realized that used Sega Genesis's and games were cheap and in good condition, so they bought them, played them, and (to the horror of others) enjoyed them. But, some NES lovers today still hate the Sega Genesis, and consider it morally wrong to play it, and they sometimes put pressure on others to leave the Genesis alone. Thus, many players are in a dilemma of whether or not to play the Genesis.

     My advice to them troubled souls is that if they want to play the Genesis, they should do so. The war over the 16-bits is over now, and systems are bound to die anyway due to the demand to make bigger systems with better sound and graphics. The past is the past, but we, NES lovers (and Sega lovers) live on.