Sega Genesis Games Get Retro-Bit Fitted For Play

Let me take you back to a simpler time when Nintendo pretty much ruled the video game market - till upstart Sega came along with their Genesis 16 bit system. Not only was the game console edgier looking than anything Nintendo had done, but the games pushed the graphic boundaries of the time both in their visuals as well as in game play mechanics. Of course the purpose was to get caught up in another world, but having multiple buttons and combinations available to use in games meant more control over what happened and more choices as to what to do.

And as “modern” games strive to become more like the road rage we see on Los Angeles highways, let’s not call those Genesis games “old school” or “nostalgia” but what they are - fun.

I’m all about the latest tech so I’m giving a thumbs up to this portable game console called retro-bit. Not just because the name makes me chuckle, but because I love the idea of cramming 20 full sized Genesis games down into a hand held with better than Sega’s own Game Gear could ever display.

We’ll get the specs out of the way first - this isn’t one of those LCD giveaways from McDonalds, but a powerful game console miniaturizing 16 bit graphics for display on a color 2.4 inch LCD screen. And with the expected headphone jack and ‘AAA’ batteries running the show. Yet it’s still lighter than the hard case surrounding my iPhone 3G s.

All the controls are there, from the D-Pad to the A, B, C buttons, to On/Off and volume control (yeah the speaker is kind of tinny so yank the earbuds off the iPod). You can even plug retro-bit directly into a TV for a bigger picture - the cable is included - and better sound that most of us playing Genesis on our TV (Sony Trinitron or otherwise) ever heard. If nothing else, the display case it comes in is as nicely executed as anything Apple ever does - making the box worth keeping just to hold the retro-bit when it’s not being heavy petted.