Sega Master System

Sega Master System

Type	Console
Manufacturer	Sega
Distributor	Ozisoft Sega Ozisoft
Released	October 1987
Discontinued	1995
Generation	Third Generation
Userbase	250,000+
Predecessor	SG-1000 SC-3000
Successor	Mega Drive

The Sega Master System is a third generation home console manufactured by Sega Enterprises and distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Ozisoft (later as Sega Ozisoft). It was first released in 1987. The machine was much more successful in Australasia than other markets, capturing a majority of the 8-bit console market share until it was discontinued in 1995.

History

Yada yada

Variants

• Model I - Snail Maze built-in
• Model I - Alex Kidd in Miracle World built-in
• Model I - Hang-On built-in
• Model I - Hang-On and Safari Hunt built-in
• Model II: Grey with white pause button - Alex Kidd in Miracle World built-in
• Model II: Black with black pause button - Alex Kidd in Miracle World built-in
• Model II: Black with black pause button - Sonic the Hedgehog built in

Known Bundles

• 

  V1, Hang-On, 2 Pads

• 

  V1, Alex Kidd, 2 Pads

• 

  V2, Alex Kidd, Black

• 

  V2, Alex Kidd, Grey

• 

  V2, Alex Kidd, Double Dragon, 2 Pads, Black

• 

  V2, Alex Kidd, Sonic 2, Black

Peripherals

• Sega Control Pad
• Sega Control Stick
• Light Phaser
• Rapid Fire Attachment
• Sega 3D Glasses

Cart Notes

AU Silver Carts

• Aladdin
• Ecco
• Mortal Kombat II
• Sonic Spinball
• Wonder Boy III
• World Cup USA 94

AU Blue "Hints n Tips" Labels

• Asterix and the Great Rescue
• Mortal Kombat
• Sonic 2
• Sonic

AU Double Packs

• Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II and Taz-Mania
• Aladdin and GP Rider
• Asterix and Road Rash
• Jungle Book and Jurassic Park
• Lemmings and Trivial Pursuit
• Lion King and G-Loc
• Mortal Kombat and Wolfchild
• Spiderman 2 and Wanted
• Sonic 2 and Aryton Senna's Super Monaco GP II
• Sonic 2 and Secret Command

General Notes

There are a number of variant Master System games on the market. Generally they vary based on their origin.

• Ozisoft manufactured cartridges generally feature a hard case and a cartridge label with a rough texture and red squares with white lines. The label is of a low quality and generally becomes unstuck.
• Ozisoft also imported cartridges from Europe or had them manufactured in Japan. Imported cartridges generally feature smooth, glossy labels with black lines and red squares. The labels are of a higher quality.
• There are other variant labels. The Sonic the Hedgehog games typically feature no name of the game and a blue label promoting the Sega hotline. Some games feature a white label with blue text and are predominantly assumed to originate from Europe (Trivial Pursuit: Genus Edition). Another variant is the white label with red text. These are typically later Acclaim games (e.g. Krusty's Fun House and Bart vs. the Space Mutants) of European origin.
• Cases come in two varieties: hard plastic clamshell and soft plastic clamshell. The latter were manufactured by Babors Plastics Pty Ltd. Most of the cartridges manufactured outside of Australia come in the soft plastic cases.
• Some games have multiple releases that were manufactured in different parts of the world, e.g. Speedball and Xenon II were produced in Australia for their 1990 Image Works releases but in Japan for their 1992 Virgin Games releases.
• Manuals typically came in one of four styles: short form fold out, long form fold out, stapled portrait, stapled landscape. Some games have multiple versions of manuals. Manuals can originate from Australia, Europe or Japan.
• Ozisoft cartridges tend to use phillips head screws as opposed to security screws seen in Euro carts.
• Once the hardware was discontinued, all games supplied came with the "Sega Classics" oval sticker.
• Ozisoft was the exclusive distributor of all licensed SMS software.
• Estimated marketshare was still 15% in 1996
• Warranty cards with dates as late as June 1998 in circulation?
• 250,000 SMS2 sold in 1990 at $99. Software $24.95 - $59.95^[1]

References

1. ↑ Cantlon, G. (1991, November 17). Cut-throat selling in video games. Sun Herald. Sega Master System Plus was $149.95