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Sega Genesis turns 20

Brendan Sinclair
By Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor

Third-party publisher celebrates 16-bit console's anniversary by letting gamers vote on next vintage release on Xbox Live Arcade.

Sega's last hurrah as a console maker, the Dreamcast, is set to turn 10 years old next month. Gamers may readily remember that system's anniversary thanks to its heavily marketed "9/9/99" release date, but Sega today is celebrating a less remembered but no less important milestone.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Sega Genesis' North American debut, and Sega is marking the occasion by letting gamers vote on the next Genesis title to be rereleased on the Xbox Live Arcade. Through August 21, gamers will be able to visit GenesisPoll.com and vote for one of seven different 16-bit titles. (In a nostalgic nod to marketing campaigns past, the poll claims to be "powered by blast processing.")

All of the eligible titles were developed by Sega, with the exception of Shiny Entertainment's breakthrough platformer, Earthworm Jim. As of press time, that game was leading the candidates with 42 percent of the vote, followed by Toe Jam & Earl, Shining Force II, and Revenge of Shinobi. Rounding out the field of candidates were dark horses Golden Axe II, Streets of Rage (the sequel of which is already available on XBLA), and Wonder Boy in Monster World.

Brendan Sinclair
By Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor

Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.

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PAL360 12 pts

One of the best consoles ever!!!

shaun_ofda_dead 5 pts

can we please get some frickin shining force action on xbl? for the love of god, please people!

steve4123456789 6 pts

Adleast have Toejam, and earl, its a joke not to have that.

RingCollector 5 pts

sega prooved more then one game console could be succesful at once, if it wasn't for sega we might not have gotten the ps1 and xbox

tawagivercetti 5 pts

Shinig Force - Toejam and Earl.....NOW! Is it possible to take back altered beast. I LOATHE THAT GAME. die

zakkess 5 pts

for all the people complaining abt why this wont be released on psn..there was a thing called the ps2, and another system called the dreamcast..and well lets just say people forgot abt the dreamcast and went to the ps2

Talldude80 5 pts

they said Sega Genesis turns 21, not Mega drive..... (yes i know its basically the same thing). lol

InsultToInjury_ 5 pts

20?!! I feel old. Happy Birthday Mega Drive. Anyone remember Chicky Chicky Boys?

tyladog 5 pts

Happy birthday to my Mega Drive. Still running and currently hooked to my TV between my Saturn and Dreamcast. All still played. As for voting...has to be Shining Force. Come on Sega, give us a new one as well.

izmickey 5 pts

Happy B-Day, i remember all the fond gaming moments i had with my genesis. My genesis is still running strong....the good old days. Sonic games truly shined on this system.

Tauu 30 pts

The release of Sonic 2 was Sega's greatest moment. The game was simply awesome.

amilcar44 5 pts

there is another one ,but this time was a reponse from the people who supported nintendo..no offense to sega on its day just to let you remember the good old times--"nintendo does what genesISNT"...in the end i had both of them and were the best! darn nostalgia...

hannify 23 pts

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

Erebus 28 pts

Herzog Zwei. If that game was on the list, I'd actually bother voting.

Maddaus 5 pts

Ah, the Genesis. It was just too good. I remember at the time I read a spec's comparison. SNES was able to have 32 colors on screen simultaneously while Genesis claimed 2,000,000. Not saying the Genesis was better but it was my favorite system. I used the 6-button controller for everything though. The 3 button just didn't cut it. Here's a fun fact, the Sega Genesis was known as the MEGA DRIVE pretty much everywhere else in the world.

athenian29 5 pts

I dunno, I can't really play old games. They just don't click with me the same way newer things do. Although, I would love to get my hands on a copy of Herzog Zwei...

athenian29 5 pts

I dunno, I can't really play old games. They just don't click with me the same way newer things do. Although, I would love to get my hands on a copy of Herzog Zwei...

HB_Dad 5 pts

Ghosts N Goblins and Strider are two absoulute musts!

HB_Dad 5 pts

Remember the old ad "Genesis Does What Nintendon't"

janderdarkmoon 5 pts

Oh by the way Shining Force, Phantasy Star, those where they days when those names actually meant something

janderdarkmoon 5 pts

Wow this will all sound cliche but twenty years already. I was the first kid on the block to have one and sure enough everyone was lining up at the door.

Spoon_Si 5 pts

PSN never gets nothing good... i'm sell this crap and get an elite..

Romeric87 5 pts

Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole... Now theres a game!

tbs76 5 pts

Happy 20th Genesis. You were the first console I truely cared about. You provided me countless hours of entertainment. I bought you on day one here in Canada at the now defunct Consumers Distributing store for $320. I played Altered Beast to death and later became consumed by Revenge of Shinobi, Super Monoco GP, Sonic the Hedgehog, and ultimately the great EA sports series of Madden NFL, and NHL Hockey. The games may sure look and play different than those classics of the past but I have never had so many memorable and fun moments as I did with the Genesis..thank you Sega. Your consoles will be forever revered and missed.

tbs76 5 pts

Oh...dont forget Sega's awesome Ren and Stimpy game!

tbs76 5 pts

Ok..one game everyone loved but had been dearly forgotten on this list is...Afterburner and Afterburner 2. How can Sega not include one of its best franchises? The Outrun series is also a good pick. They should also include the disney themed games like Quackshot and Aladdin. Or how about Rambo III or in the wake of MJ's death, the classic Moonwalker game. There are so many games waiting to be restored and revisited..I hope these titles will be considered.

Thirdrail1 5 pts

I'm with Rottenwood. I've still never seen any co-op game for any system that rivals Toe Jam and Earl. Even if it loses to Earthworm Jim, I hope it gets enough votes that Sega ports that too. TJ&E with online support would be an epic moment in gaming history.

smbius 5 pts

It's funny. Half of this generation who are playing on the current consoles always think we're complaining about not having enough original games. But in actuality, we've just seen it all before. Genesis Does! What Nintendon't. Remember that crap?! Happy bday

Rottenwood 20 pts

Tough to beat the 16-Bit Era in terms of quality. The Genesis had some masterpieces, and the Super Nintendo is still probably the finest console ever made in terms of software. There were some advantages to having more limited graphics, when developers had to emphasize gameplay over photorealism. Earthworm Jim was great, but Toejam and Earl should win this one. It's arguably the best cooperative game ever, and certainly one of the most enjoyable and creative.

gurvmlk 5 pts

I have to say that, personally, I strongy disagree with them releasing any of the games that are already present on the Ultimate Genesis Collection. It would be much nicer to make available something that we can't already get.

Kei_neoblood 5 pts

Happy birthday, Genesis!!! Man, I remember the first time I ever played it was at my friend Brad's house, he had Sonic 1 and Splatterhouse 2, I would sit there and just DROOL watching him play it, also I hated him, because it never was "my turn" lol. Also to migg2, that was a beautiful story, it actually brought a tear to this 25 year old's eye...!

Excedra 5 pts

happy birthday....old friend......

GBPackersrule 5 pts

Happy Birthday old friend! I got you in 1991, and you are still running great! Now if only I could get my 360 to do the same...

SIMIFU 5 pts

i wish Sonic3&Knuckles was there

ebonyflame 6 pts

You know, it is not very hard to pick for me since I have played those games in the past in their original format and still have them in my closet right now. Revenge of Shinobi of all of them has the best replayability. But, I am not a fan of games re-released on the Xbox live arcade in comparison to the Virtual Console. The Live arcade uses update versions of the games with different sounds than the originals instead of just emulating the old games. Trust me, the originals are much better.

tmorri603 6 pts

This is going to be hard to pick. I enjoyed most of the games on the list. I think all the game should be on XBL but I will go with ToeJam & Earl for my vote. It was the best 2 player game of its time and it was so funny. The presents and the wacky villians. I still laugh at the "Nerd Heard" held together by the "geek force".

Triton 14 pts

I want Herzog Zwei again...the first real-time strategy game!!! Happy birthday ol friend.

Bird-of-Prey 5 pts

I think road rash 2 had the super cheat black sportbike that was described as a "5 gallon jug of whoopass". Wild Thing 2000 was it's name.

Glade_Gnarr 5 pts

Happy birthday to the Genesis, the 16 bit system wars has been the most epic ever. To bad Sega didn't last as long as a console maker and Nintendo has strayed of to the dark side.

DrKill09 60 pts

Earthworm Jim's one of my all time favs, though I wish it was the Sega CD version, and on the PSN.

leeko_link 71 pts

Happy 20th Anniversary Genesis. Now give me a Sega Genesis Ultimate Collection Volume 2 and we'll celebrate.

D_Bug 5 pts

Can't believe SoR hasn't had that many votes. Was one of the gems of the Mega Drive collection.

XeonForce 18 pts

EarthWorm Jim was the junk, it was almost like playing a saturday morning cartoon, is was funny and captivating and most importantly, it had some awesome guns. EWJ ftw.

BangBangBoom 5 pts

Happy birthday. Toejam & earl FTW online coop how can anyone not want this

parhar67 7 pts

happy burfday sega!! I remember playing my sega and earthworm jim. I would have to start a level and leave my sega on for hours and hours because of no save points :( Good old days. Another great game was NBA JAM TE they need a remake or release that on the live arcade!!!!!!

dundee85 5 pts

yesssss! it looks like earthworm jim will win by a landslide, acording to the polls @dmgonzales0378 i agree the dreamcast was a beautiful machine i used to love mine, its a shame it died before its time, i remember getting shenmue for my Christmas the year it came out, i stayed up all night playing it. Good memories

Zombunny 5 pts

vote for wonderboy as we already have the streets of rage in another collection

migg2 5 pts

Thanks kavadias1981! I remember the fierce fanboy days of the 16-BIT era. Each era has them. Then we grow up and realize that each system has awesome games and gives us each unique experiences. I'll be celebrating the SNES and TG16 aniversaries just as much! :) They're coming up!!

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