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SG-1000
エスジー・セン
15 July 1983
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Prior to the SG-1000's release Sega had kept to the practice of licensing
out their most popular titles.
Games like Monaco
GP (1979), Carnival (1980), Turbo (1981) and Zaxxon (1982) became massive hits on a wide range of home
computers and consoles, so Sega decided to go it
alone and develop their own hardware. The initial
plan was to release both a game machine and home
computer simultaneously, using inter-changeable
cartridges.
This is how the SG-1000 hardware was born - story
has it that the hardware's specifications were
finalised as early as 1981 but remained 'on test'
for close to two years, primarily due to R&D
difficulties with the SC-3000's utility software.
The two machines eventually hit Japanese shelves
in July 1983. |
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The SG-1000 was an ok machine for its time, and it was met with reasonable success. The
problem was that the Nintendo Famicom appeared on the exact same month. It went on to
establish itself all around Asia - as well as
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and
Spain.
In Japan, it was the only machine to even vaguely
survive the Famicom's onslaught. Consoles by Tomy,
Takara, Bandai and Casio were completely blown
out of the water, vanishing off the shelves within
the space of a few months. But yet the SG-1000
managed to keep a small pocket of the marketplace
for itself, thanks in great part to Sega's brand
name, arcade catalogue, and extensive SC-3000
computer range.
Sega would fully support the hardware until 1987,
until it was fully replaced by the vastly superior Sega Mark III / Master
System.
It was a damn fast machine: a lot of SG-1000 games
are extraordinarily quick, and surprisingly challenging...
The only immediate problem being its awkward joystick,
and the presence of near-unbeatable competition
in the form of the Nintendo Famicom. |
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Borderline (1983) |
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Congo Bongo (1983) |
Girl's Garden (1984) |
Zaxxon (1985) |
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Touted
as a 'computer for beginners', the SC-3000 was
released alongside the SG-1000 in three different colours.
In fact it is
slightly
more powerful than its console counterpart: it benefits
from a little extra RAM and an increased resolution.
Its rubber keyboard enabled the use of dedicated
BASIC, music, and educational software, all available
on cartridge.
A second model, known as the SC-3000H, featured
a new keyboard and even more RAM; and the SF-7000 external upgrade unit added a further 74kB of
RAM and 8kB of ROM, a 3" floppy disk drive,
a Centronics parallel port, and an RS232 serial
port.
To be fair, the early 80s computer market was a cut-throast one, and Sega's machine wasn't very competitive. By 1984 Sega gave it one last push with an aggressive advertising campaign, releasing
numerous Sega-branded accessories as a part of the
range.
The all-inclusive SC-5000 was the third and
final SC model; and also Sega's last attempt at
piercing the home computer market. The machine just
simply wasn't powerful or versatile enough to make
that much of a dent in the market.
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SC-3000H |
SC-3000H + SF-7000 Super Control Station |
SC-5000 |
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In July 1984, exactly one year after the launch
of the SG-1000, Sega re-vamped their
entire range with the SG-1000 II, also known as
the 'Mark II'.
But although it featured a a much
slicker exterior design and vastly improved game
pads, the machine's innards remained exactly the
same as its predecessor, bar a slightly increased
resolution for compatibility with the SC-3000
computer range: the unit features a large connection
port at the front of the machine for an optional
keyboard.
But it was all too little too late by this point.
Sega seemed to be stalling, spinning on their
own heads with flawed hardware and over-zealous
accessories and gizmos - a stark contrast to the
elegant simplicity of the Famicom,
who in the meantime was moving on by leaps and
bounds.
The final SG-1000 format appeared in 1985: a cartridge-sized
'Card Catcher' device that allowed the machine
to play games released on the 'Sega My Card' cartridges
(left). Technically these card games remain exactly
the same as their cartridge counterparts, but
sold for a little less.
By late 1986 it was all over for the SG-1000.
No surprise: the machine never had what it took
to compete - Sega would offer a lot more to players
with the far superior Mark
III. |
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Doki Doki Penguin Land (1985) |
Hang-On II (1985) |
Wonder Boy (1986) |
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As
a final side note in the history of the SG-1000
is the 1983 Othello Multivision, an officially
licensed and fully compatible SG-1000 'clone'
released in Japan by home electronics company
Tsukada Original.
At ¥19,800 the machine sold for a little more
than Sega's version, manily because it had its
own built-in Othello game and keypad on the face
of the machine. Besides from that, it is also
worthy of note because it had a handful of original
productions made for it (see list, right).
Q*Bert makes a half-decent appearance, while Guzzler
(left) is the only other title of interest: a
half-interesting maze game involving a plastic
bag -like character that must carry water around
to extiguish fires.
Not bad in terms of vintage 1983 gaming, but still
- nothing much to write home about. |
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Product
ID |
Packaging
'a' |
Packaging
'b' |
Packaging
'c' |
Title |
Info |
G-1001 |
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1983
Arcade
Sega 1981 |
G-1002 |
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1983
Arcade
'Tranquillizer Gun'
Sega 1980 |
G-1003 |
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N-Sub
N･サブ |
1983
Arcade
Sega 1980 |
G-1005 |
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Champion
Golf
チャンピオン ゴルフ |
1983
Original game
Logitec 1983 |
G-1006 |
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Serizawa
Hachidan no Tsumeshogi
芹沢八段の詰将棋 |
1983 |
G-1007 |
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1983
Arcade
Sega 1983 |
G-1008 |
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Yamato
ヤマト |
1983
Arcade
Sega 1983 |
G-1009 |
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Champion
Tennis
チャンピオン テニス |
1983 |
G-1010 |
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1983
Arcade
Sega 1983 |
G-1011 |
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Champion
Baseball
チャンピオン ベースボール |
1983
Arcade
ADK 1983 |
G-1012 |
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1983
Arcade
Sega 1983 |
G-1014 |
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Golgo
13
ゴルゴ13 |
1984 |
G-1017 |
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1983
Arcade
Sega 1979 |
G-1018 |
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Sega
Flipper
セガ フリッパー |
1983 |
G-1019 |
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Pop
Flamer
ポップ フレーマー |
1983
Arcade
Jaleco 1982 |
G-1022 |
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1983
Arcade
Namco 1981 |
G-1023 |
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Space
Slalom
スペーススラローム |
1983 |
G-1026 |
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1983
Arcade
Irem 1983 |
G-1027 |
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Pachinko
パチンコ |
1983 |
G-1028 |
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Exerion
エクセリオン |
1983
Arcade
Jaleco 1983 |
G-1029 |
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Pachinko
II
パチンコII |
1984 |
G-1030 |
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Home
Mahjong
ホーム麻雀 |
1984 |
G-1031 |
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1984
Original game
Broderbund 1983 |
G-1032 |
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Safari
Race
サファリイレース |
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G-1033 |
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Champion
Boxing
チャンピオン ボクシング |
1984
Arcade
Sega 1984 |
G-1034 |
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Champion
Soccer
チャンピオン サッカー |
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G-1035 |
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Hustle
Chumy
ハッスル チューミー |
1984
Developed by
Compile |
G-1036 |
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1984
Arcade
Sega 1984 |
G-1037 |
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Girl's
Garden
ガールズ ガーデン |
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G-1038 |
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1985
Arcade
Sega 1982 |
G-1039 |
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Champion
Pro Wrestling
チャンピオン プロレス |
1985
Arcade
Sega 1985 |
G-1040 |
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GP
World
GPワールド |
1985
Arcade
Sega 1984 |
G-1041 |
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Konami
no Shinyūshain Toru-kun
コナミの新入社員とおるくん |
1985
Arcade
Konami 1984 |
G-1042 |
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Konami
no Hyper Sports
コナミのハイパースポーツ |
1985
Arcade
Konami 1984 |
G-1043 |
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1985
Arcade
Tehkan 1984 |
G-1045 |
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1985
Arcade
Taito 1978 |
G-1046 |
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The
Castle
ザ･キャッスル |
1986 |
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C-05 |
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Champion
Golf
チャンピオン ゴルフ |
1985 |
Sport
Re-issue of
G-1005 |
C-17 |
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1985 |
Racing
Re-issue of
G-1017 |
C-26 |
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1985 |
Racing
Re-issue of
G-1026 |
C-33 |
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Champion
Boxing
チャンピオン ボクシング |
1985 |
Sport
Re-issue of
G-1033 |
C-43 |
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1985 |
Shooting
Re-issue of
G-1043 |
C-46 |
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Dragon Wang
ドラゴン・ワン |
1985 |
Action |
C-47 |
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1985 |
Shooting
Arcade
Sega 1982 |
C-48 |
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Choplifter
チョップリフター |
1985 |
Shooting
Original game
Brøderbund 1982 |
C-49 |
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Pitfall II
ピットフォールII |
1985 |
Action
Arcade
Sega 1984 |
C-50 |
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1985 |
Action / Puzzle |
C-51 |
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Drol
ドロール |
1985 |
Action / Puzzle
Original game
Brøderbund 1983 |
C-52 |
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Chack'n
Pop
チャックン ポップ |
1985 |
Action / Puzzle
Arcade
Taito 1983 |
C-53 |
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1985 |
Action
Arcade
Sega 1984 |
C-54 |
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Rock n' Bolt
ロックン ボルト |
1985 |
Puzzle
Original game
Activision 1985 |
C-55 |
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Elevator Action
エレベーター アクション |
1985 |
Action
Arcade
Taito 1983 |
C-56 |
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Sōkoban
倉庫番 |
1985 |
Puzzle
Original Game
Thinking Rabbit 1982 |
C-57 |
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1985 |
Puzzle
Original game
Brøderbund 1983 |
C-58 |
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H.E.R.O.
ヒーロー |
1985 |
Action
Original game
Activision 1984 |
C-59 |
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Champion Ice Hockey
チャンピオン アイスホッケー |
1985 |
Sport |
C-60 |
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1985 |
Racing
Arcade
Sega 1985 |
C-61 |
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1985 |
Action
Arcade
Tehkan 1984 |
C-62 |
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Champion Ski (Cancelled) |
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C-63 |
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Gulkave
ガルケーブ |
1985 |
Shooting
Developed by
Compile |
C-64 |
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C-So!
シーソー |
1986 |
Action |
C-65 |
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1986 |
Action
Arcade
Sega 1985 |
C-66 |
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Super Tank
スーパー タンク |
1986 |
Shooting |
C-67 |
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Champion Kendo
チャンピオン 剣道 |
1986 |
Sport |
C-71 |
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Champion Billiards
チャンピオンビリヤード |
1986 |
Sport |
C-72 |
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The Black Onyx
ザ・ブラック オニキス |
1987 |
RPG |
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Product
ID |
Packaging
'a' |
Packaging
'b' |
Packaging
'c' |
Title |
Info |
OM-G001 |
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Q*Bert
キューバート |
1983 |
OM-G002 |
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Guzzler
ガズラー |
1983 |
OM-G003 |
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Space Mountain
スペースマウンテン |
1984 |
OM-G004 |
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San-nin Mahjong
三人麻雀 |
1984 |
OM-G005 |
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Challenge Derby
チャレンジダービー |
1984 |
OM-G006 |
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Okamoto Ayako no Match Play Golf
岡本綾子のマッチプレイゴルフ |
1984 |
OM-G007 |
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Space Armor
スペースアーマー |
1984 |
OM-G008 |
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007 James Bond
007 ジェームズ・ボンド |
1984 |
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B-10 |
Sega
SC-3000 BASIC Level 2 |
1983 |
B-21 |
Sega
SC-3000 BASIC Level 2 B |
1983 |
B-30 |
Sega
SC-3000 BASIC Level 3 A |
1983 |
B-40 |
Sega
SC-3000 BASIC Level 3 B |
1983 |
B-41 |
Sega
SC-3000 BASIC SK-III |
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B-51 |
Home
Basic Level 2 B |
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E-101 |
Sega
SC-3000 Music Editor |
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E-103 |
Junior
High School English Word (1) |
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E-104 |
Junior
High School Eisaku Sentence (1) |
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E-105 |
Junior
High School English Method (1) |
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E-106 |
Pleasant
Arithmetic (4th grade) |
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E-107 |
Chemistry
(Element Master) |
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E-108 |
Nihonshi
Nenpyo (Japanese History) |
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E-110 |
Junior
High School English Word (2) |
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E-111 |
Junior
High School Eisaku Sentence (2) |
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E-112 |
Junior
High School English Method (2) |
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E-113 |
Pleasant
Arithmetic (4th grade under) |
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E-114 |
Pleasant
Arithmetic (5th grade under) |
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E-115 |
Pleasant
Arithmetic (6th grade under) |
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E-116 |
Pleasant
Arithmetic (5th grade over) |
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E-117 |
Pleasant
Arithmetic (6th grade over) |
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E-119 |
Fortune
Telling Angel Cutie |
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Physics
(motion and power) |
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'SG-1000' and 'Sega'
are registered trademarks of Sega Corporation
SG-1000 TM & © 1983 Sega All Rights Reserved
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