Sega Nomad prototype "Venus" shown for the first time

[retroman]

Sega Just Showed Off A Prototype Handheld For The First Time Ever

You're my Venus

www.nintendolife.com

Miyazaki goes into detail on how Sega was fond of using the names of planets as the internal codenames for its systems (the exception being the Saturn, which retained its codename right the way up to launch). He speaks about the Sega Nomad, a portable Mega Drive system which was released in North America in 1995 and was Sega's final attempt to wrestle control of the handheld market away from the Nintendo Game Boy (spoiler: it didn't work, but the machine is great – if a little battery-hungry).

A nice surprise was that Miyazaki showed off a prototype of the console that has, up until now, never been seen in public. Still retaining the "Venus" codename, the prototype Nomad is rather fetching, and arguably more attractive than the oddly-shaped system we actually got. (What is that slanting top section all about, anyway?)

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Pretty interesting stuff! For comparison, here's what the Nomad would eventually end up looking:

I think the Game Gear-esque design of the Venus looks a lot more ergonomical than the Nomad, not to mention the shape of the d-pad and the buttons. Then again, I've never owned a Nomad, so perhaps someone who had one could chip in and tell about their experiences with the device.

 

[TeHi & BuSp]

Makes me nostalgic for the era of handhelds

 

[dlauv]

Looks more ergonomical but I suppose they jazzed it up for marketing reasons. They might have left it alone had it come out in Japan too.

 

[jetsetrez]

If you applied the two-tone black colorway to it like the Genesis/Nomad I think it would look a lot better than the Nomad we got.

 

[Martin]

Wow the prototype looks really good!
What I don't like about the release version are the uneven bezels ... kind of a distraction to me.

 

[Golbez]

The prototype looks better.

 

[FormatCompatible]

It is better than the final design, it's like more of a proper successor to the Game Gear.

 

[Deleted member 51848]

Yep - whoever said 'Well, the round buttons of the joypad layout are nice... but what if we made them ovular?' should have been kicked directly in the testicles.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

I still don't understand why they gave it that slant and the oval buttons in the final product, prototype looks much better.

 

[Sander VF]

That is just a better looking device all around lol

 

[Akira86]

looks like they tried to make it more aggressive and angry for the American market.

 

[L Thammy]

I guess the final model's supposed to look more futuristic, but it just ends up seeming more like a cheap toy.

 

[sir_crocodile]

prototype looks 1000% better in every way

 

[Vinegar Joe]

Wow that prototype looks so much nicer than the final unit you kinda have to wonder what the thought process was that led from that to...that.

 

[Hayeya]

Wow, who approves this final design after seeing the prototype?

 

[Keym]

I still have my Nomad and using it felt great back then, even with my tiny kid hands. The prototype looks too small in comparison.

 

[Atolm]

The final design was no doubt after the "aggressive" aesthetic Sega followed during the MD/Genesis days and that also extended for most of Saturn's Western lifespan.

 

[TsuWave]

Sega had the coolest console names

 

[FormatCompatible]

Wow that prototype looks so much nicer than the final unit you kinda have to wonder what the thought process was that led from that to...that.

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I imagine it was probably the same thought process that led NEC to redesign the awesomely compact PC Engine to the unnecessarily bulky TurboGrafx-16, ''Gotta make it bigger and cooler for american kids!''

 

[FarZa17]

The buttons placement that overlap the screen frame area in the prototype looks unappealing. It's good the final design did not keep that.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Prototype looks pretty rough (as you would expect from a prototype), but still looks far better than the final product regardless.

Great tech that was ultimately ruined by bad timing and stupid marketing decisions. Vintage mid-90s SEGA.

I imagine it was probably the same thought process that led NEC to redesign the awesomely compact PC Engine to the unnecessarily bulky TurboGrafx-16, ''Gotta make it bigger and cooler for american kids!''

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You're almost certainly spot on here. Would be willing to bet money that this was their exact thought process here.

 

[Phellps]

So in both cases they put the speaker right under your thumbs lol

 

[Tokyo_Funk]

If that prototype was done in a black, deep grey or black/grey combo it could have looked nice. I remember my Nomad feeling kinda strange to hold.

 

[Celine]

Reminds me a bit of the Neo Geo Pocket (though NGP was a much better handheld with a very long battery life):

 

[IronicSonic]

For a moment I thought It was a Saturn handheld prototype

 

[Ninjadom]

The size ratio of the screen in relation to the unit is just so typically 90's.

 

[SnatcherHunter]

I still own my Nomad. The final design is indeed very comfortable and appealing. I loved playing all games even down to fighting games on it. The DPAD and buttons felt great.

Protip- brings tons of batteries with you.

 

[Deleted member 6056]

I still own my Nomad. The final design is indeed very comfortable and appealing. I loved playing all games even down to fighting games on it. The DPAD and buttons felt great.

Protip- brings tons of batteries with you.

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I thought the protip would be bring the power adapter. Did it use 6 AA batteries with only a 3hr lifespan like the game gear?

 

[freikugeln]

The DPAD and buttons felt great.

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Are they really as good as the ones on the megadrive/saturn controllers?

 

[Peter Ian Staker]

Buttons look more practical on the prototype. The final shell looks better though.

 

[Pyccko]

"a little battery hungry" they say. that thing will eat 4 double As in about an hour.

but I still love my nomad

 

[sixteen-bit]

It looks amazing. Imagine one of those bad MFs in titanium like a 90s Contax camera

 

[myojinsoga]

Too close to Nintendo's design language. Pity they couldn't speak their own.

 

[Deleted member 34949]

That looks amazing.

 

[SamuelBeckwit]

Too close to Nintendo's design language. Pity they couldn't speak their own.

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That's an odd thought since the Gameboy Pocket hadn't even come out yet.

 

[SnatcherHunter]

I thought the protip would be bring the power adapter. Did it use 6 AA batteries with only a 3hr lifespan like the game gear?

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Yes, it barely survived 3 hrs. Power Adapter is the way to go but it wasn't viable back then while traveling.

Are they really as good as the ones on the megadrive/saturn controllers?

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This was before the Saturn. Nothing really matches the feel of the Saturn IMO. However, it was heading towards that direction.

 

[Cugel]

Looks like it had a better pad and buttons

 

[Symphony]

Interesting to note that it is also the same colour as the prototype Sega Saturn design (I think I read that the final ugly grey they used in Japan was because it's the base shell and the final intended silver paint wouldn't adhere to it), and of course uses the Saturn controller buttons.

Too close to Nintendo's design language. Pity they couldn't speak their own.

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In what way does that resemble a Game & Watch or original Gameboy, the only two handhelds Nintendo had produced at the time? In design terms it's a mix of a Game Gear and the prototype Saturn.

 

[fiendcode]

I love it! Sega and M2 should do a microconsole variant rerelease of it. But include Gauntlet IV this time.

 

[BlueTsunami]

Curious as to how power hungry the Nomad was. Apparently it took six AA batteries and lasted two to three hours lol I have very fond memories of my blue game gear and Shining Force: Sword of Hajya

Edit: power consumption already brought up 🔋

 

[julian]

Reminds me a bit of the Neo Geo Pocket (though NGP was a much better handheld with a very long battery life):

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Had the same thought

 

[lowendtheory]

I owned a Nomad too. You can't overstate just how powerful it felt in your hands, probably because of the unusual design choices. I still play Gunstar Heroes and Shining Force at it whenever I'm home for the holidays, and it still feels amazing to be able to plug in a Genesis cart and play it on this wonderful black plastic brick.

i don't think the Nomad gets enough credit for how forward-thinking it was. it certainly inspired systems like the Switch decades later.

 

[freikugeln]

I really wish they had done a small japanese release for Nomad because it 's almost certain it would be near identical to this prototype design instead of the gaudy US model.

 

[lowendtheory]

The crazy thing is, I think I once read that the original plans for the Venus included a touchscreen. And this was back in 1994.

 

[Nathan]

Wow very cool, interesting how functionally it looks identical but looks radically different for purely aesthetic/marketing reasons.

I do like the oval buttons on the Nomad, they feel really good.

 

[myojinsoga]

In what way does that resemble a Game & Watch or original Gameboy, the only two handhelds Nintendo had produced at the time? In design terms it's a mix of a Game Gear and the prototype Saturn.

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I was looking at the meta more than the specifics ... Best way I can describe it is that this is the product you get if you design function first, and then give a quick nod to form. If you do that, you get a Nintendo product. It's got the buttons here, the screen there, a logo for people who like that sort of thing, and then there it is. I'd characterise Sega's approach as placing more emphasis on coming up with something eye-catching, then asking the function guys what this thing was supposed to do again.

Cards on the table, I'm a long-standing, non-practicing, Nintendo fanboy and snotlord, so this is all meant in a spirit of grown-up fraternal love. The remark about not speaking their own language came out a bit strong, but I do think the Nomad design is a bit garbled.

 

[Empyrean Cocytus]

Always wondered why it didn't have a planet codename when all of Sega's hardware did at that point. There was the Saturn, the Mars (which became 32X), the Neptune (a Genesis with 32X tech built in, never released), the Jupiter (prototype of the Saturn before they added a CD drive), the Pluto (Saturn with a built-in modem). I think the Mercury was code name for the Game Gear too.

Also the reason there was no Sega Uranus, other than the obvious one, is because "Uranu" translates to "Something that won't sell" in Japanese.

 

[axo_tio]

The video explaining Sega's history and codenames for its projects was really cool (english subs):