OK thanks everyone, looks like the consensus is it's a clone. I am the owner of the website the photos are hosted on, my price of £250 was obviously based on my assumption that it was a genuine console. Is there any kind of market fo these clones?
The second one, the Mega Drive 2, is absolutely geniune. The first one would probably pass as legit if it wasn't by that controller... The only way for assuring if it's legit or a clone is opening the console and seeing if the board and it's integrated circuits inside are legit or not.
Weren't model 1 discontinued by the time the 6 button came out? Also I never recall any md1 that were bundled with 6 button. Redesigned 6 button pads didn't come out till end of systems life. Just a hunch but maybe someone got this console and mixed and match the parts.
Sadly, seeing the inside of the box has not dampened my thoughts that this is not a genuine MD1. The printing on the controllers (as well as their styling) is incorrect, as is the labelling and printing on the console itself. It also has a non-SEGA power supply. Here's what a genuine PAL Asian MD1 looks like: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Sega_Mega_Drive_(pal_asia).jpg - compare the word 'RESET' on both this image and your console. You'll notice the font and spacing in particular is incorrect. Usually, the ones with a bit of character (such as the ones labelled as "SIGA" or "SAGA" instead of "SEGA") are worth more as they are interesting, as are the more recent clones such as the RetroN and the 'official' BLAZE and AtGames ones. However, there's no real market for the 'knock-off' consoles which pretend 100% to be genuine. Without much information (for example, the quality of the controllers, how accurately it plays, a manufacturer, etc.) you're looking at about £10-20 if you find the right buyer (e.g.: someone who collects clones), but otherwise you may find it difficult to sell it at all. If you can find something that makes it different, you might get a bit more.
Seems from what I have seen there appears to be far more SEGA clones than Nintendo Clones ( from that I mean ones made to look like the actual system not like one of these new all in one things ), It can be hard to tell what is real sometimes as this topic shows. Theres so many Hong Kong and Korean models out there too!
I even had MD1 clone which was better than original system. It was based on original Sega chips, had working extension port, and region switches at same time, s-video out, far more superior headphone amplifier. What was the reason for making clone which is clearly more expensive than original we will never know.
What about the weight ? An original sega has metal shielding and a fake usually does not. At least the fakes i had didn't Therefore fakes are lighter than a original one
Wrong. Japanese and Asian systems pre-FCCI have NO SHIELDING and weight as much as fake systems. That also counts to pre MD hardware from SEGA such as all variations of the SG-1000 (original, MARK-II, MARK-III and the MASTER SYSTEM).
I'd say its a fake. Those controllers aren't official, sega turbo controllers were called mega fire pads and have switches instead of buttons, and in all my years of researching the md I've never come across a console that had mega fire pads bundled in. There is always the possibilty that what you have here is something super special like a proto, but you need to crack the pads and console to check that. At the minute its worthless so its not like you'll be losing out on anything by opening it.
I wrote FCCI but the correct is "VCCI". Meaning "Voluntary Control Council for Interference". An industry organization that set rules for control of RF interference in Japan. It's voluntary though.
Is it possible without looking at the internals? The MD1 box is sealed, and the MD2 console is in a sealed bag. I don't want to open them as that instantly slashes the value to a fraction. I'd say its a fake. Those controllers aren't official, sega turbo controllers were called mega fire pads and have switches instead of buttons, and in all my years of researching the md I've never come across a console that had mega fire pads bundled in
These are Hong Kong releases from back in the days when Hong Kong was still under British rule, they used the PAL TV standard back then. These are PAL-I Mega Drives. http://segaretro.org/File:MD1_HK_Box_Front.jpg
The MD1 power supply and RF switch don't look Sega to me... Were mega fire pads released in Japan or Asia anyway?
The ones on the thread are fakes, as I stated before SEGA never put seals on top of the screws on their official products. Any that had seals on the screws were either official ones which were tampered with for modification (such as video norm modding) or are simply fake. The controller which came bundled is the obvious giveaway. I am used to deal with Asian consoles because it's what was being sold here back then. (Tec Toy had such a tough time fighting against imports being sold at half of the price then ... lol) Edit: And since the fake consoles on the thread (The MD2 seems to be legit) are pretending to be the real deal, obviously their boxes will be identical to the original box. So moot point there. Edit2: pics from a legit unit: The picture with flash let you notice that the sticker on the legit unit is a tad less blurry: And the mainboard inside has a darker tint of green.
