Editing Sega Pico (section)

== Design and software ==
[[File:KakutouRouletteSonicGameworld.jpg|225px|left|thumb|A screenshot from ''[[Sonic Gameworld]]'', an example of a typical Pico game]]
[[File:SEGA Pico folded.png|thumb|left|Sega Pico in folded position]]
Powered by the same hardware used in the [[Sega Genesis]],<ref name="Miller">{{cite web|url=https://www.sega-16.com/2013/02/interview-joe-miller/|title=Interview: Joe Miller|author=Horowitz|first=Ken|date=February 7, 2013|website=Sega-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620024711/https://www.sega-16.com/2013/02/interview-joe-miller/|archive-date=June 20, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=January 10, 2014}}</ref> the physical shape of the Pico was designed to appear similar to a laptop. Included in the Pico is a stylus called the "Magic Pen", and a pad to draw on. Controlling the games for the system is accomplished either by using the Magic Pen like a [[mouse (computing)|mouse]], or by pressing the directional buttons on the console. The Pico does not include a screen, and instead must be connected to a monitor through the composite video output.<ref name="GPro65">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_065_December_1994|title=Sega's Younger Side: Pico and Sega Club Software|date=December 1994|magazine=[[GamePro]]|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|issue=65|page=80}}</ref> Touching the pen to the pad allows drawing, or moving/animating a character on the screen.<ref name="Allgame">{{cite web|url=https://www.allgame.com/platform.php?id=40|title=Sega Pico - Overview|author=Beuscher, David|website=[[AllGame]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424132302/http://allgame.com/platform.php?id=40|archive-date=April 24, 2011|access-date=September 1, 2014}}</ref>

Cartridges for the system were referred to as "Storyware", and took the form of [[picture book]]s with a cartridge slot on the bottom. The Pico changes the television display and the set of tasks for the player to accomplish each time a page is turned.<ref name="GPro65" /> Sound, including voices and music, also accompanied every page. Games for the Pico focused on education, including subjects such as music, counting, spelling, reading, matching, and coloring. Titles included licensed animated characters from various franchises, such as ''Disney's The Lion King: Adventures at Pride Rock'' and ''A Year at Pooh Corner''. Sega also released titles including their mascot, [[Sonic the Hedgehog (character)|Sonic the Hedgehog]], including ''[[Sonic Gameworld]]''<ref name="Allgame" /> and ''[[Tails and the Music Maker]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=20601|title=''Tails and the Music Maker''|website=[[AllGame]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116000732/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=20601|archive-date=November 16, 2014|access-date=November 12, 2012}}</ref>

According to former Sega console hardware research and development head Hideki Sato, the development of the Sega Pico was possible due to the company's past work on the [[Sega Card|My Card]] cartridges developed for the [[SG-1000]], as well as on drawing tablets. The sensor technology used in the pad came from that developed for the 1987 arcade game ''World Derby'', while its CPU and graphics chip came from the Genesis.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine|last=Sato|first=Hideki|date=November 1998|title=The History of Sega Console Hardware|url=https://shmuplations.com/segahistory/|magazine=[[Famitsu DC|Famitsu]]|language=ja|publisher=[[ASCII Corporation]]|access-date=March 5, 2019|via=Shmuplations}}</ref> The Pico does not include the Genesis's [[Zilog Z80]] 8-bit coprocessor nor its [[Yamaha YM2612]] [[Frequency modulation synthesis|FM]] synthesizer chip, but retains the [[Texas Instruments SN76489]] [[programmable sound generator]] integrated onto the console's graphics chip along with the addition of an [[NEC]] μPD7759 [[ADPCM]] chip,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sega Pico - Game Console - Computing History |url=https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/39949/Sega-Pico/ |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=www.computinghistory.org.uk}}</ref> which came from Sega's [[arcade system boards]] such as the [[Sega System 16|System 16B]] and [[Sega System C|System C2]].