SG-1000

SG-1000

Manufacturer	Sega
Type	Home video game console
Generation	Third
Release date	SG-1000/SC-3000 JP: July 15, 1983 AUS: November 1983 SG-1000 II JP: July 31, 1984 TW: 1986
Discontinued	SG-1000 JP: July 1984 SG-1000 II JP: October 1985
Successor	Master System
Emulated	✓

The SG-1000, also known as Sega Game 1000, was a third-generation 8-bit home video game console released by Sega on July 15, 1983, and had a Zilog Z80 CPU at 3.58 MHz with 1 KB of RAM. This system marked Sega's first entry into the home video game hardware business. The SG-1000 didn't see much success in its home country, mostly due to competition from the technically superior Famicom. It did, however, enjoy a brief period of popularity in Taiwan before the latter market was inundated by unlicensed Family Computer clones.

Sega's use of off-the-shelf components in developing the console, which was also shared with the ColecoVision, led to at least one unauthorized clone of the SG-1000, manufactured and sold by Taiwan-based Bit Corporation as the Dina 2-in-1. Indeed, the Dina had support for SG-1000 games and ColecoVision titles to a certain extent.

The SC-3000 (also known as Sega Computer 3000) was its home computer counterpart and has a built-in keyboard.

Emulators

Before editing, review the getting involved and recommended pages. See system requirements page for performance demand of the emulators.
See tables for enhancements, hardware features & peripherals, and arcade variant.
For more details such as licensing, programming language, emulation method, visit each emulator’s dedicated page.

Name	Platform(s)	Active?	Latest version	License	Compatibility	libretro core	Accessories	SC-3000	SF-7000	Arcade variant	Recommended? (overall)
PC
MasterGear		✓	4.9.10	Proprietary		✗	?	✓	✓	✗	✓
MAME		✓	0.289 libretro core	GPLv2 BSD-3-Clause		✓	?	✓	✓	✓	✓
BizHawk		✓	2.11.1	MIT GPL		✗	?	✗	✗	✓	✓
ares		✓	git Artifacts v148	ISC (Permissive)	99.44% 178 out of 179 reported titles	✗	?	✓	✗	~	✓
Genesis Plus GX	*	✓	libretro core	MAME license (Non-commercial)		✓	~	✗	✗	✗	~
Kega Fusion		✗	3.64	Proprietary		✗	~	✓	✓	✗	~
Gearsystem		✓	libretro core 3.9.18	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		✓	?	✗	✗	✗	~
blueMSX	**	~	libretro core 2.8.2	GPLv2 (Copyleft)		✓	?	✓	✓	✗	~
MEKA		✓	2025-08-17	Non-commercial		✗	~	✓	✓	✗	~
CoolCV		✓	0.6.9	Proprietary		✗	?	✗	✗	✗	✗
CLK		✓	2026-07-23	MIT (Permissive)		✗	?	✗	✗	✗	✗
DarcNES		✗	9b0401/9b0313	Non-commercial		✗	?	~	✗	✗	✗
Essgee		✓	git	MIT (Permissive)		✗	?	✓	✗	✗	✗
FinalBurn Neo		✓	Stable WIP builds libretro core	Non-commercial		✓	?	✗	✗	✗	✗
FreezeSMS		✗	4.6	Proprietary		✗	?	✗	✗	✗	✗
higan (火眼)		✗	v110	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		✗	?	~	✗	✗	✗
RetroCopy		✗	0.960 1.00 Beta 5	Proprietary		✗	?	?	?	?	✗
TwoMbit		✗	1.0.5	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		✗	?	✗	✗	✗	✗
vdmgr		✗	0.2.7	Proprietary		✗	?	~	✓	✗	✗
ZEsarUX		✓	13.0	GPL (Copyleft)		✗	?	✗	✗	✗	✗
jgenesis		✓	0.14.1	MIT (Permissive)		✗	?	?	?	?	?
MesenCE		~	Development Builds	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		✗	?	?	?	?	TBD
Obentou		✓	0.2.1	GPLv2 (Copyleft)		✗	?	✓	✗	?	?
Pantheon		✓	16.458	Proprietary		✗	?	?	?	?	?
Retro Virtual Machine		✓	2.1.20	Proprietary		✗	?	✗	✗	✗	TBD
Snepulator		✓	26.02	MIT (Permissive)		✗	~	?	?	✗	TBD
Mobile
Snepulator		✓	26.02 (Snepulator MS) 26.02 (Snepulator SG) git	MIT (Permissive)		✗	~	?	✗	✗	✓
MasterGear		✓	4.9.10	Proprietary		✗	?	✓	✓	✗	✓
Genesis Plus GX	*	✓	libretro core	Non-commercial		✓	~	✗	✗	✗	~
blueMSX	**	~	libretro core	GPLv2 (Copyleft)		✓	?	✓	✓	✗	~
GearMasterPlayer		✗	1.0.5	Proprietary		✗	?	✗	✗	✗	~
Manic EMU		✓	2.0.0 git	AGPLv3 (Copyleft)		✗	?	?	?	?	TBD
Provenance		✓	3.3.0 git	?		✗	?	?	?	?	?
FinalBurn Neo		✓	Stable WIP builds libretro core	Non-commercial		✓	?	✗	✗	✗	✗
MEKA		✗	git 20191218	Non-commercial		✗	~	✓	✗	✗	✗
Console
Genesis Plus GX		✓	1.22.2 1.7.5 RC1	Non-commercial		✗	~	✗	✗	✗	✓
S8DS		✗	0.7	?		✗	?	✓	?	✗	✓
SMS Plus GX		✗	1.22.2 r64 0.2b (DC)	GPLv2 (Copyleft)		✗	?	?	?	✗	~

*Only available on PC as a libretro core (e.g., RetroArch).

**Only available outside of Windows as a libretro core (e.g., RetroArch).

Enhancements

Name		MasterGear	MAME	BizHawk	ares
Misc.	Netplay	✓	✗	✗	✗
	RetroAchievements	✗	✗	✓	roadmap

Hardware features and peripherals

Name		MasterGear	MAME	BizHawk	ares
Hardware features	2nd controller port for player 1	?	?	?	?
	On-cartridge extra RAM Used by BASIC Level II A (512 bytes, SG-1000, SC-3000 and Sega Mark III only), BASIC Level II B (1KB, SG-1000, SC-3000 and Sega Mark III only), BASIC SK-III (32KB, SG-1000 / Sega Mark III only), Home BASIC (32KB, SG-1000 / Sega Mark III only).	?	?	?	?
Peripherals	Data Recorder SR-1000	?	✓	?	?
	Floppy Disk Drive	?	✓	?	?
	Handle Controller & Bike Handle	?	✗	?	?
	HyperShot	?	✓	?	?
	Keyboard	?	✓	?	?
	Modem	?	✗	?	?
	Othello Keyboard	?	✓	?	?
	Plotter	?	?	?	?
	Sega Graphic Board	?	?	?	?
	System Converter	?	?	?	?
Misc.	F18A replacement board (See here and here)	?	?	?	?
	Switch between discrete VDP/modified SN76489 audio chip and Sega 315-5066 (Yamaha YM2217) ASIC Other than sound output difference, there is also some colour palette output difference.	?	?	?	?

Sega Graphic Board

Also known as Terebi Oekaki. Includes a graphic board attached to a cartridge. Can be used on SG-1000, SC-3000, Sega Mark III, and Japanese / Korean models of Master System. Another version made for the International Master System models was planned to be released.

MEKA supports both variants of the Graphic Boards.

Keyboard

Named Sega Keyboard SK-1100. It essentially adds some of the missing features of the SC-3000 to an SG-1000 or Sega Mark III. It is not compatible with the Japanese / Korean models of Master System due to pinout differences in their respective expansion ports.

Kega Fusion, Meka, and MAME support this keyboard.

Othello Keyboard

A built-in keyboard found in Othello Multivision, an SG-1000 clone from Tsukuda Original. It is solely used to play the Othello variant of the game used as a BIOS. It cannot be used with the stand-alone version of Othello for SG-1000, which was distributed as a common cartridge.

Meka and MAME support this special keyboard.

Floppy Disk Drive

Known as Super Control Station SF-7000. Allows the SC-3000 to use 3" (proprietary format) floppy disks manufactured by Sega. Not widely popular due to their high retail price (¥79,800). It also includes its own IPL (BIOS), as the SC-3000 does not include any kind of built-in software, unlike MSX computers.

MEKA, Kega Fusion, and MAME support reading disk images, although is unknown if they allow data writing to them.

HyperShot

Cross-compatible two-button controller manufactured by Konami to be used in any piece of hardware that uses DE-9 ports. On SG-1000, it is used with Hyper Sports, although it can be used with the bootleg conversions of Hyper Olympic / Sports games from MSX1 on Sega Mark III / Master System.

Data Recorder SR-1000

Datacorder that allows common cassette tapes to be read and written with the BASIC software from SG-1000 or SC-3000. On SG-1000 (or Sega Mark III), the presence of a SK-1100 is required. On standard SG-1000 games, it can be used on:

• C-So!
• Championship Lode Runner
• Lode Runner

MAME supports reading and writing cassette tape images. blueMSX also had planned tape support for their SC-3000 driver as well.

Modem

A modem used for SC-3000 manufactured by John Sands, released only in Australia. It allows a special software named SegaCom to be connected to the Internet through dial-up. The modem connects itself in the cartridge port, in the same vein as connecting a Model 2 Sega CD to a Sega Genesis.

No known emulator supports this, and the SegaCom ROM is not dumped.

Handle Controller & Bike Handle

Known as SR-400 and BH-400, both are driving controllers compatible with the following games:

• GP World
• Hang-On II
• Monaco GP
• Safari Race
• Zippy Race
• Zoom 909

No emulators support these controllers for now.

Plotter

SP-400 plotter which can print 4 colors: black, red, blue, green and has a switch to toggle between text mode and graphic mode.

RAM Adapter

An 8KB RAM Adapter to be used in SG-1000, sold only in Taiwan without a license from Sega. It allows certain MSX1 conversions to be played on the system.

Genesis Plus GX, MEKA, and MAME do support this accessory as a form of cartridge mapper.

Arcade

Sega also used the SG-1000 hardware to run Arcade games. Here's a known list of Arcade games:

• Champion Boxing
• Champion Pro Wrestling
• Doki Doki Penguin Land
• Super Derby
• Super Derby II

The first three games are pretty much the same as their SG-1000 counterparts, but Super Derby and Super Derby II are special medal-type games intended to be used with 1-9 players. MAME features full support for the common SG-1000 Arcade games, but for the Derby ones, it is still preliminary.

References

Sega(edit)

• Consoles: SG-1000 • Master System • Video Driver / Family Driver • Genesis / Mega Drive • CD • 32X • Pico • Saturn • Dreamcast • Advanced Pico Beena
• Handhelds: Game Gear • Nomad • VMU / VMS
• Arcade: System series • Model 1 • Model 2 • Model 3 • NAOMI • Chihiro • Triforce
• Home computers: SC-3000 • TeraDrive • Sega AI Computer