"First launched in 1985 in Japan as the SG-1000 Mark III, then renamed for its 1987 launch in Europe and America, the Master System was the first Sega console to set out and try to conquer the world. It was an 8-bit console with superior graphics to its main rival, the Nintendo Famicom/NES, but it didn't do as well partly because Nintendo used some rather underhand tactics in the North American market that effectively locked Sega out of the console market there. The SMS did rather better in Europe and elsewhere though, and had some very good games released for it, especially Sega's first party titles such as Phantasy Star and the 8-bit version of Sonic The Hedgehog.There were about 250 games released for the Master System." Read more here: