The master system found it's niche in the UK as THE budget console, especially well into the 90's when you could get a master system II with games and controllers for £40. Even well into 1995 you could get one from Argos for £35, it hung In there even when the Playstation and Saturn came out for about a year.
The Master System II typically wasn't that cheap over here. I don't remember what it usually went for before it hit clearance... I think it was about $60 at most places. It also kind of came and went pretty quickly without much interest here. I think when I got mine, it was under $50, if I remember right.
Amazing video! Thank you very much! In fact, i read a lot interviews about developed Phantasy star II and don't know, what you say about Phantasy star II developed!
It was typical of Sega to start the development of a game for one platform, then cancel that and move it to another. They were still doing that with the Dreamcast, canceling the Saturn version of Shenmeu.
I got a Sega Master back in the day with Hang-On / Safari Hunt & Gangster Town. The Light Phaser was better than the Zapper & Gangster Town with 2 players simultaneously was a revelation! I always wanted to play the Scope 3-D games with the glasses but never had the chance.
I got mine for christmas one year, I got the bundle with the light phaser and hang-on / safari hunt, received Quartet at the same time. I also never got a chance to use the 3D glasses, sadly.
Great video, as always! :) My first experience of the SMS here in the UK was around 1988 when one of my friends at school got one. Interestingly, it happily coexisted alongside the home computers (which were largely more popular) here in the UK and served as a nice alternative for those who wanted one. The only thing that held it back was the fact that 16-bit computers like the Amiga and ST were starting to take off and more people wanted those (until the 16-bit consoles blew them out of the water at the start of the 90s). I myself didn't pick up a SMS until years later when I started collecting retro hardware for a bit, but it was always a popular and well loved system here. Conversely, I don't think I ever met ANYONE who owned a NES then or now. In that sense, as consoles go, the Sega Master System was like VHS here and the NES was more akin to Betamax.
Yeah, how the popularity of the systems was so different in different parts of the world. I got an NES first, then an SMS the year after. Then a while bunch of other stuff shortly after that!
no mention of the original Master Systems hidden built in game Snail Maze? OK it wasnt a minbloing or very imersive maze game but that tune is still stuck in my head all these years later & rears its head at random times
What, do you think I had room for 12 facts or something? 😁 Snail Maze was definitely a neat little extra, though. I thought that probably most people already knew about it.
As a kid, here in Brazil, I remember playing Master System in different ways, mostly with the main first model, but in other occasions and places with the Power Base, and later with the model 2. We've played Light Phaser games, Black Belt, Castle of Illusion and many more. It was present even when we already had the Mega Drive, SNES and even the Saturn, so it was nice, even back in the mid to late 90's, I never felt that playing SMS, NES or even Atari 2600 games were retrograde, it felt cool to have these systems available, charm doesn't age. The Game Gear is interesting as it shows more or less what could have happened to the SMS with a bit more third party support and new tendencies such as RPGs, fighting and newer genres from the mid 90's. The portable received two great Shinobi games, 3 Shining Forces, Shin Megami Tensei and many others, so I'm greatful that the SMS hardware lived through it, as otherwise it feels the SMS never reached its full potential in its library.
The SMS is a fun little machine and its top-tier games are definitely impressive. I wish for the GG they had made a few more improvements while maintaining compatibility... a z80 with a higher speed mode, a smidge more RAM and a second background layer in a new graphics mode would have all been nice. and probably wouldn't have affected the price much. Still, there are definitely some great games that hit the GG like the ones you pointed out.
I have fond childhood memories of the SMS, my first games console after upgrading from a ZX Spectrum. PS1 was amazing back in the day. Never knew PS2 started life as a SMS game. Wonder if the tight development schedule and switching to the MD's hardware was a reason for skimping on the background graphics during the battle scenes?!
Regarding the PS2 battle scenes, I have a feeling it was more cart space restrictions than anything else. 6 megabits for a lengthy RPG filled with that many animated enemies probably didn't leave space left for the variety of backgrounds they'd need. I'd say the short development time probably limited the story presentation more than anything else, which is probably the weakest aspect of the game. The base story is good, but is so barebones. Knowing it was made so quickly helps make that weakness make sense, I think.
Some PAL Master System games have FM music on the cart despite the PAL region not getting the FM chip. I think some are PAL exclusive so could have been decades until the general public actuality heard the FM music.
Regarding the pause button being in the console instead of the controller (which as you note was also found on a couple of other machines of the era) one thing to keep in mind was that in Japan it was common for people to have the system close to the player and farther away from the TV so they could switch games more easily. That is, the cable from the console to TV was long but the controller cable was pretty short. This is also seen in the original model Famicom (which also had hardwired controllers like the SG-1000) and the PC Engine (the latter of which carried over to the US TurboGrafx). Even Japanese Super Famicom and Mega Drive controllers have shorter controller cords than their western counterparts. So they probably just didn't think it was an issue at the time.
I haven't seen any designer interviews, so it's not possible to say for sure exactly why they did it, but I'd bet anything it was just to maintain compatibility with the SG1000 which was supposed to be a major selling point for the Mark III. And I think it's pretty safe to say that on the SG1000 it was on the console because that was sort of the conventional design at that time. Nintendo bucked the trend by putting theirs directly on the controller. I can envision Sega wanting to do the same for the Mark III but deciding not to because it would might be confusing to have a pause/start button the controller that only worked in some games (mark III) but not all of them (SG1000). I'd love to know for sure and tried researching this, but couldn't find a definitive answer.
It was quite common in the US too! It made for easier reset and cart switching. Did that with the SMS and NES even with a pause button now that I think about it.
I have the PAL SC-3000H, which was released in some European countries. It works fine with Master System pads by the way and runs games from all regions. It doesn't have controllers hard wired to it. My first console ever was a Master System 2. I loved it and had 12 games as a little kid. Nowadays I use a Master System 1 with a SCART cable.
Cool, I don't think I said in the video that the SC3000 was Japan only, at least I didn't in the script I wrote! I liked the SMS 2 as a little budget system. It had an interesting enough design, but only having RF out without mods was definitely limiting. I had an original SMS, which is the only system I ever sold... I sold it and bought a power base convertor for the Genesis when it came out and then later got an SMS 2.
@@InglebardGaming You didn't say it wasn't, but it was kept hanging or even implied. I thought it was an interesting fact anyway. I didn't know that it was back then, but I was born in '84.
Great video! One thing not mentioned and little known about the Japanese Master System as it pertains to US releases is that with an adapter (easy to make) one can play US Master System games from the expansion port on the back of the system AND that many, many US games have FM sound capabilities that are enabled by doing this! Perhaps Sega considered adding the FM chip to the US system, informed the developers of this, and then backed out at the last minute trapping the US library into a world of crap background music. I have this setup and truly believe that if the FM sound chip was included in the US system it would have held firmer footing versus the NES.
I would love to have seen the FM chip included in the US SMS. Honestly though, I don't think it would have impacted sales. Nintendo had such a stranglehold on third parties, probably nothing would have stopped them or even slowed them down at that point. It took a machine as powerful as the Genesis and a two-year window for Sega to finally make headway against Nintendo and the NES juggernaut.
The Korean version although written in English as Gam*boy is written in Korean as 겜보이 which is pronounced more like "gem boy" (G sound like in 'golf' rather than a J sound like in 'gem'). The Megadrive/Genesis was sold as a Samsung Super Aladin Boy. You can still find them floating around but they're rather expensive - I see a a Master System on a Korean marketplace site now in mid 2024 for ~ $200 USD.
great video packed with good data, Master System 2 with Alex Kidd built in was my first home console, i couldnt afford a megadrive so it was the only way to have a Sega console, later on i would get a Game Gear, then a megadrive, Saturn, Multimega,Dreamcast and sadly say goodbye to new Sega Consoles. To me Sega is very aprecciated and would love to see a new game console from sega.
Thanks! I started with the original SMS and sadly, it was the only system I ever sold. I sold it after getting a Genesis and bought a Power Base Converter for that. I rectified this mistake slightly by getting a Master System II years later. Wish I'd held on to the original, but what can ya do?
@@InglebardGaming back then we all made mistakes that we wouldnt repeat, but thats part of our past lol, in Portugal Sega was huge in the 90s, top Game Console until the arrival of the Playstation 1
reason it didn't sold well in america was initial lacking of 3rd party support, 1st gen games were made only by sega whereas in europe had very nice exclusives not sold in usa/canada. we can mention good 16 bit amiga style conversions like kick off (better than genesis version), speedball 1&2, lemmings, zool, james pond 2... these and other euro titles showed its capability compared to nes, to stand even against atari st or amiga (with all the limits of an 8 bit system obviously....)
That was probably more of a factor after the first year. Initially the biggest factor was Nintendo's superior distribution and advertisement to get an early lead in the market and then the third part support was just another nail in the coffin.
That lack of third party support was the big one. Even as a dumb kid, I knew that I was ripping myself off if I gave into the temptations of Galaxy Force and all those cool screenshots. It was a similar problem to the Playstation Vita, except magnified. At least the Vita had great games in multiple categories, and a ridiculously strong PS1/PSP/indie catalog to call on. Meanwhile, the Master System didn't yet have the Disney titles, Streets of Rage, Alex Kidd in Shinobi World, PowerStrike II, Sonic, etc. Even Dragon's Trap wasn't released until 1989. By the time Sega got their act together, the console wars were already decided. The advertising was also an issue, but more that it was a positive for Nintendo than a negative for Sega. You could actually play a lot of Nintendo's advertising. (This was huge, pre-web...especially with those killer soundtracks.) And between "Now you're playing with power", Nintendo Power, and Captain N's introduction to music copyright law? Among so many other creative efforts to reach kids? (Count all the dirty innuendos in the Zelda cartoon!) It was easy to get caught up in the hype. Looking back, the Nintendo library was, in many ways, similar to the MCU and Smash Bros, in the sense of creating an expansive universe built from multiple creators to dive into. Nintendo wasn't just advertising their own products - they wanted you excited for Megaman and Castlevania, as well. (And the Power Glove - it's so bad!) This meant that they could keep audiences engaged even when they had slow moments in their own release schedule. Sega, Atari, and NEC not only couldn't compete with that, but they'd be extremely reluctant to do so.
Well, Sega couldn't compete with it during the 8-bit era. They managed to do OK with third party support on Genesis 😁 If the SMS had some of the big games like Castlevania, Contra, Ghosts n Goblins, Mega Man, Blaster Master and other early hits, it might have overcome some of the advertising and packaging problems. It needed those games at the same time as the NES, not sequels years later.
@@InglebardGaming Aye. Sega learned from their mistakes....well, Sega of America learned from Sega of Japan's mistakes. I'm not sure that Sega of Japan was always on board with these changes. But Hayao Nakayama gave Tom Kalinske his blessing and protection. And Nick Alexander had already proven Nintendo was vulnerable. TecToy too, deserves credit. So, my question for you - do you think that Sega of Japan would have ever succeeded without their western partners? From what I understand, Konami was especially reluctant to get on board. It's why so many of their early Genesis releases were on such small ROMs.
No. Sega of Japan was completely boosted by the US and Europe. They never had good plans on how tackle the market. They were in a position to dominate the home market with their huge arcade hits and technical know-how. But the lack of a concrete plan, the lack of vision in developing the sg1000, the lack of solid marketing (especially in the west)... If it wasn't for people like Katz and Kalinske, they probably wouldn't have ever even survived the 16-bit era in the home market.
Europe still had big Master System titles for 6 years after the US stopped in 1990, until 1996. Sonic 2, Streets of Rage 2 etc the US missed out on many of the best games.
I remember seeing the Master System at Toys R Us and saving up to buy it. And hearing from one of the guys there that NINTENDO had a lockdown on all their third parties. Not only that, but Master System cartridges and controllers looked like a cheap knock off of what Nintendo was offering. I remember NINTENDO kids boasting about having "4 BUTTONS!" and wondered why SEGA had cut so many corners to bring out a system that played so few games. Gaming enthusiasts with any money had moved to Amiga or even the Atari ST. And SEGA's repeated sales pitch of bringing the arcade experience home was met with continuous disappointment and mocking of SEGA fans.
For me, we got an NES one christmas and the SMS the next. I actually already had an Amiga by then, well, it was my dad's ve we had one 😁 I never felt disappointed by the SMS personally. There were plenty of good games for it, even if there were obviously fewer than on NES.
Gam*Boy just sounds [ɡembɔɪ]. * between Gam and Boy is not pronounced. It was later renamed Aladdin Boy. Sega Genesis was also released under the name Super Gam*Boy in South Korea.
I didn't REALLY think the star was pronounced, I was being a little silly there. But I was serious about knowing if was supposed to be pronounced 'gam' or 'game,' so thanks for that!
The SG-1000 and SC-3000 were released in Italy or so they say. I have never seen one in my life and I think it might be a myth, especially when it comes to the SG-1000. The home computer I think it is more plausible: we had all sorts of computers here, eventho most people owned a Commodore 64 or an Amiga you could esily find the odd MSX or Sharp machine. The Master System was fairly popular, not incredibly so (not as much as in Brazil or the UK) but still popular because it was something the NES wasn't here: affordable. To be honest I have a sort of love/hate relationship with the Master System: I find it lacks many genres, its letterboxed video modes annoy me to no end, I don't care for the PSG sound chip. Plus way too many European companies like Tiertex and US Gold worked on it for its own good.
Yeah, the SMS definitely has flaws and gaps in its library. But some of its games are still pretty great. Phantasy Star blows away any JRPG on NES in my opinion. Sagaia is pretty amazing on it, Golvellius, Wonderboy III: the Dragon's Trap and many others are great, too. I'm not a fan of most of the European developed games on the system so I'm with you 100% there. Crazy there were a few Japanese developed games (like Sagaia) that only came out in Europe and Brazil. Out here, there wasn't exactly a lot of choice in early gen computers - at least not in ones you could regularly find at retail. There were the Atari machines, the Apple II, the TI994a, Vic 20 and C64 primarily. There were more like the spectravideo, adam, and aquarius, but no one had those and I don't think I ever even saw them in a store. After that, there were Macs, the Amiga and IBM compatibles, mostly, though there were a few others that were huge flops here like the Atari ST.
The Alex Kidd remake that's out on the consoles right now is trash, just a warning for anyone wondering. The input lag is ridiculous on the PS5 and I hear it's the same on the Xbox. I got buyers remorse
There are official Japanese news articles that report how the Nintendo FamiCom went from launch in 1983 to selling over ten million FamiCom systems in Japan alone by 1986. That ten million FamiCom systems sold does not count the U.S.A. launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985 which itself gets counted separately and it goes without saying that the subsidiary branch of Nintendo of America went through it's teething phase and very quickly spread distribution to Canada, including French Quebec which is a SECAM or PAL like region inside Canada and even into Mexico where either by 1989 to 1990 that country boasted its own official Nintendo FanClub Magazine... The other issue is that while Nintendo did indeed have early manufacturing problems in Japan, their launch lineup still blew anything Sega's SG-1000 had out of the water which is the true reason for Sega developing the Sega Mark III by 1985 in Japan. However the other problem is that in 1985 Nintendo released Super Mario Bros. Now think about it, the 1983 Nintendo FamiCom launch already had Mario Bros and Donkey Kong followed by more games... Sega's SG-1000 had more games but seriously, there is some hard limitations in terms of graphics complexity on display from the launch... The only way for Sega to have had a power advantage is if they would have had a near similar hardware to the Mark III in 1983 which was probably not possible since some of the cutting edge arcade hardware boards weren't cheaper than $1,000 to be refit into a home consumer hardware solution. Thus by 1986 in Japan, Super Mario Bros had given the FamiCom a massive Turbo boost in sales adding to the already sold units before Square and Enix signed up as official third party devs once they saw that 10 million FamiCom systems sold and as such their software could sell more. Meanwhile as far as your remarks about the NES and Sega Master System... that really wasn't a decision by consumers... Nintendo of America's staff had established a beachhead from 1985 to 1986 so they were gearing up to defend their position from any threats. The staff hired to work at Sega of America (remember this subsidiary branch was started in 1986) had an unreliable manager who was said to have quit because he didn't take the videogames industry seriously and most likely was one of those fuddy duddies that turned his nose at videogame systems and the very different videogames coming from Japan so he went to work in a different field where he believed he would make more money... Iirc the U.S. news reports eventually reported that the NES had sold a billion in sales around 1987. This being a combination of build up, Super Mario Bros being available and then becoming a pack in by 1987 and onwards. Sega of America's management staff was unable to do the job that Sega Enterprises Japan hired them to do simply due to pure incompetence... all they needed to do was carefully watch Nintendo's marketing and almost copy it page by page... and at least secure a strong or steady second place but... Atari Corp who had just been taken over and had abandoned the home videogame system market for computers, became aware that Nintendo was making some serious bank... the same company that they turned down because they didn't believe in home videogame systems... So Atari Corp turned tail and like green with envy went chasing any money that the dominant Nintendo was making so they took their somewhat canceled or warehoused for two years Atari 7800, sold it below $80 USD, had some catchy television commercials and brand familiarity and somehow put the Sega Master System in a distant third place before Tonka Toys Corp somehow became the manager of Sega's U.S. subsidiary brach... This lack of strong leadership at Sega of America led into a terrible situation of Sega Enterprises Japan having to put multiple millions of dollars to buy back their own subsidiary branch and hire people while in the process dealing with stubborn headed big shots at Sega of America who didn't want to use the name Sega MegaDrive and were not organized or having a brand familiarity or even wide distribution. That alone is why books like Game Over are wild exaggerations made to sell books by making villains out of Nintendo when in fact there wasn't any reliable leadership at Sega of America's offices... Had a better manager been hired and SoA would have stayed with a steady marketing campaign, they would have at least kept Atari either neck to neck or in third place... then by 1988 just a couple weeks after the Japanese Sega MegaDrive launch, we would have seen limited launch testing of Sega MegaDrive here instead of the stupid year delay and name change to Genesis.
Most likely there never would have been the situation where Sega's Japanese manager was frustrated and had to replace the SoA leader and instead got a worse replacement in the long run who treated the MegaDrive like a child's toy, called for gutting the sound chips and aggressive price cuts... note if something costs $220 to make and you're selling it for $149 you aren't making profits... and that is a similar situation with Dreamcast packing a 56kbps modem in 1999 instead of launching a week after the Japanese launch and getting rid of the modem altogether... a 28.8kbps modem for PCs retailed at $200 at Babbages and computer shops had Ball park figures... by 1999 a 56kbps modem retailed for $200 also at Babbages, EBX and CompUSA... so it doesn't matter what Sega saved in manufacturing costs they were bleeding money on each Dreamcast sold since Bernie Stolar cut the price and launch in North America...
I own both a SMS and a MKIII (unboxed on my channel)....bought the latter to play SG-1000 games...u only forgot that SG-1000 games run with a slighty different, uglier palette, on the SEGA MKIII :P
If you're talking real hardware, you want an upscaler like the ones retrotink and some others make. Ok the flipside SMS is basically perfect via emulation these days.
Great video!
japanese sms also has:
- a built in rapid fire unit
- a built in 3D glasses adapter
compared to the Western sms
Ah, I knew about the 3D adapter but somehow I didn't know about the rapid fire being built in. Thanks for the info on that one!
The master system found it's niche in the UK as THE budget console, especially well into the 90's when you could get a master system II with games and controllers for £40.
Even well into 1995 you could get one from Argos for £35, it hung In there even when the Playstation and Saturn came out for about a year.
The Master System II typically wasn't that cheap over here. I don't remember what it usually went for before it hit clearance... I think it was about $60 at most places. It also kind of came and went pretty quickly without much interest here. I think when I got mine, it was under $50, if I remember right.
Amazing video! Thank you very much! In fact, i read a lot interviews about developed Phantasy star II and don't know, what you say about Phantasy star II developed!
Thanks, glad you liked it! Sorry for the late reply, been crazy busy!
It was typical of Sega to start the development of a game for one platform, then cancel that and move it to another. They were still doing that with the Dreamcast, canceling the Saturn version of Shenmeu.
I got a Sega Master back in the day with Hang-On / Safari Hunt & Gangster Town. The Light Phaser was better than the Zapper & Gangster Town with 2 players simultaneously was a revelation! I always wanted to play the Scope 3-D games with the glasses but never had the chance.
I got mine for christmas one year, I got the bundle with the light phaser and hang-on / safari hunt, received Quartet at the same time. I also never got a chance to use the 3D glasses, sadly.
Great video, as always! :)
My first experience of the SMS here in the UK was around 1988 when one of my friends at school got one. Interestingly, it happily coexisted alongside the home computers (which were largely more popular) here in the UK and served as a nice alternative for those who wanted one. The only thing that held it back was the fact that 16-bit computers like the Amiga and ST were starting to take off and more people wanted those (until the 16-bit consoles blew them out of the water at the start of the 90s).
I myself didn't pick up a SMS until years later when I started collecting retro hardware for a bit, but it was always a popular and well loved system here. Conversely, I don't think I ever met ANYONE who owned a NES then or now. In that sense, as consoles go, the Sega Master System was like VHS here and the NES was more akin to Betamax.
Yeah, how the popularity of the systems was so different in different parts of the world. I got an NES first, then an SMS the year after. Then a while bunch of other stuff shortly after that!
no mention of the original Master Systems hidden built in game Snail Maze? OK it wasnt a minbloing or very imersive maze game but that tune is still stuck in my head all these years later & rears its head at random times
What, do you think I had room for 12 facts or something? 😁 Snail Maze was definitely a neat little extra, though. I thought that probably most people already knew about it.
As a kid, here in Brazil, I remember playing Master System in different ways, mostly with the main first model, but in other occasions and places with the Power Base, and later with the model 2.
We've played Light Phaser games, Black Belt, Castle of Illusion and many more. It was present even when we already had the Mega Drive, SNES and even the Saturn, so it was nice, even back in the mid to late 90's, I never felt that playing SMS, NES or even Atari 2600 games were retrograde, it felt cool to have these systems available, charm doesn't age.
The Game Gear is interesting as it shows more or less what could have happened to the SMS with a bit more third party support and new tendencies such as RPGs, fighting and newer genres from the mid 90's. The portable received two great Shinobi games, 3 Shining Forces, Shin Megami Tensei and many others, so I'm greatful that the SMS hardware lived through it, as otherwise it feels the SMS never reached its full potential in its library.
The SMS is a fun little machine and its top-tier games are definitely impressive. I wish for the GG they had made a few more improvements while maintaining compatibility... a z80 with a higher speed mode, a smidge more RAM and a second background layer in a new graphics mode would have all been nice. and probably wouldn't have affected the price much. Still, there are definitely some great games that hit the GG like the ones you pointed out.
I have fond childhood memories of the SMS, my first games console after upgrading from a ZX Spectrum. PS1 was amazing back in the day. Never knew PS2 started life as a SMS game. Wonder if the tight development schedule and switching to the MD's hardware was a reason for skimping on the background graphics during the battle scenes?!
Regarding the PS2 battle scenes, I have a feeling it was more cart space restrictions than anything else. 6 megabits for a lengthy RPG filled with that many animated enemies probably didn't leave space left for the variety of backgrounds they'd need.
I'd say the short development time probably limited the story presentation more than anything else, which is probably the weakest aspect of the game. The base story is good, but is so barebones. Knowing it was made so quickly helps make that weakness make sense, I think.
Some PAL Master System games have FM music on the cart despite the PAL region not getting the FM chip. I think some are PAL exclusive so could have been decades until the general public actuality heard the FM music.
Regarding the pause button being in the console instead of the controller (which as you note was also found on a couple of other machines of the era) one thing to keep in mind was that in Japan it was common for people to have the system close to the player and farther away from the TV so they could switch games more easily. That is, the cable from the console to TV was long but the controller cable was pretty short. This is also seen in the original model Famicom (which also had hardwired controllers like the SG-1000) and the PC Engine (the latter of which carried over to the US TurboGrafx). Even Japanese Super Famicom and Mega Drive controllers have shorter controller cords than their western counterparts. So they probably just didn't think it was an issue at the time.
I haven't seen any designer interviews, so it's not possible to say for sure exactly why they did it, but I'd bet anything it was just to maintain compatibility with the SG1000 which was supposed to be a major selling point for the Mark III. And I think it's pretty safe to say that on the SG1000 it was on the console because that was sort of the conventional design at that time.
Nintendo bucked the trend by putting theirs directly on the controller. I can envision Sega wanting to do the same for the Mark III but deciding not to because it would might be confusing to have a pause/start button the controller that only worked in some games (mark III) but not all of them (SG1000).
I'd love to know for sure and tried researching this, but couldn't find a definitive answer.
It was quite common in the US too! It made for easier reset and cart switching. Did that with the SMS and NES even with a pause button now that I think about it.
You need to make a Complete Trash episode about Captain America and The Avengers on SNES that game deserves it
Well. That version IS definitely terrible. Maybe someday I'll suffer through it for the greater good, lol.
I have the PAL SC-3000H, which was released in some European countries. It works fine with Master System pads by the way and runs games from all regions. It doesn't have controllers hard wired to it.
My first console ever was a Master System 2. I loved it and had 12 games as a little kid. Nowadays I use a Master System 1 with a SCART cable.
Cool, I don't think I said in the video that the SC3000 was Japan only, at least I didn't in the script I wrote!
I liked the SMS 2 as a little budget system. It had an interesting enough design, but only having RF out without mods was definitely limiting. I had an original SMS, which is the only system I ever sold... I sold it and bought a power base convertor for the Genesis when it came out and then later got an SMS 2.
@@InglebardGaming You didn't say it wasn't, but it was kept hanging or even implied. I thought it was an interesting fact anyway. I didn't know that it was back then, but I was born in '84.
OK, no problem, I just wanted to make sure I didn't have something wrong in the video, that's all!
Great video! One thing not mentioned and little known about the Japanese Master System as it pertains to US releases is that with an adapter (easy to make) one can play US Master System games from the expansion port on the back of the system AND that many, many US games have FM sound capabilities that are enabled by doing this! Perhaps Sega considered adding the FM chip to the US system, informed the developers of this, and then backed out at the last minute trapping the US library into a world of crap background music. I have this setup and truly believe that if the FM sound chip was included in the US system it would have held firmer footing versus the NES.
I would love to have seen the FM chip included in the US SMS. Honestly though, I don't think it would have impacted sales. Nintendo had such a stranglehold on third parties, probably nothing would have stopped them or even slowed them down at that point. It took a machine as powerful as the Genesis and a two-year window for Sega to finally make headway against Nintendo and the NES juggernaut.
The Korean version although written in English as Gam*boy is written in Korean as 겜보이 which is pronounced more like "gem boy" (G sound like in 'golf' rather than a J sound like in 'gem'). The Megadrive/Genesis was sold as a Samsung Super Aladin Boy. You can still find them floating around but they're rather expensive - I see a a Master System on a Korean marketplace site now in mid 2024 for ~ $200 USD.
Thanks for the info!
great video packed with good data, Master System 2 with Alex Kidd built in was my first home console, i couldnt afford a megadrive so it was the only way to have a Sega console, later on i would get a Game Gear, then a megadrive, Saturn, Multimega,Dreamcast and sadly say goodbye to new Sega Consoles.
To me Sega is very aprecciated and would love to see a new game console from sega.
Thanks!
I started with the original SMS and sadly, it was the only system I ever sold. I sold it after getting a Genesis and bought a Power Base Converter for that. I rectified this mistake slightly by getting a Master System II years later. Wish I'd held on to the original, but what can ya do?
@@InglebardGaming back then we all made mistakes that we wouldnt repeat, but thats part of our past lol, in Portugal Sega was huge in the 90s, top Game Console until the arrival of the Playstation 1
reason it didn't sold well in america was initial lacking of 3rd party support, 1st gen games were made only by sega whereas in europe had very nice exclusives not sold in usa/canada.
we can mention good 16 bit amiga style conversions like kick off (better than genesis version), speedball 1&2, lemmings, zool, james pond 2...
these and other euro titles showed its capability compared to nes, to stand even against atari st or amiga (with all the limits of an 8 bit system obviously....)
That was probably more of a factor after the first year. Initially the biggest factor was Nintendo's superior distribution and advertisement to get an early lead in the market and then the third part support was just another nail in the coffin.
That lack of third party support was the big one. Even as a dumb kid, I knew that I was ripping myself off if I gave into the temptations of Galaxy Force and all those cool screenshots.
It was a similar problem to the Playstation Vita, except magnified. At least the Vita had great games in multiple categories, and a ridiculously strong PS1/PSP/indie catalog to call on. Meanwhile, the Master System didn't yet have the Disney titles, Streets of Rage, Alex Kidd in Shinobi World, PowerStrike II, Sonic, etc. Even Dragon's Trap wasn't released until 1989.
By the time Sega got their act together, the console wars were already decided.
The advertising was also an issue, but more that it was a positive for Nintendo than a negative for Sega. You could actually play a lot of Nintendo's advertising. (This was huge, pre-web...especially with those killer soundtracks.) And between "Now you're playing with power", Nintendo Power, and Captain N's introduction to music copyright law? Among so many other creative efforts to reach kids? (Count all the dirty innuendos in the Zelda cartoon!) It was easy to get caught up in the hype.
Looking back, the Nintendo library was, in many ways, similar to the MCU and Smash Bros, in the sense of creating an expansive universe built from multiple creators to dive into. Nintendo wasn't just advertising their own products - they wanted you excited for Megaman and Castlevania, as well. (And the Power Glove - it's so bad!) This meant that they could keep audiences engaged even when they had slow moments in their own release schedule.
Sega, Atari, and NEC not only couldn't compete with that, but they'd be extremely reluctant to do so.
Well, Sega couldn't compete with it during the 8-bit era. They managed to do OK with third party support on Genesis 😁
If the SMS had some of the big games like Castlevania, Contra, Ghosts n Goblins, Mega Man, Blaster Master and other early hits, it might have overcome some of the advertising and packaging problems. It needed those games at the same time as the NES, not sequels years later.
@@InglebardGaming
Aye. Sega learned from their mistakes....well, Sega of America learned from Sega of Japan's mistakes. I'm not sure that Sega of Japan was always on board with these changes.
But Hayao Nakayama gave Tom Kalinske his blessing and protection. And Nick Alexander had already proven Nintendo was vulnerable.
TecToy too, deserves credit.
So, my question for you - do you think that Sega of Japan would have ever succeeded without their western partners?
From what I understand, Konami was especially reluctant to get on board. It's why so many of their early Genesis releases were on such small ROMs.
No. Sega of Japan was completely boosted by the US and Europe. They never had good plans on how tackle the market. They were in a position to dominate the home market with their huge arcade hits and technical know-how. But the lack of a concrete plan, the lack of vision in developing the sg1000, the lack of solid marketing (especially in the west)... If it wasn't for people like Katz and Kalinske, they probably wouldn't have ever even survived the 16-bit era in the home market.
Europe still had big Master System titles for 6 years after the US stopped in 1990, until 1996. Sonic 2, Streets of Rage 2 etc the US missed out on many of the best games.
I remember seeing the Master System at Toys R Us and saving up to buy it. And hearing from one of the guys there that NINTENDO had a lockdown on all their third parties. Not only that, but Master System cartridges and controllers looked like a cheap knock off of what Nintendo was offering. I remember NINTENDO kids boasting about having "4 BUTTONS!" and wondered why SEGA had cut so many corners to bring out a system that played so few games. Gaming enthusiasts with any money had moved to Amiga or even the Atari ST.
And SEGA's repeated sales pitch of bringing the arcade experience home was met with continuous disappointment and mocking of SEGA fans.
For me, we got an NES one christmas and the SMS the next. I actually already had an Amiga by then, well, it was my dad's ve we had one 😁
I never felt disappointed by the SMS personally. There were plenty of good games for it, even if there were obviously fewer than on NES.
@@InglebardGaming Good and even some great ones. Yet X and Y Boards they were not!
Gam*Boy just sounds [ɡembɔɪ]. * between Gam and Boy is not pronounced. It was later renamed Aladdin Boy. Sega Genesis was also released under the name Super Gam*Boy in South Korea.
I didn't REALLY think the star was pronounced, I was being a little silly there. But I was serious about knowing if was supposed to be pronounced 'gam' or 'game,' so thanks for that!
The SG-1000 and SC-3000 were released in Italy or so they say. I have never seen one in my life and I think it might be a myth, especially when it comes to the SG-1000. The home computer I think it is more plausible: we had all sorts of computers here, eventho most people owned a Commodore 64 or an Amiga you could esily find the odd MSX or Sharp machine. The Master System was fairly popular, not incredibly so (not as much as in Brazil or the UK) but still popular because it was something the NES wasn't here: affordable. To be honest I have a sort of love/hate relationship with the Master System: I find it lacks many genres, its letterboxed video modes annoy me to no end, I don't care for the PSG sound chip. Plus way too many European companies like Tiertex and US Gold worked on it for its own good.
Yeah, the SMS definitely has flaws and gaps in its library. But some of its games are still pretty great. Phantasy Star blows away any JRPG on NES in my opinion. Sagaia is pretty amazing on it, Golvellius, Wonderboy III: the Dragon's Trap and many others are great, too.
I'm not a fan of most of the European developed games on the system so I'm with you 100% there. Crazy there were a few Japanese developed games (like Sagaia) that only came out in Europe and Brazil.
Out here, there wasn't exactly a lot of choice in early gen computers - at least not in ones you could regularly find at retail. There were the Atari machines, the Apple II, the TI994a, Vic 20 and C64 primarily. There were more like the spectravideo, adam, and aquarius, but no one had those and I don't think I ever even saw them in a store. After that, there were Macs, the Amiga and IBM compatibles, mostly, though there were a few others that were huge flops here like the Atari ST.
I think only the SC-3000 was. Also in France and Finland.
The Alex Kidd remake that's out on the consoles right now is trash, just a warning for anyone wondering. The input lag is ridiculous on the PS5 and I hear it's the same on the Xbox. I got buyers remorse
Not the biggest Alex Kidd fan myself, so I wasn't interested in it. The only Alex Kidd game I really liked was Shinobi World on SMS.
@@InglebardGaming Same here but I'm a sucker for remakes, the screenshots looked good but the control lag is what kills it. It's unplayable
A fan programmed Alexx Kidd for the Sega MegaDrive hardware is far more appropriate than buying current gen flash animation games.
There are official Japanese news articles that report how the Nintendo FamiCom went from launch in 1983 to selling over ten million FamiCom systems in Japan alone by 1986.
That ten million FamiCom systems sold does not count the U.S.A. launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985 which itself gets counted separately and it goes without saying that the subsidiary branch of Nintendo of America went through it's teething phase and very quickly spread distribution to Canada, including French Quebec which is a SECAM or PAL like region inside Canada and even into Mexico where either by 1989 to 1990 that country boasted its own official Nintendo FanClub Magazine...
The other issue is that while Nintendo did indeed have early manufacturing problems in Japan, their launch lineup still blew anything Sega's SG-1000 had out of the water which is the true reason for Sega developing the Sega Mark III by 1985 in Japan.
However the other problem is that in 1985 Nintendo released Super Mario Bros.
Now think about it, the 1983 Nintendo FamiCom launch already had Mario Bros and Donkey Kong followed by more games... Sega's SG-1000 had more games but seriously, there is some hard limitations in terms of graphics complexity on display from the launch...
The only way for Sega to have had a power advantage is if they would have had a near similar hardware to the Mark III in 1983 which was probably not possible since some of the cutting edge arcade hardware boards weren't cheaper than $1,000 to be refit into a home consumer hardware solution.
Thus by 1986 in Japan, Super Mario Bros had given the FamiCom a massive Turbo boost in sales adding to the already sold units before Square and Enix signed up as official third party devs once they saw that 10 million FamiCom systems sold and as such their software could sell more.
Meanwhile as far as your remarks about the NES and Sega Master System... that really wasn't a decision by consumers... Nintendo of America's staff had established a beachhead from 1985 to 1986 so they were gearing up to defend their position from any threats.
The staff hired to work at Sega of America (remember this subsidiary branch was started in 1986) had an unreliable manager who was said to have quit because he didn't take the videogames industry seriously and most likely was one of those fuddy duddies that turned his nose at videogame systems and the very different videogames coming from Japan so he went to work in a different field where he believed he would make more money...
Iirc the U.S. news reports eventually reported that the NES had sold a billion in sales around 1987. This being a combination of build up, Super Mario Bros being available and then becoming a pack in by 1987 and onwards.
Sega of America's management staff was unable to do the job that Sega Enterprises Japan hired them to do simply due to pure incompetence... all they needed to do was carefully watch Nintendo's marketing and almost copy it page by page... and at least secure a strong or steady second place but...
Atari Corp who had just been taken over and had abandoned the home videogame system market for computers, became aware that Nintendo was making some serious bank... the same company that they turned down because they didn't believe in home videogame systems...
So Atari Corp turned tail and like green with envy went chasing any money that the dominant Nintendo was making so they took their somewhat canceled or warehoused for two years Atari 7800, sold it below $80 USD, had some catchy television commercials and brand familiarity and somehow put the Sega Master System in a distant third place before Tonka Toys Corp somehow became the manager of Sega's U.S. subsidiary brach...
This lack of strong leadership at Sega of America led into a terrible situation of Sega Enterprises Japan having to put multiple millions of dollars to buy back their own subsidiary branch and hire people while in the process dealing with stubborn headed big shots at Sega of America who didn't want to use the name Sega MegaDrive and were not organized or having a brand familiarity or even wide distribution.
That alone is why books like Game Over are wild exaggerations made to sell books by making villains out of Nintendo when in fact there wasn't any reliable leadership at Sega of America's offices...
Had a better manager been hired and SoA would have stayed with a steady marketing campaign, they would have at least kept Atari either neck to neck or in third place... then by 1988 just a couple weeks after the Japanese Sega MegaDrive launch, we would have seen limited launch testing of Sega MegaDrive here instead of the stupid year delay and name change to Genesis.
Most likely there never would have been the situation where Sega's Japanese manager was frustrated and had to replace the SoA leader and instead got a worse replacement in the long run who treated the MegaDrive like a child's toy, called for gutting the sound chips and aggressive price cuts... note if something costs $220 to make and you're selling it for $149 you aren't making profits... and that is a similar situation with Dreamcast packing a 56kbps modem in 1999 instead of launching a week after the Japanese launch and getting rid of the modem altogether... a 28.8kbps modem for PCs retailed at $200 at Babbages and computer shops had Ball park figures... by 1999 a 56kbps modem retailed for $200 also at Babbages, EBX and CompUSA... so it doesn't matter what Sega saved in manufacturing costs they were bleeding money on each Dreamcast sold since Bernie Stolar cut the price and launch in North America...
I own both a SMS and a MKIII (unboxed on my channel)....bought the latter to play SG-1000 games...u only forgot that SG-1000 games run with a slighty different, uglier palette, on the SEGA MKIII :P
I didn't forget it, I just didn't mention it 😁 That's one I probably should have included, but I didn't know of a good way to show it.
How can I play mySMS on my HD TV
If you're talking real hardware, you want an upscaler like the ones retrotink and some others make.
Ok the flipside SMS is basically perfect via emulation these days.