Sega Nomad: The Portable Nobody Talks About

Did you know Sega made a portable console that played full-size Genesis cartridges?

It was called the Sega Nomad, released in 1995.

The Nomad was basically a handheld version of the Sega Genesis (known as the Mega Drive outside North America). It could play almost the entire Genesis library — using the actual cartridges!

That means you could play games like:

• Sonic the Hedgehog 2

• Mortal Kombat

• Streets of Rage 2

…on the go in 1995.

Here’s the wild part:

• It had a full color screen

• It had a TV-out port so you could plug it into a television

• It supported a second controller for multiplayer

But it had some big problems:

• Terrible battery life (about 2–3 hours on 6 AA batteries 😬)

• Released late in the Genesis lifespan

• Came out right before the Sega Saturn era took over

Because of that, it didn’t sell well — and today it’s a cult collector item.

Most people remember the Game Boy… but Sega quietly made a portable 16-bit powerhouse that many gamers never even knew existed.