Sega Master System II Console

Product Information

The Master System II, released in 1990, removed a number of components to reduce cost: the Sega Card slot, reset button, power light, expansion port, and startup music and logo.

The Master System II, was a relaunch of the 1987 machine, and was a cost reduced version of that, it lacked the composite output, being RF only. The North American packaging was white to differentiate it from the black NES packaging, with a white grid design inspired by Apple computer products. In 1987, amid struggling sales in the US, [29] Sega sold the US distribution rights for the Master System to the toy company Tonka, which had no experience with electronic entertainment systems.Sega released another console, the SG-1000 II, [20] featuring several hardware alterations, including detachable controllers.

Because Ariolasoft could not agree to a pricing agreement with Sega, Mastertronic signed a deal in 1987 to take control of UK distribution, and announced the deal at the 1987 Summer CES. It is Sega's second most successful video game console of all time, with an estimated 20 million units sold worldwide, largely in Brazil and Europe.Sega developed its own games and obtained the rights to port games from other developers, but they did not sell well. The card slot was also missing, so none of the flat cards or 3D glasses could be used, though these were no longer in production. The 1987 Japanese release, whose design was also brought to South Korea, makes a number of important changes. There were plenty of driving games on the 16 bit system, even Formula one driving games, but this was a great experience.

I remember playing this game on my friends Mega Drive, on 2 player mode and falling in love with it’s simple but effective gameplay. Sega of America rebranded the Mark III as the Master System, similar to Nintendo's reworking of the Famicom into the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). And yes, before you say it, Yes, Mega Drive games will undoubtedly be better on the whole, but let me give you some back story. Since this is +5 V stabilized current, if malfunction is present, uniform +5 V is not present; system will not operate and no picture will appear.IGN cited the Master System's small and uneven NTSC library as the major problems: "Months could go by between major releases and that made a dud on the Master System feel even more painful. Despite the people who base their verdicts purely on comparisons with superior hardware, it’s a damn good conversion. Limited by Nintendo's licensing practices, Sega only had two third-party American publishers, Activision and Parker Brothers. The Master System II, was a relaunch of the 1987 machine, and was a cost reduced version of that, it lacked the composite output, the card slot, so none of the flat cards or 3D glasses could be used, though these were no longer in production.

The Mega Drive version scrolls smoothly, it has a bucket load of on screen sprites and the backgrounds are visually detailed. Its CPU, a Zilog Z80, has an 8-bit data bus with both 8-bit and 16-bit registers, while its VDP is an 8/16-bit graphics processor, with a 16-bit data bus and using 8-bit and 16-bit registers.

However, electronics like the VDP usually do not have enough power to drive that; without amplification, you see what’s above. Please be aware that the Master System II only has RF output – this means it will need to be tuned to the correct channel on your TV. In the case of number 4 above, the problem may be rcctificd by adding a capacitor 100PF--180PF at A13 (address 13). If it doesn’t, you might want to resolder CN5, as solder connections on connectors like this can easily crack. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 with graphical capabilities over its predecessors.