Sega Master System

Manufactured By

SEGA Enterprises

Launch Year

North America: 1986

Japan: 1987

Europe: 1987

Brazil: 1989

South Korea: 1989

Launch Price

North America: $200

Japan: ¥16,800

UK: £99.99

South Korea: ₩119,000

Media

Master System I: Cartridge, SEGA Card

Master System II: Cartridge

Competitors

Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System, NEC PC Engine, Atari 5200/7800, Atari 520ST, MSX2, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga 500/1000/2000, Amstrad CPC, ZX Sprectrum

Discontinued

North America: 1992

Europe: 1996

Units Sold (rough estimates)

Japan: 800,000-1 million units

North America: 2 million units

Europe: 6.8 million units

Brazil: 8 million units (as of 2016, sales of this system continue in Brazil)

History

The Sega Master System was conceived as a North American rebranding of the Japanese Sega Mark III. Sega had not released the SG-1000 or SG-1000 II outside of Japan, so it was decided that the Mark III should be given a completely different name when marketed outside of Japan. The Master System name was reportedly selected by throwing darts at a whiteboard containing various suggestions. There were plans to have a more expensive “Master System” (console, controllers and light gun), a cheaper “Sega System” (console and controllers only) along with a few other brandings. As time went on this idea was dropped in favour of the console simply being called the “Master System”, although some of the bundles released show proof of this initial concept being delivered. For example, the bundle containing the console, controllers, light gun and 3D glasses is branded as the “Sega Super System”.

Sega Super System box
Credit: http://www.master-system.info

The original Master System used cartridges for accessing game data, as well as the “Sega Card” which were small cards that slotted into the front of the console. Cartridges meanwhile were placed into the top of the machine. Sega Cards held significantly less data than Cartridges and only a small number of these were ultimately produced.

Master System Cartridge
Credit: http://www.retrogamingaus.com/

Sega Card
Credit: http://www.videogameden.com/

Unusually for the time, the Master System included a game ‘built in’ to the system. Turning on the console without a cartridge would load up a game stored in the machine’s ROM chip. The game included varied depending on the model number, but in early models tended to be Alex Kidd in Miracle World or Hang-On/Safari Hunt. Early systems also included a “Snail Maze” hidden game which could be accessed by turning the console on without a cartridge whilst holding up, 1 and 2 together on the controller pad.

Sega Master System 
Credit: 2ememain.be

The Master System used a simple controller. Similar to the NES, there were two selection buttons and a directional pad.

Master System Controller
Credit: http://videogamecritic.com

In another move echoing the NES, the Master System came with a light gun (the Sega Light Phaser) for use in shooting games. This accessory was not released in Japan, due to the Japanese systems lacking the TH signal needed for the Light Phaser’s sensor. The Light Phaser requires a CRT television to work properly, and struggles to perform on modern television sets.

 

Sega Light Phaser
Credit: http://resource.mmgn.com/

With the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis having been released at the very end of the 1980’s, Sega re-acquired North American distribution rights to the Master System from Tonka, having originally sold them to the toy company in 1987. They then completely redesigned the Master System in an attempt to cut manufacturing costs and give the system one last push before discontinuation. The Master System II was released in 1990 with Alex the Kidd in Miracle World initially included as the ‘built in’ game. Later releases would replace this with the Master System version of Sonic the Hedgehog. The Master System II did not include the Sega Card Slot, which meant the 3D glasses were unusable on the console. This model also removed the LED light which confirmed when the console was turned on.

Master System II
Credit: http://www.gamesstationretro.com/

Although the Master System did very well in Europe and South America, it struggled to gain a foothold in Japan and North America, where it was outsold by the rampant Nintendo Entertainment System. Despite having a better colour palette, superior sound quality (in Japanese FM models) and arcade ports from Sega’s successful arcade business, the Master System was a distant second to the NES throughout the third-generation of video game consoles. It was simply unable to compete against the NES’s distribution models, licensing agreements locking developers into NES development, or the overall quality of games being released for the NES.

Nonetheless, the Master System’s performance still encouraged Sega that it was worth investing in the console market, leading to the creation of the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1989.

Japan

The Master System was released in Japan in 1987, retailing at 16,800 yen. Nintendo had gained a staggering 90% market share in Japan, with 1983’s Famicom finding its way into practically every Japanese home. The Sega Mark III had struggled to compete against this juggernaut despite the Mark III’s predecessors, the SG-1000 and SG-1000 II, having respectable sales.

Sega Mark III Box
Credit: https://segadoes.files.wordpress.com

Sega attempted to revive the Mark III’s fortunes by releasing the redesigned North American Mark III, the Master System, in 1987. In terms of hardware, the Master System was almost identical to the Mark III, but accessories such as the 3D glasses would only work on the Master System. The Japanese Master System also had the YM2413 chip implemented, which gave a significant boost to sound quality. This had also been an add-on for the Mark III. Few games ultimately made use of this functionality, and international releases of the Master System did not include the YM2413 chip. Sega ultimately sold around 800,000 Mark III/Master System consoles in Japan, compared with Nintendo selling over 6 million Famicom systems.

North America

The Nintendo Entertainment System (the redesigned Famicom) had stormed the North American console scene in 1985 practically unopposed. As a result, much like in Japan, Nintendo had a firm grip on the North American market. By the time the Master System was finally released in North America in late 1987, Nintendo had already been selling a massive amount of NES consoles for two years.

The Nintendo Entertainment System
Credit: http://www.nintendo.com/

Sega of America had only existed for a year when the Master System was released, and this tiny branch of just two employees lacked the ability to effectively market the console. Nintendo was synonymous with console gaming by this point, and had a strong distribution chain. The NES was also retailing for $10 less than the Master System when the latter was initially released. Retail issues aside, on release the Master System was somewhat lacking in the software department. Nintendo had top quality games in their arsenal, ready to purchase. Sega had no answer to games like Legend of Zelda or Super Mario Bros. The Master System was technically superior to the NES, but there were no games that properly conveyed that.

Sega managed to sell 125,000 consoles in the first four months. They were far outstripped by sales of the NES (over 2 million consoles sold in the same time period), but results were favourable when compared with the Atari 7800’s 100,000 units sold in its first six months.

Nonetheless, sales figures were poor enough that Sega CEO Hayao Nakayama opted to take sales responsibility away from the Sega of America branch. Tonka Toys, known mainly for making toy trucks, acquired two year distribution rights to the Master System in 1987. Sega of America continued to handle console support, but distribution and sales were now the sole responsibility of Tonka.

A Tonka Toys truck
Credit: http://www.kitfoster.com/

Whilst Tonka were a well known name in the North American market and had access to distribution channels unavailable to the fledgling Sega of America, they had absolutely no experience in the console market and as a result struggled to sell the console in an extremely difficult environment. Despite a $30 million investment in Master System marketing from Tonka, the NES continued to handily outperform the Master System across North America.

By this time, Sega had given up on the Master System and already began work on a successor. The Sega Mega Drive (renamed Genesis in North America) would be released in 1989, signalling the beginning of the end for the Master System. Re-acquiring rights to the Master System in 1989, Sega released a stripped down Master System II in 1990 to compete as a budget console alongside the Mega Drive and the still popular NES. Although Sega put a lot of promotion behind the Master System II, very few were sold in North America and by 1992 production for the console had completely ceased.

Europe

Whilst Nintendo ruled the Japanese and North American markets, they had paid little attention to the European market. Home computers such as the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum were much more popular in Europe than elsewhere, leaving the console market largely untapped as late as 1987. Nintendo did have a presence in Europe, but it was minor in comparison to Japan or the States.

The Commodore 64
Credit: pcworld.com

The Master System rolled into Europe between 1986 and 1987, releasing at different dates in various countries. Sega partnered up with numerous companies in order to distribute their console, with some being more successful than others.

One of Sega’s most successful territories during this period was the United Kingdom, beginning a relationship between Sega and the UK that would hold strong until the release of the Sega Saturn in 1995. Distribution duties for the Master System were undertaken by a company called Mastertronic, who did an excellent job in marketing the system to an audience which was as of yet not hugely familiar with the NES. Although the system didn’t release in the UK until August 1987, Nintendo released the NES around the same time and therefore had no immediate advantage. Mastertronic managed to get the Master System into major retail stores such as Toys ‘R’ Us, Comet and Dixons, something Sega were never able to achieve in the United States.

Mastertronic Logo
Credit: http://midlifegamer.net/

Home computers continued to dominate much of the UK market, but the Master System sold respectable numbers and is generally considered to have sold more units than the NES in many European markets, UK included. By 1993 around 1.1 million Master Systems had been sold in the UK, with sales boosted by the redesigned, cheaper Master System II. Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and France also experienced decent sales of the Master System.

Due to the relative popularity of the Master System in Europe, many European-exclusive games were released that never made it to the States or Japan. The Master System’s library in Europe, as a result, is significantly stronger and many fondly remembered European Master System games (some ported from home computers) are largely unknown elsewhere. The console itself was not discontinued in Europe until 1996, four years later than the North American discontinuation date of 1992.

Sensible Soccer, a European-exclusive Master System Game
Credit: http://www.gamesdatabase.org/

Brazil

As far as overall sales are concerned, Brazil is the Master System’s most successful market. Sega’s distribution partner in Brazil was a powerful local company called Tectoy, and they were able to thrive due to Nintendo failing to establish a foothold in the Brazilian market.

Tectoy Logo
Credit: https://comunidademegadrive.files.wordpress.com

The Master System became to Brazil what the NES was to the States, but Tectoy continued to push the Master System long after Sega abandoned it. To this day the company continue to make and sell new versions of the Master System – although modern models use flash memory to store games as opposed to cartridges. As a result of the Master System’s thirty-year prominence in Brazil, many games exclusive to that market currently exist, including a Master System port of Street Fighter II.

Street Fighter II for the Master System
Credit: http://www.game-oldies.com/

The reasons for the Master System’s continued success in Brazil are complex, but ultimately it comes down to the Master System being far more affordable than most other consoles. As a local company, Tectoy does not have to pay the excessive import taxes that apply to companies like Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. A combination of nostalgia and affordability in comparison to modern consoles and their games continues to drive Master System sales despite the console not being relevant anywhere else in the world since the mid-90’s.

A Modern Master System produced by Tec Toy
Credit: http://rihappy.vteximg.com.br/

South Korea/Asia

Samsung are well known for their smartphones and electronics, and in the late 80’s they were allocated distribution rights to South Korea. This resulted in the release of the renamed Gam*Boy and some exclusive South Korean titles. At this time, piracy in Asia in general was rampant due to lax copyright laws, meaning that Sega likely made very little money from these markets.

Samsung Logo
Credit: https://www.fineprintnyc.com

Officially, the Gam*Boy retailed for ₩119,000 with two controllers. It was based on the Japanese Master System, so is compatible with Japanese cartridges. The D-Pad was slightly redesigned to closer resemble the NES controller. The Master System II was also released in this region, being called the Gam*Boy II or Aladdin Boy. There are no reliable sources for sales figures in this region for the Master System.

Samsung Gam*Boy II
Credit: http://sega-hardware.wdfiles.com/

Sources

Wikipedia
Sega Retro
http://gaming.wikia.com
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/brazil-is-a-video-game-alternate-universe-where-sega-beat-nintendo