The Sega SG-1000 - Sega's First Console!

Episode
337 - Sega's very first home console never came to North America and it only saw limited release in Europe. How does it stack up? Let's take a look at the console as well as every game released for it!
0:00 - Intro and Overview
2:26 - 0
2:57 - B
5:50 - C
13:34 - D
15:13 - E
16:19 - F
17:23 - G
21:41 - H
24:34 - K
25:45 - L
27:10 - M
28:44 - N
29:48 - O
31:42 - P
34:06 - Q
34:29 - R
35:52 - S
42:35 - T
43:23 - W
43:52 - Y
44:55 - Z
47:47 - End Skit
►Consider supporting Game Sack on Patreon! - / gamesack
►Shirts and Blu-rays - store.screenwavemedia.com/col...
►Twitter! - / gamesack
►Instagram! - / gamesackofficial
►The Game Sack Web Site! - www.gamesack.net
►Facebook! - / gamesack
►Game Sack Subreddit! - / gamesack
#sg1000 #sega #8bit

[@mx3fto]

That stop frame annimation must have taken bloody hours. Don't think the effort goes unnoticed man. Keep up the fantastic work

[@myopiniondoesntmatter7068]

Wouldn't you just film it like normal and then pick out x number of frames needed? Its more effort than normal, but I don't think its hours of work if you have experience in editing software.

[@ryballs4569]

@@myopiniondoesntmatter7068 It doesn't make a difference if you video or photo as you still need the same precise repositioning per frame and yes it does take hours of work.

[@tgo007]

it's a nice touch but i'm all about efficiency. That took hours to do but doesn't really add to the video or get more views.

[@Jesse__H]

@@tgo007 Sometimes a nice touch is worth doing for its own sake. Joe isn't out to maximize views or pump out streamlined content. He makes bespoke videos on retro games. And I am here for it.

[@kloakovalimonada]

@@myopiniondoesntmatter7068 "like normal" you mean to film the console walking around like it normally does?

[@760creations]

You've genuinely done such a good job keeping the show fresh even after Dave's departure. It's commendable. Thanks for continuing to make excellent content, and long live Dave!

[@ProBreakers]

What did I miss? Dave left the show?

[@Windavinci]

I think he will return one day as long as Joe continues with this long enough

[@NcWcN1]

@@ProBreakers two-three years ago?

[@Vulpas]

@@NcWcN1 Time flies dang

[@danielhayes3607]

I think dave has gone through a mid life crisis. Check him out he still does a bit of yt

[@StRoRo]

Still the only person on KZbin who knows how to place adverts correctly.

[@Fischlure]

The epilogue for this ep was hands down the best you've ever done. Absolutely wonderful.

[@TheSwede321]

A system rarely talked about. This is why Game Sack is my favorite gaming channel on KZbin!

[@snookers5123]

"If you like fighting dudes with no pants, then be sure to play this game as soon as you can." Finally a game for the rest of us.

[@necronomitom]

When you one day run out of video games you'll have to cover Sega's electro-mechanical stuff

[@ilikecurry2345]

And Nintendo's hanafuda cards.

[@BB-te8tc]

Interesting timing, as Jeremy Parish is wrapping up his Segaiden series that covered the SG-1000 as well.

[@partridgestorm]

Exactly what I was going to mention. Joe, you should check out his videos, if you haven't already. Y'know how you dedicate about an hour to the ENTIRE SG-1000 library? For the past year or so he's been dedicating a ten to fifteen minute video talking about a couple games at a time. Chronologically as they appeared in Japan. I love the SG-1000. Sure most of the games look and play like jank, but I can see the importance of its library of games and the importance of the system to the history of video games and SEGA.

[@roberto1519]

I think it was on one of Jeremy's videos I learned the pachinko video games were real machines reproduced so they could practice at home before trying or coming back to the real thing, following consoles like the SNES and specially the PS1 has hundreds of those.

[@The_Wandering_Nerd]

@@partridgestorm Truly. Girl's Garden crawled so Sonic the Hedgehog could run.

[@BB-te8tc]

I suspect Joe might be aware of Jeremy's work what with all the TATE MODE clips over the years. He probably has a Flip Grip.

[@partridgestorm]

@@BB-te8tc Jeremy pronounces it "Tah-Te" mode. It's probably the correct way to say it. I would love Jeremy to drop a TATE MODE during one of his videos. It would blow my mind.

[@thepthepthep]

I've warmed up to the SG-1000 in recent years, it's an interesting little system. I own an original console along with an RGB-modded SG-1000 II and I recently acquired a red SC-3000 which I love the look of

[@briantaylorcloe7725]

I may not wanna play for more than a handful of minutes (entire system) but I have to agree the design is really interesting and nice!! I would start a collection of each just to display next to my tv & my computers and such!

[@gamingblowsofficial]

You own three of these things…?

[@thepthepthep]

@@gamingblowsofficial That's right. I've always had a thing for Japanese 8-bit Sega hardware and I've always found that period to be an interesting part of Sega's history

[@Jesse__H]

The SG-1000 is a real gap in my retro game knowledge, so I'm looking forward to this one!

[@Swordslinger-hb1ns]

Many of the games on the SG-1000 were simple ports from the slightly more powerful MSX platform btw.

[@Vulpas]

Same, NES aside, I've never played anything that old aside from a few 2600 games.

[@Vulpas]

Same, NES aside, I've never played anything that old aside from a few 2600 games.

[@vinnykster]

​@@Swordslinger-hb1ns Interesting stuff. I also didn't know anything about the SG1000. That's why these GS videos are awesome filling in the gap as I explore my Super Console X Pro games from various systems including the 1000 AND MSX.

[@WhoniverseReview]

I think it's interesting how some of the games look like early, budget NES games, while others look like ZX Spectrum games with those single-colored transparent sprites.

[@matiasd.7755]

At very first look, they might. But NES is way more graphically impressive. NES has 3 color sprites vs SG1000 one color sprites. NES has 3 colors + 1 bg color tiles vs sg1000 only two colors per 8x1 pixel stripe. Every pixel on NES is composed of two bits but only one bit per pixel on the sg1000. No hardware scroll. NES has a maximum of 25 (selected from 64) colors per display vs only 16 on the sg1000.

[@LordArikado]

It makes sense when you look at the home console market at the time. The Famicom/NES was built with the goal of providing an arcade-quality experience at home, specifically ports of Nintendo's big arcade games of the time. The SG-1000, meanwhile, was attempting to compete with systems like the Intellivision and the Colecovision, but wound up pitted against the Famicom instead.

[@SufferingBabbo]

Really happy that you keep on rockin' , Thx for the Video , perfect for a rainy Sunday Morning!

[@vidsofyermom]

Always here for Game Sack videos!

[@JimLeonard]

Fantastic overview. For those trying to grasp the time period, it helps to think of the MSX, the SG-1000, and the ColecoVision as effectively the same system: Same CPU, same sound capabilities, same graphics chip. Some of these games appeared on all three systems (interestingly, some ports were different; for example Congo Bongo on the ColecoVision looks a lot better)

[@baroncalamityplus]

A lot of times Colecovision had much better ports than the SG-1000. I've wondered why that is? It might just be the Colecovision ports had better programmers with fewer time restraints.

[@The_Real_DCT]

Also the colecovision can run SG 1000 and MSX games by just changing the timing and in the case of MSX adding additional ram via something like a super game module and of course MSX and SG 1000 can run colecovision games as long as the roms have been patched for timing differences

[@Hurry_Revive_Me]

Stop-motion is back! Joe, you're awesome. The exploded views you do on consoles is so legit.

[@adamunderwood1313]

I dunno why, but after watching the intro to this console it has made me want to get one. Thanks Joe

[@richardreaves9964]

Just so I can add a comment. Pitfall II The lost Cavern was on 2600, and several other consoles of the era. I never heard The Mayan Adventure referred to as Pitfall II.

[@RappingNinja]

Correct. The Mayan Adventure has never been “Pitfall 2”. There is only one Pitfall II.

[@Left-Earth]

_That Sinbad the actor's face was cracking me up._ 😂

[@chrisd6287]

38:29 adding in those Sinbads might be the greatest editing job I've ever witnessed. Thank you

[@channelsurfing]

I always appreciate your meticulous attention to detail Joe. Excellent video! Made my Sunday

[@jagergerg9771]

You really do some amazing video editing. All of your videos are top-notch love the channel.

[@vava85]

This episode should be archived in a museum. It doesn't cover everything, but is a great overview of a piece of video-game history.

[@recorderdude]

Funnily enough, we actually got the second half of borderline as "thunderground" for Atari 2600!

[@LavishButtocks]

fantastic end skit this time, absolutely nailed the old timey announcer voice also laughed HARD at "I can't survive very long in this piece of shi-"

[@GeorgeLightpost]

One of your best ending skits yet, gave me a good laugh. Thanks for the steady output and consistently great content. Best wishes and good luck to you!

[@Zaborpila]

It's funny to see so many straight MSX game conversions, specially Konami games. It's like adding that extra memory expansion would turn the SG-1000 into a MSX console. I suppose they shared a lot of their hardware

[@Worp3music]

Because despite the lover memory it has almost teh same specs. I am surprised we do not see spectrum conversions on this machine.

[@gigteevee6118]

I was surprised how playable Girls Garden was when I sceptically first tried it….then I saw who created it and everything made sense. Great overview of a system we never got in the UK.

[@amerigocosta7452]

A machine that when released was way too tied to the past, while at the same time the Famicom would move things forward. Still I quite enjoy H.E.R.O., I like all versions of it but this one is nicer to look at and it has music, so not too bad.

[@Zacht1980]

I love the stop motion sequences. Great work!

[@Swordslinger-hb1ns]

This console was basically an enhanced ColecoVision with slightly faster ram. The Nintendo Famicom just blows it away in every category.

[@JMFSpike]

That (and the fact that it sold poorly) is exactly the reason why it was quickly abandoned and replaced with the Master System. It didn't do any better then the SG-1000 in Japan, but it was a major success in Europe and South America.

[@ostiariusalpha]

Sega and Nintendo were both responding to the performance capabilities of the ColecoVision, but whereas Sega said to themselves "I can do that." Nintendo said "I have to do much better than that." The Mark III/Master System would have probably done better in Japan than it did, but between the Famicom's entrenched market dominance and the introduction of the far more powerful PC-Engine, it never had a chance to take off.

[@JMFSpike]

@@ostiariusalpha Great points and great post. Up vote for you.

[@Swordslinger-hb1ns]

@@JMFSpike quite true despite Sega launching the Master System on Boxing Day (December 26) in Europe.

[@bhirawamaylana466]

that 1 MEGA POWER wake me up, thank you Joe now I lack my sleep

[@djm9937]

I truly love the little sketches at the end of your videos :)

[@Sven912]

Great too see a new video. At work right now. Gonna watch when I get home 👍

[@REzado63]

I've been waiting like 10 years for you to do an episode on this Joe thank you so much

[@spockhozzer7207]

Thank you for this, Joe. I always enjoy these console library videos

[@Ashura96]

Had a chance to play an SG-1000 a few years ago and man the controller left a lot to be desired.

[@vasopel]

all the rubbers inside would have hardened after so many years...

[@Ashura96]

@@vasopel true, although the owner of the console had spent time modifying them they still felt pretty flimsy.

[@vasopel]

@@Ashura96 I see...

[@indieemil]

The stop motion and that ending skit - perfection 👌

[@ricardoojeda2963]

Everytime I feel down, this channel always keeps my hopes up. Thank you for bringing us joy with each new video Joe. Keep up the good work! :D Long live Game Sack!

[@juiceala]

Excellent episode Joe, well done 👍 A bunch of these games I played on MSX back in the day, also Othelo is Reversi

[@TheMultiGunMan]

Thank you for this video. I've been interested in collecting for this system for quite awhile now and this video helps out a lot.

[@Joe-Rad]

I am impressed they were able to license Sinbad's image. More games need Sinbad.

[@stephenking5370]

I'll never get tired of your humor and brilliance of video game reviews. Thanks so much

[@CallieCore]

The production value and qualities on those video is absolutely, mind-bogglingly insane. I wouldn't be confident a show like this would have better production with a TV network budget. Amazing work

[@nioxic77]

ive never even seen or heard about this console before... thanks for covering it! awesome content - as always

[@TimCampbell76]

This console was never on my radar even during my retro collection phase. Really appreciate this video. Thanks!

[@bdillmore40]

Fantastic video! Absolutely loved it! The SG-1000 is one of a couple Sega consoles I still don't own. That stop motion in the beginning is amazing! Seriously loved that!

[@gluttonousmaximus9048]

With one episode you beat Jeremy Parish to completing the Segaiden series on SG-1000. Good job!

[@RastaJediX]

Thanks for this, Joe. I've always been curious about this console; I really appreciate it!

[@Level1Sword]

Never heard of the SG-1000 until Classic Game Room. Sometimes I think Sega likes being the underdog.

[@rsmith02]

No, they just started as the underdog and then battled their way to the top (before getting steamrolled by Sony).

[@jasonhubbard6775]

A 48-minute Game Sack video? LET'S GO!!!

[@MicahBuzanMUSIC]

"The thought of that dragon wang will keep you trying again, and again, and again."

[@arcadeperfectreviews2653]

Who would have thought I'd be watching a complete SG1,000 review in 2022? Gamesack makes everything worth watching.

[@XshakeninjaX]

Thank you for all the great videos

[@theomacer3094]

Joe describing Bomb Jack as a gentleman kinda made my day

[@ytmhcubed]

Ah yes, the legendary adventurers, Gamesack and Gamesackz. God bless them.

[@teddym2808]

I have to say I'm impressed with the animated crowd in the boxing game. Very cool video doing every officially released game and some unofficial. Must watch for any retro Sega fan.

[@tribemaster101]

I love these game sack library marathons!

[@rockdesu]

It's 1am but no matter I'm still going to watch this. Finally you cover this console. Sega sure has come a long way.

[@mikeoxmaul4685]

It's 4AM here. I always wait for the episode of Game Sack before sleeping.

[@QF_Dan72]

3pm for me

[@rockdesu]

@@mikeoxmaul4685 same. 👍

[@rockdesu]

@@QF_Dan72 oh... Never to late or early to sleep 😂

[@rockdesu]

@@Gatorade69 coffee time.

[@bsalapek]

My old DS had a Master System/SG-1000 emulator on it and I loved discovering these old games.

[@CrypticCocktails]

"Dragon Wang" on "Game Sack" was worth it. 10/10

[@HHog]

Tank Battallion was also released on the NES under the name "Battle City".

[@MegaPadVM]

Great video! Even I don’t care for this system you made the video fun and entertaining. I enjoyed watching it and learning what kind of games are on the system. I can’t imagine how long it took you for making the video! Playing and getting a feel for each game, game capture, putting it together with amazing transitions, writing and recording for each game and off course taking appart the console and getting shots of the process. Amazing job as usual!

[@raycerx87]

I remember throwing a bunch of SG-1000 games on my Wii when it was my dedicated emulator. Underrated for sure.

[@laidback93]

I always wanted to know more about Sega's earlier systems. Thanks Joe!

[@gurleyman104]

That was a super cool video on a console I have just about no information on. Great job!

[@danielespeziari5545]

I always love to watch videos on the SG1000, especially Jeremy Parish's ones. I consider this console a curiosity and an important piece of history, but not something I'd really like to play. The Master System, on the other hand, is very underrated and I love mine.

[@Bootyhunter1971]

I have my Wii modded and all these games along with the Master system and MegaDrive (Genesis), some of them are fun for a few min and something "different" worth a look and definetely worth throwing on a modded Wii.

[@EricFraga]

Joe, the SG1000 logo animated with low frame rate was referencing the console scrolling? Man, you're genius!

[@GameSack]

That was kind of my thought process yeah. It was originally rendered out at twice the framerate.

[@mymusicpaws]

I get so geeked up every time I see a new GS upload!

[@elphive42]

Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure hasn’t ever been marketed as Pitfall II, at least as far as I’m aware. It would be especially strange if it was, considering it’s the fourth game in the series.

[@bulldozer6781]

I didn't even know there was a Pitfall 3...

[@RayRayZ28]

Thanks for the content before bed!!! Awesome stuff!!!

[@Subfightr]

Amazing work as always, top comical ending as well ole chap!

[@ChrisLeeW00]

Wow chapters?! This channel now has mega power.

[@KingMob4313]

6:10 - That sound! As soon as I heard it, I knew it was a Compile game. Craziness.

[@timothyapplegate2881]

It's amazing how many of these games I recognized from their upgraded ports on the NES/Famicom.

[@christopherjoy2872]

I always love the stop motion.

[@lblost6109]

“Neither is incorrect, neither is incorrect either” 😂 Great content as always, cheers Joe! 👍

[@CPUjunkie]

I just download, went through and added the sg1000 roms to my rom collection. Excellent video

[@SiccDeville]

great review. i do remember playing a lot of these games on the commodore 64.

[@campaug]

I appreciate history. I enjoy learning about consoles I’ve never seen before.

[@Chris-Courage]

Great video! Load Runner, chop lifter, Zaxxon, and Drol are my favorite Sg-1000 games on the platform as those were both games I grew up playing on the apple II. The sg-1000 let's me play these games on a consumer CRT without all the flicker of the apple II.

[@christianpalmer225]

If you´re ever looking for content, an episode like this about the TI 99/4a and its games would be awesome. The sound chip was essentially the same as the Master System, and the graphics card was similar to the ColecoVision and MSX (and likely the SG-1000 too). It was hampered by a 16kb memory limit, which kept its 16-bit CPU from fulfilling its potential. They did manage to get a working version of Dragon´s Lair running on it recently, which is pretty awesome, and there´s a guy named Rasmus who puts out some amazing homebrew for it that blows away what came out during the system´s lifetime. Anyway, if you ever need an idea...

[@segare-trop-vieux3932]

Great video, you spend a lot of time for your videos and you deserve much more subscribers. 👍👍

[@arccrenshaw8391]

crazy that video games survived this era...really puts the "video game crash " of the late 80s into perspective...

[@robbyrobot3303]

Once you run out of conventional consoles, I'd love to see you cover arcade systems that had swappable media like the SEGA Naomi or Taito's F3. You can load anything onto a Naomi with a Netdimm and Raspberry Pi setup. And Darksoft has been creating multi-carts for other arcade hardware like Tatio's F3 or the CPS Capcom systems

[@justinlink1616]

Love that commercial at the end. :)

[@Justin_W]

Thank you for going through that torture so we don't have to! It was a really interesting look into this piece of hardware!

[@the8wave]

I almost feel nostalgic when hearing the intro music. Does the AVGN know that you as well are “gonna take you back to the past”?

[@BennBirch]

Best Outro Sketch EVER!!! It had me dead! Also the episode was good too.

[@Latchfpv]

Really nailed the accent in the end skit there Joe. Loved it.

[@pacmancdi]

"borderline" actually was released on Atari 2600 but they changed the name to "thunder ground" for some reason. It's a really fun game

[@gryphonofmight]

I've always been very curious about this

[@shadoudirges]

Thanks Joe for another entertaining review. It's interesting for sure.

[@sonataonmymind]

I've been curious for a long time to see these unofficial MSX game conversions for the SG-1000, thanks for including in the video, Knightmare and a few others seem to have turned out good. I think the SG-1000 should have had more ram from the start.

[@sidpablo]

This channel is on my top 5 list of gaming channels on youtube

[@megashadow3789]

Now need a Colecovision episode.. been waiting for years :) (I know i'll probably be waiting forever)

[@blueshky]

Just got home from hockey, and I see this on my sub feed?!?! Hell yeah, nice way to cap the evening!

[@liquidninja6654]

Love how you’re covering something so old. Please do Atari and Coleco next!

[@j-lgroen1239]

Omg, how did I miss this episode last month? Guess I get to enjoy it now!

[@larryinc64]

7:11 - The Castle was ported to the NES under the new name 'Castle Quest' If you liked that one, the NES version is probably worth checking out. Though you can sometimes get stuck in rooms, but the Player 2 controller lets you bring up a menu to reset the current screen.

[@skidzicloudcom]

Love your commentary, always makes me laugh!