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I have purchased from Russia this Master System that I had never seen before. It has no card slot, no reset button and output in SECAM standard.
You can see the serial number is B00001086 suggesting that very few were made at the time. It is dated 1990.

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Here's the internals.

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And photos of the manual.

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That just looks so odd lacking those familiar features, and there is no power light either.

Congrats :)

Also no expansion port, A/V OUT, and "POWER ON" is centered, suggesting no power light either. Basically an SMS2 in a modified SMS1 case. The "missing link" so to speak.

Remarkable that things like this still turn up after 20+ years, and who would've thought that SMS was officially released in Russia/Soviet Union.

I wonder if the games had localised manuals or boxes, or if they just received the standard European titles without any localisation.

Wow, that is very awesome !
Looks like a SMS2 in SMS1 to me too as mentioned before, like MD1 VA7 which is MD2 in MD1 shell.

Amazing find!

Anything special on start-up screen / bios?

I kept mixing myself by the labelling but it is indeed a product of Soviet Union. I mistakenly assumed that 1990 being post Berlin Wall the Soviet Union was already dissolved but in fact it lasted until 1991.

For information, the unit was found in ACHINSK which is located in the very middle of the continent:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&cl...

Nah, the Master System II Internals are totally different...
There's a good one on your forums.. (too new to post links tho)

smspower.org/uploads/Development/PALMasterSystemIIICBDM4JrPAL-2-Component.jpg

I wonder if it is possible Sega were testing the water, in a localised area, how well received this version was before a general release; but then totally changed the design to the SMS II?

Or perhaps it was just a cost saving design to release at the cheapest possible price point, not sure what the state of the country was like back then?

Or maybe the master system II was initially supposed to be like this but then, they decided the design was too old school ?

heh, kinda interesting! Something licensed in Russia in 90's? It's hard to believe, but maybe somehow it possible. Is It working? Manual says there's should be built-in game - Alex Kidd in miracle world(АЛЕКС КИД в мире грёз)! So you can play without cartridge! And also on last page it says - Printed in Japan(Отпечатанно в Японии) wich I think not true!

Bock wrote

I kept mixing myself by the labelling but it is indeed a product of Soviet Union. I mistakenly assumed that 1990 being post Berlin Wall the Soviet Union was already dissolved but in fact it lasted until 1991.

For information, the unit was found in ACHINSK which is located in the very middle of the continent:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&cl...

That's an interesting place for it to end up, it's actually on the Trans-Siberian Railway which runs all the way from Vladivostok in the Russian far east to Moscow. I'd guess they were shipped to Vladivostok and then transported across the country by rail, so maybe more might turn up in cities along that route.

Nice find!

The date codes on the ICs are all mid-1990 so it was probably manufactured in late 1990.

It very much a still an SMS1 layout than a SMS2. I'd say it's most likely a product revision right between the SMS and SMS2.

You have to remember at this stage there weren't really any accessories especially outside of Japan that used the expansion slot and I can imagine that game cards and 3D glasses sales where slim to none compared to game cart sales. So these features were probably removed for a better cost point.

Anyway I think it's pretty cool.

Bock wrote

I have purchased from Russia this Master System that I had never seen before. It has no card slot, no reset button and output in SECAM standard.
You can see the serial number is B00001086 suggesting that very few were made at the time. It is dated 1990.

Well. As i know SMS in ussr was imported from sega to special Shops (there was shops in Ussr where you could buy imported electronics but only if you have special Bills that was equal to Inernational Rubble money)(cause for international trips you would get different Rubbles,that you could exchange to different currency, but in Local use was different Rubbles)
Surely there was import only in Moscow and probably not more than 5000 units (really i think that there was only 2000)
So there was no retail shops and no carts or other parts for SMS (except console in box) available.
Produced in 1990 and imported in the end - to New Year hollydays.
And at 1991 - Ussr collapsed so all contracts were terminated.
As there were no games available in 90s for SMS (unless your parents were working in Germany or some other countries where was official distribution) kids were dissapointed and were playing only in built inn Alex Kidd.(In Russia there were a really hard times - average salary was about 60$-100$) So you can imagine parents reaction if you need to buy a game that cost you half of average salary.
But in 1992 local retailer "Steepler" started to distribute Famiclone(dendy) and all kids was hunting fot dendy and games. Obviously no one cares about this weird SMS system.
And as it was rare (2000-5000 units) almost all of them were thrown out to trash.
Even now there is minority of people in Russia that knows what is Sega master system is.because all kids in russia played in Mega drive(as the first console from sega).
So maybe somewhere in Russia still there is a soviet Sms(in someones storage) but we will never know cause no one cares about it.
:-) thats my thoughts.
And about hardware.
Surely it was a localisation for Ussr.
Translation of Manual is in High quality(trust me i know russian,cause its my native language)
To reduce cost they throw everything they could.
Also it may have influence to SMS 2 system cause it almost the same in functionality view.
SECAM was standard TV output in Russia, they get it from France cause Ussr had best diplomatic relations with them(from all of west countries.)
So yep its a rare ones.

I doubt they intended to release the MS2 there at all, ive seen that console version somewhere else too, with Alex Kidd built in, no card, no RGB, etc...

NEO-GEO Man wrote

I doubt they intended to release the MS2 there at all, ive seen that console version somewhere else too, with Alex Kidd built in, no card, no RGB, etc...

Well maybe there is a chance that it is brasilian versiin just really unknown

Author	Message
Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 7230 Location: London, UK	Soviet/Russian Master System with no card slot (1990) Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:18 pm Last edited by Bock on Sun Oct 14, 2012 5:08 pm; edited 2 times in total
	I have purchased from Russia this Master System that I had never seen before. It has no card slot, no reset button and output in SECAM standard. You can see the serial number is B00001086 suggesting that very few were made at the time. It is dated 1990. 0_86d34_4d197199_orig.jpg (509.37 KB) 0_86d35_ec0b7013_orig.jpg (477.22 KB) 0_86d37_6782550d_orig.jpg (383.6 KB) 0_86d38_f9a148db_orig.jpg (433.21 KB) 0_86d39_6dcb35ab_orig.jpg (392.94 KB)

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 7230 Location: London, UK	Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:21 pm
	Here's the internals. 0_86d3a_f0592be5_orig.jpg (519.65 KB) 0_86d3b_c44c2ec8_orig.jpg (723.95 KB) 0_86d3d_dd06b691_orig.jpg (609.76 KB) 0_86d3e_54541b6f_orig.jpg (628.5 KB) 0_86d3f_9d0dec94_orig.jpg (401.52 KB)

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 7230 Location: London, UK	Manual Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:22 pm
	And photos of the manual. 0_86d40_f7d1afc8_orig.jpg (446.68 KB) 0_86d42_ed047661_orig.jpg (495 KB) 0_86d43_e423ea7a_orig.jpg (476.2 KB) 0_86d44_ea6d0756_orig.jpg (512.88 KB) 0_86d45_327c9f75_orig.jpg (445.92 KB) 0_86d46_c37bb13e_orig.jpg (389.23 KB)

playgeneration Joined: 12 Feb 2006 Posts: 193 Location: Wales	Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:41 pm
	That just looks so odd lacking those familiar features, and there is no power light either.

BKK Joined: 01 May 2011 Posts: 138	Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:57 pm
BKK Joined: 01 May 2011 Posts: 138	Congrats :) Also no expansion port, A/V OUT, and "POWER ON" is centered, suggesting no power light either. Basically an SMS2 in a modified SMS1 case. The "missing link" so to speak. Remarkable that things like this still turn up after 20+ years, and who would've thought that SMS was officially released in Russia/Soviet Union. I wonder if the games had localised manuals or boxes, or if they just received the standard European titles without any localisation.

TmEE Joined: 31 Oct 2007 Posts: 708 Location: Estonia, Rapla city	Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 4:13 pm
	Wow, that is very awesome ! Looks like a SMS2 in SMS1 to me too as mentioned before, like MD1 VA7 which is MD2 in MD1 shell.

gallos_11 Joined: 07 Jun 2010 Posts: 146 Location: Greece	Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 4:55 pm
	Amazing find! Anything special on start-up screen / bios?

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 7230 Location: London, UK	Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 5:12 pm
	I kept mixing myself by the labelling but it is indeed a product of Soviet Union. I mistakenly assumed that 1990 being post Berlin Wall the Soviet Union was already dissolved but in fact it lasted until 1991. For information, the unit was found in ACHINSK which is located in the very middle of the continent: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&cl...

Ghozer Joined: 14 Oct 2012 Posts: 1	Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 9:06 pm
Ghozer Joined: 14 Oct 2012 Posts: 1	Nah, the Master System II Internals are totally different... There's a good one on your forums.. (too new to post links tho) smspower.org/uploads/Development/PALMasterSystemIIICBDM4JrPAL-2-Component.jpg

james costello Joined: 17 Dec 2005 Posts: 485 Location: England	Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 10:06 pm
	I wonder if it is possible Sega were testing the water, in a localised area, how well received this version was before a general release; but then totally changed the design to the SMS II? Or perhaps it was just a cost saving design to release at the cheapest possible price point, not sure what the state of the country was like back then?

Kenneth Joined: 20 Dec 2004 Posts: 387 Location: Lyon, France	Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 10:01 am
	Or maybe the master system II was initially supposed to be like this but then, they decided the design was too old school ?

Radaron Joined: 17 Oct 2012 Posts: 1	Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 1:36 pm
Radaron Joined: 17 Oct 2012 Posts: 1	heh, kinda interesting! Something licensed in Russia in 90's? It's hard to believe, but maybe somehow it possible. Is It working? Manual says there's should be built-in game - Alex Kidd in miracle world(АЛЕКС КИД в мире грёз)! So you can play without cartridge! And also on last page it says - Printed in Japan(Отпечатанно в Японии) wich I think not true!

BKK Joined: 01 May 2011 Posts: 138	Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 2:28 pm
BKK Joined: 01 May 2011 Posts: 138	Bock wrote I kept mixing myself by the labelling but it is indeed a product of Soviet Union. I mistakenly assumed that 1990 being post Berlin Wall the Soviet Union was already dissolved but in fact it lasted until 1991. For information, the unit was found in ACHINSK which is located in the very middle of the continent: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&cl... That's an interesting place for it to end up, it's actually on the Trans-Siberian Railway which runs all the way from Vladivostok in the Russian far east to Moscow. I'd guess they were shipped to Vladivostok and then transported across the country by rail, so maybe more might turn up in cities along that route.

asynchronous Joined: 14 Aug 2000 Posts: 412 Location: Adelaide, Australia	Soviet/Russian Master System with no card slot (1990) Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 4:02 pm
	Nice find! The date codes on the ICs are all mid-1990 so it was probably manufactured in late 1990. It very much a still an SMS1 layout than a SMS2. I'd say it's most likely a product revision right between the SMS and SMS2. You have to remember at this stage there weren't really any accessories especially outside of Japan that used the expansion slot and I can imagine that game cards and 3D glasses sales where slim to none compared to game cart sales. So these features were probably removed for a better cost point. Anyway I think it's pretty cool.

hatwise Joined: 13 May 2015 Posts: 2	Soviet Master system Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 4:27 pm
hatwise Joined: 13 May 2015 Posts: 2	Bock wrote I have purchased from Russia this Master System that I had never seen before. It has no card slot, no reset button and output in SECAM standard. You can see the serial number is B00001086 suggesting that very few were made at the time. It is dated 1990. Well. As i know SMS in ussr was imported from sega to special Shops (there was shops in Ussr where you could buy imported electronics but only if you have special Bills that was equal to Inernational Rubble money)(cause for international trips you would get different Rubbles,that you could exchange to different currency, but in Local use was different Rubbles) Surely there was import only in Moscow and probably not more than 5000 units (really i think that there was only 2000) So there was no retail shops and no carts or other parts for SMS (except console in box) available. Produced in 1990 and imported in the end - to New Year hollydays. And at 1991 - Ussr collapsed so all contracts were terminated. As there were no games available in 90s for SMS (unless your parents were working in Germany or some other countries where was official distribution) kids were dissapointed and were playing only in built inn Alex Kidd.(In Russia there were a really hard times - average salary was about 60$-100$) So you can imagine parents reaction if you need to buy a game that cost you half of average salary. But in 1992 local retailer "Steepler" started to distribute Famiclone(dendy) and all kids was hunting fot dendy and games. Obviously no one cares about this weird SMS system. And as it was rare (2000-5000 units) almost all of them were thrown out to trash. Even now there is minority of people in Russia that knows what is Sega master system is.because all kids in russia played in Mega drive(as the first console from sega). So maybe somewhere in Russia still there is a soviet Sms(in someones storage) but we will never know cause no one cares about it. :-) thats my thoughts. And about hardware. Surely it was a localisation for Ussr. Translation of Manual is in High quality(trust me i know russian,cause its my native language) To reduce cost they throw everything they could. Also it may have influence to SMS 2 system cause it almost the same in functionality view. SECAM was standard TV output in Russia, they get it from France cause Ussr had best diplomatic relations with them(from all of west countries.) So yep its a rare ones.

NEO-GEO Man Joined: 27 Mar 2011 Posts: 10 Location: Sunshine Coast, AUSTRALIA	Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 2:56 am
	I doubt they intended to release the MS2 there at all, ive seen that console version somewhere else too, with Alex Kidd built in, no card, no RGB, etc...

hatwise Joined: 13 May 2015 Posts: 2	sms Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 9:38 pm
hatwise Joined: 13 May 2015 Posts: 2	NEO-GEO Man wrote I doubt they intended to release the MS2 there at all, ive seen that console version somewhere else too, with Alex Kidd built in, no card, no RGB, etc... Well maybe there is a chance that it is brasilian versiin just really unknown

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