Exploring The Timeless Charm of The Sega Game Gear Handheld System  In the archives of gaming history, one handheld console...

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) was a platformer paradise, home to some of the most beloved and enduring titles...

After a time of turmoil for the video game market in the early 1980s, Nintendo introduced a brand new console that took the world by storm. This system was the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES for short. The NES launched with 17 black box titles and critics may have thought that this system would fail like its predecessors. However, Nintendo succeeded in dominating the home console video game market for several years to come. There were many reasons for the NES console's success, but perhaps the most memorable thing about this system is its fun to play and well developed game library which many retro gamers and collectors enjoy to this day. 

Nintendo was careful to do extensive market research before entering the U.S. market, which had nearly collapsed in 1983 due to an overflow of poor quality games and a large quantity of inferior systems. So, Nintendo tread the U.S. waters carefully when they decided to enter this now booming gaming market. In October of 1985, Nintendo released a limited number of the NES consoles (approximately 100,00 or less) into select U.S. cities. Perhaps, they were trying to gauge whether the North American market was a good place to do business. How would consumers respond to this new NES console and should Nintendo invest in expanding their operations in America? 

By limiting the number of systems available in America to the public, Nintendo created exclusivity for their product. Consumers wanted what they couldn't have (Sort of like Eric Cartman's denial to customers at his amusement park). Nintendo was very careful to present their new system and its affiliated launch titles in a new way that would build trust and intrigue for American consumers who had become disillusioned with the failing home video game market of the early 1980's.

So why was Nintendo so successful? Their packaging was deliberate and consistent across all NES releases. The NES console featured a black box and so did the original 17 launch titles and the 13 black box titles released shortly after. (See our detailed blog on boxed games). This simple artwork with 8 bit graphics and a black background stood out in contrast to the elaborate video game artwork of the time, so it grabbed people's attention. In addition, Nintendo went a step further building trust by putting an official seal of quality on every game, console, and accessory they sold. This seal assured consumers that the content purchased met Nintendo's rigorous standard of quality. 

Nintendo even backed their products with a dedicated phone line for customer support. This way consumers could trust Nintendo to be there if they experienced any issues with a product because they always included a phone number and address where they could be reached for support.

Before we hop into the list of Sega Genesis Video Game Titles that use a battery for the save function we wanted to note that replacing a dead or dry battery does require soldering and certain tools listed below. 

Requirements for soldering: (Most of this is easily found on Ebay or Amazon)

• Soldering Iron - Recommend a full soldering station 
• Here is a link for an X-Tronic under $70 on Amazon - X-Tronic 3020 Soldering Station 
• If you're not an Amazon fan, then perusing Ebay is definitely your best bet!
• A CR2032 battery with solder tabs. You can check out our short tutorial on basic soldering here.
• Many of the new save batteries are duds, so if you have a multimeter they are easy to test. Just like a car battery - positive to engine to steering wheel... wait? Also, the save battery may not be the issue you are having with your game (Usually is) but if your old battery is reading at 3 volts, then you may have to explore other avenues to get your game to save properly.
• Flux Paste - Recommend MG Chemicals Brand
• Desoldering Copper Braid - to soak up solder
• We sell the (most of the time) required 4.5mm Gamebit tool! required to disassemble your cartridge! - Sega has a quite a few games that do not have the "standard" Sega bit. I personally love the IFIXIT precision tool kit so here's a link to their website for a $40 kit, but of course you can find many different kits out there! The Sharden precision set is a good one too on Amazon, but within 6 months the screwdriver always runs off on you or unfortunately breaks,
• Check out our 28 minute save battery tutorial vide

Worst video game ever crushed & buried in New Mexico desert. Was E.T. for Atari the worst video game ever?...