Pontiac Fiero

1988 was the final model year for the Fiero. The Majesco logo was not prominent, and these were marketed under the Sega name. The 4-cylinder and more powerful V6 were standard fare and the car largely escaped recall issues. Majesco-reissued cartridges are distinguished by having no plastic case, and a Majesco Sales logo on the label, as well as the current games ratings system, which differs slightly from the one formerly used by Sega. The chassis was never a Lotus design though - it was all Pontiac. It was part of Majesco's strategy of eking profits from products with margins too slim for the original manufacturer to pursue, and was accompanied by Majesco's licensed reissue of several classic Game Gear cartridges. The 1988 Fiero brought a new suspension design, thought by many to strikingly resemble the soon to be acquired Lotus Corp's. The Majesco Core Game Gear differed slightly from the original Game Gear in that it was black and had a purple start button rather than dark grey and a blue start button, the logo on the front of the unit was no longer in color, and it did not support the television tuner accessory.It also had a somewhat better speaker that doesn't distort as much when played loudly.

Improved headlight motors appeared in 1987. A short-lived successor, the Genesis-based Sega Nomad, was even less successful, and was never released outside the USA, Canada and Brazil. The car was offered in blue but was otherwise externally unchanged from the preceding three models. Support ended in 1997, but Majesco released a core version of the Game Gear in 2000 for a reduced price. The 4-cylinder's power rating increased to 98 hp (73 kW) with some major modifications which included a roller cam. The Game Gear, however, did better than other portable systems that tried to compete with the Game Boy, such as the preceding Atari Lynx. 1987 had minor modifications to the front fascia on the "base coupe" (the same nose also to be found the following year on the new Formula model), with the SE & GT models keeping the same "Aero" nose. Although it was a moderate success, the Game Gear did not manage to achieve the commercial success that Game Boy did, in that when it went off the market it was not replaced by a next-generation successor.

Models equipped with the 4-cylinder engine remained largely unchanged. Another specialty edition was a red Coca-Cola-themed Game Gear unit, released to the Japanese market, which came with a game entitled Coca-Cola Kid. Also offered late in the production year, was a 5-speed Getrag transmission (coupled only to the V6 engines). The blue Game Gear sports edition, identical to the standard Game Gear, except in body color, was released in 1993, with the game World Series Baseball. 1986 was the first year the fastback was offered. Indeed, the Game Gear did suffer from some of the same key problems that plagued a similar handheld released earlier, the Atari Lynx. Further on, the exterior design of the Indy Fiero would be incorporated into the production line as the new GT. However, Sega's biggest problem was that it failed to enlist as many key software developers as Nintendo, so the Game Gear was perceived as lacking as many games.

The 4-cylinder engine (known as the "Iron Duke") was now paired with the Japanese designed Isuzu 5-speed (also produced at the Muncie, Indiana plant). External and rechargeable battery packs were sold to extend the devices' battery life. The V6 was paired with a modified Muncie 4-speed transmission. This can be blamed partly on the perception that it was too bulky, and on its somewhat low battery performance: the device required six AA batteries, and the backlit screen consumed these in five hours( six on the later versions). A Chevrolet 2.8 L 140 hp (104 kW) V6 engine was put into the car, satisfying most critics of the base power plant. Although its color backlit screen and ergonomic design made it technically superior to the Game Boy, the Game Gear did not manage to take over a significant share of the market. In 1985, the problem with insufficient power was first addressed, much to the satisfaction of the general public. Negative advertising may have been also been detrimental since it implied that the Game Gear was in second place (as indeed it was).

Approximately 2,000 of these vehicles were sold. Although Sega was rather proud of these original marketing campaigns, it may have backfired since many gamers - loyal to their existing Nintendo handhelds - saw the ads as offensive, condescending or even patronising. The 1984 was the only year in which the Limited "Indy 500" edition, consisting of an Indianapolis 500-themed option package on SE-model vehicles, was offered. Another ad from that era featured a professor explaining that though the Game Boy now was available in bright colors, the graphics were still monochrome, and therefore Game Gear was still superior. The car also proved uncomfortable for some drivers due to the lack of power steering. When the Game Boy began to appear in different colors, Sega's ad ridiculed it by showing the Game Boy disguised in loaves of bread. In an effort to sell the car as being economically sensible, GM equipped and sold the Fiero as a commuter car but the marketing build up leading to initial release indicated anything but a regular commuter car. A lone rebel appears with a Game Gear, cueing the narrator's comment of "The Sega Game Gear: Separates the men from the boys." Another showed a gamer hitting himself in the head with a rigid, dead squirrel in order to see color on his Game Boy.

The year was also critically condemned for producing underpowered commuter cars. Of course, you wouldn't care if you drank from the toilet, either." An advertisement was shown in black and white, with players milling about aimlessly in a dark void, playing Game Boys. 1984 was the first production year for the Pontiac Fiero, which began production in August 1983 for the 1984 model year. One commercial featured a dog looking back and forth at both portables, with a narrator saying, "If you were colorblind and had an IQ of less than twelve, then you wouldn't care which portable you had.
. When first launched in America, a memorable TV advertising campaign was used to promote the system as superior to the Game Boy. The Getrag is generally accepted to be the stronger one, but both are used without failure on high torque V8 engine swaps. Another problem was battery life; while better than earlier color backlit systems, its 5 hour battery life still wasn't as good as the Game Boy (due to that system's monochrome screen and less powerful hardware).