Sega SG-1000 (full name Sega Computer Video Game SG-1000) was an 8-bit video-game console produced by Sega, which was sold during the first half of the 1980s, in Japan, Australia, Southern Europe and some other regions. It was Sega's first home game console, and although it has been on the market only for 2 years, it has recorded several important games in videogame history. The console was not commercially successful. The main reason was that SG-1000 was launched on the same day as the technically superior Famicom/NES, and SG-1000 was therefore convicted to be defeated.
The console SG-1000 was equipped with a microprocessor that contained the 8-bit chip Zilog Z80 and the integrated circuit Texas Instruments SN76489, which was also used in some of the home and personal computers at that time. An improved version of this integrated circuit was later used in the Sega Master System game console. The video processor Texas Instruments TMS9928A was capable to display up to 16 colors at a time. In the original configuration, the console was equipped with two hard-mounted joysticks SJ-200, but they usually quickly destroyed and could not be easily replaced. The games were distributed either on classic cartridges that were inserted into the console through the top connector or via memory cards. Additional accessories existed solely for use with the console, including the SR-1000 cassette deck, the SP-400 4-color plotter printer, and the SF-7000 expansion device which adds a floppy disk drive and additional memory.
The SG-1000 was first released in Japan on July 15, 1983, at JP¥15,000, which was still JP¥200 more than the competitive price of Famicom. The big disadvantage of the SG-1000 was the fact that when it was launched, it lacked the names of successful games such as Donkey Kong or Poppeye, which accompanied the launch of Famicom. As a result of these and other facts, and due to SG-1000 technical backwardness compared to Famicom, sales of this console were far behind the competition. An estimated 2 million units of this console were sold around the world (total sales of NES were about 30 times higher). Sega therefore pulled the console out of the market after two years, and in 1985 it replaced it by the technically superior 8-bit Master System console. It should be noted, however, that the Master System was fully compatible with the SG-1000 console, although of course in only one direction.
In total, approximately 100 games were created for SG-1000, 68 of them were distributed on classic cartridges and 29 by Sega cards. None of the games included any of the well-known Sega characters, such as the Sonic the hedgehog, or the popular children's hero Alex Kidd. Nevertheless, a few games have appeared on this console, which the critics have evaluated positively. Among the best were such titles like Girl's Garden, Congo Bongo, Monaco GP, The Castle and some others.
SG-1000 was not very popular at the time. Today, however, it is highly appreciated especially among collectors. At online auctions, the console is sold at considerably higher prices than much more successful NES console. In 2018, the SG-1000 celebrated its 35th birthday, and especially in Japan, there are still many fans who love this Sega's oldest game console.
Text: RetroGames.cz, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
More info
- Sega · 1983–1985
- Third (8-bit) generation
- EmulatorJS · SMS Plus GX
- 74 games
- 12,637,306 plays on RetroGames.cz
