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Platform - PICO.png
Sega Pico
Sega Pico.jpg
Released: 1993-06-??
Discontinued: 2005-??-??
Developer: Sega
Type: Hardware

The Sega Pico was a fourth-generation educational game console developed by Sega. It was released in North America, Europe, and Japan. The Japanese name of the console translates to "Kids Computer Pico."

The console appears to look like a laptop, however, it requires being hooked up to a TV to play. The game cartridges were known as "Storyware", as they were books that plugged into the console. The player would then use the "Magic Pen" to complete the tasks required from the game. When the player was finished, they could move on to the next page.

The console was successful in Japan, but flopped in North America and Europe. Before the Pico had completely dissolved from the market, Sega released the Advanced Pico Beena exclusively in Japan somewhere in 2005. The Pico continued in Japan to 2008 when the Beena Lite was released.

Music and Sound

Despite the Pico using most of the same hardware as the Sega Genesis, it only contains the SN76489, the same chip used in the Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear. While the Sega Genesis included this chip, it also had a YM2612 which is missing from the Pico.