The Sega Genesis, known as the Mega Drive in regions outside of North America, is a 16-bit video game console that was designed and produced by Sega. First released in Japan on October 29, 1988, in North America on August 1989, and in PAL regions in 1990, the Genesis is Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. The system supports a library of 880 officially licensed games created both by Sega and a wide array of third-party publishers and delivered on ROM cartridges. It can also play Master System games when the separately sold Power Base Converter is installed.