Sega SG-1000 : la toute première console Sega

Sega SG-1000: Sega's very first console

1130 words | Reading time: 6 minutes

Behind the ScenesSG-1000Yuji Naka

On 15 July 1983, Sega launched the SG-1000 in Japan, on the exact day of Nintendo's Famicom and at the same price of 15,000 yen. The brand's first home console, built around a Zilog Z80A and Texas Instruments' TMS9918A chip, it had only one kilobyte of RAM: the article corrects the common confusion with 8 KB. No Sonic game ever appeared on it, but Yuji Naka wrote his very first program on it, Girl's Garden, at eighteen, and Flicky passed its name on to the series' Flickies. A commercial half-success, a genuine strategic turning point.

Summary

Before the Mega Drive, even before the Master System, there was the SG-1000: Sega's very first home console, born in 1983 in the shadow of a legendary rival. A look back at this little-known pioneer.

🎮 To place the SG-1000 in the overall history, (re)read our complete Sonic gameography.

Identity Card

The SG-1000 (for "Sega Game 1000") is Sega's very first home video game console, an 8-bit machine of the 3rd generation. It had a revision (SG-1000 II, 1984, with detachable controllers) and a keyboard-equipped home computer variant, the SC-3000.

The Sega SG-1000 Mark II
Light-coloured casing and front-loading cartridge: the SG-1000 marks Sega's entry into the home console market. Photo: Evan-Amos, Public domain.

Release Dates and Price

The SG-1000 was released in Japan on July 15, 1983, priced at ÂĄ15,000 (about $65 at the time). Remarkably, it was launched on the exact same day as Nintendo's Famicom, its direct rival. It never had an official release in North America or a pan-European launch (only a few local distributions through resellers).

An SG-1000 on display with its original controller
Now shown behind glass, the machine is mostly remembered as the great forgotten one of Japanese video game history. Photo: Jesmar, CC BY-SA 3.0.

🎂 Sharing its launch day with Nintendo's Famicom left the SG-1000 without a birthday of its own. Yours belongs to you alone, and our Sonic birthday collection takes care of the decorations.

Under the Hood

Under the hood: a Zilog Z80A 8-bit processor at ~3.58 MHz, 1 KB of RAM (not 8 KB: a classic confusion between bits and bytes, the "8 kbit" specification being exactly 1 KB) and 16 KB of VRAM. Its video chip, Texas Instruments' TMS9918A, displayed 16 colors in 256×192, without hardware scrolling — the same base as the ColecoVision and MSX.

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Origins

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Key Games

  • Borderline (1983) — a true Sega game, adaptation of its own arcade cabinet.
  • Girl's Garden (1984) — the very first game programmed by Yuji Naka, future father of Sonic.
  • Congo Bongo (1983) — port of Sega's isometric arcade cabinet.
  • Flicky (1984) — whose bird would later lend its name to the "Flickies" in the Sonic universe.
  • Sega-Galaga (1983) — licensed adaptation of Namco's Galaga.

đź’ˇ Borderline and Congo Bongo left the arcade cabinet behind to fit inside an SG-1000 cartridge; our Sonic LED signs make the trip in reverse and give your wall the glow of an arcade.

Sonic on the Console

No Sonic game was ever released on SG-1000: the hedgehog only arrived in 1991, on Mega Drive. Yet the connection is real and twofold. First, Girl's Garden (1984), the first game by a certain Yuji Naka, future lead programmer of Sonic 1 and co-founder of Sonic Team. Second, the SG-1000 inaugurated the hardware lineage (SG-1000 → Mark III → Master System → Mega Drive) on which Sonic would make his debut.

Success or Failure?

A half-commercial success, but a strategic turning point. At launch, the SG-1000 significantly exceeded expectations (about three times the target), helped by a recall of defective Famicom units and a more extensive software library. But it was quickly crushed by the Famicom, which was technically superior (smooth scrolling, killer app Donkey Kong). Its true legacy: having established Sega in the home console market.

đź“ş Three times its target at launch, and a true legacy of moving Sega into the living room. In yours, the best seat in front of the TV is on the floor, controller in hand, and our Sonic rugs give it a frame.

Did You Know?

  • The SG-1000 and Famicom were released on the same day, July 15, 1983, at the identical price of ÂĄ15,000.
  • The very first game by Yuji Naka (future father of Sonic) was Girl's Garden, created as a training exercise at age 18.
  • Interchangeable cartridges were not a Sega innovation: the principle had existed since 1976-77 (Fairchild Channel F, Atari 2600).

Technical Sheet

Feature Detail
Type 8-bit Home Console (3rd Generation)
Japan Release July 15, 1983
North America Never officially released
Processor Zilog Z80A ~3.58 MHz
Memory 1 KB RAM, 16 KB VRAM
Price ÂĄ15,000
Key takeaway Sega's very first console

FAQ

  • What was Sega's first console?
    The SG-1000, released in Japan on July 15, 1983.
  • Did the SG-1000 have 8 KB of RAM?
    No: it had 1 KB of main RAM (or 8 kilobits) and 16 KB of VRAM.
  • Why is its release famous?
    Because it was released on the same day as Nintendo's Famicom, its direct rival.
  • Is there a connection to Sonic?
    Indirectly: Yuji Naka, future creator of Sonic, programmed his first game, Girl's Garden (1984), on it.
  • Was the SG-1000 released in Europe?
    No official launch: only a few local distributions through resellers.
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