The Master System was originally released as the SEGA Mark III in Japan in 1985, and was a direct competitor to Nintendo's Famicom home console. The library of games on the Master System is modest in volume, but packed full of quality and home to some of video gaming's most iconic franchises, such as Alex Kidd, Fantasy Zone, Shinobi and Phantasy Star.

SEGA® Master System: a visual compendium pays tribute to the amazing pixel art, product design and graphic design associated with this seminal 8-bit system. The book is officially licensed by SEGA and is the first of its kind to be released for the Master System. 

Around 200 games are covered, with the main focus on their visuals, as the title suggests, accompanied by related soundbites, anecdotes and memories. Within SEGA® Master System: a visual compendium you’ll also find a series of larger features and interviews with developers and artists, ensuring a great mix of visuals and words in its 424 pages. The foreword is written by Mark Cerny (Sony) and there are interviews with Mutsuhiro Fujii, Takashi Shoji, Steve Hanawa, Rieko Kodama, and others.

SEGA® Master System: a visual compendium is printed lithographically to the highest standards. This ensures that colours in the book are really vibrant and that the pages have a high-quality, luxurious feel to them. The book has a spot varnished cover, a spot varnished protective dust jacket and thread sewn binding. Every book also includes an animated-effect lenticular heavy board slipcase and comes with a set of 3D Glasses!

Book specifications
Hardback: 424 pages. 170mm × 230mm. Gatefold pages. 3mm protective board slipcase with “animated” lenticular fascia, Edge-to-edge high quality lithographic print. Sewn binding for enduring quality and the ability to lay flat for ideal double-page image viewing. Spot varnished cover and dust jacket. Two coloured bookmark ribbons. Shrink-wrapped. Free PDF for viewing on the go.

Includes contributions from:
Nick Alexander, Stefano Arnhold, Mark Cerny, Omar Cornut, Paul Davies, Eric Dunstan, Mutsuhiro Fujii, Satoshi Fujishima, Matt Furniss, Patrick Gilmore, David Giltinan, Craig Grannell, Steve Hanawa, Tony Hartley, Kotaro Hayashida, Andrew Hayward, Takayuki Hirono, Ken Horowitz, Yoji Ishii, Rieko Kodama, Yuzo Koshiro, Manabu Kusunoki, Heinrich Lenhardt, Damien McFerran, Randy Nelson, Naoto Ohshima, Julian Rignall, John Sauer, Greg Sewart, Takashi Shoji, Tom Sloper, Phil South, Yutaka Sugano, Tsunetomo Sugawara, Tony Takoushi, Michitaka Tsuruta, Ian Wall, Robert Workman and Kouichi Yotsui.

©SEGA