The Sega Master System was released in 1986 as a competitor to the wildly successful NES. The Master System had already been released in Japan as the Mark III, although it essentially failed against the NES's Japanese counterpart, the Famicom.
The Master System boasted superior graphics and superior gameplay compared to the NES, but even this was not enough to bring mainstream popularity to the SMS. Things were made worse when Sega handed over the rights to the SMS over to Tonka Toys in 1987, who had no experience in the video game market.
By 1990, Sega reacquired the rights to the SMS, and released the smaller Master System II that year, along with ports of then-popular Genesis games, in an effort to keep the system alive. However, the SMS was quickly fading out, and was discontinued in the North American market by the end of 1991. The SMS continued to thrive elsewhere, especially in Europe and Brazil, where there were much more games produced for the SMS.
Despite its failure in the market, the SMS is still an enjoyable system, with classics like Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Phantasy Star, Shinobi, and many others.
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