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| SG-1000 Mark III | |
|---|---|
| |
| Basic Information | |
Type(s) |
Console |
Generation |
Third |
| SEGA | |
Predecessor(s) |
SG-1000 Mark II |
Successor(s) |
Mega Drive |
Competitor(s) |
Family Computer |
| Technical Information | |
Variant(s) |
Master System |
 Japanese Release
| |
| SG-1000 Mark III October 20, 1985 | |
| Awards | Covers | Credits | Gallery | Help Patches | Reviews | Screenshots | Videos | |
The SG-1000 Mark III (also known as the SEGA Mark III) was released in Japan on October 20, 1985 at a price of ¥15,000 as a competitor to Nintendo's Family Computer.
Games for the console came in two formats; ROM cartridges and SEGA Game Cards. The cards held only 256 kilobits of data (cartridges held at least 4 times that amount, e.g. the early "mega cartridge" games with 1 Mbit / 128 kbit), but were cheaper to manufacture and sold for less than the carts did. The console also featured games built into the system BIOS that played whenever a cart or card was not inserted; the different models of the console each featured different built-in titles. The Mark III was also backwards compatible with SG-1000 software.
In 1986 and 1987, a redesigned version of the console, now branded as the Master System, was released in North America, Europe, Brazil and South Korea, and featured the addition of a built-in Yamaha YM2413 FM sound chip, a rapid fire unit and 3-D glasses; all of these had been separate accessories for the SG-1000 Mark III.
Despite a strong start, selling 1 million units in its first year on sale in Japan,[1] neither the Mark III nor its Master System variant ever posed a serious challenge to Nintendo's near-total domination of the Japanese console market.
The last licensed title in Japan was Bomber Raid, released by SEGA on February 4, 1989.
Technical details[ | ]
The SG-1000 Mark III was built similarly to the SG-1000 Mark II, with the addition of improved video hardware and an increased amount of RAM.
The system was backwards compatible with earlier SG-1000 titles. As well as the standard cartridge slot, it had a built-in slot, formerly known as expansion slot for SEGA Game Cards, which were physically identical to the cards for the SG-1000 "Card Catcher" add-on. While in Japan there were many titles in this format published for both the SG-1000 and Mark III, only a few were published in the West.
Master System game cartridges released outside Japan had a different shape and pin configuration from the Japanese SG-1000 Mark III cartridges. This may be seen as a form of regional lockout.
Gallery[ | ]
SG-1000 Mark III
SG-1000 Mark III Box
See also[ | ]
- List of SG-1000 Mark III video games
- List of SG-1000 Mark III peripherals
Specifications[ | ]
| Technical Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Media | SG-1000 Mark III Cartridge, SEGA Card |
| Input | Cartridge Input, Game Card Input, Power Switch, Pause Button, 2 x SG-1000 Mark III Controllers |
| Output | A/V Output, RF Output |
- ↑ Nihon Kōgyō Shinbunsha (1986). "Amusement". Business Japan (Nihon Kogyo Shimbun) 31 (7-12): 89. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tJcSAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Sega+is+estimated+to+have+sold%22&dq=%22Sega+is+estimated+to+have+sold%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=CM8eT7m8JonLsgbPpdnHDA&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA. Retrieved 24 January 2012.