Of all the home consoles ever released in America, the one I hold closest to my heart is probably the Genesis.  Sega’s three-button wonder is where I learned to play some of my favorite games of all time; NBA Jam, EA’s NHL series, Road Rash, Urban Strike, Strider, Mutant League Hockey, Shining Force, Ecco the Dolphin, Comix Zone, Earthworm Jim, and, of course, the Sonic games all made lasting impressions on me and helped shape my gaming tendencies and habits.  It’s the kind of system that you’d love to have with you at all times, but the portable version of the Genesis, the Nomad, weighs 40 lbs and has a 9 second battery life…approximately.   iPhone owners will soon have a much better option, as an official Genesis emulator will soon be available for Apple’s smartphone.

When it arrives sme time next month, the Sega Genesis Ultimate Collection will be a free app that opens up its own store, where classic Genesis ROMS can be purchased and played.  The free app will come with a copy of Space Harrier, and the ability to buy four other classics.  $5.99 will get you Sonic the Hedgehog, while $4.99 will buy Golden Axe, and Ecco and Shining Force will be available for only $2.99.

This is a great way to get your hands on some of the best Genesis titles around without having to hunt down a retro gaming store and drop money on 20 year-old equipment or utilizing illegal, unofficial emulators.  It’s also a great idea for the iPhone store, as the games won’t be sold in the main store, only through the Sega app.  It’s a similar model to the Xbox 360’s Hasbro Family Game Night, and one that other publishers of iPhone apps should adopt, if only to clean up the cluttered iPhone app store.