Peripheral Vision: Gear Master Converter

» Platform: Game Gear » released: 1991 » Cost: £34.99 (launch), £5+ (now, unboxed), £20+ (now, boxed)

We discover all sorts of oddities in Nick’s desk drawers. Here’s the latest find

GMC fact ■ The Game Gear will always run your games at 60hz, so Pal gamers who don’t wish to modify their master Systems may find this to be a good way to experience games at full speed.

Rather than building a brand-new piece of hardware for the handheld market, as Atari and Nintendo had with the Lynx and Game Boy respectively, Sega chose to base the Game Gear on the existing specification of its Master System console. This approach came with a selection of advantages and disadvantages – while Game Gear games would never impress like Lynx games due to the dated hardware, Sega could migrate its Master System developers over easily, and new games could be developed for both home and portable systems simultaneously. In fact, the two machines were so compatible that some Game Gear games

run natively in Master System mode, such as Out Run Europa.

Since the two machines were so compatible, a Hong Kong-based company named Kalplus devised a simple cartridge adapter, allowing the Game Gear to run Master System cartridges. Some games didn’t work – particularly those that required certain peripherals, as well as the likes of Out Run and Phantasy Star. However, the majority of Master System games will run via the Gear Master Converter with no problems, although some certainly fare better than others on the console’s low resolution LCD display. Stay away from text-heavy games and games with small objects and you should be fine.