CONSOLE WARS: THE TRUE STORY
PART 1 – SEGA MASTER SYSTEM SALES FIGURES
The most comprehensive research already done on Sega Master System sales figures!
THE BEST-SELLING 8-BIT CONSOLE AROUND THE WORLD (SMS vs NES)
Blue: territories where the Sega Master System won / Red: territories where the NES/SFC won
Market share domination in territories with more reliable information available:
SMS NES
Japan
X
South Korea X
Australia X
Brazil X
Europe X
USA
X
The only two territories where NES won the war against the SMS were US and Japan (the two largest videogame markets). In these two countries the 8-bit generation arrived earlier and the effect of the Nintendo`s monopoly strategy, and consequently the greater amount of lauched titles in the eighties (specially licenced games) decided the match. In the entire 8-bit era (from 1986 to 1990) Sega developed and published almost alone the entire Master System library (less than 10 of about 150 games were developed by third party). Finally, in 1991 Nintendo was found guilty of violating United States antitrust law and forced to abandon some of its monopoly practices, but was too late in these two markets for the SMS, ironically due to the early success of Sega Genesis/ Mega Drive. And yet, Nintendo managed to maintain some of these practices for more 3 years in Japan, until 1994, totaling more than 10 years of monopoly practices. Furthermore, Nintendo of America used an additional monopoly strategy, suggesting to retailers that their holiday shipments of Nintendo consoles and games would be canceled if they sold Sega's hardware or software. Meanwhile in all countries of the world outside Japan and the US, the Sega Master System was the number one 8-bit console reaching 80% market share in the world outside Japan and USA. This two countries remained in a kind of parallel universe thanks to the fierce and illegal marketing strategy used by Nintendo. See, below, how the Sega Master System achieved 80% market share in important markets such as Europe, Australia, South Korea and Brazil and smaller markets in Asia, Latin America and Oceania. Besides getting 80% of these markets against the NES, the Sega Master System later became the main Mega Drive competitor in all these markets for most of the 16-bit era, preventing the snes from obtain the second position after the dominant Mega Drive.
Sega Master System Wordwide Sales Figures
The SMS sold probably around 27 million units (and not only 13 million as reported erroneously by the wikipedia for decades). Until 1993 – in the 16-bit era pinnacle – the SMS was
the main Sega Mega Drive competitor in
almost entire world (and not the snes).
Japan - 3.52 million
South Korea - near 1 million
Other Asia - unknown
Brazil - over 5 million (probably around 5.8 million until today - Jul 2020)
Australia – unknown (probably around 1 million)
Other Oceania - unknown
Other Oceania - unknown
Western Europe – probably around 8 million (unknown: between 1993 and 1996)
Eastern Europe - unknown
US - 3.3 million
Other North, South and Central America - unknown
US - 3.3 million
Other North, South and Central America - unknown
Compatible hardware:
Power Base Converter - unknown
Master System Converter II - unknown
Master Gear Converter- unknown
Nuby Converter - unknown
Gear Master (converter) - unknown
Taiwanese Aaronix - unknown (there are doubts whether this console was licensed by Sega)
"Consoles on a Chip" (various releases in the last 15 years in US, Europe and Asial) - unknown
Arcade Gamer Portable (Europe and Asia, 2008) - unknown
Mega Sg - unknown
Nuby Converter - unknown
Gear Master (converter) - unknown
Taiwanese Aaronix - unknown (there are doubts whether this console was licensed by Sega)
"Consoles on a Chip" (various releases in the last 15 years in US, Europe and Asial) - unknown
Arcade Gamer Portable (Europe and Asia, 2008) - unknown
Mega Sg - unknown
Total Sells
(estimative): probably around 27 million
Japan - 3.52 million
October 1985 from February 1989 (the Sega Mark III was replaced with the western model in late 1987)
Despite a strong start, selling 1 million units in its first year on sale in Japan (with classics as Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Hokuto no ken, Wonderboy, Choplifter, Fantasy Zone, Space Harrier, Astro Warrior, Safari Hunt, Marksman Shooting & Trap Shooting, The Ninja, Asura and many others), SMS lost the competition in Japan. Although revolutionary games like Phantasy Star (1987), After Burner (1987), Out Run (1987), Rocky (1987), Gangster Town (1987), Missile Defense 3D (1987), Zillion (1987), Zaxxon 3D (1987), Space Harrier 3D (1988), R-Type (1988) and Kenseiden (1988) were continuously launched, Nintendo banned developers from releasing their games on other systems if their games were released on the NES. This put a damper on third party support for the Master System and the rest of Nintendo's competition until 1991 already in “16-bit era” when Nintendo was found guilty of violating United States antitrust law and forced to abandon some of its licensing practices. In the entire 8-bit era (from 1986 to 1990) Sega developed and published almost alone the entire Master System library (less than 10 of about 150 games were developed by third party). Even during its relatively short lifespan in Japan, Sega has strangely not released some titles like Rampage for example.
"Amusement". Business Japan (Nihon Kogyo Shimbun) 31 (7-12): 89. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tJcSAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Sega+is+estimated+to+have+sold%22&dq=%22Sega+is+estimated+to+have+sold%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=CM8eT7m8JonLsgbPpdnHDA&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
South Korea - near 1
million
Sega Master System (named
Gam*Boy and later Aladdin Boy by Samsung 1989-1996) was the best seller
console in South Korea from 1989 until 1993.
SMS NES
1989 130,000
20,000
1990 180,000 80,000
1991 160,000
100,000
1992 180,000
110,000
1993 80,000 50,000
1994 unknown
unknown
1995 unknown
-
1996 unknown
-
Mark III- South Korea may have been the only other country
aside from Japan and Hong Kong to receive the Mark III. It was distributed by Oacs. Total
units sold: unknown
Total (Korea): near 1 million
Total (Korea): near 1 million
Mark III - Hong Kong:
Around 10,000
Reference: https://consolevariations.com/variation/console/sega-mark-iii-hong-kong
China (by WKK)
Unknown sales figures https://segaretro.org/History_of_Sega_in_China
Other Asia - SMS was released in many other counties, but the sales figures are unknown.
Australia – unknown (probably around 1 million)
History Of Master System In Australia ( Master System 1988-1997 )
The 10 years of the master system in Australia were
times when change was very rapid in the gaming world. In 1988 when the master
system and NES were released in Australia the two systems were neck to neck
with the master system 55% of market share. In 1990 The Mega Drive was relased
in Australia along with the Master System 2. As soon as sega relased both of
them sega had around 80 percent of market share. Sales soared for both systems
by great management by Sega Ozisoft. In 1992/3 the master was going good as
with the Mega Drive. Until late 1994 the estimated sales in Australia were close to 700,000 units. In 1995 the Master System was put in the bargain bins of
some stores but still stayed well in Toys R US. In 1997/98 the Master System
was killed off the stores in Australia. That was the happy 10 year history of
the Master System in Australia.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/sms/916382-sega-master-system/faqs/16009.
Sega MegaZone 45 Nov 94.pdf, page 23
Sega MegaZone 45 Nov 94.pdf, page 23
Estimated marketshare was still 15% in 1996 (two generations
after SMS release and competing against videogames like Sega Mega Drive, Sega
Saturn, Playstation, Nintendo 64, Sega CD, 32X, snes, Neo Geo, 3DO, Jaguar and
many others).
Only in 1990, 250,000 SMS2 were sold in Australia. This figures are disseminated erroneously by the wikipedia as the total all time SMS sales in Australia. However, this figures do not represent even one year of SMS sales in Australia (as the SMS and SMS2 coexisted in 1990). Therefore, the responsible for the text published in wikipedia seems to be unaware that the Master System was sold for 10 years in Australia (1988-1997), not only in 1990 ...
Ozisoft also released the SMS in New Zealand in 1987 with great success along the years, although the sales figures are unknown.
Total sales in Australia:
1988- Sep 1994: 650,000
Oct 1994 - 1998: unknown
Total: unknown, probably near 1 million
References:
https://retrocdn.net/images/c/cb/Sega_MegaZone_45_Nov_94.pdf, page 23
Cantlon, G. (1991, November 17). Cut-throat selling in video games. Sun Herald. Sega Master System Plus was $149.95
Brazil - 8 million (September 1989 - Sep 2015)
unknown (Oct 2015 - 2020). Estimated: around 5.8 million
Total sales in Australia:
1988- Sep 1994: 650,000
Oct 1994 - 1998: unknown
Total: unknown, probably near 1 million
References:
https://retrocdn.net/images/c/cb/Sega_MegaZone_45_Nov_94.pdf, page 23
Cantlon, G. (1991, November 17). Cut-throat selling in video games. Sun Herald. Sega Master System Plus was $149.95
Brazil - 8 million (September 1989 - Sep 2015)
unknown (Oct 2015 - 2020). Estimated: around 5.8 million
In Brazil, SMS suffer with strong competition of national NES
clones with large distribution by big companies as Gradiente, Dynacon, CCE and many others, with lower prices than the Master System and later with a strong Nintendo`s official representation in the country. All of these companies launched their console consoles almost simultaneously with the Master System, invested in advertising in magazines and launched NES games in Brazil, all at a lower cost because they were not licensed. As all Tectoy products have always been official and licensed, they were at a disadvantage with respect to the multiple NES colonies, which were also manufactured and distributed by large companies. Many of these companies, unlike TecToy, already had experience in the commercialization of video games in the country, at the time of the Atari 2600. And these companies invested heavily in advertising for their Nintendo consoles, including TV commercials. For example, Gradiente, one of these companies, was a giant of home appliances in the country and was responsible for the official version of the Atari 20600 in the country. In addition, Gradiente itself soon joined the largest toy factory in the country (Estrela) and formed a new company that was responsible for the official distribution of Nintendo consoles in the country, including the NES. Another adversity experienced by Tectoy was the arrival of video game magazines arrived in the country in the late 1990s, a year after the launch of SMS and NES clones in Brazil. Theses magazines adopted a pro-NES policy identical of most magazines from the USA. They generally featured a lot of emphasis on NES games and incredibly positive reviews of NES games. Even though the Master System win almost all the market share due to better games and more advanced hardware
and peripherals (3D Scope and Light Phaser). Tectoy even developed exclusive games for the Brazilian market, including the translation of Phantasy Star, alternative versions of some games (especially the Monster World series), game versions of Game Gear games and even completely original games. The sum of
all Nintendo`s consoles oficiall salles in the country was 2 million including NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, Virtual Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, even with a
strong official Nintendo’s representation between the years 1993 and 2000.
References:
https://www.uol.com.br/start/ultimas-noticias/2016/05/12/console-em-producao-ha-mais-tempo-master-system-ja-vendeu-8-mi-no-brasil.htm
http://jogos.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/2012/07/30/vinte-anos-depois-master-system-e-mega-drive-vendem-150-mil-unidades-por-ano-no-brasil.htm
References:
https://www.uol.com.br/start/ultimas-noticias/2016/05/12/console-em-producao-ha-mais-tempo-master-system-ja-vendeu-8-mi-no-brasil.htm
http://jogos.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/2012/07/30/vinte-anos-depois-master-system-e-mega-drive-vendem-150-mil-unidades-por-ano-no-brasil.htm
In 1994 Tectoy also faced competition from Megavision, an unlicensed version of Mega Drive that came with an adapter for Master System games. Despite being unlicensed, Dynacon launched the console at the country's largest video game fair ("Feira de Utilidades Domésticas 1994" in São Paulo), in addition to launching advertisements in Video Geme magazines. Since it was not licensed, it was a cheaper console, it already came with a master system adapter and joypads with turbo function. He stayed in the market for months until TecToy finally won the judicial war.
References:
Mega Drive. (book). Editora Europa. Pages 32 and 52
https://www.imagevenue.com/view/o/?i=76482_428px_Megavision_ad_122_51lo.jpg&h=img183
Other South and Central America – unknown
References:
Mega Drive. (book). Editora Europa. Pages 32 and 52
https://www.imagevenue.com/view/o/?i=76482_428px_Megavision_ad_122_51lo.jpg&h=img183
Other South and Central America – unknown
Western Europe – Around 8 million (1987-1996)
The SMS easily outsells the NES in the european markets since its release in 1986 (although the date varies in many countries), and the sales improved even more in the ninties, with SMS2. The distribution of SMS in Europe was made by several companies and not by Sega. Despite the success of these companies, without Sega's participation, in the release Sega delays almost ruined many of them because of the cancellations of advanced orders by many retailers. As late as 1993, the Master System's active installed user
base in Western Europe was 6.95 million units, larger than that of the Sega
Mega Drive's 6.2 million base that year. The Master System thus accounted for
nearly half of the active installed base for consoles in Western Europe in 1993
(13.51 million), and combined with the Mega Drive, Sega represented the
majority of the console user base in Western Europe that year. Up until 1994 (almost in the end of the 16-bit era),
it was the console with the largest active installed user base in Western
Europe. The Master System's largest markets in the region were France and the
United Kingdom, which had active user bases of 1.6 million and 1.35 million,
respectively, in 1993. The combined total for the peak active user bases in all
Western European markets (600,000 for Belgium in 1991, 400,000 for Italy in 1992,
and 5.8 million combined for the other markets in 1993) add up to 6.95 million
units in Western Europe between 1991 and 1993. Since that figure is only for the active user base in that particular years,
the actual sales for the console would in fact be higher, probably at around 8 million. Another issue is that the Master System was sold in Europe until 1996 but there is no data
about the sales in the years 1994, 1995
and 1996.
1987: 155,000
1988: 195,000
1989: 350,000
1990: 725,000
1991: 2,415,000
1992: 2,360,000
1993: 750,000
1994: unknown
1995: unknown
1996: unknown
1987-1993: 6,950,000
1994-1996: unknown
Total: around 8,000,000
Reference
https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Third_generation_of_video_games (1987-1993)
Official Sega distributors in Western Europe before unification by Virgin Mastetronic in 1993:
Spain: Proein from 1987 until september 1989, Erbe from october 1989-1991
France: Master Games Systeme France (1987-1988); Virgin (1988-onwards)
Germany: Ariolasoft from 1986 until September 1988
Greece: Third Wave Evropaikés Epicheiríseis AEVE
Italia: NCB Italia from 1986 until 1988 when Giochi Preziosi took over.
Belgium and Luxenburg: Atooll from 1987 until 1993
Netherlands: Homesoft from October 1986
Finland: Sanura Suomi and later by PCI-Data.
Denmark: Dennis Bergström Elektronik (1987-1990), Brio (1990-1992)
Norway: Brio
Portugal: Ecoplay
Sweden: Dennis Bergström Elektronik (1987-1990), Brio (1990-1992)
Switzerland: logicosoftware (1988-1990); Videophon (1990-1993)
UK: Mastertronic from August 1986 until September 1988; Virgin Mastertronic (1988-onwards)
1987: 155,000
1988: 195,000
1989: 350,000
1990: 725,000
1991: 2,415,000
1992: 2,360,000
1993: 750,000
1994: unknown
1995: unknown
1996: unknown
1987-1993: 6,950,000
1994-1996: unknown
Total: around 8,000,000
Reference
https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Third_generation_of_video_games (1987-1993)
Official Sega distributors in Western Europe before unification by Virgin Mastetronic in 1993:
Spain: Proein from 1987 until september 1989, Erbe from october 1989-1991
France: Master Games Systeme France (1987-1988); Virgin (1988-onwards)
Germany: Ariolasoft from 1986 until September 1988
Greece: Third Wave Evropaikés Epicheiríseis AEVE
Italia: NCB Italia from 1986 until 1988 when Giochi Preziosi took over.
Belgium and Luxenburg: Atooll from 1987 until 1993
Netherlands: Homesoft from October 1986
Finland: Sanura Suomi and later by PCI-Data.
Denmark: Dennis Bergström Elektronik (1987-1990), Brio (1990-1992)
Norway: Brio
Portugal: Ecoplay
Sweden: Dennis Bergström Elektronik (1987-1990), Brio (1990-1992)
Switzerland: logicosoftware (1988-1990); Videophon (1990-1993)
UK: Mastertronic from August 1986 until September 1988; Virgin Mastertronic (1988-onwards)
Eastern Europe - Released in 1990. Sales figures are unknown
U.S. - 3.3 million (June 1986 - 1991)
Had a great start, solding 500,000 consoles in 1987 and with After
Burner as one of the best sellers in that year. But Nintendo starts an aggressive (and illegal) marketing strategy, banning developers
from releasing their games on other systems if their games were released on the
NES, using the power of NES instaled base in the country. This put a damper on third party support for the Master System and the rest
of Nintendo's competition. Sega did a poor job of distributing some incomplete versions of Mater System games like Captain Silver (with a lot of cuts compared to the version released in Europe) and Enduro Racer (half of the stages than in the Japanese version). Then he gave the distribution on behalf of Tonka, who did even more precarious work of distributing the console in the country, being difficult to find it for sale and delaying the launch of several games in the country. Furthermore, Nintendo of America used an additional monopoly strategy, suggesting to retailers that their holiday shipments of Nintendo consoles and games would be canceled if they sold Sega's hardware or software (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwd56K7rp7A&feature=emb_logo). Only in 1991, Nintendo was found guilty of violating United States antitrust law and forced to abandon some of its licensing practices, but at that time Sega Genesis era has already begun. Unfortunately only a half of the SMS library was launched in the US.
Lastly, it is important to note that, in addition to Nintendo's illegal market practices, there was also a lack of competent publishing work by Sega. The only two countries (USA and Japan) where Sega published the Master System for themselves, were the only ones where it had an unfavorable performance in relation to the NES, showing that from the beginning Sega doesn't have great skills in that area. While Nintendo invested heavily in advertising in the US, Sega's marketing department was run by only TWO men! Nintendo was so confident in his monopoly policy that he launched his own cartoon "Captain N" that had characters from Konami and Capcom among the protagonists.
Other North America - unknown
Software sales figures
Best Seller Games
Alex Kidd in Miracle World - probably around 18 million (estimative including built-in version)
Sonic the Hedgehog - probably around 14 million (estimative including built-in version)
Sonic the Hedgehog - probably around 14 million (estimative including built-in version)
Probably there are at least another 70 SMS games that sold more than one million copies (estimative including built-in releases).
Overall
Overall
| System | Software sales | Attach rate (per console) |
| Nintendo Entertainment System | 500,010,000 | 8.08 |
| Sega Master System | 422,470,000 | 20.9 |
| Atari 7800 | 3,770,000 | 3.77 |
| Atari XEGS | 827,504 | 6.37 |
Master System was by far the third generation console with the best attach rate, with a impressive number of games sold. This high rate may also reflect an underestimation of the estimated number of consoles sold.
For the continuation of the "Console Wars", read the article on "The Real and Most Complete Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Sales Figures ever made":
http://segaclassics.blogspot.com/2020/07/console-wars-real-sega-genesis-mega.html
For the continuation of the "Console Wars", read the article on "The Real and Most Complete Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Sales Figures ever made":
http://segaclassics.blogspot.com/2020/07/console-wars-real-sega-genesis-mega.html
No source for 3.3 million Master Systems in the US?
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