__________________________
SG-1000, fue la primera videoconsola de sobremesa desarrollada por Sega. Fue primero lanzada al mercado en una primera fase de pruebas en Japón en 1981 y finalmente lanzada al mercado japonés en julio de 1983 por 15.000¥. La consola no consiguió gran éxito en ese mercado. Sin embargo, el sistema se vendió bien en Asia hasta 1985. Fue también comercializada en Australia porJohn Sands, en Nueva Zelanda por Grandstand Leisure Limited, y en otros países como Italia, España, y Sudáfrica. La consola en su versión original nunca llegó a Norteamérica, su nombre es sinónimo de Sega Game 1000.
En julio de 1984, Sega lanzó una versión actualizada de la consola llamada SG-1000 II, que contaba con un conector para una ampliación de teclado opcional. Una versión en forma de ordenador de esta consola con el teclado integrado fue comercializada bajo el nombre de SC-3000. Irónicamente, la SC-3000 acabaría vendiendo más que la SG-1000.
La Sega Mark III, una versión todavía más nueva lanzada en Japón con hardware de vídeo mejorado y una mayor cantidad de RAM, sería rediseñada para convertirse en la Sega Master System.
El fabricante de videojuegos Tsukada Original hizo el Othello Multivision, un clon del SG-1000. El clon de Colecovision de Bit Corporation fue llevado a Norteamérica por una compañía llamada Telegames. Telegames llamó a este clon Telegames Personal Arcade, y con él se podía jugar a juegos de Colecovision y SG-1000.
La SG-1000 es una consola extremadamente difícil de encontrar hoy día y es considerada objeto de coleccionista.
................................................ .. .. .
................................................
SG-1000 II
 | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
Fast facts on SG-1000 II
| ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer: Sega | ||||||||||||
|
The biggest change was the controller. While the original SG-1000 used a small joystick controller, the SG-1000 II introduced a new thumbstick pad, which was innovative for featuring a stick controlled solely the thumb, though it was digital rather than analog. It was succeeded by the Sega Master System, which significantly upgraded the hardware (including the CPU, GPU and RAM) and changed the controller to a more intuitive D-pad design similar to the NES.
Contents
[hide]Hardware
Like the original SG-1000, the SG-1000 II runs all SC-3000 games and applications, with the exception of Music and Basic Cartridges. The expansion port has been moved to the front (as it is only used by the SK-1100 add-on), and rather than hard-wiring the first controller, it is detachable like the second. The SG-1000 II also shipped with updated SJ-150 controllers, which can be housed on the sides of the console, a design concept inspired by the Nintendo Famicom. Controllers are plugged in to the back of the unit this time.
The SG-1000 II design would go on to influence the Sega Mark III, which acts as a completely new video game system.
Models
- Main article: SG-1000 consoles.
- Technical specifications
History
As the system failed to deliver any meaningful improvements for the Japanese public, the SG-1000 II, like its predecessor, faced stiff competition from Nintendo's Famicom and failed to pick up much steam in that region. As far as we know, it was not released in as many regions as the original SG-1000 - most would jump ahead to the Sega Master System.
Aaronix distributed the console in Taiwan starting in 1986, though the legalities surrounding this release are not yet known. Aaronix produced their own software with this console in mind, often converting games from the MSX (potentially without a license to do so). At least three revisions of the console are known to exist, one without the expansion port.
Games
- Main article: List of SG-1000 games.
Promotional material
External links
................................................ .. .. .
................................................
Sega Mark III
 | ||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||
Fast facts on Sega Mark III
| ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer: Sega | ||||||||||||||||
| Variants: Sega Master System | ||||||||||||||||
| Add-ons: Demo Unit II, Telecon Pack, FM Sound Unit | ||||||||||||||||
| Main processor: Zilog Z80 | ||||||||||||||||
|
The Sega Mark III (セガマークIII) is a video game console created by Sega. It is the successor to Sega's earlier SG-1000 II (itself a redesigned SG-1000), and was released in October 1985 in Japan, before being distributed in South Korea and Taiwan later in the decade. No models of the Mark III were released outside of Asia, but the console did form the basis of the Sega Master System which was distributed internationally.
The Mark III stands as Sega's second attempt at capturing a share of the Japanese video game market in the face of the Family Computer (Famicom) created by Nintendo, sporting significant upgrades over its predecessors. The technology was used as a foundation for its successor, the Sega Mega Drive.
Contents
[hide]Hardware
The Mark III is built similarly to the SG-1000 II, so much so that to the untrained eye, it is easy to mistake one for the other. It is a long, white system sporting a cartridge slot, a card slot, and two DE-9 controller ports at the front of the unit. On the left lies an expansion port, later utilised by the FM Sound Unit, and in addition to the RF television output, an 8-pin A/V port, giving greater picture quality than the system's predecessors. Like the SG-1000 II (and Famicom), controllers (now SJ-152s) can be docked on either side of the unit.
The Mark III offers two major upgrades over the SG-1000 (with the optional FM Sound Unit bringing enhanced sound) - superior visuals offered by a new video display processor, and more RAM. Generally this is represented by twice as many on-screen colours and sprites, and smoother scrolling - everything else is largely the same as the SG-1000. The upgrade puts it ahead of the Famicom in many regards, although without the FM Sound Unit, the Famicom has technically superior sound capabilities (furthered still by the Famicom Disk System add-on).
The system is backwards compatible with earlier SG-1000 titles, both in terms of cards and cartridges, and likewise, the controllers are interchangeable. Cartridges and cards are the same physical shape as their SG-1000 counterparts, but will not function in an SG-1000. Sega also released the Telecon Pack, allowing the Mark III to connect to a television wirelessly.
The Sega Mark III was redesigned as the Sega Master System for release in other markets. This was mainly a cosmetic revamp; the internals of the console remained largely the same. The redesigned console was itself released in Japan in 1987, but with the features of the FM Sound Unit built in as well as a 3-D glasses port and a built-in Rapid Fire Unit.
Models
Technical specifications
Processors
-
- Instruction set: 8-bit instructions
- Clock rate: 3.579545 MHz
Graphics
- Graphics processor (GPU): VDP (Video Display Processor), derived from TMS9918
- Screen resolutions: 256x192 and 256x224 pixels
- Color palette: 64 colors
- Simultaneous colors on screen: Up to 32 (64 using programming tricks)
- Sprites: Up to 64 sprites on screen
- Horizontal, diagonal, vertical, and partial screen scrolling
Sound
- Sound chip (PSG): Texas Instruments SN76489
- 4 channel mono sound
- 3 sound generators, 4-10 octaves each
- 1 white noise generator
Memory
Other
- The Sega Mark III does not have a BIOS ROM
- Game card slot
History
Background
Sega's first console, the SG-1000, launched on the same day as the Famicom in Japan, and was, like many other systems of the era, decimated by Nintendo's efforts. Its computer sibling, the SC-3000 was met with more open arms (including in some Australasian and European markets), but by 1985 it was clear that support for Sega's systems were drying up. Nevertheless, Sega's attempts were at the very least notable - whereas other rival systems of the day had been struck off within a year of the Famicom's launch, Sega held a strong, albeit distant, second place in Japan, prompting the company to push forward with a more powerful alternative - the Sega Mark III.
Japan
The Mark III was released in Japan on October 20, 1985, with its main competition again being the Family Computer. Despite being a cartridge-based system, for the first eight months, no traditional cartridges were produced, with the library instead being populated by cost-reduced Sega Cards. The release of Fantasy Zone ushered in a new phase of cartridge production, and support lasted until February 1989, ending with Bomber Raid.
Over one million units were sold in Japan during Mark III's first year, but similar to its predecessors, the Mark III was unable to dethrone Nintendo or win considerable support from the gaming public. The situation is said to have been an improvement over the SG-1000/SC-3000's fate, but even with superior system specifications, Mark III sales paled in comparison to the Famicom's. By 1989, the Sega Mark III had sold over 1.7 million units in Japan.
Sega published every Mark III game internally with the exception of two, Argos no Juujiken and Solomon no Kagi: Oujo Rihita no Namida by Salio.
Taiwan
In Taiwan, Aaronix distributed the Mark III, having previously brought the SG-1000 II to the region.
South Korea
The Mark III was distributed in South Korea by Korea Oacs, and was the first Sega console to be sold in the country. Little is known about the Mark III's fate - Sega would later strike a deal with Samsung to bring the Sega Master System to the country, which is thought to have fared much better.
Games
List of games
- Main article: List of Master System games.
Launch titles
Japan
- Hang-On (Sega Card)
- Teddy Boy Blues (Sega Card)
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario