The Sega Master System was an 8-bit cartridge-based gaming console that was released in Japan in 1986 and the rest of the world the following year. It was designed to be a direct competitor to the NES/Famicom; however, although the Master System was more technically advanced than the NES, it did not attain the same level of popularity among consumers in the United States. This was partly due to the fact that Nintendo had cornered 90% of the North American market at the time, and Sega decided not to push the console too aggressively in the NES-dominated market. By 1992, the Master System's sales were virtually nonexistent in North America and in Japan, and the console was discontinued.
The console was far more popular in Europe and Australasia where Nintendo had not gained a firm foothold, and it remained in production until 1996; discontinued only to make way for the new Sega Saturn console. The Sega Master System was particularly popular in Brazil, where it is still being produced to this day. Overall, the console has sold over 13 million units since its release date.
Games
Some of the more notable games for the Sega Master System include:
One of the unique features of the Sega Master System was its dual media inputs: one card slot and one cartridge slot. The card slot accepted game cards about the size of a credit card, and was also used to plug in the 3D glasses peripheral, which could be used with six specially designed cartridge games.
In 1990, the Sega Master System II was released; a smaller, sleeker console that lacked the reset button and card slot of the original. The new system included a built-in game (Alex Kidd in Miracle World, or later Sonic the Hedgehog), which was playable without any cartridges. Although the unit was marketed the heavily, it sold poorly.
The latest version (produced in Brazil) is the Master System III Collection, which comes in three versions: one with 74 games built-in, other with 105 games built-in and another with 112 games built-in on an internal ROM.
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