I'm American and I grew up with a Sega Master System in America. In my elementary school classes, almost everyone had a NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). Only two kids had a Sega Master System: me and this other kid named Brian. LOL. And then there was this ONE other kid named Nick who had an Atari 7800. The three of us were in our own little gaming niche while everyone else had the NES. The thing is, I LOVED the Sega Master System. I had a chance to play the NES at friends houses (a lot of Punch Out, Mario games, Ninja Gaiden and strangely enough Friday the 13th). Meanwhile, my friends played Sega Master System at my house and I took full advantage of the Master System version of Double Dragon (which had multiplayer on the Master System, unlike the one player experience on the NES). We played A LOT of two player Double Dragon on the Sega Master System together. The other game I played with friends a lot was Great Baseball (unlike the other "Great" sports games on Master System which were horrible, Great Baseball on Master System was a lot of fun and was fun as a one player game and especially fun as a two player game). Also, The # 1 thing I noticed is that a lot of stores carried NES games only... NO Sega or Atari games. For example, this old store named Ames (which was kind of like Walmart / K-Mart / Target) refused to carry Sega and Atari and were NES exclusive during the 80's and early 90's. According to my Aunt who worked there, Ames had an agreement with Nintendo to carry their games only during that time period (they didn't start to sell games from other companies till late 1991). I had to get my parents to bring me to Toys 'R Us since they were one of the few that sold Sega Master System games. Another really excellent store which sold Sega Master System games and the console was CRAZY EDDIE (and their slogan in their high energy commercials was accurate when they said "our prices are INSANE!!!". Very cheap prices for brand new tech. However, Crazy Eddie would get shutdown a few years later when it was learned they were running a CRIMINAL OPERATION behind the scenes... which explains why all their prices for new tech was really cheap. As it turned out, Crazy Eddie really was CRAZY. LMAO). Anyway... To conclude my essay: I loved the Sega Master System and it's the main reason why I still play video games today (currently playing on my Playstation 5). I loved it much more than the NES and Atari 7800 (the games on Sega Master System that I got were awesome. I especially loved the Master System RPGs like Phantasy Star, Spellcaster, YS, etc). It caused me to convince my parents to get a Sega Genesis when that released later and things spiraled from there (I currently own 31 different consoles and thousands of games).

As an American I think it had something to do with marketing. I didn't even know the Master System existed until the Genesis came out and that is the only because the Genesis came with a funky adapter to play games from an old system I had never even heard of. At the time I thought it was a system that came out only in Japan, I had no idea it was ever released in the US.

Sega MS is criminally underrated! SO many great games! I'm quite addicted to that system!

As a kid in the US, I always remembered Nintendo. I honestly don't even remember seeing Sega commercials for the MS, it only picked up after the Genesis release. So I don't think they marketed it well.

Here in Australia Sega Master System, Nintendo NES and the Commodore 64 were all pretty popular. By the late 80s the Amiga also pretty popular, and to some degree, the Atari ST.

Nintendo had a lot of games that were considered cool and a lot of them were only on NES. Some of these games weren't the best but they were still wildly popular. It's hard to compete with a system that has Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Metroid, Castlevania, etc

I knew ONE person who had one here in America. Luckily for me he was one street over from me. I got to experience it while it was still commercially relevant here. Have fond memories of playing games like Rambo and Double Dragon. I also remember watching (we were not allowed to even touch the game let alone play it) my friend's dad play Phantasy Star which was mind bending at the time. I eventually got one for myself (and the power base converter for Genesis as a back up) and it's still one of my favorite consoles to this day.

I appreciate these looks back. Because you focus on facts and not laughs, these sorts of vids will stand the test of time as historical documentation of gaming history

I remember the first time I'd learn of the SMS in 1992. I went to a local video rental store and asked if he had any cheap gaming consoles for sale, and he brought one out. I bought the system after he explained what it was an how much he wanted for it. $20... And $5 or less for games.

Sega Genesis fanboy to the max, but even if MS had the third party support, the NES soundchip is just so classic. MS music never had the same classic charm to me.

Great video. I was (at first) an involuntary Sega guy starting with when my folks got me a Master System for Christmas one year instead of a NES. Quickly grew to love it and stuck with Sega all the way through to the Dreamcast. It's sad their console business wasn't handled better.

At least here in the UK it destroyed the NES. Literally no one owned a NES back then.

Master System was my first ever console as a kid 😊

Sega was not on my radar...until I got a 3D master system for Christmas one year. So, I was one of the minority Americans who had an SMS, and one of only THREE kids total in my whole school who owned one! I loved it, wished more folks knew about it back then, glad it's getting more attention these days. Thanks for the video! More SMS, please!

I kinda envy brazil that they kept it alive for so long and got some pretty kick ass ports.

Congratulations on your 100k subscribers, Lady Decade! I'm a big fan of your channel since the very beginning! You really produce such high quality content!

I'm glad I grew up in the UK where there was a genuinely equal battle between the Master System and the NES both in terms of kids owning each and in terms of the quality of game library. I had the Master System, my friend had the NES, so we both got the best of both worlds!

I’m actually about to buy a used Master System. I realized it was Game Gear games without being cropped / zoomed it and it makes some so much easier. Like Sonic 2.

Loved my master system

It was my first gaming console here in Germany and I still love it. Here it was quite popular and all electronic markets and bigger supermarkets seemed to sell it.

I’m American. While all of my friends had an NES, I had an SMS. Everyone wanted to come to my house to play Alex Kidd in Miracle World and Zillion.

I had a NES myself but I remember the advert for this it was a face on the screen with lots of colours and it talks about graphics. My friend had the console and I can remember playing double dragon on it with him.

Master system was quite popular in parts of continental Europe. Mega drive even more so, it was more popular than the snes in my country.

Very thorough & brilliant review! I didn't grow up with the SMS here in the states, but it's gotten to be one of my favorite retro consoles. Since you touched upon it in this review, any chance that an Atari 7800 review is in the works for your list of "necessities for gracious living" in the future?

I've always been a Nintendo and Sega fanboy. The NES has a special place in my heart, but that doesn't mean I dislike the Sega Master System. I remember my high school teacher had one hooked up on the television, and students who had high enough grades were allowed to play during breaks. (Games like Shinobi, Hang On/Astro Warrior, Double Dragon, and Football were up for play at the time.) However, that ended when one of the students did something dubious while his wife was in labor and had to bail. (I can't remember for the life of me, this was 30 years ago, mind you.) When he returned, the Sega Master System was removed, never to be seen again. However, I did buy one of my own on eBay for about 43 bucks USD and bought a few games for it. (Shinobi, R-Type, Rastan, Hang-On/Astro Warrior, Double Dragon... and the system's blood diamond, Phantasy Star") That reminds me, I oughta look up other game for the system I can add to my collection...

Dutchie here, and imo the Master System is the superior 8-bit console. Loved mine, sold it, and regretted it ever since. Never was I drawn to the Nes, had friends who had one, but I was much more interested in the 16 bit consoles by then. Not long ago I found a Famiclone with some games, and find it way more interesting and fun than the original Nes. Can't find any info on it though. Has Virtual City on the front instead of Family Computer.

Miami was one of the markets that saw an early release of the 7800. I remember getting it a few years before the NES or the Master System showed up. By the time Nintendo and Sega brought over their consoles, you really didn't see the 7800 on store shelves here. The Master System was in a lot of stores during its time; Toys R Us, Babbage's and Electronic Boutique carried the platform around here. Of Course the NES was also on the same stores, with more shelf space dedicated to it.

I can't speak for the United States but Sega Master System seemed to hold its own against the NES a little better here in Canada, at least considering that most video rental stores that also rented games would have a decent selection of Master System games up to about 1990-91 when those stores ditched the Master System for the Genesis. Also, the Master System was initially distributed in Canada by Irwin, a Canadian toy manufacturer, so they might've been a little more successful at getting it in more stores in Canada per capita compared to the States.

Big Sega fan here, I will admit that the NES did crush the Master System however I do enjoy both! Today I love collecting for both, but I get more excited seeing Master System games because they're more uncommon to find than NES games are!

I know the master system was popular in the UK. It wasn't marketed well but has some great games like Phantasy Star, Alex Kidd, Altered Beast, Golden Axe, and others. I feel the problem in that era was that Sega master system didn't launch with a system mascot. Perhaps if it had launched with Sonic, maybe it would have been different. But like the video stated, they didn't have much experience or marketing this product

Got my NES in 1988…a bit later I had a neighbour who had a Master System that I would go and play sometimes. I feel like the graphics on the Master System are superior to the NES but the sound is inferior, with no way for the sound chip to change the duty cycle of the pulse waves, leaving it with very bland square waves playing all of the sounds.

You and your husband are two of the most important voices in gaming historical documentation.

The Sega Master System, a gaming console that unfortunately fell short of its intended success. Despite its impressive capabilities and a valiant effort to compete with its rivals, it struggled to capture the market's attention. Factors such as fierce competition, limited game library, and marketing missteps contributed to its eventual downfall. However, its legacy lies in paving the way for Sega's future triumphs and serving as a reminder that even the most ambitious ventures can face challenges.

The Sega Master System won in Brazil. Lol

I owned the Master system 2 here in Spain. I always found the master system superior to Nes, except on the sound chip. Here in Europe the war between Nes and Master System was really tough.

I had both of these consoles, but the NES won out in the living room

Pretty much the same story with the Atari 7800. Nintendo had the 3rd parties on lockdown. Atari barely had the money to make games in house, sadly.

It gets me every time i see Lady Decade posing with one of the consoles. Like a confused presenter on The Price is Right.

Sega master System ❤

Here in the Netherlands, everyone had the Sega Mastersystem (II).

Fun fact, sonic the hedgehog was a demake for the master system. It was released on genesis/mega drive first.

I would say, here are the main reasons: -Super Mario Bros. 1 -Excitebike -Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! -The Legend of Zelda -Metroid -Super Mario Bros. 2 -Super Mario Bros. 3 Even if the Master System had better third party support, the NES would still have had a way better library.

My first console and one of the most underrated systems ever, even nowadays when the Saturn has finally received the spotlight it deserves ....this little Sega 8 bit beauty still an overshadow gem of a console, what a 8 Bit power house, probably the most pure Sega system of all, because 90% of its better titles were made by Sega themselves. The Master System; the TRUE Master Race

80s sega kids represent! my video gaming childhood in australia ❤

The master system was more popular than the NES in the UK (I had one) but consoles ran a distant second to 8 bit microcomputers in the 80s.

I don't care how many great, great, great, grand kids I will have in the future. There will always be someone telling the story of what Sega did wrong? How about a story showing and telling what they did right, or how they were the first ones to do or try something before it's time. The good things that Sega has accomplished and achieved won't be largely recognized until the day they ( in Altered Beast Voice) RISE FROM THEIR GRAVE! Sega used to be in Sony 's seat. Sega had their version of the top rated and popular games in every category at home and in the arcades. Their games have always been more graphicly impressive than their competition.

I got the master system on christmas the year after the nes came out. I got the nes the following year. So glad my mother got me the master system. I loved it. Even though i put way more time into my nes, the master system was such better hardware. Loved both, glad i was lucky enough to have both being that I grew up less than fortunate financially.

Can we all acknowledge that in KZfaq Land, the term "completely destroyed" can mean absolutely anything? Thanks.

Let's look at something I have never heard discussed about the Master System verses Nintendo Entertainment System: Console physical form factor and overall appearance. NES looked sleek and modern. Master System was a weird pyramidal form with some strange heiroglyphs on the top. What was it aiming for, an Egyptian audience?

People in my area still don't know what a Master System is so I can find them at swap meets (flea markets) dirt cheap.

I feel the master system was crushed because 1.they didn’t pack in Alex Kidd 2. Didn’t have enough promotion that included Saturday morning cartoons for at least 3 of it’s ip’s & not enough tv commercials. Nintendo did - A lot of marketing and advertising 3.too many consolse, too many revision, 4.release too late couples in with 1-3

I had a master system when I was a kid. It had some really fun games

Another strong reason, to have nes games for free via emulation. Their greediness, monopoly, and annoying policies is the main reason still to have their games pirated. F... ventendo. 👎

Everyone I knew back then had a NES , the only place I saw a master system was in toys r us … (in Scotland btw )

The first Phantasy Star was a masterpiece

My neighbor had one and I was able to play it when they babysat. They had one game I loved playing but can’t remember the name of

Sega: becomes a 3rd party and drops console development Sega does what nintendon't

In Italy Sega Master System was more popular than NES

I know that phrases like 'COMPLETELY DESTROYED' make for good titles, but at ~ 14 Million worldwide sales it was actually only a minor commertion faliure. Especially with an extremely high software tie ratio. Those who actually owned a Master Sytem generally loved it.

Here in Italy we all had Master Systems. Someone had an Amiga computer... We did all have Nintendo Game Boys but I don't recall knowing anybody with a NES.

It all came down to games. Nintendo had iconic franchises, like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Kid Icarus, and Punch-Out. Sega had nothing on the same level, at that time.

super mario back then is like the hulk hogan of the video game world & years after they came with sonic i owned a MS but everybody back then mostly had a NES , i think they didnt know Master System after they had a NES firstly

I remember people still using a master system before the PS1 and Saturn came out.

1st and only time i saw a master system was when I was a young teen, we went to some kids house, I was like what the heck is that thing? he turned it on and i said o NES like graphics but its sega, then i realized that gamegear is just a portable master system

En España por suerte fue un éxito la Sega Master System y podíamos disfrutar de sus grandes juegos... Ninja gaiden, land of ilusión, Donald duck, master of darknes, Sonic, Golden Axe Warriors, Renegade ect

Thanks for the Kick Master music in the background!

Weird, I grew up in Australia and I always felt that the NES trumped the Master system here or maybe that since I was "a Nintendo kid" I probably was in my own bubble.

Whoa, was that Stephen Dorff in that Master System commercial??

Lil treat before bed

I'm from Brazil and EVERYONE had an SMS here on the late 80's/early 90's (I had one too). I was ignorant about franchises and developers because video game media was non existant, so whenever I compared it to the NES, all I could see was "graphics on the SMS are better".

Personally, if I were a 20 or 30 something living in the US when the NES was taking off, I would’ve responded to Nintendo’s anti-competition policy and forcing of stores to sell games at high prices by making my own 30 in 1 game cartridge! I wouldn’t do any of that shady stuff Vince Perry later did with Action 52, I would take my time, employ a good few people to make the 30 games, give them 6 months and I would release the cartridge on both the NES and Sega Master System! The NES version, because Nintendo didn’t allow their stockists to sell unlicensed games, I’d sell via magazine ads, an infomercial and I’d look into doing deals with convenience stores and small independent toy stores as a way of having it sold in brick and mortar stores! The Master System version I’d sell in the same way but I’d also be able to sell that version anywhere Master System games are sold! Once the Genesis arrives, I’d promote the Master System version of my cart as being playable on the Genesis via the Power Base Converter!

So glad you tackled this topic!

@ladydecade will you play the built in snail maze game for us?

with nowadays games quality, i won't be surprised if gaming industry should get another financial crash soon or later.

I really want to smack the one at 2:15 for slamming the cartridge like that. The sort of ar53h013 that also wraps the cables tightly around the controller after I bet. All my retro stuff still works and for good reason.

If not for Nintendo's shady business practices, the 80's would have probably been the first console war between Sega and Nintendo, and it probably would have went down similarly to SNES vs Sega Genesis/Mega Drive too. The Master System would have no doubt gotten most 3rd party heavy hitters like Mega Man, Castlevania, Contra, Blaster Master, Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy, Bionic Commando, some of those Capcom Disney titles etc.

It was only completely destroyed in America though. It did reasonably well elsewhere, it was still being made in Mexico in 2005 or something.

Love that you put the music from Little Nemo

That master system was a weird one. I never knew anyone who had one and the only thing I've seen is a few games in a used game store. Needless to say it flopped bad in CA

It's such a shame. I liked my Master System MORE than my NES in a lot ways (I was lucky - my dad was a video game fanatic - I literally grew up with a Colecovision controller in my hands) so we had BOTH. Ys, Phantasy Star, Golvellius: Valley of Doom, Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord, SpellCaster, Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, Zillion, and far superior ports of Double Dragon and Rampage... I have so many fond memories of going over to my dad's on the weekends and playing almost nothing but Master System (and later, Genesis) games.

I'm so glad this video mentioned Oceania, because it always just says Europe and South America usually as the Sega strongholds 😆 Basically, we didn't have a big gaming population in Oceania, sure acrades were popular and a few rich kids had Commodore's and Amiga's, but consoles were kinda non existant until about 1990 (except a few Atari's which were very dated) when Sega saw an oppurtunity to seize a market and released the more budget Master System II with Alex Kidd in Miracle World built in. Suddenly there was an affordable console, and the stores ended up flooded with games. I knew like 4 or 5 people ever with an NES, their rental shelves in the video store even were a sad dozen games or so, whilst the Master System had 2 whole massive shelves stacked with games. The stores were the same. So growing up, I and others, we didn't know that outside our part of the world Sega was 2nd fiddle. We thought Sega was the big player and NES was the dated one that's older and sorta faded. The graphics LOOKED far better than NES as well. Its a thing, that in retrospect you go back and see now, how... yes the Master System was definitely the better console, but Nintendo had the better games! And a wider selection (due to their stringent marketing practices)

I loved the Master System, i just could never find gam3sfor it and I was shopping at childrens palace and toys r us at the time I owned it.

In The 1980s I Had Atari Colecovision Intelevision NES Master System And Turbo Grafx Great Times Been Blessed To See All Of Gaming From 1980-Now

I loved the SMS. I was stoked when I found out about the hidden maze game and Wonderboy games were the best of all time.

I still think one of the main problems was a lack of third party support. And why not put the start button on the controller like with Nintendo's controller?

Can’t say that I’ve touched this system, the carts don’t jog my memory, the edgy look seems like I’ve come across but never have I ever got down on one. My friend at the time had one but wasn’t the go to. Came bak to state-side in 92 from Japan (born 87 in TX) settled in NJ. Nintendo got me during the transition.

In Brazil they still sell the MS

The Master System is a cool system 😎

As stated, Sega couldn't overcome the lockdown Nintendo had on 3rd parties and was left mostly with their own titles. Of course we look at Nintendo of today, and their biggest strength is their 1st party titles. While SEGA had a solid brand name with arcade titles during the era, they didn't have enough to override Nintendo and getting most arcade ports from all other companies of the time. The SMS did get some great ports, but they were few and far between. I loved my SMS, and to this day I still play those games more often than I revisit NES games. And while SEGA didn't do that great in the US with the SMS, they did have success other places, and that all led to a great showing with the Genesis/Mega Drive once it finally arrived.

The Master System was like the ugly caterpillar who went into his cocoon and became a beautiful butterfly Genesis.

It actually just wasn't big in America. In South America and the UK it sold great because it was a great system. I personally was still playing Atari 2600 and didn't get a Master System until after I traded a Colecovision for it in High School. A game rental store had a hard time making any money off a large library so I got top notch games at a low price. I wish I had paid more attention to Alex Kidd in Shinobi World but I was busy buying titles like Phantasy Star, R-Type and Double Dragon. I beat them all and Remember Miracle Warriors being a great RPG at the time. I beat that too. I recently bought a Retroad ZD06 and a Power Base Mini along with an Master System Everdrive Clone and a Retro Fighter Genesis Controller. The cat chewed my cord so I need a new HD System now. It was great while it worked. I need to go back to Ali-Express. I think I may just get rid of some old stuff and make room for new. I love New Age Keyboard Computers. I think I will get the Orange Pi 800 and Flash Android 12 to it and just run Emulators I have already paid for on my phone account.

Your Awesome Lady Decade. Keep those videos coming. God Bless and take care.

Sega Master System was a successful console also here in Greece. NES was released late, in 1991. I remember many kids having MS instead of the NES. The local distributor had also very good relationships with Tec Toy from Brazil. So MS3 was released in Greece and some TecToy games.

One thing to note, the US Master System's base sound chip wasn't anywhere near as good as the NES. It's just three channels (square wave) + 1 channel for noise generation which is just really basic in terms of capabilities for the time (there's not any real variance in terms of instruments for music). Japan got an add on that gave the Mark III a Yamaha FM chip (later baked into the Japanese rebranding of the Mark III into the Master System), but that never made it outside of Japan AFAIK. It's a real shame too. See kzfaq.info/get/bejne/esuSralj3b6Yo5s.html for a comparison of the "native" sound vs the Yamaha chip.

the master system is an incredibly interesting video game console. a very interesting story and quite successful worldwide. more successful than the Nintendo NES in some countries. and one of the longest supported consoles. just not in the US. Because the Master System had 3 different phases in its lifetime, there are big differences between the games. the later 90's europe titles can hardly be compared with the classic 80's 8 bit games.

My best friend 3 doors down had a Sega MS, I got a Nintendo. He switch over to Nintendo.

I worked for Funcoland back in the 90s (used game retailer like GameStop used to be), and we never did any business with Sega Master systems. No one ever brought in any Master system games or a console. No Turbografx either. We had tons of old Nintendo games though, and lots of Genesis stuff.

I feel like I sincerely never get tired of hearing the same Sega history over and over and over on Lady Decade

One more thing - Big N marketed their consoles as toys. Their sales reps went out and targeted shops selling toys which guaranteed a whole different level of market coverage.

MY First Real Console I owned then I was getting a NES sadly for one Game Basically TMNT Nes Sega In Europe was KING it had Super Hang On and the light gun game build in Hands Down the Best SMS game was and still is Phantasy Star 1 I finished tho i Never Owned it one of my Biggest Gaming Mistakes Ever