Sega Hardware- SG-1000

Sega released a wide range of consoles over the 18 years since the release of the SG-1000, all of them meeting with mixed reviews. By individual research into a selection of those consoles i wish to learn more about not only their power and capability but see further into their success' and failures. The decline of a company can easily be attributed to the quality of it's product, though that may not always be the case.

SG-1000

Specifications:

• CPU: NEC 780C (clone of Zilog Z80)
  • 3.579545 MHz for NTSC, 3.546893 MHz for PAL
• Main RAM: 16 kbit (2 kB)
• Video RAM: 128 kbit (16 kB)
• Video processor: Texas Instruments TMS9928A
  • 256x192 resolution
  • 32 sprites
  • 16 colors
• Sound: Texas Instruments SN76489
  • 4-channel mono sound
  • 3 sound generators, 4 octaves each, 1 white noise generator

Released in Japan in 1983, the SG-1000 was Sega's first console release, making it a good place to start. It was released into a market much more saturated than it's present state. Many other consoles, and clones of consoles, were developed in order for companies to try and cash in on a vibrant new market, and this over saturation, with too much choice and mass produced, poorly-developed games, would eventually lead to the Video Game Crash, the effects of which would becoming clearer towards the end of 1984. Sega was but one of the companies affected by the crash due to it's presence in the market at the time, and many said the industry would never recover. It was this crash that lead to Sega's American assets to be sold to conglomerate CSK.
The technology at the time was similar from console to console, with specifications changing slightly. Some of the consoles already present at the SG-1000's release include the Atari '2600' (originally released in 1977 as the 'VCS') and '5200'(1982), Coleco Industries 'ColecoVision' (1982, also played Atari and SG-1000 games), and the Magnavox 'Odyssey 2' (1978). Game manufacturer Tsukuda Original also released a clone version of Sega's console called the 'Othello Multivision'.
The SG-1000 was sold in Japan, Northern America, New Zealand mainly, up until 1985. An updated version called the SG-1000 Mark II was it's successor, released in 1984, along with a home computer version the SC-3000. The main notable upgrade to the console version being a new, more compact casing, and more accessible input slots. The Mark II could play all of the SC-3000's games, exception lying with the music and 'Basic' programs.

Screenshot from 'Hang-On 2'

Screenshot from the popular 'Zaxxon'

While the SG-1000 and the Mark II sold steadily in Asia and Australasia up until 1985, it ultimately suffered due to the depletion in market, the turbulent times being the major factor in the consoles mediocre success and resulting in the changing hands of the company.
The Sg-1000 Mark III was a similar build to the Mark II, but with cosmetic differences and improved hardware. It was fully backwards compatible and included the card reader add-on for the Mark II built in. The Mark III was later repackaged and marketed as the Sega 'Master System' in the U.S, Brazil and Europe. In 1990, Sega also made further cosmetic changes and marketed the 'Master System II'. This lacked the card reader of the previous version, but included 'Alex Kidd in Miracle World' built in to the system. This was an attempt to counter Nintendo's popular 'Super Mario Bros.'.

• CPU: 8-bit Zilog Z80A
  • 3.546893 MHz for PAL/SECAM, 3.579545 MHz for NTSC
• Graphics: VDP (Video Display Processor) derived from Texas Instruments TMS9918
  • Up to 32 simultaneous colors available (one 16-color palette for sprites or background, an additional 16-color palette for background only) from a palette of 64 (can also show 64 simultaneous colors using programming tricks)
  • Screen resolutions 256×192 and 256×224. PAL/SECAM also supports 256×240
  • 8×8 pixel characters, max 463 (due to VRAM space limitation)
  • 8×8 or 8×16 pixel sprites, max 64
  • Horizontal, vertical, and partial screen scrolling
• Sound (PSG): Texas Instruments SN76489 (note that the Sega Master System, Game Gear, and Mega Drive / Genesis used a slightly altered clone of the newer SN76489A, while the older SG-series used the original SN76489)
  • 4 channel mono sound (3 Square Waves, 1 White Noise)
  • 3 tone generators, 10 octaves each, 1 white noise generator
• Sound (FM): Yamaha YM2413
  • mono FM synthesis
  • switchable between 9 tone channels or 6 tone channels + 5 percussion channels
  • Included as built-in "accessory" with Japanese Master System (1987)
  • supported by certain games only
• Boot ROM: 64 kbit (8 KB) to 2048 kbit (256 KB), depending on built-in game
• Main RAM: 64 kbit (8 KB), can be supplemented by game cartridges
• Video RAM: 128 kbit (16 KB)
• Game Card slot (not available in the Master System II)
• Game Cartridge slot (not included on newer Brazilian models, as these have built-in games)
  • Japanese and South Korean consoles use vertical shaped 44-pin cartridges, the same shape as SG-1000 and Mark II
  • All other consoles use 50-pin cartridges^[9] with a horizontal shape
  • The difference in cartridge style is a form of regional lockout
• Expansion slot
  • Unused, pinout compatible with 50-pin cartridges (but opposite gender) in all regions

The Master System sold sluggishly in both Japan and the States. By this point the companies main competition were, as i have discussed in other blogs, Nintendo, and they were enjoying much success with the NES, called the 'Famicom' in Japan and the States. One of the major factors preventing the swift uptake of the Master System by these major areas was the Nintendo policy to restrict all 3rd-party developers to produce games for their consoles. This stifled Sega's business, restricting the quantity of available games for production. Due to government legislation this was disbanded in 1991 but by 1992 Master System sales were virtually non-existent and production ceased.
The same thing cannot be said for both Europe, and more notably, Brazil, which turned out to be Sega's most profitable markets at this point. Advertising was better received in many countries throughout Europe, as well as in some countries that Nintendo did not advertise in, and Sega managed to keep up with their market rivals. 3rd party developer support was strong in this continent and even attracted developers from America that hadn't chosen to market for the consoles North American division. Their European success provoked the formation of Sega Europe. Brazil was the Master Systems most profitable market, and so 5 different versions of the Master System were eventually released. This includes the Master System Compact, a wireless version of the Master System sold from 1994 to 1997.
It was undoubtedly the success developed in the continents of Europe and South America that enabled Sega to continue to develop and market their next attempt on the video game market. Both a huge industry crash and a fierce rivalry hindered the progression of the SG-1000 and all of it's successors, with mediocre marketing failing to provoke enough interest to gain momentum in North America.



Many fans still maintain that the Master System had a better quality of games than it's rival the NES. The Master Systems 3 channel sound provided game soundtracks with further depth, and game-play seems more fluid and fast-paced. The NES was capable of vibrant colours, but the objects in game held less detail and also tended to suffer from 'break-up' when too many objects were on the screen at once, meaning that character limbs or objects on the scenery would flicker occasionally when affected, though this was a minor annoyance.
Such a strong opinionated public shows that it was not necessarily the quality of the games on the console that hindered it's success.
Watch for further Sega Hardware posts in the future.



(Specifications courtesy of Wikipedia)