Sega Game Gear, released in Japan in 1990 and in North America and Europe in 1991, was essentially a portable Master System. In fact, you could get an adapter to plug Master System carts into your Game Gear. Unlike the Nintendo Game Boy, it had a full-color back-lit screen. The screen was already a bit larger than the Game Boy's, and you could get a magnifier to make the screen even larger. The Game Gear's controls were placed on either side of the screen, instead of crammed together at the bottom, making it easier to hold. Despite all of its technical superiority, the Game Gear did not do as well as the Game Boy. This can be attributed to Nintendo's head-start in the handheld market, Game Gear's smaller selection of popular titles, and the fact that Game Gear required more batteries and used them up much faster than the Game Boy.
