In the console wars of the early 90s, Sega billed itself as the edgy alternative to Nintendo with an ad campaign that used an eye-rollingly now-iconic pun. Now, Sega has brought back their famous "Genesis Does" to promote the upcoming Genesis Mini.
In 2016, Nintendo got the ball rolling on the mini console nostalgia fad. The NES classic sold way better than it had hoped. That sparked the release of a Super NES classic one year later. That sold well too, and soon other companies jumped on the bandwagon. The latest classic console is the Sega Genesis Mini, and it launches next month.
Like the mini Nintendo consoles before it, the Genesis Mini will include a smorgasbord of classic games from the console’s run. Sega has decided to promote the console by directly referencing the fact that they are once again following in Nintendo’s footsteps. They have recreated their classic “Genesis Does.” ad, complete with a new version of the ad’s ear worm song that ads a “30th Anniversary” lyric. Unfortunately, the ad leaves out the "What Nintendon't" part of the slogan this time around. Otherwise, the ad looks just like the original, and it’s just as cheesy.
The concept of console wars goes way back to the days when schoolyard debates pitted the Sega Genesis against the Super Nintendo. Nintendo dominated the late 80s with the NES, but as the life cycle of the console waned, Sega stormed onto the scene with the Genesis. Sega tried to capture the teenage market with the Genesis by comparing it directly to Nintendo’s console. Sega knew it would soon have the Super Nintendo to contend with, and so it tried to push the idea that its games featured more grown-up themes.
It worked, and the Genesis became a successful console with a ton of classic games on it. The Genesis Mini features 42 Sega gems, including the first two Sonic games, Toe Jam & Earl, Wonderboy in Monster World, and Ecco the Dolphin. The ad shows off some of these games, complete with CRT TV scan lines and 90s era graphics.
Hopefully, the Genesis Mini does better for Sega than its later consoles did. Unfortunately, the company couldn’t keep up the momentum with the Saturn and the Dreamcast, and eventually fell out of the console game. Sony stepped in to fill the hole that Sega left, a hole that features enough of its own classic games to fill a miniature Playstation.
Source: Nintendo Life