Master System
The is an 8-bit home video game console manufactured and developed by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega MarkIII, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, released in Japan in 1985. The Master System launched in North America in 1986, followed by Europe in 1987 and Brazil and Korea in 1989. A Japanese version was launched in 1987, with additions including a built-in FM audio chip, a rapid-fire switch, and a dedicated port for the 3D glasses. The Master SystemII, a cheaper model, was released in 1990 in North America, Australasia, and Europe.
The original Master System models use both cartridges and a credit card-sized format, Sega Cards. Accessories include a light gun and 3D glasses that work with specially designed games. The later Master System II redesign removed the card slot, turning it into a strictly cartridge-only system, and is incompatible with the 3D glasses.
As a third-generation console, the Master System was released in competition with the Nintendo Entertainment System. Its library is smaller and with fewer well-reviewed games than the NES, due in part to Nintendo licensing policies requiring platform exclusivity. Though the Master System had newer, improved hardware, it failed to overturn Nintendo's market share advantage in Japan, North America, and most of Western Europe. However, it attained greater success in some markets, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, Brazil, South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia.
The Master System is estimated to have sold between 10-13million units worldwide. In addition, Tectoy has sold licensed Master System variants in Brazil. Retrospective criticism has recognized its role in the development of the Sega Genesis, and a number of well-received games, particularly in PAL regions, but is critical of its limited library in the NTSC regions, which were dominated by the NES.
History
Mark III
Sega released its first video game console, the SG-1000, in Japan on July 15, 1983, the same day its competitor Nintendo launched the Family Computer. In 1984, parent company Gulf and Western Industries divested its non-core businesses including Sega, and Sega president Hayao Nakayama was installed as CEO. Nakayama and Sega co-founder David Rosen later arranged a management buyout with financial backing from CSK Corporation, and installed CSK CEO Isao Okawa as chairman.On July 31, 1984, Sega released the SG-1000 II, a revised version of the SG-1000 with several hardware alterations, including detachable controllers. Hoping to better compete with Nintendo, Sega released the Mark III, another revision of the SG-1000, in Japan on October 20, 1985 at ¥15,000. The Mark III was engineered by the same team as the SG-1000, including Hideki Sato and Masami Ishikawa, who had worked on the SG-1000 II and later led development of the Mega Drive. According to Sato, the console was redesigned because of the limitations of the Texas Instruments TMS9918A graphics chip in the SG-1000, which did not have the power for the kinds of games Sega wanted to make. The Mark III's chip was designed in-house, based around the unit in Sega's System 2 arcade system board.
Though its hardware was more powerful than the Famicom, the Mark III was not successful on launch. Problems arose from Nintendo's licensing practices with third-party developers, whereby Nintendo required that games for the Famicom not be published on other consoles. Sega developed its own games and obtained the rights to port games from other developers, but they did not sell well.
North American release as Master System
Though the SG-1000 had not been released in the United States, Sega hoped that their console business would fare better in North America than it had in Japan. To accomplish this, Sega of America was established in 1986 to manage the company's consumer products in North America. Rosen and Nakayama hired Bruce Lowry, Nintendo of America's vice president of sales. Lowry was persuaded to change companies because Sega would allow him to start his new office in San Francisco. He chose the name "Sega of America" for his division because he had worked for Nintendo of America and liked the combination of words. Initially, Sega of America was tasked with repackaging the Mark III for a Western release. Sega of America rebranded the Mark III as the Master System, similar to Nintendo's reworking of the Famicom into the Nintendo Entertainment System. The name was chosen by Sega of America employees throwing darts against a whiteboard of suggested names. Plans to release a cheaper console, the Base System, also influenced the decision. Okawa approved of the name after being told it was a reference to the competitive nature of both the video game industry and martial arts, in which only one competitor can be the "Master". The console's futuristic final design was intended to appeal to Western tastes. The North American packaging was white to differentiate it from the black NES packaging, with a white grid design inspired by Apple computer products.The Master System was first revealed in North America at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago in June 1986. It was later launched in September 1986 at a price of $200, initially sold in a package with the "Power Base" console, a light gun, two controllers, and a pack-in multicart with the games Hang-On and Safari Hunt. Around the same time, Nintendo was exporting the Famicom to the US as the Nintendo Entertainment System, and both Sega and Nintendo planned to spend $15 million in late 1986 to market their respective consoles; Sega hoped to sell 400,000 to 750,000 consoles in 1986. By the end of 1986, at least 125,000 Master System consoles had been sold, more than the Atari 7800's 100,000 but less than Nintendo's 1.1 million. Other sources indicate that more than 250,000 Master System consoles were sold by Christmas 1986.
As in Japan, the Master System in North America had a limited game library. Limited by Nintendo's licensing practices, Sega only had two third-party American publishers, Activision and Parker Brothers. Agreements with both of those companies came to an end in 1989. Sega claimed that the Master System was the first console "where the graphics on the box are actually matched by the graphics of the game", and pushed the "arcade experience" in adverts. However, its marketing department was run by only two people, giving Sega a disadvantage in advertising. As one method of promoting the console, at the end of 1987 Sega partnered with astronaut Scott Carpenter to start the "Sega Challenge", a traveling program set up in recreational centers where kids were tested on non-verbal skills such as concentration and the ability to learn new skills. Out Run and Shooting Gallery were two games included in the challenge.
In 1987, amid struggling sales in the US, Sega sold the US distribution rights for the Master System to toy company Tonka, which had no experience with electronic entertainment systems. Sega had made the deal in order to leverage Tonka's knowledge of the American toy market, since Nintendo had marketed the NES as a toy to great success in North America. The announcement was made shortly after the 1987 Summer CES. During this time, much of Sega of America's infrastructure shifted from marketing and distribution to focus on customer service, and Lowry departed the company. Tonka blocked localization of several popular Japanese games, and during 1988 were less willing to purchase EPROMs needed for game cartridge manufacture during a shortage. They also became less willing to invest in video games after taking massive loans in purchasing Kenner Toys in 1987, followed by poor holiday season sales and financial losses.
On October 18, 1987, the Mark III was re-released as the Master System in Japan for ¥16,800, but still sold poorly. Neither model posed a serious challenge to Nintendo in Japan, and, according to Sato, Sega was only able to attain 10% of the Japanese console market.
Europe, Brazil, and other markets
The Master System was launched in Europe in August 1987, distributed by Mastertronic in the United Kingdom, Master Games in France, and Ariolasoft in West Germany, the latter of whom had initially purchased UK distribution rights. As Ariolasoft could not agree to a pricing agreement with Sega, Mastertronic signed a deal in 1987 to take control of UK distribution, and announced the deal at the 1987 Summer CES. The company announced the release of 12 titles by autumn. Mastertronic advertised the Master System as "an arcade in the home" and launched it at £99. Advance orders from retailers were high, but Sega proved unable to deliver inventory until Boxing Day on December 26, causing many retailers to cancel their orders. Mastertronic and Master Games entered financial crises and Ariolasoft vowed never to work with Sega again. Mastertronic had already sold a minority interest to the Virgin Group to enter the console business, and sold the remainder to avoid bankruptcy. The newly rebranded Virgin Mastertronic took over all European distribution in 1988.Virgin Mastertronic focused marketing the Master System on ports of Sega's arcade games and positioning it as a superior video game alternative to the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum computers. As a result of this marketing, coupled with Nintendo's less effective early approaches in Europe, the Master System began to attract European developers. The Master System held a significant part of the video game console market in Europe until the release of Sega's succeeding console, the Mega Drive. In 1989, Virgin Mastertronic began offering rentals of the Master System console and 20 games. The United Kingdom also hosted a Sega video games national championship, with the winner competing against Japanese and American champions on the British television show Motormouth. Players competed in a variety of games, including Astro Warrior, platform games, and sports games. During the late 1980s, the Master System was outselling the NES in the United Kingdom.
The Master System was successful in Europe, becoming the best-selling console in the region by 1990; by that time, however, the NES was beginning to have a fast-growing user base in the UK. In 1990 alone, Virgin Mastertronic sold 150,000 Master Systems in the United Kingdom, greater than the 60,000 Mega Drives and Nintendo's 80,000 consoles sold in the same period. In the whole of Europe that year, Sega sold a combined 918,000 consoles, greater than Nintendo's 655,000.
The Master System was also successful in Brazil, where it launched in September 1989 and was distributed by Tectoy, a Brazilian toy company startup focused on electronic toys. Tectoy had reached out to Sega about distributing their products and, despite Sega's hesitation given their situation with Tonka in the US, was eventually given liberty to manage Sega products in Brazil. Their success distributing Sega's laser tag gun based on the anime Zillion gave Sega the confidence to allow Tectoy to distribute the Master System. By the end of 1990, the installed base in Brazil was about 280,000 units. Tectoy introduced a telephone service with game tips, created a Master System club, and presented the program Master Tips during commercial breaks of the television show Sessão Aventura on Rede Globo. Nintendo did not arrive in Brazil until 1993, and were unable to officially compete, as clones of the NES dominated the Brazilian market. Tectoy claimed 80% of the Brazilian video game market.
In South Korea, the Sega Mark III was released by Samsung under the name "Gam*Boy" in April 1989, followed by the Master System II, under the name "Aladdin Boy", in 1992. By 1993, it had sold 720,000 units in South Korea, outselling the NES and becoming the best-selling console in the region until 1993. The Master System was also popular in New Zealand and Australia; in the latter country, it was more successful than the NES, with 250,000 units sold there during 1990 alone. By November 1994, 650,000 units had been sold in Australia.