Sega Master System
| Sega Master System | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 
|
||||
 |
||||
 |
||||
| Manufacturer | Sega | |||
| Type | stationary game console | |||
| generation | third generation of consoles | |||
| publication |
|
|||
| Main processor | Zilog Z80 | |||
| Storage media |
Module plug-in cards (Sega Cards) |
|||
| Controller | Gamepad / control pad | |||
| Online service | none | |||
| Units sold | about 13 million | |||
| Most successful game | Alex Kidd in Miracle World | |||
| predecessor | SG-1000 | |||
| successor | Sega Mega Drive | |||
The Sega Master System ( SMS for short ; Japanese. マ ス タ ー シ ス テ ム , Masutā Shisutemu ) is an 8-bit home video game console from the Japanese company Sega . It was in direct competition with the Famicom of Nintendo (in America and Europe as NES marketed).
history
As the successor to the SG-1000 Mark I and the SG-1000 Mark II , the SG-1000 Mark III was presented in Japan in October 1985 . An improvement over its predecessors was the larger color palette, better audio via the separately available FM unit and more internal memory. In June 1986 the system was released in a new design under the new name Sega Master System in the USA , one year later the US launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Initially, the games were delivered on inexpensive Sega cards, which were given up in favor of cartridges (from 128 KBit) due to the limitation to 32 KBit. The console cost US $ 200 when it went on sale. It was then released in other markets, in Europe it appeared in 1987 under its new name.
Although the master system was technically superior to the NES in some areas, it could not prevail against it. The system's moderate success is attributed to a number of factors, mainly the lower number of titles available compared to the NES. Nintendo's good relationships with third-party developers are also likely to have been significant; the agreement resulted in the developers ultimately only making games for the NES.
Japan
The SMS was not overly successful in Japan as the Nintendo Famicom, which competed with the Japanese master system, dominated the Japanese market. Both the Mark III and the Japanese Master System have support for SG-1000 games. The FM chip is also integrated in the device, which had to be purchased from the predecessor as an add-on FM unit. Furthermore, the 3D glasses can be connected directly to the headphone jack of the Asian master system, an adapter for the card slot is not necessary. The Mark III and the Japanese Master System share a different module format that is not compatible with American / European consoles. There are also prototypes of a disc system (similar to the Famicom disk system ) and a graphic board. In February 1989, Bomber Raid was the last game for this region.
North America
The Master System sold very slowly in North America. 125,000 consoles were sold in the first four months. Around 2,000,000 NES consoles went over the counter in the same period.
Nintendo held 90% of the North American market at the time. Hayou Nakayama , then CEO of Sega, decided not to invest too much in NES-dominated markets. In 1988, the North American master system rights were sold to Tonka , but its popularity continued to decline. In 1990 Sega had success with its Sega Mega Drive / Sega Genesis and bought back the SMS rights from Tonka. With the Sega Master System II, a smaller, lower-cost version was developed. In addition, the game Alex Kidd was already integrated in Miracle World , so that no additional module had to be purchased. It was later replaced by Sonic the Hedgehog .
By 1992, Master System sales in North America were virtually non-existent and production ceased. Due to the lack of success, only 115 titles appeared for the console.
Europe
In Europe , Sega's Master System was marketed in many different countries, including some where Nintendo did not sell consoles. Europeans gave the SMS broad third-party support so that it outperformed the NES in this market. Nintendo was forced to license some popular SMS titles in this market. Until 1994, the Master System was the console in Europe with the largest installation base of 6.25 million devices. Official support was discontinued in 1996 in favor of the Sega Saturn, which was already in production . The last European game " Les Schtroumpfs Autour du Monde " was only produced in very small quantities, which is why it is highly traded among collectors.
Australia
The SMS was defeated by the NES in Australia , but the defeat was not as devastating as in North America. The local company OziSoft took over sales here until it was finally taken over by Sega in 1992. The hardware was identical to the European version.
Taiwan
In Taiwan, Aaronix continued the distribution of game consoles from Sega.
South Korea
As with the SG-1000, the Master System also appeared in South Korea, but later under the name Gam * Boy, Aladdin Boy. The initial distribution by Korea Oacs Co. Ltd. was replaced by Samsung . This largely took over the design of the Japanese version, in some variants the FM unit was omitted. In addition, the controller was redesigned, which now had a directional pad, rectangular action buttons and a rounded housing. Due to the prevailing reservations about Japanese companies, Samsung took over the marketing. Some well-known MSX conversions appeared there, such as Gradius and the Super Mario Bros. -Clone Super Boy. The local company Zemina was particularly active .
Brazil
Brazil was one of the most successful markets for SMS. It was sold there by TecToy , Sega's Brazilian distributor. In addition to the Master System 1, the Master System 2 also appeared in the same housing as its predecessor, which is why an RGB socket and card slot are integrated. A Sega Master System III (and even a semi-portable SMS VI) appeared on this market, and several games were translated for the Brazilians. The characters in these games have been adapted to the Brazilian audience, for example Wonder Boy in Monster Land became Mônica , the main character in a popular Brazilian children's book by Maurício de Sousa .
Game Gear games were later converted for the Master System in Brazil and several original Brazilian titles appeared for the system. TecToy also produced a licensed version of the popular fighting game Street Fighter II for the Master System. Despite the console's limited capabilities, the game was surprisingly good. The console manufacturing was familiar to the Brazilians, which explains the success in this market. During the late days of the Master System in Brazil, games for young children were being marketed.
The Sega Master System was produced in Brazil well beyond 1996. The Master System III Collection version is designed like the North American Master System II (Master System III in Brazil), but it is white and comes with 74 built-in games on an internal ROM. There is also the Master System Collection Super Compact, the Super Compact Girl (in pink), the Master System Handy (a console without a module slot with 27 implemented games) and the Master System Collection 105, identical to the Collection 74, but with 105 implemented Playing in ROM (including the previously unreleased Woody Woodpecker ). The current version, Master System Evolution (as of 2015), contains 132 games. In addition to classics such as Sonic and Alex Kidd , the collection also includes numerous games developed by TecToy such as Cava Cava or Resta Um .
Sega Master System II & III
| Sega Master System II | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
|
|||
| Manufacturer | Sega | ||
| Type | Stationary game console | ||
| generation | 3rd generation / 8-bit era | ||
| publication |
|
||
| Main processor | 8-bit 3.6 MHz Zilog Z80 CPU | ||
| Storage media | Modules | ||
| Controller | D-pad, 2 buttons | ||
| Most successful game | Alex Kidd in Miracle World | ||
The Master System II is essentially a redesign of the original console. For cost reasons, however, the developers did without the slot for plug-in cards ( Sega Card ), the reset button, the power LED and the RGB connection. It has been changed several times in its history. However, the changes mainly concerned the design of the console. The game "Alex Kidd in Miracle World" or "Sonic The Hedgehog" was integrated in Master System 2.
The console only has one module slot for games that have been published as game modules ( mega cartridge ). On the console itself there is a pause button and the on / off switch.
The revised models came on the market worldwide, with the exception of Japan. In Korea this version is known as Gam * Boy II / Aladdin Boy.
The Master System III Compact is still produced by TecToy exclusively for the Brazilian market. The first versions largely corresponded to the Master System II. Later, however, the system was changed several times and offered in different versions, for example as a compact version with built-in games and without a module slot.
equipment
A controller with 2 buttons is used to control the games, with button 1 also serving as the start button. Other compatible controllers such as those from the Mega Drive or Atari can also be used. Up to two controllers can be connected to the console. The third company WKK offered a wireless infrared controller, and Sega provided an arcade joystick (control stick), trackball (sports paddle only in Japan and North America), steering wheel (handle controller) and in Japan a paddle control. A light phaser and an adapter including 3D glasses, which can only be used on the Master System 1 (connection is via the Sega card slot ), were offered as additional accessories . In the Japanese master system, the adapter was integrated in the console. Continuous fire could be realized via an adapter, the Rapid Fire Unit, or a controller (SG Commander) only available in Europe and Japan. An action replay offered the possibility of manipulating game data. In addition, a TV extension, the Telecon Pack, was offered exclusively for Japanese consoles, which wirelessly transmitted the TV signal. This technology was also used in the Master System Super Compact from the manufacturer TecToy.
Hardware emulation
Games can be played on the Mega Drive via the Power Base Converter. The Master Gear Converter enables playback on the Game Gear.
Technical specifications
- CPU: Z80 clocked with 3.55 (PAL / SECAM) or 3.58 (NTSC) MHz (8-bit CPU)
- Graphic: a VDP (Video Display Processor) derived from the Texas Instruments TMS9918
- 128 KBit ROM
- 64 KBit (8 KByte) RAM (some cartridges expand this)
- 128 KBit (16 KByte) video RAM
- Up to 32 colors simultaneously from two palettes of 64 colors (palettes for background & sprites separated, inoff. with special programming tricks also 64 colors)
- 256 × 192 and 256 × 224, with PAL / SECAM also 256 × 240 pixel screen resolution
- 8 × 8 pixel characters, maximum approx. 488 (uncompressed, limited VRAM capacity)
- 8 × 8 or 8 × 16 pixel sprites, maximum 64 simultaneously
- Full or partial screen shift (scrolling) in horizontal, vertical and diagonal directions
- Music: Texas Instruments SN76489 4-channel sound (mono)
- with the Japanese master system additionally with YM-2413 , with the Mark III via FM unit
- The SN76489 implements a noise generator and 3 sound generators that can cover a frequency range from 122 Hz to around 12.5 kHz.
- The YM-2413 has 9 mono channels
- Expansion port: SMS 2 has no access
- Video output (not with SMS2), antenna connection
- Pause switch on the console, reset switch is missing on the SMS2
- Module slot, card slot / missing on SMS2
- BIOS checks region and checksum
Games
In contrast to the Nintendo policy at the time, third-party manufacturers were also able to influence the design of the modules. Some modules differ from Codemasters by a different shape which allowed a colored image, as already existed with Mark III, Gam * Boy and Sega Card titles.
A number of titles, some of which are exclusive and significant for video game history, have appeared for the Master System. Phantasy Star was one of the first of its kind and one of the first Japanese role-playing games (JRPG) .
abstract
One of the following games was already integrated in the console's ROM: Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Sonic The Hedgehog, Snail Maze, Astro Warrior, Hang-On / Safari Hunt, Missile Defense 3D.
- Alex Kidd in Miracle World
- Fantasy Zone
- Hang-on
- Out run
- Phantasy Star
- Power strike
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- The Lucky Dime Caper - Starring Donald Duck
- Wonder Boy
- Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap
Web links
- Overview of all games published for the master system
- Collection with many rarities
- Fanpage about the Sega Master System (English)
- Fan which the technique of the Sega 8-bit dedicated consoles (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Sega Graphic Board. Retrieved June 2, 2015 (Portuguese).
- ↑ Jimmy Russell: 101 Amazing Sega Master System Facts
- ↑ OziSoft on SegaRetro. Retrieved June 28, 2015 (pt-en).
- ↑ Two versions of the Gam * Boy. Retrieved June 28, 2015 (pt-en).
- ↑ Master System Evolution Blue: MS 132. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 8, 2015 ; Retrieved March 17, 2015 (Brazilian Portuguese). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Telecon Pack. In: Maxim's World of Stuff. Retrieved August 25, 2015 .
- ↑ Master System Super Compact. Retrieved August 25, 2015 .
- ↑ How To Program :: Palette. In: Maxim's World of Stuff. Retrieved March 17, 2015 .
- ↑ BIOSes. In: SMS Power! Retrieved March 17, 2015 .
- ↑ Brian J. Wardyga: The Video Games Textbook. History. Business. Technology. CRC Press, Boca Raton 2019, ISBN 978-0-8153-9091-6 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
