segaWhy Every Unserviced Game Gear Is on Borrowed TimeThe listing says "tested — powers on." The photo shows Sonic frozen on the title screen, and the description never once mentions sound. Experienced Game Gear collectors read that silence the same way: the capacitors are going, and the seller either doesn't know or doesn't want to say.
Sega's 1990 handheld is a strange collectable. It's essentially a Master System you can hold — a Z80 heart pushing a 4,096-colour palette onto a backlit 3.2-inch screen while the Game Boy made do with four shades
