View Full Version : Sega Master System Cards... Why?
Alex Kidd
07-13-2006, 05:22 PM
What was up with the cards for the SMS?
Was it just a gimmick?
If so they didn't follow through very well with it by making all the cards 32k. Teddy Boy, Ghost House, Transbot, My Hero... they all could have been a little better audio/visual wise and gameplay wise had they just made them "mega-carts". The TG16 cards had way more storage, why couldn't Sega's? Budget I guess...
I've heard it was for making "budget" games... but at the same time they were making "combo-carts"... they could have put two card games on one cart and had a larger library of combo-carts. And by selling two games for the price of one people would still think they were getting a great deal and Sega might have made a little more money.
And speaking of budget, in the end Sega must of realized they WOULD be more profitable by doing away with the card slot and re-releasing the card games on carts when they released the SMS II without card capability.
In fact, now that I think about it, weren't all 7 (8 if you include Hang-On) card games relased during the first generation of games in 1986/87?
If not, does anyone know in what order and years they were released?
Alex Kidd
The cards are more-or-less a holdover from the SG-1000, which used cards later on in its life through the use of a "card catcher." Doesn't explain why the card port's in the overseas SMS...
idrougge
07-13-2006, 08:58 PM
But what was the use of a card catcher? The SG-1000 already had a perfectly fine cartridge port. It might explain the technical limitations, but not the point in the first place.
Must have been a gimmick.
j_factor
07-13-2006, 11:37 PM
The point was that the cards were much cheaper to produce, so when they made a small game like Teddy Boy, it was cheaper to put out a card than to make a whole cartridge for a 32k game.
All the cards were later rereleased on cart, though.
The card port is also used for the 3D glasses...
diskoboy
07-13-2006, 11:58 PM
I think J-Factor is right.
The card slot was mainly meant as an expansion port. The selection of games are pitiful. Sega probably just wanted to give it a use other than a port.
So It was a gimmic, and it wasn't a gimmic....
I think they used the cheaper cards for titles about a few K in size.
I always thought the 'game card' idea was pretty neat. Too bad they didn't make more han they did..
j_factor
07-14-2006, 01:27 AM
Yeah, it's just too bad they didn't use the cards for ports of some of their classic arcade games. That would've been a great use for them. Imagine a whole line of Sega Cards that include Zaxxon, Congo Bongo, etc. etc.
Oh well, I guess that's what Colecovision is for...
anagrama
07-14-2006, 07:20 AM
Oh well, I guess that's what Colecovision is for...
Or the SG-1000 ;)
Or the SG-1000 ;)
SG-1000 Zaxxon great, SG-1000 Congo Bongo not so great...
anagrama
07-15-2006, 08:57 AM
SG-1000 Zaxxon great, SG-1000 Congo Bongo not so great...
Sadly true :/
ShinobiMan
07-15-2006, 09:09 AM
Yeah, they were a cheap alternative for those who wanted a simple game for less money. It was also something they could say was different from competitors.
Try finding a boxed SMS card game with instructions. It's nearly impossible.
Wavelflack
07-15-2006, 04:34 PM
don't forget the sleeve, too.
Vroomfunkel
07-15-2006, 04:52 PM
Yeah, they were a cheap alternative for those who wanted a simple game for less money. It was also something they could say was different from competitors.
Try finding a boxed SMS card game with instructions. It's nearly impossible.
In particular, try finding the Hang On card, boxed with both manuals and the sleeve ...
j_factor
07-16-2006, 04:59 PM
Try finding a boxed SMS card game with instructions. It's nearly impossible.
I went to a store the other day that had like 3 copies of My Hero (card version), boxed with instructions. :hmm:
ShinobiMan
07-16-2006, 09:37 PM
Try finding a boxed SMS card game with instructions. It's nearly impossible.
I went to a store the other day that had like 3 copies of My Hero (card version), boxed with instructions. :hmm:
You've struck oil sonny jim!
MarioMania
07-16-2006, 09:43 PM
Could Sonic fit on a Card
Ed Oscuro
07-16-2006, 10:11 PM
Hmm. I don't see the cards being much easier to produce, especially back in 1985 when they started making them for the SG-1000. I suppose they had hoped for some economies of scale, but we all know how that worked out...still, a couple years later NEC was using them as the format for their console. In their case, the cool factor/space savings + good console with strong properties = surefire winner.
MarioMania: The cards are subject to the same limitations cartridges were at the time. I don't think Sega ever made cards big enough to hold a Sonic game, even the SMS ones. NEC, on the other hand, made some pretty big card games.