Every once in awhile, I remember this info, and resolve to post it (figuring it might do someone some good).

Seeing that Genesis 1/2/3 thread reminded me again:

Fairly obscure fact: Majesco produced model 2 Genesis consoles for a period of time. Yes, I am referring to the medium sized console. They will not run 32X or Sega CD. In fact, the edge connector to the pcb for the Sega CD to attach to is covered by a layer of hard, translucent gray (epoxy?) material. In other words, the contacts are still physically there, but they look like the world's dirtiest contacts, and there is nothing practical you can do about it.

Anyway, these machines were sold by Wal Mart (at least) around the same time you started seeing Frogger and the Majesco rereleases in stores. I don't remember the year, but I do remember all of this happening. I bought a Genesis 2 at a garage sale for $5, but it had blinky controller connections. Trying to avoid the hassle of resoldering a bunch of pins to the board, I decided to buy a Genesis 2 at Wal Mart, switch the pcb, and return it as defective. Yeah, I know. What a prick, right? Who cares.

Anyway, I bought a Genesis 2 at Wal Mart for $20 (I believe), started hooking it up to the 32X, Sega CD, etc., and found out that they didn't work. I spent some time troubleshooting, and finally noticed that on the BACK of the Genesis box, a small glob of text said something about manufactured for/by/under Majesco Sales, inc. I thought that was strange, and it spurred me to look at the manual! The manual actually confirmed it! It said that it was not compatible with the Sega CD or 32X.

The moral of the story is this: If you have a Genesis 2 that doesn't seem to recognize 32X or Sega CD, you might have a Majesco unit. If you want to know for sure, look at the Sega CD edge connector slot. If the pins (and board) look dull and grayish, then you probably have the Majesco "limited capability" version.