Background Master System

1 background

1.1 development
1.2 launch
1.3 transition genesis , decline
1.4 game gear

background

in 1980s, sega enterprises, inc., subsidiary of american conglomerate gulf , western, 1 of largest arcade game manufacturers active in united states, company revenues of $214 million mid-1982. downturn in arcade business starting in 1982 negatively impacted company, leading gulf , western sell north american manufacturing , licensing of arcade games bally manufacturing. company retained japanese subsidiary, sega enterprises, ltd., sega s north american research , development division. arcade business in decline, gulf , western executives turned sega enterprises, ltd. s president, hayao nakayama, advice on how proceed. nakayama advocated company leverage hardware expertise gained through years working in arcade industry move home console market in japan, in infancy @ time. nakayama received permission proceed project, leading release of sega s first home video game system, sg-1000.

the sg-1000 first released in japan on july 15, 1983, @ price of jp¥15,000. launched on same day nintendo released family computer (famicom) in japan. shortly after launch of sg-1000, gulf , western began divest of non-core businesses after death of company founder, charles bluhdorn, nakayama , former sega ceo david rosen arranged management buyout of japanese subsidiary in 1984 financial backing csk corporation, prominent japanese software company. nakayama installed ceo of new sega enterprises, ltd. following buyout, sega released console, sg-1000 ii, ¥15,000. featured few hardware tweaks original model, including detachable controllers. sg-1000 ii did not sell well, however, leading sega s decision continue work on video game hardware used system. resulted in release of sega mark iii in japan in 1985.

development

engineered same internal sega team had created sg-1000, mark iii redesigned iteration of previous console. cpus in sg-1000 , sg-1000 ii zilog z80as running @ 3.58 mhz, while mark iii, sc-3000—a computer version of sg-1000—and master system feature z80a running @ 4 mhz. mark iii , master system carried on sega card slot used in sg-1000. according edge, lessons sg-1000 s lack of commercial success used in hardware redesign of mark iii, , console designed more powerful famicom.

for console s north america release, sega restyled , rebranded mark iii under name master system , similar nintendo s own reworking of famicom nintendo entertainment system. master system name 1 of several proposals sega s american employees considered, , chosen throwing darts against whiteboard, although plans release cheaper console referred base system influenced decision. sega enterprises chairman isao okawa endorsed name after being told reference competitive nature of both video game industry , martial arts, in 1 competitor can master . futuristic final design master system intended appeal western tastes.

launch

the sega mark iii released in japan in october 1985 @ price of ¥15,000. despite featuring technically more powerful hardware chief competition, famicom, mark iii did not prove successful @ launch. difficulties arose nintendo s licensing practices third-party developers @ time, whereby nintendo required titles famicom not published on other consoles. overcome this, sega developed own titles , obtained rights port games other developers, did not sell well. nec later used same strategy on of sega s titles when developing games turbografx-16. in preparation launch, mark cerny has stated pressure very, high , typical game being allotted 3 months of development time.

after being restyled master system , console released in north america in 1986 @ price of us$200 (equivalent $437 in 2016), including multicart of games hang-on , safari hunt. , nintendo, exporting famicom nintendo entertainment system (nes), planned spend $15 million in fall , winter 1986 market consoles; sega hoped sell 400,000 750,000 consoles in 1986. end of 1986, master system had sold 125,000 consoles, more atari 7800 s 100,000 less nintendo s 1.1 million. in japan, master system in north america had limited game library not received nes. against nintendo s licensing practices, sega had 2 third-party american publishers, activision , parker brothers. 1988, nintendo commanded 83 percent of north american video game market share. sega claimed our system first 1 graphics on box matched graphics of game , , marketing master system targeted @ bringing home arcade experience, marketing department run 2 men, giving sega disadvantage in advertising.

the console re-released master system in japan in october 1987 ¥16,800. however, similar mark iii, launch not successful. console in neither of forms posed serious challenge nintendo in japan.

the european launch of master system occurred in 1987. distributed mastertronic in united kingdom, master games in france, , ariolasoft in germany. mastertronic advertised master system arcade in home , launched system @ £99 (equivalent £256 in 2016). advance orders retailers high, sega proved unable deliver inventory until boxing day on december 26, causing many retailers cancel orders. result, master games , mastertronic both entered financial crises , ariolasoft vowed never work sega again. mastertronic had sold minority interest richard branson , virgin group enter console business , sold remainder of company avoid bankruptcy. newly rebranded virgin mastertronic took on european distribution in 1988. virgin mastertronic consequently focused marketing master system on ports of sega s arcade games , positioning superior alternative commodore 64 , zx spectrum home computers in terms of video games. result of marketing , of nintendo s less effective approaches in europe, master system began attract european-based developers. master system held significant part of video game console market in europe through release of sega s succeeding console, mega drive. brazil successful market master system, console released in 1989 , distributed tectoy.

transition genesis , decline

mega drive, known genesis in north america, succeeded master system

sega released mega drive, 16-bit video game console, in japan on october 29, 1988. final commercial release mark iii , master system in japan bomber raid in 1989. during same year, sega preparing release new mega drive, relabeled genesis , in north america. displeased tonka s handling of master system, sega reacquired marketing , distribution rights master system united states. in 1990, sega released remodeled master system ii, designed lower-cost version of console removed sega card slot. sega promoted new model themselves, console still sold poorly in region despite tonka no longer being involved master system s marketing. in 1991, nintendo entered consent agreement under united states antitrust law , forced abandon of licensing practices, master system had been in decline long before. 1992, master system production ceased in north america. time of discontinuation, master system had sold between 1.5 million , 2 million units in united states, finishing behind both nintendo , atari, controlled 80 percent , 12 percent of market, respectively. last licensed release in north america sonic hedgehog in 1991.

the master system ii, cost-reduced version of master system released in 1990.

contrary performance in japan , north america, master system success in europe, outsold nes considerable margin. late 1993, master system s active installed user base in europe 6.25 million units, larger of mega drive s 5.73 million base year. combined mega drive, sega represented majority of console user base in europe year. master system s largest markets in region france , united kingdom, had active user bases of 1.6 million , 1.35 million, respectively, in 1993. remodeled master system ii proved successful , helped sega sustain master system s significant market share in europe. more new releases continue 1990s in europe, including sonic hedgehog 2, streets of rage 2, , mercs. master system has had continued success in brazil, new variations have continued released long after console discontinued elsewhere. these include master system compact , master system 3. in 2015, reported master system sells around 150,000 units per year in brazil, level holds own against modern systems such playstation 4. 2016, master system had sold 8 million units in brazil.

game gear

the game gear based on master system s architecture , shared many similarities

developed under name project mercury , designed based on master system s hardware, game gear handheld game console. first released in japan on october 6, 1990, in north america , europe in 1991, , in australia in 1992. retailing @ jp¥19,800 in japan, us$149.99 in north america, , gb£99.99 in europe, game gear designed compete game boy, nintendo had released in 1989. despite similarities game gear shared master system, games of latter not directly playable on handheld, , able played on handheld use of accessory called master system converter. large part of game gear s game library consists of master system ports. because of landscape orientation of game gear s screen , similarities in hardware between handheld console , master system, easy developers port master system games handheld.