Sega Mega Jet
From Sega Retro
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| Sega Mega Jet | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Manufacturer: Sega Enterprises, Ltd. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The Sega Mega Jet (メガ ジェット) is a semi-portable version of the Sega Mega Drive, designed for use aboard Japan Air Lines (JAL) flights. Initially only available as a rental starting in July 1993, it was later released to retail in 1994. It was only released in Japan.
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Contents
Hardware
The Mega Jet was designed to be used in conjunction with JAL's fleet of aircraft, which at the time contained small small LCD televisions installed into the armrests of each seat to entertain passengers. The Mega Jet therefore has no screen, but the Mega Drive console and control pad are integrated in a single unit, simlarly to a Sega Game Gear. The device also requires an external power supply, which could be provided by the plane.
JAL initially included 24 Mega Jets for each plane, with the service available only to first or business class customers. Users were able to bring their own Mega Drive cartridges, however it is reported that JAL stocked a limited selection of four titles on each flight. Two of the titles known to have been in JAL's rotation include Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II and the original Sonic the Hedgehog.
While the Mega Jet has a port for a second control pad, it is not compatible with the Sega Mega-CD. It does, however, support the Sega 32X, although only if the 32X's plastic shell is removed (as otherwise the leads can't reach the Mega Jet's video ports).
Sega decided to release the Mega Jet as a stand-alone consumer product in early 1994, being marketed as a more portable and easy to store alternative to a standard Mega Drive. It was also given Alpine branding and sold as compatible with Alpine car GPS navitagion systems (or specifically the "TVE-M005" and "TVE-M015" monitors released in 1994). These models came bundled with Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the Car Adaptor (originally compatible with the Game Gear), and an A/V cable compatible with Alpine's monitors.
It is suggested the development of the Mega Jet would result in the Sega Nomad, which a portable Sega Genesis (North American equivalent of the Mega Drive) with a backlit screen, available after in October 1995. The Nomad was only released in North America.
Models
JAL model
MD model
Alpine model
Gallery
Alpine model
Alpine back
Alpine top
Alpine bottom
Alpine left side
Alpine right side
Alpine carton
Alpine inside carton
Alpine contents
Magazine articles
- Main article: Sega Mega Jet/Magazine articles.
Physical scans
| Mega Drive, JP |
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   Box |
| Mega Drive, JP (Alpine incl. Sonic 3) |
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  Box |
External links
- Sega of Japan catalogue page (Japanese) (archive)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://sega.jp/fb/segahard/md/megajet.html (Wayback Machine: 2013-01-09 01:47)