Graphics
256×192
- Colors on screen
- 32
- Palette
- 64 colors
- Sprites
- 64
Sega Master System
Also known as Sega Mark III · Samsung Gam*Boy · Master System II
- Sega
- Home console
- Third generation
301 Sega Master System games, all playable free in your browser.
The Master System grew out of the Sega Mark III, the third model in Sega's SG-1000 line, which went on sale in Japan in October 1985. A restyled export version launched in North America in September 1986 and in Europe in August 1987, followed by South Korea and Brazil in 1989; a Japanese Master System with a built-in FM sound chip appeared in 1987, and a cheaper Master System II followed in 1990.
- First released · Japan
- 1985
- Units sold
- 13M
- CPU
- 8-bit
- Games in the library · all playable
- 301
TIMELINE
1985–1996
- JPJapan
- NANorth America
- EUEurope
- KRSouth Korea
- BRBrazil
- ENDDiscontinued (Europe)
Games per release year
| Year | Games |
|---|---|
| 1983 | 15 |
| 1984 | 8 |
| 1985 | 25 |
| 1986 | 26 |
| 1987 | 19 |
| 1988 | 33 |
| 1989 | 24 |
| 1990 | 20 |
| 1991 | 31 |
| 1992 | 24 |
| 1993 | 41 |
| 1994 | 13 |
| 1995 | 1 |
| 1996 | 2 |
- NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
- SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
- MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
- Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
- Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
- Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
- PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
- CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
All 36 systems
- Atari 2600Atari 2600: Sep 1977 – 1992
- SpectrumZX Spectrum: Apr 23, 1982 – 1992
- ColecoColecoVision: Aug 1982 – 1985
- Atari 5200Atari 5200: Oct 1982 – May 21, 1984
- VectrexVectrex: Oct 1982 – Feb 1984
- NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
- SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
- MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
- Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
- Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
- Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
- PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
- CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
- GenesisSega Genesis / Mega Drive: Oct 29, 1988 – 1997
- PCE CDPC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD: Dec 4, 1988 – end not recorded
- Game BoyGame Boy: Apr 21, 1989 – Mar 31, 2003
- LynxAtari Lynx: Sep 1, 1989 – 1995
- Neo GeoNeo Geo: Apr 16, 1990 – 2004
- Game GearSega Game Gear: Oct 6, 1990 – Apr 30, 1997
- SNESSuper Nintendo: Nov 21, 1990 – Sep 25, 2003
- Sega CDSega CD / Mega-CD: Dec 12, 1991 – 1996
- CPS-2Capcom CPS-2: Sep 10, 1993 – Dec 22, 2003
- Neo Geo CDNeo Geo CD: Sep 9, 1994 – 1997
- 32XSega 32X: Nov 1994 – 1996
- PS1PlayStation: Dec 3, 1994 – Mar 23, 2006
- N64Nintendo 64: Jun 23, 1996 – 2002
- CPS-3Capcom CPS-3: Nov 21, 1996 – end not recorded
- NAOMISega NAOMI: 1998 – end not recorded
- GBCGame Boy Color: Oct 21, 1998 – Mar 31, 2003
- NGPCNeo Geo Pocket Color: Mar 19, 1999 – Oct 30, 2001
- PS2PlayStation 2: Mar 4, 2000 – Jan 4, 2013
- WonderSwanWonderSwan Color: Dec 9, 2000 – 2003
- GBAGame Boy Advance: Mar 21, 2001 – 2010
- OpenBOROpenBOR: 2004 – today
- TIC-80TIC-80: Mar 22, 2017 – today
A bar that fades out means the end date is unknown. Fantasy consoles and game engines are still available.
UNDER THE HOOD
Technical specifications
Processor
3.58MHz
- CPU
- Zilog Z80A
- Core
- Zilog Z80
- Word size
- 8-bit
- Sega VDP (designed for the Mark III) — video display processor with built-in PSG
Below: Spectrum 3.5 MHz · Above: Amstrad CPC 4 MHz
3.58 MHz (NTSC) / 3.55 MHz (PAL); chip rated for 4 MHz
Memory
8KB
- Main RAM
- 8 KB
- Video RAM
- 16 KB
- System ROM
- 8 KB
Below: Atari 7800 4 KB · Above: NGPC 12 KB
Sound
4channels
- Chip
- Texas Instruments SN76489 PSG (in the VDP); Yamaha YM2413 FM on Japanese models
3 square-wave channels and 1 noise channel; Japanese models add FM synthesis
Sales
13million
- Scope
- Worldwide, excluding Tectoy's Brazilian variants
Below: Amstrad CPC 3 million · Above: Game Gear 14 million
Media
Cartridge
Launch price
¥16,800
- Japan
- ¥16,800
- North America
- $200
- Europe
- £99.95
Family line
- Before
- Sega SG-1000
- This system
- Sega Master System
THE STORY
About the Master System
The 8-bit console accepts both cartridges and credit-card-sized Sega Cards, and its accessories included a light gun and 3D glasses. It could not overturn Nintendo's lead in Japan and North America, where the NES dominated, but it did well in markets such as the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, Brazil, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia.
Sales are estimated at 13 million units, without counting the 8 million licensed variants sold by Tectoy in Brazil, where new versions kept appearing long after the console left other markets. Retrospective coverage credits it with preparing the ground for the Sega Genesis.
- Shows up to 32 colors at once from a 64-color palette at 256 × 192 pixels.
- Up to 64 sprites on screen, 8 per line.
- Compared with the base NES it has four times the system memory and eight times the video memory.
- The Japanese model integrates a Yamaha YM2413 FM sound chip, an optional extra on the Mark III.
- Tectoy has sold 8 million Master System-branded systems in Brazil.
- In 1990 Virgin Mastertronic sold 150,000 Master Systems in the United Kingdom.
THE LIBRARY
301 Master System games on Back2OldGames
301
games, all playable right in your browser
Release years 1983–1996
<p class="lib-span">83 developers</p>Genres
Top developers
Players
112 games with a known number of players.
Regions
THE GAMES
The Master System library
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Master System ARCHIVETITLE · CREATOR · PUBLISHER
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Sources
Specifications and history from the sources below (Wikipedia text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; facts summarized in our own words). Library numbers come from the Back2OldGames catalog.
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