The Life and Times of the Sega Master System (Part II): Features

Now we take a look at Sega's predecessors to the Master System. Was it trying to be a console or a personal computer?

Newsletter

Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly.

Enter E-Mail Address Below:

The Life and Times of the Sega Master System

(Page 2)

Master System Predecessors:

Before the Sega Master System that we all know was released in North America, the console had three different renditions come out in Japan between 1983, and 1985. While being noticeably more primitive than latter models, the first console out of the gate at Sega was the SG-1000 (a.k.a. the “Mark I”). The unit had one controller permanently attached, with a port available if one wanted to pop in a two-player game. When the console first hit the market it was a tad more powerful that the competition, and it sported a very utilitarian exterior. While the SG-1000 had a standard top-loading cartridge slot, it was also the first system to support Game Card software, a storage medium that later became popularized through its heavy use on NEC’s PC-Engine. While the Game Cards could not store as much data, topping out at 32KB, they had two key benefits, they were cheap to manufacture, and as such could be sold for less to consumers as well.

The Predecessors to the Sega Master System (from left to right): The SG-1000, the SG-1000 II, and the Sega Mark III

When the console first came out it was marketed more as an entertainment unit with little mention of how the SG-1000 could support a keyboard, printer, and various other peripherals originally designed for Sega’s 1981 personal computer, the SC-3000. By 1984, though, much of the literature for the console also began to show that it could be used for more than just games, allowing students to write papers, and study with it.

For the most part, the SG-1000 never really left Japan. The console did get moderate distribution in Australia, and New Zealand, but that’s as far as the system went on an official basis. However, a pair of SG-1000 clones was released in North America: the Dina 2-in-1 (later called the Telegames Personal Arcade), and the Othello Multivision. Neither console did particularly well.

By 1984, Sega began to roll in the SG-1000 II (a.k.a. the “Mark II”), which was a re-design of the original SG-1000. Right from the start one could see a number of aesthetic improvements to the console, as it was far more streamlined than its predecessor. Also, the unit didn’t have a controller permanently bound to it, and

Advertisement

the controllers themselves were different. Instead of having a joystick similar to what one may find on an Atari 2600, the SG-1000 II used something more akin to the modern gamepad, with a directional nub on the left, and two buttons on the right of a horizontally positioned controller. Like the SG-1000, the Mark II could also support a keyboard, printer, and so forth, but it also began to see new game controllers with the introduction of the SH-400 steering wheel.

Advertisement

However, in 1985 Sega released yet another re-design of the console with the introduction of the Sega Mark III. This unit not only had improvements made to

the casing, but also had major hardware updates vastly improving console visuals, and capabilities. Internally, this was the same console as what would become the Sega Master System in America.

Despite the similar hardware, the Mark III had a number of differences that gave it various advantages over the Master System. This was a very sleek console, just like the SG-1000 II, with controller mounts on the side, and a low, flat surface. The Mark III was also one of the first consoles to be designed with backward compatibility in mind, as the system could support not only the new games made to take advantage of its fancy, new hardware, but also games made for the SG-1000 I and II, as well as Sega’s Game Cards.

Just like the two consoles before, the Mark III could support the hand-me-down peripherals originally made for the SC-3000, but this new console went far beyond being able to use a keyboard, and such. When Sega released this console, they opened the flood gates for a number of goodies to be made for it ranging from various racing controllers, to heavy duty gamepads, to a koala pad, and even an audio / video transmitter. Competition was beginning to get tight with Nintendo in Japan, and Sega needed to find a way to make the Mark III stand out.

By this time, things were also starting to heat up in North America. The videogame market had collapsed, leaving the doors wide open for anyone to waltz in and claim it for their own. Sega saw this, and began to modify the Mark III into what we know as the Sega Master System. For its North American release, the system was transformed into a console purely intended for gaming. There would be no keyboard, printer, or data recorder support, nor could one use the koala pad, or AV transmitter. It was all about games and nothing else. With that in mind, the Master System officially hit U.S. shelves in June of 1985, and the rest is history.

Now that we have more of a background on the Master System, let's look at all of the peripherals that came out for it, and better still let's also take a peek at the really cool ones the never left Japan. On to the accessories!


PC \| Gamecube \| DS \| Wii \| PlayStation 2 \| PlayStation 3 \| PSP \| Xbox \| Xbox 360
News \| Reviews \| Previews \| Features \| Classics \| Goodies \| Anime \| Forums