Sega SG-1000 Mark III
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The SG-1000 Mark III is an 8-bit video game console made by Sega. It was the original Japanese incarnation of the Sega Master System.
History
The Mark III was released in Japan on October 20, 1985 to compete with the Famicom, following on from the SG-1000 Mark I and SG-1000 Mark II. The Mark III was built similarly to the Mark II, with the addition of improved video hardware and an increased amount of RAM.The system is backwards compatible with earlier SG-1000 titles. As well as the standard cartridge slot, it has a built-in slot for "Sega Cards", which are physically identical to the cards for the Sega SG-1000 "Card Catcher" add-on.
The Mark III was redesigned as the Sega Master System for release in other markets. This was mainly a cosmetic revamp; the internals of the console remained virtually the same. The redesigned console was itself released in Japan in 1987, but with the addition of a built-in Yamaha YM2413 FM sound chip (this had been an optional extra on the Mark III), Rapid Fire Unit, and 3-D glasses adapter.
Sega Master System game cartridges released outside Japan had a different shape and pin configuration to the Japanese Master System/Mark III cartridges. This may be seen as a form of regional lockout.
Neither the Mark III nor the Japanese Sega Master System were commercially successful, due to strong competition from the Nintendo Famicom. The final Japanese game release was Bomber Raid, on February 4, 1989.
| Selected video game consoles |
|---|
| First generation |
| Magnavox Odyssey > Pong | Coleco Telstar |
| Early second generation |
| Fairchild Channel F > Atari 2600 | Magnavox Odyssey² | Intellivision |
| Later second generation |
| 5200 | ColecoVision | Vectrex | SG-1000 |
| Third generation (8-bit) |
| NES | Master System | 7800 |
| Fourth generation (16-bit) |
| PC Engine/TurboGrafx 16 > Mega Drive/Genesis | SNES | Neo-Geo | CD-i |
| Fifth generation (32/64-bit) |
| 3DO | Jaguar | Saturn | PlayStation | PC-FX | Nintendo 64 |
| Sixth generation |
| Dreamcast | PlayStation 2 | GameCube | Xbox |
| Seventh generation |
| Xbox 360 > PlayStation 3 | Wii |
Specifications
- CPU: 8-bit 3.579545 MHz Zilog Z80
- Graphics: VDP (Video Display Processor) derived from Texas Instruments TMS9918
- * Up to 32 simultaneous colors available from a palette of 64 (can also show 64 simultaneous colors using programming tricks)
- * Screen resolutions 256x192 and 256x224
- * 8x8 pixel characters, max 488 (due to VRAM space limitation)
- * 8x8 or 8x16 pixel sprites, max 64
- * Horizontal, diagonal, vertical, and partial screen scrolling
| Divisions: | Wow Entertainment | Sega-AM2 | Hitmaker | Amusement Vision | STI | Sega Rosso | Smilebit | Overworks | Sonic Team | United Game Artists |
|---|---|
| Consoles: | SC-3000 | SG-1000 | SG-1000 Mark III | Master System | Mega Drive/Genesis (CD) (32X) | Saturn | Dreamcast |
| Handheld: | Game Gear | Mega Jet | Nomad |
| Arcade: | System 16 | System 24 | System 32 | Model 1 | Model 2 | Model 3 | Titan Video | NAOMI | NAOMI 2 | Chihiro | Triforce | Lindbergh |
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