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Master System
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=== Mark III === On July 15, 1983, Sega released its first [[video game console]], the [[SG-1000]], in Japan.<ref name="Sega">{{cite web|title=SG-1000|website=Sega Hard Encyclopedia|publisher=[[Sega|Sega Corporation]]|url=https://www.sega.jp/history/hard/sg1000/index.html|language=ja|access-date=February 13, 2025|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711235839/https://sega.jp/history/hard/sg1000/|archive-date=July 11, 2018|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The launch coincided with the same day its competitor [[Nintendo]] launched the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Famicom]].<ref name="Wired">{{cite magazine|last=Kohler|first=Chris|date=October 2009|title=Playing the SG-1000, Sega's First Game Machine|url=https://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/10/sega-sg-1000/|url-status=dead|magazine=Wired|publisher=CondΓ© Nast Publications|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101073612/http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/10/sega-sg-1000/|archive-date=January 1, 2014|access-date=October 5, 2009}}</ref> In 1984, parent company [[Gulf and Western Industries]] divested its non-core businesses including Sega,<ref name="herald2">{{cite news |title=G&W Wins Cheers $1 Billion Spinoff Set |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:MIHB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB35D45A7276DB8&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0ECC86DE7A4704AD |newspaper=The Miami Herald |date=August 16, 1983 |access-date=October 10, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110080330/http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004 |archive-date=November 10, 2013 |url-access=subscription |via=[[NewsBank]]}}</ref> and Sega president [[Hayao Nakayama]] was installed as CEO. Sega released another console, the SG-1000 II,<ref name="Retroinspection">{{cite journal|last=McFerran|first=Damien|title=Retroinspection: Master System|journal=[[Retro Gamer]]|publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]]|pages=48β53|issue=44|issn=1742-3155|location=London, UK}}</ref> featuring several hardware alterations, including detachable controllers.<ref name="Wired" /> Nakayama and Sega co-founder [[David Rosen (businessman)|David Rosen]] arranged a [[management buyout]] with financial backing from [[SCSK|CSK Corporation]] and installed CSK CEO [[Isao Okawa]] as chairman.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="nytimes_esco">{{cite news|last=Pollack|first=Andrew|date=July 4, 1993|title=Sega Takes Aim at Disney's World|pages=3β1|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/04/business/sega-takes-aim-at-disney-s-world.html?pagewanted=3|url-status=live|access-date=May 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526082802/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/04/business/sega-takes-aim-at-disney-s-world.html?pagewanted=3|archive-date=May 26, 2015}}</ref> [[File:Annual sales master system (English version) (1985-1997).png|thumb|That is an graphic that shows the annual sales of Master System (1985 - 1997) The original graphic is in the Brazilian version of the same article.]] Hoping to better compete with Nintendo,<ref name=":02" /> Sega released another console, the Sega Mark III, in Japan in 1985.<ref name="Retroinspection" /> The Mark III was a redesigned version of the SG-1000.<ref name="kotaku1000">{{cite web|last=Plunkett|first=Luke|date=February 27, 2012|title=The Story of Sega's First Ever Home Console|url=http://kotaku.com/5888800/the-story-of-segas-first-ever-home-console|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915093659/http://kotaku.com/5888800/the-story-of-segas-first-ever-home-console|archive-date=September 15, 2014|access-date=September 14, 2014|website=[[Kotaku]]|publisher=[[Gawker Media]]}}</ref> It was engineered by the same team,<ref name="Edge">{{cite magazine|last=Parkin|first=Simon|date=June 2, 2014|title=A history of video game hardware: Sega Master System|url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/a-history-of-videogame-hardware-sega-master-system/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140605204323/http://www.edge-online.com/features/a-history-of-videogame-hardware-sega-master-system/|archive-date=June 5, 2014|access-date=September 13, 2014|magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]|publisher=[[Future plc]]}}</ref> including Hideki Sato and Masami Ishikawa, who had worked on the SG-1000 II and later led development of the [[Sega Genesis]].<ref name="siliconera">{{cite web|author=Sato|date=September 18, 2013|title=Sega's Original Hardware Developer Talks About The Company's Past Consoles|url=http://www.siliconera.com/2013/09/18/segas-original-hardware-developer-talks-about-the-companys-past-consoles/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202230217/http://www.siliconera.com/2013/09/18/segas-original-hardware-developer-talks-about-the-companys-past-consoles/|archive-date=December 2, 2013|access-date=November 23, 2013|website=Siliconera|publisher=[[Curse LLC]]}}</ref> According to Sato, the console was redesigned because of the limitations of the [[TMS9918|Texas Instruments TMS9918A]] graphics chip in the SG-1000, which did not have the power for the kinds of games Sega wanted to make. The Mark III's chip was designed in-house, based around the unit in [[List of Sega arcade system boards|Sega's System 2 arcade system board]].<ref name=":02">{{cite book|last1=Sato|first1=Hideki|author2=Famitsu DC|author2-link=Famitsu DC|url=https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File:Sega_Consumer_History_JP_EnterBrain_Book.pdf&page=23|title=Interview: The Witness of History|script-work=ja:γ»γ¬γ»γ³γ³γ·γ₯γΌγγΌγ»γγΉγγͺγΌ|trans-work=Sega Consumer History|series=Famitsu Books|publisher=[[Enterbrain]]|date=15 February 2002|pages=22β25|language=ja|isbn=978-4-75770789-4}} ([http://shmuplations.com/segahistory/ Translation] by Shmuplations. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814114513/http://shmuplations.com/segahistory/|date=2020-08-14}}).</ref> The Sega Mark III was released in Japan on October 20, 1985 at [[Japanese yen|Β₯]]15,000.<ref name="MK3">{{cite web|title=Sega Mark III|website=Sega Hard Encyclopedia|publisher=[[Sega|Sega Corporation]]|language=ja|url=https://www.sega.jp/history/hard/segamark3/index.html|access-date=February 13, 2025|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712025929/https://sega.jp/history/hard/segamark3/|archive-date=July 12, 2018}}</ref> Though its hardware was more powerful than the Famicom, the Mark III was not successful on launch. Problems arose from Nintendo's licensing practices with third-party developers, whereby Nintendo required that games for the Famicom not be published on other consoles. Sega developed its own games and obtained the rights to [[Porting|port]] games from other developers, but they did not sell well.<ref name="Retroinspection" />
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