Region codes

From Sega Retro

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In the late 1980, Sega made the choice of localising their releases for specific countries. Unlike Japan, the rest of the world did not always follow the same guidelines when it came to numbering products, so this system may not work for all releases. It was most widely practised in Europe.

The format is usually as follows:

First-Party:

MK-XXXYYY-ZZ

Third-Party:

T-XXXYYY-ZZ

in which green symbolises the First-Party MK-Series Code or Third-Party T-Series Code, and purple dictates the region. The amount of numbers may vary, and some codes lack the "MK-" or "T-". Often European country codes only apply to packaging - the cartridges or discs may be identical to other European releases.

The system came into use during the days of the Sega Mega Drive, and was passed on to the Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast. Many publishers, notably Electronic Arts did not use this system, and it was not used at all in Japan or North America.

Code Region Notes Examples
05 United Kingdom Older UK releases may use 50.
06 Spain Sometimes paired with Italy
07 Asia Not including Japan and South Korea
08 South Korea
09 France
11 China Distributed by Freeton Co.
13 Italy
16 China Distributed by Acer TWP Corp.
18 Germany
20 The Netherlands
27 France/Spain
29 Germany Alternative to -18 Worms Armageddon
40 China Mega Drive releases
45 Brazil
50 Europe Used for non-localised European content.
51 Germany/France/The Netherlands Gauntlet Legends, Marvel vs. Capcom
53 United Kingdom/France/Germany/Spain Alternative to -50
55 The Netherlands
58 Germany/France/The Netherlands Monaco Grand Prix: Racing Simulation 2, Pen Pen
59 France/The Netherlands Fur Fighters, V-Rally 2: Expert Edition
61 United Kingdom/Spain/Italy Gauntlet Legends, Pen Pen
64 United Kingdom/France/Germany Wetrix Plus, Wild Metal
71 United Kingdom/France/Germany/Spain Alternative to -50 Conflict Zone
72 France/Spain Sometimes alternative to -50 Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Conflict Zone
74 United Kingdom/Germany/Italy/The Netherlands Stupid Invaders
76 United Kingdom/Spain/The Netherlands Deadly Skies
77 Germany/France/Italy Deadly Skies
78 Scandinavia
79 France/The Netherlands/Italy/Spain Worms Armageddon
89 United Kingdom/France/Germany/Sweden/Finland NHL 2K
91 United Kingdom/The Netherlands Le Mans 24 Hours

Other consoles have different methods. For example, Nintendo currently employs a coloured triangle system.