TIL
TIL there was a TV tuner attachment for the Game Gear!
Submitted 4 months ago by The_Picard_Maneuver@piefed.world to retrogaming@lemmy.world
https://media.piefed.world/posts/r6/2I/r62Ic6MYh0fhLQE.jpg
Comments
AshMan85@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Kyrgizion@lemmy.world 4 months ago
The game gear had two major issues:
-It was too far ahead of its time (something SEGA unfortunately did multiple times, cfr Dreamcast’s online gaming capabilities)
-Battery life sucked major donkey cock
It was also somewhat pricey, but the former point was paramount.
anomnom@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
So many batteries. Car trips more than an hour (when we really wanted games) took a while pack of batteries. And the little brothers really got screwed because they would be stuck with the second turn, and about to die batteries.
rozodru@pie.andmc.ca 4 months ago
yeah the battery life was horrible. it would eat 6 AA batteries like they were candy. I only ever used mine when it was either plugged into the wall or plugged in the cars cigarette lighter which my dad hated cause he smoked.
EvilBit@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Hear hear. The Game Gear was basically a portable Sega Master System only better. Can you imagine Nintendo putting out a whole-ass portable NES? They didn’t have the balls.
To this day, one of my favorite gifts I ever received, way back in Christmas of checks notes 360 B.C.
bitjunkie@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Being too ahead of its time was kind of Sega’s thing when it came to hardware. They beat Nintendo to market with 16-bit graphics by like 2 years, Sony to 3D GPU and CD-ROM by a year, the Game Gear absolutely blew every other portable out of the water for as long as it was on the market…
monkeyman69@lemmynsfw.com 4 months ago
Ahem… (coughs in Atari Lynx)
zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
The battery life was hilariously bad, it was almost the defining trait. It was made especially prominent since it was being compared to the OG Game Boy which could go 20 hours on four AA batteries. The GG could only go about five, if you were lucky, on six AA. Mine basically lived plugged into the wall with a long extension code so I could use it from anywhere in my bedroom.
yucandu@lemmy.world 4 months ago
It was more like 30 minutes with the Super Heavy Duty AA’s my dad could afford.
But that’s okay, he hand soldered me a DC adapter that only threw sparks sometimes.
kautau@lemmy.world 4 months ago
The GG could only go about five, if you were lucky, on six AA
Which, while of course requiring exponentially more power, the Switch 2 only goes for about 6 hours on less demanding games, funny how battery life hasn’t really changed much for advanced handhelds.
PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 4 months ago
Game Gear “services” are quite common now - you can get them recapped to solve the infamously troublesome sound dropouts, and most will change the screen to a far more power efficient LCD display as well to let you play at night.
It still eats batteries, but at a much slower rate.
I’m just gutted I left mine in the garage in storage where the damp air fucked it for good
yucandu@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Bit of rubbing alcohol and a toothbrush usually solves those “damp air fucked my electronics” issues.
HeyJoe@lemmy.world 4 months ago
The best mod would be changing it from batteries to a cell phone style rechargeable battery. At least then I wouldn’t care as much of how quick it dies since im not replacing a ton of batteries every day. Even rechargeable ones, you still gotta take them out and put them back, which is annoying as well.
I miss mine as well. I remember as a kid our grandmother got me and a few cousins it for Xmas one year. I also remember breaking it the following year during a parent kid picnic at school where it got crushed. I still remember it, which says a lot because I have very few memories from way back then!
ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
How bad is it? You would be amazed how salvageable they are with the right chemical soak and reflow.
bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 4 months ago
That was one of the reasons I wanted to have one.
zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
I did too, but my Dad ended up buying me one of those tiny handheld TVs with a 1" screen instead. It was more a novelty that anything, it sucked down batteries faster than an actual Game Gear.
A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 4 months ago
One kid on my bus had it, we were all SUPER jealous and kicked his seat
bran_buckler@lemmy.world 4 months ago
The whole union of kobolds kicked his seat!? That must have been miserable for him!