Draft:List of Sega genesis enhancement chips

The Sega Genesis (also known as the Sega Mega Drive outside of North America) had several enhancement chips used in various cartridges to extend the console's capabilities, similar to how the SNES used chips like the Super FX. These chips helped improve processing power, graphics, and audio, particularly in more complex or late-stage games. However, Sega’s use of enhancement chips was less common than Nintendo’s.

Here’s a list of notable Sega Genesis enhancement chips: 1. Sega Virtua Processor (SVP)

   Game: Virtua Racing (1994)
   Purpose: The SVP is the most powerful and well-known enhancement chip for the Sega Genesis. It was used to handle polygonal 3D graphics, allowing the game Virtua Racing to offer a near-arcade-quality experience with smooth 3D polygon rendering.
   Technology: It’s a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) processor that was powerful but expensive to manufacture, which is why it was only used in one game.

2. Yamaha YM7101 (DSP chip)

   Game: Mega Turrican (1994)
   Purpose: This chip was used for digital sound processing, enabling better sound effects and music. The sound chip helped improve the audio quality by allowing advanced digital sound manipulation beyond the Genesis' built-in capabilities.
   Technology: Primarily an audio enhancement chip.

3. Texas Instruments TMS9900 (used in Sega 32X)

   Add-on: Sega 32X (1994)
   Purpose: The Sega 32X was an add-on that plugged into the Genesis and used its own 32-bit dual processors, providing a massive boost to the Genesis. Though it’s not a cartridge-specific chip, it acted as an enhancement to the console, allowing for 32-bit games and improved 3D rendering.
   Technology: The 32X used two Hitachi SH2 processors, enabling a level of graphical and processing power far beyond what the Genesis could do alone.

4. J-Cart

   Games: Various Codemasters games, such as Micro Machines 2 and Pete Sampras Tennis
   Purpose: The J-Cart had additional controller ports built into the cartridge, allowing for up to four players without the need for a multitap accessory. This was more of a hardware expansion than a processing enhancement but still allowed for more complex multiplayer gameplay.
   Technology: Integrated controller ports directly into the cartridge.

5. Battery-backed SRAM (Save Chips)

   Games: Phantasy Star IV, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Shining Force II
   Purpose: Though not an enhancement in terms of graphical or processing power, some Genesis cartridges contained battery-backed SRAM to allow players to save progress. This was important for RPGs and longer games that required saving data between sessions.
   Technology: Non-volatile memory (SRAM) with battery backup.

6. Sega CD’s Custom Chips

   Add-on: Sega CD/Mega-CD (1991)
   Purpose: The Sega CD add-on used its own custom chips to improve the overall performance of the Genesis. It had additional RAM, a custom 12.5 MHz CPU, and an enhanced sound chip for FMV (full-motion video) and CD-quality audio.
   Technology: Used a Motorola 68000 CPU running at 12.5 MHz, along with custom video and audio processors.

Comparison to SNES Enhancement Chips:

While Sega did use enhancement chips, their approach differed from Nintendo’s. Sega primarily used external add-ons like the 32X and Sega CD to extend the console’s capabilities, rather than embedding a variety of enhancement chips in each cartridge. This allowed for greater hardware improvements, but the approach wasn't as successful commercially due to cost and complexity.

References

Copetti, Mega Drive / Genesis Architecture – A Practical Analysis​(The Copetti site ). Sega Retro – SVP (Sega Virtua Processor)​(GameTechWiki )​(Wikipedia ).