So, who's from where and why are you here?

[SpeedStarTMQ]

Hello everyone! Hope all is well

I'm really just creating this topic out of interest, because I know that the Master System sold differently in different areas, and was just curious as to whether that's affected the current fanbase of the console.


In Europe as a whole (UK included) the Master System outsold the NES.

In North America and Canada it sold relatively poorly in comparison to the NES, which had a foothold long before the Master System managed to leave the cutting room floor.

In Japan, again it sold much less than the NES and was dead in the water pretty early in 1988 unfortunately.

There's not a lot of data for other places like Asia and South Korea, though we all know that the Master System sold incredibly well in Brazil and continued to until a few years ago!



I'm from the UK myself, which is included as part of the EU region.

My gaming history never really included much of the Master System to be honest, and I never really saw anything of it. In fact, until about 1998 I'm pretty sure I had NEVER heard of it. Everyone had a Mega Drive, but no one ever spoke of the SMS and I presume that it didn't sell fantastically well in the UK compared to places across the EU where it's more widely documented. I'm here now though because I once found an emulated version of Sonic 1 SMS online, and that spurred me to buy a Master System Converter to play it on my TV!


I'd expect to see a lot of Europeans and Brazilians here than other nationalities! 

So, where are you from?

[flatapex]

North Manchester in the UK. Near a town called Bolton. Never owned a Master system but my wife did

[dezanuebe]

I'm from Lisboa, Portugal. Here the SMS Ruled the 8 bits war and Sega dominated Nintendo. The Master System was my first console back IN 1992. Between original Games, box and countries variations, homebrew and repros i know own 372 Games.

[brian]

Why am I a Member here?

Huge Sega Fan and it all began with the SMS (when most fools were playing NES... ignorance is bliss I guess)
..and this is the best SMS site on the internet, so where else WOULD I be?

Where am I from?

Newfoundland, Canada... the SMS was a rare bird here, especially in the small town I'm from... it was moose in every freezer, and a Nintendo in every living room.

[Batman666]

From Sweden, which I'm pretty sure was the exception to the European rule of the Master System outselling the NES.

I'm here because the Master System was my first console I ever had and I'm very fond of it, which in turns means that I want to discuss it and read other people discussing it!

[Centrale]

I'm from the U.S. Although the NES sold a lot more here, I was lucky to have a couple of friends who also preferred the SMS, so between the three of us, we were able to borrow each others' games and check out a lot more titles than we would have if we were completely isolated. We preferred Sega to Nintendo primarily because of Sega's arcade pedigree, but we were also interested in computers and technology in general and could see that the SMS had superior capabilities. I will say this - even though it was a distant second place in the U.S., I think Sega (and Tonka for a while) did a great job in getting the system out there, as they were fighting an uphill battle against Nintendo's thug tactics for several years.

I'm here mainly because I still really enjoy playing Master System games, and I'm also fascinated to learn about other peoples' perspectives on it. Having not really known about its great success and bigger library in other regions until recent years, it's almost like a bunch of brand new games have come out for my favorite system from back in the day.

[soera]

I am also from the US in Oklahoma where for every 50 NES consoles, you may find 1 SMS. Which happened to be me. My mom absolutely refused to buy me an NES for Christmas but had no problem getting me an SMS. Which turned out to be awesome cause I got to play games that no one else even knew existed.

Im here cause the SMS is definitely one of my top 5 systems and I enjoy chatting about it. Plus my research into getting Ultima IV recognized as a legitimate US released game lead me here.

[englishinvader]

Jul 10, 2014 22:02:28 GMT SpeedStarTMQ said:

My gaming history never really included much of the Master System to be honest, and I never really saw anything of it. In fact, until about 1998 I'm pretty sure I had NEVER heard of it. Everyone had a Mega Drive, but no one ever spoke of the SMS and I presume that it didn't sell fantastically well in the UK compared to places across the EU where it's more widely documented.

That's a false presumption because the SMS outsold the NES in the UK by something like 4:1 (even now, you're a lot more likely to find SMS stuff in Cash Converters/CEX than you are NES), but it was superseded by the Mega Drive and the Game Gear from the early 90s onwards, which is probably why you didn't hear much about it.

As my user-name implies, I'm from the UK and I can't say that I grew up with the SMS. My first Sega was a Mega Drive which was soon followed by a Game Gear and, although I got to play on an SMS from time-to-time, I never owned one until 1997 when I got an SMS 2 from Cash Converters for about £15.

[SpeedStarTMQ]

Wow, so far a good mix then!

Y'know, my presumption not being right is odd to me, and I've had a totally different experience in the UK. I visit Cash Converters on a regular basis and have never seen an SMS! I visit more than just my local store too. I've visited various Cash Generators, CEX's, charity shops, car boot sales, markets and specialist stores up and down the UK and I've only ever seen one bunch of SMS stuff compared to quite a few NES items.
Couple that with the fact no one ever mentions the SMS and I just guessed it didn't sell well. Interesting stuff to hear then!

[ddevilfingers]

I'm from Australia!

If I recall correctly I found this forum when I'd bought 2 copies of Alex Kidd in Miracle World (after deciding to relive my childhood games and buying a few sms lots on ebay) which were different and wanted to know which one to keep. After looking around a bit my AMKIW question brought me here.

For those wondering I kept both copies!

[edwithmj]

From the UK. First got an SMS in 1993 because it was the cheapest console available. When I was younger, EVERYONE had an SMS and a few had a NES. The SMS eventually broke in 1998 and while everyone (including me) were playing playstations and N64s in 2001, I still remembered the SMS and longed to play one again (had been since it broke, I'm very nostalgic about old stuff such as games, books, films, toys). I finally got the opportunity to get a friend's one who was selling it for £15 with several games. I was derided a bit by my peers for still liking old games but I got several old titles from second hand shops and the like and that was the start of my collection.

Because of the reaction of my peers, I honestly thought I was one of few if not the only collector in existence of SMS games around till I found this site and smspower in about 2003-4. I never intended to be a collector, I just wanted as many SMS games as possible so I wouldn't get bored. I now have nearly a complete PAL set and loads of peripherals. I also started collecting for other old systems I like such as Game Boy, Playstation, Saturn and Mega Drive to name a few but the SMS will always be my favourite and priority.

[jessie]

I'm from the US. Victoria Texas to be exact. My twin brother and I decided to buy a SMS to have a variety of games (our friends had the NES and we would go over and play their system and they would come over and play our system). I am here because my fondness for the system has recently ignited a passion for collecting the games I had, and also wanted but never could find. A collector by nature, I am now trying to get as complete a set as possible. I am sitting at around 60+ right now.

[Deleted]

I´m from Berlin, Germany, everybody knows it. My first name is Marco, most people here know it as well^^ We had a Master System at home since I am able to use my brain, which means my family bought the system very early (I was born in 1987). I wouldn´t be surprised if they bought it before 1990, but my mother can´t remember now. Over the years, I played games on my Master System from time to time, even a Super Nintendo and a PS2 came to me later. My passion for SMS collecting began a bit in 2009 and from 2010 on, I got more and more different titles and decided to honour that sweet machine by collecting all games - The full PAL set. Now I am two games (or one?? hehe) away from that goal. But that decision came after I´ve found Sega8Bit. I began to surf through the web to find a german source before, because my english wasn´t that great. But there is no real fansite in german and no forum. I discovered Sega8Bit then and was more than impressed by all those informations and pictures. A few months later (after studying the database), I registered at the boards and now I´m going on all your nerves for 39 months to date Another positive point is that my english is way better, thankful to this forum.

[flatapex]

I should tell you all a bit more about my story for getting into sms collecting. My adventure started in I think April 2013. I bought my sms2 for £20 and kept returning to the same cash generator store for games costing £3 each. Having previous experience going back to 2003 in selling old consoles I knew what to do but had no idea about the sms, google sent me here. In the August I attended the sega8bit meet and now I have a lot of sms stuff and my knowledge is growing

[ShadowAngel]

Munich (actually Grünwald but most people don't know that town), Germany

And why i'm here...the Master System was my first console that started my lifelong addiction to video games and collecting games.
Honestly, i can't believe that it's been over 10 years since i registered here Back then (actually even before 2003) there was just no better website about the Master System than Shinobimans. I don't even know when i first discovered the site. I think in 2001 or so. It's been quite a while but back then there was just no other good website for the MS.