The Master System belongs to Sega's 8-bit period, before the Genesis. Its hardware family developed from the Japanese Mark III, and the Master System reached the United States i…

The Master System belongs to Sega's 8-bit period, before the Genesis. Its hardware family developed from the Japanese Mark III, and the Master System reached the United States in 1986 and Europe in 1987. Its history also changes depending on where you're looking. Nintendo dominated much of the American conversation, while the Master System had a stronger position in parts of Europe. So when people talk about what everybody was playing back then, that really does depend on the country. The same console could be a much bigger part of somebody's childhood somewhere else. Its library had games like Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Phantasy Star, and the Wonder Boy games. There were arcade conversions, platformers, and longer adventures, so there was more to explore than just Sega's arcade name might suggest. The original hardware also supported both cartridges and the smaller Sega Cards, and it had accessories such as the Light Phaser and 3D glasses. Those different formats and accessories are part of what makes older systems interesting to look back through. Companies were trying different ways of getting people to interact with games, and the Master System gives you a look at Sega's home console approach before Sonic and the Genesis became the bigger story.