Sega Master System is Reborn

Nick of NSTime writes "Various sources are reporting that a Brazilian company is releasing a new version of the venerable Sega Master System, dubbed the Sega Master System III. The case is a radical departure from the old SMS and SMS II. The thing to get excited about: it will include 74 games built-in. The translated page can be found here."

No Phantasy Star?

[DoctorPhish]

Phantasy Star was my introduction to the world of platform RPGs (since it came out before Final Fantasy in the west), and is still considered one of the finest of the genre. I'd even consider buying one of these things if it had been included. I guess I'll just have to settle for the emulated Saturn version in the Phantasy Star collection on my modded Saturn ^_^

More companies should follow suit...

[httpamphibio.us]

My roomie and I have discussed at length the massive amounts of money companies could make if they did more things like this. Nintendo could easily release all the NES games ever made on one Gamecube disc and charge a bundle for it. I wouldn't mind paying $100 maybe more, Animal Crossing has taught me two things... first, that the old NES games still rule and second, that playing on a TV is way better than emulation.

I wonder how this company got the rights to do this legally...

Re:NES Anyone?

[\\]

actually, i don't know which came out first, but the sms had better hardware under the hood. nintendo just happened to snap up more and better companies to develop for the NES, and of course had that clause that said if you developed for nintendo, you couldn't deliver the same game to any other competing platform for something like two years.

that eventually changed, but by that time, the sms was pretty much toast.

I still have Mine

[evilviper]

I still have a Sega Master System.

Sure, I had an Atari, but it wasn't much of a gaming machine. Back then, you'd still have to go to the arcade with quarters to play something decent.

When I got a Master System, that was when I really got into games. I was hooked on Wonder Boy in Monster Land, and play it to this day... It isn't really that difficult to beat, but it's fun just the same.

Wonder Boy, Out Run, Shinobi... Those games are one of a rare breed that never get boring, and yet you can't find them on newer systems. What's it take? 20 years before a great game is considered worthy of being ported to the newest platform as a "classic"?

But it seems as if everyone but me has forgotten the past. Why is it that, up until about the 32-bit days, almost every game was enjoyed by everyone? Now, you are forced to rent/try a game first, because it's more rare to find a game you'll like than one you wont. It seems that, as graphics got better, and storage was increased, the game developers started doing their jobs far worse than before.

Why oh why have games gone down this path? What was so special about the <32-bit days that no one can emulate today? Well, whatever it is, I'm not worried about it. Unlike CDs, my old carts have been around for many years, and will be here for years to come. And generations from now, no matter how much games improve, I bet just about anyone would still enjoy playing any of these old games as much as I do. Maybe they'll even ask themselves why modern games aren't as much fun as the ancient ones.