Chad's Machines - The SEGA Mega Pedal

The Sega Mega Pedal

Hi, I’m Chad.

  • Wanna output RGB signal from a Game Boy? Chad is your man.
  • Wanna mod a Sega Genesis to display more than 64 colour on screen? Chad is your man.
  • Wanna plug a Vertrex controller to a japanese PC engine? Chad is your man.
  • Wanna watch Netfilx in your Sega Game Gear TV Tuner? Chad is your man.
  • Wanna blast process the SNES? Chad is your man.

Chad's machines - The SEGA Mega Pedal

You can find me here at Retrobitios where I’ll be showing you the weirdest retro gaming stuff that can be found on the internet. I’ll also share with you some obscure secrets to get the most out of any retro gaming system you can imagine.

Today I’m showing you one of the most advanced peripherals developed for the Sega Genesis (AKA Sega Megadrive) which only came out in Europe due to some particular restrictions that the 16 bit SEGA PAL hardware had over there. I’m talking about the SEGA Mega Pedal.

Let’s get started!

Chad's machines - The SEGA Mega Pedal

Inside the SEGA Mega Pedal
Inside the SEGA Mega Pedal
As many of you may know, PAL european tvs used to run at a 50 hz refresh rate making some poorly developed games to run slower than their NTSC american versions.

To level things a little bit, in 1991 SEGA of Europe released the Mega Pedal, a device capable of speeding up the Sega Megadrive to run games up to a 100hz refresh rate.

Pedal To The Metal SEGA Flyer
Magazine advertisement for the SEGA Mega Pedal
But the benefits of the Mega Pedal didn’t end there, by including a Motorola 68000 processor clocked at 8.77 MHz, driving games like Out Run or Super Hang On were capable of running at a stunning 60 FPS speed.

How to use the SEGA Mega Pedal
How to use the SEGA Mega Pedal

To use the Mega Pedal you had to plug it between the gamepad controller and the console, and every time you needed that extra push over the cliff in your game speed you just step on the pedal and voila!.

Today the SEGA Mega Pedal is an expensive collector’s item very difficult to find as only a few were made. If you are the lucky owner of one of this extrange devices you can share your impresions in the comments field below. I’ll be glad to hear about it!

Until next time!

Leave a Comment