Sega unveils never-before-seen Nomad prototype in educational video

Remember when Sega used to make handheld consoles that allow gamers to bring their traditional Genesis/Mega Drive cartridges on the go, and also to compete alongside Nintendo’s GameBoy way back when? Good times.

Recently, the Japanese video game company released a video on YouTube about its console journey over the years as part of the Sega Test, an event celebrating firm’s 60th anniverary.

In that 22-minute video hosted by Sega producer Hiroyuki Miyazaki, the world finally got its first glimpse of an early prototype of the Sega Nomad.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=672&v=wqdN_L4YaDE&feature=emb_logo[/embed]

The video gives us a good and long look at the prototype, which was codenamed “Venus” in line with Sega’s planet-themed codenames for its home and handheld consoles.

What’s most striking about the prototype’s design is that, where the Nomad ultimately took on the more traditional black colouring, this early version sported a lighter and refreshingly different paint job in contrast to other Sega consoles that have come out before then.

Though we probably won’t get to see this “Venus” console ever, we can only imagine just how interesting things would have turned out for the company had this version been released instead.

The Nomad, also known as the Genesis Nomad, was released in 1995 as a portable alternative to the iconic Sega Genesis.

While mass production for the Nomad and the rest of Sega’s consoles were ultimately discontinued at the start of the 2000s, the company still managed to find ways to celebrate the success of these older machines by releasing miniature (and fully-functioning) versions of them over the years.

This article was first published in Geek Culture.