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Sega Master System
Manufacturer	Sega
Type	Video game console
Generation	Third generation (8-bit era)
First available	October 1986 September 1987 November 1987 1989
Discontinued	1989 1991 1996 2000
CPU	8-bit Zilog Z80
Media	Cartridge and card
Units sold	13 million[1][2]
Predecessor	SG-1000
Successor	Sega Mega Drive/Genesis

The Sega Master System or SMS for short (1986 - 2000), is an 8-bit cartridge-based video game console that was manufactured by Sega. Its original Japanese incarnation was the SG-1000 Mark III. In the European market, this console launched Sega onto a competitive level comparable to Nintendo, due to its wider availability, but failed to put a dent in the North American and Japanese markets. The Master System was released as a direct competitor to the NES/Famicom. Despite its shaky performance in the major territories, it has enjoyed over a decade of life in smaller markets, especially Brazil.

The later Sega Game Gear is effectively a hand-held Master System, with a few enhancements.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Japan 1.2 North America 1.3 Europe 1.4 Oceania 1.5 Brazil 2 Technical specifications 3 Media input 4 Game controllers 4.1 Standard controllers 4.2 Light Phaser 4.3 3-D Glasses 5 Known clones released 6 Power Base Converter 7 Games 8 Hidden game 9 References 10 External links

During its life span the Master System was built in several variations. The article Variations of the Sega Master System includes a more detailed view on these.

The SG-1000 Mark III was released in Japan on October 20, 1985 to compete with the Famicom, following on from the SG-1000 Mark I and SG-1000 Mark II. The Mark III was built similarly to the Mark II, with the addition of improved video hardware and an increased amount of RAM.

The system is backwards compatible with earlier SG-1000 titles. As well as the standard cartridge slot, it has a built-in slot for "Sega Cards", which are physically identical to the cards for the Sega SG-1000 "Card Catcher" add-on.

The Mark III was redesigned as the Sega Master System for release in other markets. This was mainly a cosmetic revamp and the internal components of the console remained virtually the same. The redesigned console was itself released in Japan in 1987, with the addition of a built-in Yamaha YM2413 FM sound chip, Rapid Fire Unit, and 3-D glasses adapter; these were sold separately for the Mark III.

Sega Master System game cartridges released outside Japan had a different shape and pin configuration to the Japanese Master System/Mark III cartridges. This may be seen as a form of regional lockout.

Typical of the era, game consoles had a mascot character. Sega's first mascot was Opa-opa from Fantasy Zone, as referenced in the manual for Zillion. Later on, especially in Western territories where Fantasy Zone was less popular, Alex Kidd emerged as a mascot. It is unclear if his mascot status was ever official, or if it were simply perceived because of the similarity to the Mario games that represented the competing Nintendo console. When Sonic the Hedgehog became the official Sega mascot in 1991, games were also produced for the Master System, but none of these were ever released in Japan for the system, the Game Gear being the platform who got these ports.

Neither the Mark III nor the Japanese Sega Master System were commercially successful, due to strong competition from the Nintendo Famicom.

The last commercial licensed release in Japan was Bomber Raid, released by Sega on February 4, 1989.^{[citation needed]}

The system was redesigned and sold in the United States under the name Sega Master System in June 1986, less than a year after the Nintendo Entertainment System was released. The console sold for $200. The Master System was subsequently released in other locales and markets, including a second release in Japan in 1987 under the new Master System name. The Japanese Master System included a built-in 3-D glasses adapter, rapid fire, and a Yamaha YM2413 FM sound chip, all of which were separate accessories for the Mark III.

Though the Master System was a more technically advanced piece of hardware than the NES, it did not attain the same level of popularity among consumers in the United States. Its lack of success in the U.S. has been attributed to various causes, among them the difference in game titles available for each platform and the slightly later release date of the Master System. The licensing agreement that Nintendo had with its third-party game developers had a profound impact. The agreement stated, in effect, that developers would exclusively produce games for the NES. The Master System sold 125,000 consoles in the first four months. In the same period, the NES sold 2,000,000.^{[citation needed]}

Nintendo commanded 90% of the North American video game market at the time. Hayao Nakayama, then CEO of Sega, decided not to use too much effort to market the console in the NES-dominated market. In 1988, the rights to the Master System in North America were sold to Tonka, but its popularity continued to decline. The move was considered a very bad one, since Tonka had never marketed a video game system and had no idea how to market the system.^{[citation needed]}

In 1990, Sega was having success with its Sega Genesis and as a result took back the rights from Tonka for the SMS. It designed the Sega Master System II, a low-cost Master System that lacked the reset button and card slot of the original. In an effort to counter Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers, the new system included Alex Kidd in Miracle World playable without any cartridges. Sega marketed the Master System II heavily; nevertheless, the unit sold poorly in North America. By 1992, the Master System's sales were virtually nonexistent in North America and eventually ceased.

The last commercial licensed release in North America was Sonic the Hedgehog, released by Sega on October 25, 1991.^{[citation needed]}

In Europe, the Master System was very successful. Sega marketed the Master System in many countries, including several in which Nintendo did not sell its consoles.

It had some success in Germany, where it was distributed by Ariolasoft beginning in winter 1987.

In France, during the time the Sega Master System has been on sale, the console was distributed by the Virgin Group.

In the United Kingdom, it was distributed by Mastertronic, who later merged with the Virgin Group.

In Italy it was distributed by Giochi Preziosi and in his first years it overshadowed the Nintendo Entertainment System. The NES gained a good market share only later in his lifespan, with Sega Mega Drive already released.

The Europeans had garnered lots of third party support for the SMS and as a result, it was able to outsell the NES in Europe. The console was also produced far longer than in Japan and North America because of its greater popularity. Nintendo was forced to get licensing for some popular SMS titles in that market, but the NES never reached the amount of console sales gathered by the Master System in the region and the AMA was the top-selling 8-bit console in Europe.^{[citation needed]}

As in North America, Sega was able to launch the redesigned Sega Master System II. This system included Alex Kidd in Miracle World, or later Sonic the Hedgehog, as a built-in game.

The Master System was supported until 1996 in Europe.^{[citation needed]} Its successor, the Mega Drive, which was also successful in Europe, was supported up until this time as well. However, both were discontinued so that Sega could concentrate on the new Sega Saturn.

The last commercial licensed release in Europe was The Smurfs: Travel the World, released by Infogrames in 1996.^{[citation needed]}

Sales of the SMS in Australia were exceptional as it was far more popular than the NES there; the SMS was able to gain greater market share there than that in North America^{[citation needed]} due to Sega distributors Ozisoft having strong ties with retailers.

In New Zealand it was largely successful as well - due to NES having a weak influence - and was supported until 1997.

Brazil was one of the Master System's most successful markets. It was marketed in that country by Tec Toy, Sega's Brazilian distributor. At least five versions of the console were released between 1989 and 1995 and several games had been translated into Portuguese. The characters in these games had also been modified so that they appealed to Brazilian mainstream audiences (for example, Wonder Boy in Monster Land featured Mônica, the main character from a popular children's comic book in Brazil, created by Maurício de Sousa). Brazil also produced many 100% national titles, like Sítio do Pica Pau Amarelo (based on Monteiro Lobato workmanship) and Castelo Ra-Tim-Bum (from the TV Cultura series).

One of the more notable Master System consoles in Brazil was the compact wireless Master System Compact developed by Tec Toy. The console transmitted the A/V signal through RF, dispensing cable connections. It was produced from 1994 to 1997 and is still a target for console collectors. A similar version, called Master System Girl, was also released in an attempt to attract female consumers. The only difference in this version was a strong pink casing and pastel buttons.

Later in its life in Brazil, Game Gear games had been ported to the Master System and several original Brazilian titles were made for the system. Tec Toy also produced a licensed version of the popular fighting game Street Fighter II for the Master System. Despite the limitations of the console, the game turned out to be fairly well received.^{[citation needed]} The console production was familiar to the Brazilians, which explains the success in that market.

The last commercial licensed release in Brazil was Sonic Blast, released by Tec Toy on December 1997.^{[citation needed]}

The Master System is still being produced in Brazil. The latest version is the "Master System III Collection".^{[citation needed]} It uses the same design as the Master System II (Master System III in Brazil), but is white and comes in three versions: one with 74 games built-in, another with 105 games and another with 112 games. However, in Brazil, it is hard to find the 3-D Glasses, the Light Phaser and even cartridges, leaving most Brazilians with only built-in games.

Overall, the SMS was mildly successful worldwide, but failed to capture the Japanese and North American markets. Sega learned from its mistakes and was able to garner a greater market share with the Master System's successor, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in Europe, Brazil, and North America.

The Sega Master System was rereleased in a smaller handheld form factor in late 2006. This small handheld device is powered by 3 AAA batteries, has a brighter active matrix screen, and contained 20 Game Gear and Sega Master System games. It was released under several brands including Coleco and PlayPal. ^[3]

• CPU: 8-bit Zilog Z80A
  • 3.54 MHz for PAL/SECAM, 3.57 MHz for NTSC
• Graphics: VDP (Video Display Processor) derived from Texas Instruments TMS9918
  • Up to 32 simultaneous colors available (16 for sprites, 16 for background) from a palette of 64 (can also show 64 simultaneous colors using programming tricks)
  • Screen resolutions 256×192 and 256×224. PAL/SECAM also supports 256×240
  • 8×8 pixel characters, max 488 (due to VRAM space limitation)
  • 8×8 or 8×16 pixel sprites, max 64
  • Horizontal, diagonal, vertical, and partial screen scrolling
• Sound (PSG): Texas Instruments SN76489
  • 4 channel mono sound (3 Square Waves, 1 White Noise)
  • 3 tone generators, 10 octaves each, 1 white noise generator
• Sound (FM): Yamaha YM2413
  • 9 channel mono FM sound
  • built-into Japanese Master System in Sega Mark IV
  • supported by certain games only
• ROM BIOS: 64 kbit (8 KB) to 2048 kbit (256 KB), depending on built-in game
• Main RAM: 64 kbit (8 KB) Expandable
• Video RAM: 128 kbit (16 KB)
• Game Card slot (not available in the Master System II)
• Game Cartridge slot
  • Japanese and South Korean consoles use 44-pin cartridges, same shape as SG-1000 and Mark II
  • All other consoles use 50-pin cartridges ^[4] with a different shape
  • The difference in cartridge style is a form of regional lockout
• Expansion slot

One of the most unusual features of the Sega Master System was its dual media inputs: one cartridge slot and one card slot. The card slot accepted small cards about the size of a credit card. Most cards were games, but one card served an entirely different purpose. The 3-D glasses plugged into the console via the card slot, and allowed 3-D visual effects for specially designed cartridge games. In this fashion, both media inputs worked in tandem.

The card slot was removed in the redesigned Master System II, providing support for only cartridges. This act helped to reduce the cost of manufacturing the console since the cards were unpopular and only a few card-based games were made.

• Controller 1/2 – 2 buttons, cord on the side (1) or on the top (2)
• Controller 3 – 2 buttons, hole for a screw in thumbstick
• Controller 4 – 6 buttons, very similar to the Mega Drive's 6 button pad.
• Control Stick - 2 buttons and a stick similar to a gear stick, but on the right side and the butons are on the left side.
• Light Phaser – Light gun, not compatible with Mega Drive light gun games.
• 3D Glasses and adapter – Only 6 games compatible, the Master System Converter II does not have a card slot and is therefore only operational on a Master System Converter I, all 6 game play perfectly fine.
• Sega Rapid Fire Unit - adapter to use rapid fire on standard controller
• Sega Sports Pad
• Sega Handle Controller - for driving and shooting games, two turnable handles.

SG Commander Pad - Basically a standard controller with built in rapid fire.

The Master System controller was considered extremely durable,^{[citation needed]} although the wire leading into the controller was more susceptible to damage. However, there were only 2 buttons, one of which additionally performed the function of the traditional "Start" button; the pause button was on the game console itself. The original controllers, like Sega's previous systems, had the cord emerging from the side; during 1987 the design was changed to the now-typical top emerging cord. Some controllers also included a screw-in thumbstick for the D-pad.

The controller used the prevailing de facto standard Atari-style 9-pin connector and could be connected without modification to all other machines compatible with that standard, including the Atari 2600, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum with Kempston interface or similar.

When the game Street Fighter II was released (in Brazil only), a new six-button controller similar to the Sega Mega Drive controller was also released. The current Brazilian Master System consoles come with two six-button controllers.

The Light Phaser is a light gun modeled after the Zillion gun from the Japanese anime series of the same name. The design also mirrored the 1980s trend of actual laser tag gun appearances.

The 3-D Glasses used a shutter system to close the left and right lens rapidly to create a 3D effect. Some NES games, like Rad Racer and 3-D World Runner, also claimed to be 3-D, but used much cheaper red-cyan 3D glasses. The true Nintendo 3-D glasses which work with those games were only released for the Famicom in Japan. The Master System glasses can only be used in the original Master System since it hooks up directly to the card port not found in the Master System II. Such a system allows 3-D graphics in full color. A disadvantage is that it halves the effective frame-rate, which some users can perceive as flicker. The same technique has been used with similar glasses for some 3-D films in movie theaters, though these have largey been replaced by newer methods that would not work on a home TV. Only six Master System games were 3-D compatible.

With the use of the Sega Master System Converter all peripherals are fully compatible with the Sega Mega Drive.

This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

• The Grandstand Programmable Computer (Europe and Australia, 1986)
• The Mark III Game System (New Zealand, 1986)
• The Mark Video Game System (Finland, 1986)
• The Samsung Gam*Boy (South Korea, c.1987)

SEGA created a device called the Power Base Converter (PBC) for its Genesis system to allow backward compatibility with Master System games. The somewhat large PBC would plug into the Genesis' cartridge slot, covering the entire circular top of the system. Master System cartridges and cards could then be inserted into the PBC and played on the Genesis using Genesis controllers.

See also: List of Sega Master System games

Astro Warrior was integrated into one version of the console (the Sega Base System, which was slightly less expensive and lacked the Light Phaser).

Hang-On and Safari Hunt were also integrated into another version of the console; additionally, the original North American release of the console came bundled with a cartridge containing both Hang On and Safari Hunt.

Sonic the Hedgehog was integrated into some PAL Master System II consoles. Sonic the Hedgehog was the last Master System title released in the US,^{[citation needed]} and it was later ported to the Sega Game Gear.

Ys: The Vanished Omens is credited with introducing many players to the Ys series.

A marketing agreement between Sega and the producers of the anime Zillion resulted in both a game (Zillion) based on the anime series and the design of the Light Phaser attachment: the protagonists of the show use a pistol which is nearly identical to the Light Phaser, including the cable.

A total of 219 games were made for the Sega Master System.^{[citation needed]}

On some console versions, a hidden game was built in the console. When there is no cartridge in the console, while the console is on, the screen would display a message showing that no cartridge is installed. At this point, pushing "up" on the pad while pressing buttons 1 and 2 simultaneously reveals the game, Snail Maze, which is 12 levels of labyrinths.

Much of the data for this article was taken from the SMS Console Database site.

• SMS Power! — A website dedicated to the Sega Master System and other 8-bit consoles from Sega
• Sega8Bit.com — Sega Master System games database and web community.
• Sega Master System Museum
• GameFAQs' Sega Master System - A list of all SMS games, including FAQs, cheats, game information and a forum board for every game
• SegaBase - Comprehensive history of this system
• Sega Master System I
• Sega Master System II
• FAQ
• HwB - pinout and technical specs
• Sega Master Systems and Game Gear emulator collection
• Console Passion - Sega Master System Games – Complete listing of every European Master System game with descriptions, cover scans and downloadable checklist.

v • d • e Sega
Divisions	Wow Entertainment · Sega-AM2 · Hitmaker · Amusement Vision · Sega Rosso · Smilebit · Overworks · Sonic Team · Sega Studio USA · United Game Artists · STI · SegaSoft · Sega Racing Studio · Sega PC
Consoles	SG-1000/SG-1000 Mark II · SG-1000 Mark III/Master System · Mega Drive/Genesis (Variations · CD · 32X) · Saturn · Dreamcast
Handheld	Game Gear · Mega Jet · Nomad
Computers	SC-3000
Educational Consoles	Pico · Beena
Dual system	Multi-Mega/CDX · WonderMega/X'eye · TeraDrive · Amstrad Mega PC
Services	Sega Channel · Sega Meganet · SegaNet · Sega NetLink · Dreamarena
Accessories	Light Phaser · Menacer · Activator · AX-1E · Mega Mouse · Sega Mega Anser · Lock-On · Sega VR  · DirectLink · Dreameye · Dreamcast Broadband Adapter · Dreamcast VGA · VMU · GD-ROM
Arcade system boards	Sega G80 · System 16 · X Board · Y Board · Sega Mega-Tech · System 18 · System 24 · System 32 · Model 1 · Model 2 · Model 3 · ST-V · NAOMI · NAOMI 2 · Chihiro · Triforce · Lindbergh
Franchises	Zaxxon · Hang-On · Space Harrier · Fantasy Zone · OutRun · Alex Kidd · Wonder Boy · After Burner · Shinobi · Phantasy Star · Altered Beast · Golden Axe · Shining · Sonic the Hedgehog · Streets of Rage · Rent-A-Hero · ToeJam & Earl · Ecco the Dolphin · Virtua Fighter · Daytona USA · Virtua Cop · Virtua Striker · The Story of Thor · Panzer Dragoon · Sega Rally · Fighting Vipers · Vectorman · Virtual On · Nights · Sakura Taisen · The House of the Dead · Worldwide Soccer · Virtua Tennis · Crazy Taxi · Space Channel 5 · Shenmue · Samba De Amigo · Sega GT · Jet Set Radio · Super Monkey Ball · Yakuza

v • d • e Selected home game consoles
First generation	Magnavox Odyssey • Philips Odyssey • Pong • Coleco Telstar
Second generation	Fairchild Channel F • Atari 2600 • Interton VC 4000 • Odyssey² • Intellivision • Arcadia 2001 • Atari 5200 • ColecoVision • Vectrex • SG-1000
Third generation	Nintendo Entertainment System • Sega Master System • Atari 7800
Fourth generation	TurboGrafx-16 • Sega Genesis/Mega Drive • CD-i • Neo Geo • Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Fifth generation	3DO • Amiga CD32 • Jaguar • Sega Saturn • PlayStation • NEC PC-FX • Nintendo 64
Sixth generation	Sega Dreamcast • PlayStation 2 • Xbox • GameCube
Seventh generation	PlayStation 3 • Wii • Xbox 360