Gaming on the Go - What the Sega Nomad Taught Me About EVs

In my teens, close family friends gave me a Sega Nomad along with several Genesis/Mega Drive games. Up until then, I was only allowed a computer and a GameBoy, so the Nomad—with its colour screen and vast game library—became an instant favourite as I travelled around Europe.

It was a fantastic but little-known device; its biggest flaw was its battery life. Even with the brightness set to its lowest, you’d be lucky to get two hours of playtime. It basically turned into a mobile Genesis with a small TV, forcing me to hunt down cigarette lighters in cars or wall plugs to keep it going. You learned to time your gaming between the 6-AA life and finding a dependable source of electrons.

I mention this to illustrate how we should rethink EV charging and infrastructure. The average American drives just 42 miles (67.5 km) per day, which means even a second-hand Nissan Leaf with 90 miles of range would meet most people’s daily needs. The average American is going to always be near a source of electrons. I never considered the Sega Nomad an endurance gaming platform, but rather an easy to move home gaming setup.

Sure, there are exceptions. My family in rural Michigan drives 40 miles one way to the grocery store, and fast charging remains essential for those taking extended trips (common in the U.S.). But I’d encourage everyone to think about their EV the way I used to think about my Sega Nomad.

Instead of focusing solely on DC fast charging as the standard, we should consider Level 2 charging as the goal. Whether you’re at work, home, the grocery store, or the mall, a slow charge can “top off the tank” while your car is parked. If we install slow chargers everywhere, the time our cars sit idle becomes the EV equivalent of my Nomad plugged into a wall socket.

Before the VW diesel scandal, I drove an Audi A3 TDI, and it was a great car. When I lived in DC, I constantly worried about finding a gas station that sold diesel. I had to plan my trips or fill up way earlier than necessary, just in case. If you’ve driven a diesel vehicle in the U.S., you had it more challenging than EV drivers do now—I couldn’t charge my TDI overnight in the garage.

The Sega Nomad was a quirky piece of gaming history, one I wish I still had. It’s now remembered through retro-gaming YouTube videos. Hopefully, internal combustion engines (ICEs) will soon become just a historical footnote between horses and EVs.