SegaMaster System

The Master System arrived in North America in 1986, a year behind the NES, with more colors, more memory and Sega's arcade catalog behind it — Hang-On, Space Harrier, Out Run, After Burner, all shrunk onto cartridges. But those technical advantages weren't enough to overcome Nintendo's momentum. Nintendo's licensing terms kept nearly every third-party publisher off the system, Sega handed US distribution to Tonka, the toy-truck company, and the console finished with a North American library of little more than a hundred games. In parts of Europe and especially Brazil, it was a different story. The Master System found a much larger audience and enjoyed a remarkably long life.

Which makes it a good console to collect. Most US games came in hard plastic clamshell cases with Sega's white grid artwork, so complete copies survive in numbers you will not find on the NES, and the manuals are usually still inside. Look for cracked hinges, the small silver Sega seal on the cart, and — on Phantasy Star and the other RPGs — a save battery that is now nearly forty years old. Early games came on credit-card-sized Sega Cards, which need the original console's card slot or a Genesis Power Base Converter. Every cart is photographed and tested.