Sega Master System on the Shelf

A Sega Master System walked in this week. Tested, priced at $125, ready to plug in.

The Master System, fairly

The Sega Master System is the console that lost the US console war to the NES and quietly won everywhere else. In Brazil, the SMS is still sold in some markets. In Europe, it outsold the NES for most of the late 80s. In the US, it never got the marketing budget it deserved.

For collectors, that asymmetry is exactly the appeal. Master System libraries built now are mostly PAL or Brazilian imports, which makes every clean domestic US copy a piece of small-batch history.

What is good about this unit

Power light clean. Cart slot firm. Card slot responsive for the Sega card games, which is unusual on a 35-plus-year-old unit. Controllers both respond. The built-in Alex Kidd in Miracle World boots without a cart, which is the quick one-tap test for an SMS we like.

In the console case. If you are pairing this with a 27-inch CRT and the right composite cable, come say hi. We will talk you through setup.