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Sega Pico

Sega Pico icon Sega Pico logo

Overview

The Sega Pico launched in 1993 as a child-friendly “edutainment” device that combined cartridge-based games with a stylus-driven book interface. Hardware-wise it mirrors the Mega Drive/Genesis, and REG-Linux keeps its ROMs under the pico metadata group so themes show the right art.

Technical specifications

  • Manufacturer: Sega
  • Release year: 1993
  • Hardware type: console
  • EmulationStation group: megadrive

Quick reference

  • ROM folder: /userdata/roms/pico
  • Accepted formats: .bin, .md, .zip, .7z
  • Emulators: libretro: genesisplusgx, libretro: genesisplusgx-wide, libretro: picodrive
  • System group: pico

ROMs

Drop Sega Pico binaries (.bin, .md) into /userdata/roms/pico. Avoid packing the files inside unsupported archives—if a game refuses to run, unzip the ROM so the core can recognize it. The Pico behaves like a Mega Drive cartridge, so keep the folder separate from the CD lineup.

Emulators

RetroArch

RetroArch runs the Pico-focused libretro cores. The Quick Menu ([HOTKEY] + south face button) allows you to adjust shaders, overrides and controller mappings, while EmulationStation mirrors the shared settings such as pico.rewind, pico.autosave, pico.netplay, and pico.cheevos.

libretro: genesisplusgx / genesisplusgx-wide

Both GenesisPlusGX builds support Pico titles. Key options:

  • global.gpgx_region: ensure NTSC/PAL matches the original release.
  • global.gpgx_no_sprite_limit: remove the hardware sprite cap for smoother scrolling.

libretro: picodrive

Picodrive is an alternative with similar accuracy and additional toggles:

  • global.picodrive_sprlim: disable the 80-sprite-per-line limit.
  • global.picodrive_cropoverscan: crop noisy overscan edges.
  • global.picodrive_controller1/2: choose 3-button or 6-button pad mappings.

Controls

The Pico pad resembles a Mega Drive controller with an alphabet dial. REG-Linux maps this layout automatically; create a manual remap via /remapping_controls_per_emulator if a game requires special bindings.

Troubleshooting

  • Switch between genesisplusgx, genesisplusgx-wide, and picodrive if a title refuses to launch.
  • Consult the generic support pages when additional help is needed.