Sega Mark III

Sega Mark III
Manufacturer: Sega
Variants: Sega Master System

The Sega Mark III is a video game console made by Sega. The Mark III was the successor to the SG-1000 II, bringing enhanced graphics to the table in order to compete against Nintendo and their Famicom. The console was only released in Japan, and was the basis for the internationally released Sega Master System.

History

The Mark III was released in Japan on October 20, 1985 to compete with the Nintendo Family Computer, following on from the SG-1000 and SG-1000 II which had proved unsuccessful. The Mark III was built similarly to the SG-1000 II, with the addition of improved video hardware and an increased amount of RAM. Like the SG-1000 II and Famicom, controllers (now SJ-152s) were designed to be stored on the sides of the system, and the console carried over the SG-1000's expansion port (which was later used for the FM Sound Unit). The system also featured an 8-pin A/V port, in addition to RF output.

The system is backwards compatible with earlier SG-1000 titles, containing both a standard cartridge slot, and built-in slot for Sega Cards. Like the SG-1000 and SG-1000 II, Sega Mark III games were distributed on both cartridge and card, and are physically identical to their SG-1000 counterparts. Likewise, the controllers are interchangeable.

The Mark III is technically superior to the Famicom (NES in the west). It is capable of displaying twice as many colours on screen and has a CPU which is roughly twice as fast as Nintendo's, however as with their earlier consoles, Sega were unable to secure significant amounts of third-party support for the system. At the time of release, Nintendo had control over 95% of the Japanese video game market, and Sega found it an uphill struggle to claim some of the market for themselves.

The Sega 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 YM-2413 FM sound chip (this had been an optional extra on the Mark III), 3-D glasses port and Rapid Fire Unit.

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. The Japanese-style cartridge was later used in the rest of Asia and South Korea.

Once again, neither the Mark III nor the Japanese Sega Master System were commercially successful when compared to Nintendo's Famicom, however the Mark III did fare slightly better than the SG-1000 and SG-1000 II. The final Japanese Mark III game release was Bomber Raid, on February 4, 1989.

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

• Sound (PSG): Texas Instruments SN76489

• 4 channel mono sound
• 3 sound generators, 4 octaves each, 1 white noise generator

• Sound (FM): Yamaha YM-2413

• 9 channel mono 2-operator FM sound
• available as plug-in module for Mark III
• built into Japanese Master System
• supported by certain games only

• ROM: 64 Kbits (8KB)
• Main RAM: 64 Kbits (8KB)
• Video RAM: 128 Kbits (16KB)
• Game card slot

Launch Titles

Japan

• Hang-On (Sega Card)
• Teddy Boy Blues (Sega Card)

Gallery

• 

  KR model

Physical Scans

• 

  JP box (front)

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