Originally released as the Sega Mark III to the Japanese market in 1985, the Sega Master System was Sega's answer to the juggernaut that was the Nintendo Entertainment System. Despite failing to topple Nintendo's iron grip on the market in Japan and the United States, the Sega Master System did prove Sega's ability to compete in international markets, such as Brazil and Europe.

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Development

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In the early 1980s Sega Enterprises (a merger between Hawaii based coin-op company Sega Corporation and import company Rosen Enterprises) was mainly in the business of producing arcade games. However, as the arcade world began to dwindle in popularity, the company shifted attention to home gaming consoles, as per the advice given by the Hayao Nakayama, president of Sega at the time.

Slideshow showcasing images related to text on the development of the Sega Master System

Cultural Impact

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When the Master System came out, it was already a technically good system for its time, and was able to enjoy most of its success in Europe from 1987 to 1996 after taking the opportunity to reach towards the European market after seeing that Nintendo has been neglecting that particular region. Nintendo’s marketing was not able to capture the general audience in Europe at the release of the NES in the mid-80s due to improper market management.

Legacy

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Nintendo already having a strong hold of the market in North America and Japan, the Sega Master System found greater success in the European and Brazilian markets. Even so, the dominance of Nintendo and with Sega as a distant runner up in the wake of Atari’s downfall, marked a shift away from an industry led by American game companies towards Japanese game companies. However, with greater marketing, a lower cost than Nintendo’s console, and a larger collection of games than were released in North America, the Sega Master System was the popular system of the time in Europe, selling nearly 1.75 million consoles in 1991 alone (Sega Retro).

Bibliography

Henry Sissac - Site Developer, Console Development Research, Gameplay Footage
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Quinn Tran - Cultural Impact Research
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Joel Clapp - Legacy Research, Gameplay Footage, Video Producer
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