Skip to main content

Sega Genesis classics now playable on Amazon Fire TV, no retro console required

Sega Genesis classic games are now playable through Amazon Fire TV devices, offering gamers a shot of nostalgia without requiring the purchase of a retro console.

The Sega Genesis was very popular from the late ’80s and early ’90s, and interestingly, remains a hot item in Brazil, where it resumed production in 2016. The SEGA Classics app for the Amazon Fire TV, however, will bring some of the console’s most popular games to more households.

The SEGA Classics app includes the following 25 games:

  • Alien Storm
  • Altered Beast
  • Beyond Oasis
  • Bio-Hazard Battle
  • Bonanza Bros
  • Columns
  • Comix Zone
  • Decap Attack
  • Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
  • Dynamite Headdy
  • ESWAT: City Under Siege
  • Gain Ground
  • Golden Axe
  • Golden Axe II
  • Golden Axe III
  • Gunstar Heroes
  • Ristar
  • Sonic CD – Remastered
  • Sonic Spinball
  • Sonic the Hedgehog – Remastered
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – Remastered
  • Street of Rage
  • Street of Rage II
  • Street of Rage III
  • The Revenge of Shinobi

This is a pretty good collection of Sega Genesis games (looking at you, PlayStation Classic!), with the Golden Axe and Street of Rage trilogies and three remastered Sonic titles, all bundled inside an app with a price tag of $15. Players will be able to choose between two display modes, namely the standard 4:3 and the pixel perfect mode that offers a smaller but sharper output. There are also gameplay options, such as rewinding back a few seconds and multiple save slots for each game.

The Amazon listing for the Sega Classics app says that the games may be played with either a Bluetooth controller or the Fire TV remote, which is actually an acceptable input device, according to The Verge. The remote is flipped to the side, with the round directional button serving as the D-pad and the forward, back, and play buttons serving as the action buttons.

With the Sega Classics app for the Amazon Fire TV, Sega is following the retro gaming trend that was started by Nintendo’s NES Classic and SNES Classic. Sega also released the Sega Genesis Classics Collection for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in May and for the Nintendo Switch this month.

Players who want something physical to accompany their retro gaming experience will have to wait for the mini Sega Genesis, which was confirmed to be in development in April and is currently planned to be released in 2019.

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received a NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was 4 years old, and he has been fascinated with…
Toshiba brings 120Hz to Fire TVs with new flagship M550-Series
Toshiba M-Series 4K Fire TV.

Toshiba has announced the first smart TV based on Amazon's Fire TV software that has a native 120Hz LCD panel. The M550KU-Series LED 4K UHD Smart TV with Fire TV starts at $800 for the 55-inch model. Other sizes include the $1,000 65-inch and $1,200 75-inch models. All three sizes will be available in December on Amazon.com, as well as Best Buy (online and in stores), starting with the 55-inch model on December 6.

The M-Series is the latest model to bring a set of upscale specifications to Fire TV-enabled smart TVs. It joins the recently announced Fire TV Omni, which was designed by Amazon itself, as well as the Insignia F50, a Fire TV with a quantum dot display.

Read more
Amazon-built Fire TV Omni and 4-Series 4K TVs now available, starting at $370
The Amazon Fire TV Omni Series with the Fire TV platform on the screen.

In September, Amazon revealed it was getting into the TV game by announcing two Amazon-branded TVs that are based on the company's Fire TV smart TV software. Now those TVs -- the Fire TV Omni Series and Fire TV 4-Series -- are available to buy, with prices starting at $370. As part of the release of these new models, Amazon has also said that both will receive Apple AirPlay 2 and Apple HomeKit support via an upcoming firmware update.
Fire TV Omni Series
The Amazon Fire TV Omni Series is designed and built by Amazon and not by a partner manufacturer. Amazon

Amazon describes the Fire TV Omni as a "cinematic home theater experience," and while that may be a stretch for the smaller screen sizes of this TV, there's no doubt that the largest versions -- 65- and 75-inch sizes -- deserve that label, as they support Dolby Vision HDR in addition to the HDR10 and HLG formats supported by the smaller screen sizes.

Read more
Insignia F50 is the first Fire TV with a quantum dot display
Insignia F50 Amazon Fire TV Edition smart TV.

Amazon's Fire TV Edition smart TVs, which were created in collaboration with Best Buy, have always focused on the very affordable end of the market, with dozens of models that cost well under $500. But today's announcement of the partnership's first quantum dot-based 4K HDR model -- the Insignia F50 -- represents the beginning of what might be a move up-market for smart TVs that are powered by Amazon's Fire TV software.

The Insignia F50 starts at $600 for a 50-inch model, making it the most expensive Fire TV Edition model of that size. It will be available later this year along with these additional sizes:

Read more