Sega Mega 6

Sega Mega 6
Katakana	メガ6
Rōmaji	MEGA 6
AKA	MEGA6; Mega-6
Type	Upright
Released	1989
Dimensions	660 x 545 x 1600 mm
Monitor	15 kHz
Rotatable	No
Weight	75 kg
Power	105 W

The Sega Mega 6 (MEGA6 / メガ6) is a six-game upright arcade system produced by Sega in 1989.

It uses dedicated Sega multi-game hardware closely related to the company's Mega Drive and Mark III-derived technology and allows up to six proprietary game cartridges to be installed simultaneously in a single cabinet.

Sega promoted the system as an:

アミューズメント・ディスペンサー・システム

or:

Amusement Dispenser System

designed to allow a selection of Sega software to be played from one machine.

The Mega 6 is closely related in concept to the later/export Sega Mega-Tech System, but uses a distinct six-slot PCB and a different cabinet design.

History

A surviving period Sega sales sheet headed:

SEGA NEWS

promotes the machine under the name:

MEGA6

The sheet describes the concept as allowing multiple Sega hits to be played from a single cabinet and states that:

6本のソフト

or:

six software titles

can be installed.

The sales material specifically mentions titles including:

Super Thunder Blade
Space Harrier II

The Mega 6 PCB itself is marked:

© SEGA 1989

establishing 1989 as the documented hardware year.

Factory specifications

The period Sega News sheet gives:

Width: 545 mm
Depth: 660 mm
Height: 1600 mm
Weight: 75 kg
Power consumption: 105 W

The surviving sheet does not identify the CRT manufacturer or monitor chassis.

Cabinet

The Mega 6 uses a conventional upright cabinet rather than a Japanese sit-down candy-cabinet format.

The period Sega News image and surviving cabinet show:

Single main CRT
Large six-game instruction marquee
Two-player control panel
Six numbered game-selection positions
Separate 1P and 2P Start buttons
Front coin door
Tall narrow cabinet body

Unlike the familiar Sega Mega-Tech System cabinet, the Mega 6 does not use a secondary upper information monitor.

Instead, information for the six installed games is displayed on a static illuminated instruction panel above the main screen.

Video

The Mega 6 outputs standard-resolution arcade RGB video at approximately:

15 kHz

This is consistent with the system's 1989 hardware design and its close technical relationship to Sega Mega Drive / Mark III-derived game hardware.

No evidence has been found for medium- or high-resolution video modes.

Control panel

The surviving cabinet has a two-player control panel with:

2 joysticks
3 action buttons per player
1P Start
2P Start
Six numbered game-selection positions

The selection strip is marked:

1 2 3 4 5 6

corresponding to the six cartridge slots on the game board.

The exact electrical implementation of the selector has not yet been documented from a factory service manual.

Hardware

The Mega 6 uses a dedicated Sega multi-game PCB.

A surviving board is clearly marked:

MEGA-6

with Sega assembly number:

834-6969

and PCB number:

171-5777

The board also carries:

© SEGA 1989

MADE IN JAPAN

and:

MEGA-SYSTEM

markings.

The PCB contains six cartridge positions labelled:

SLOT1
SLOT2
SLOT3
SLOT4
SLOT5
SLOT6

The board is based on Sega home-console technology but is a dedicated arcade system rather than a standard domestic Mega Drive motherboard.

Game cartridges

Mega 6 uses proprietary Sega arcade cartridges.

The cartridges resemble Japanese Mega Drive cartridges in general shape but use dedicated Mega 6 labels and are intended specifically for the arcade board.

A surviving cartridge shell is marked:

SEGA MEGA6

with Sega part number:

610-0240-01

Normal commercial Mega Drive cartridges are not directly compatible with the Mega 6 board.

Documented games

A surviving Mega 6 system has been photographed with the following cartridges:

Jūōki / Altered Beast
Tetris
Space Harrier II
Super Thunder Blade
OutRun
Alien Syndrome
Shinobi

Only six cartridges can be installed at once, so one of these cartridges was a spare in the documented set.

The surviving complete cabinet carries the following six-game instruction panel:

Jūōki
Space Harrier II
Super Thunder Blade
OutRun
Alien Syndrome
Shinobi

This represents one documented game configuration.

Mega Drive and Mark III-derived software

The documented Mega 6 lineup includes software derived from more than one Sega home-console generation.

Titles such as:

Jūōki
Space Harrier II
Super Thunder Blade

are associated with Sega Mega Drive software, while titles such as:

OutRun
Alien Syndrome
Shinobi

are derived from earlier Sega home-console releases.

The Mega 6 therefore operated as a broader Sega home-software arcade platform rather than being limited strictly to Mega Drive-origin games.

Tetris

One of the most unusual documented Mega 6 cartridges is:

Tetris

A genuine Mega 6 cartridge has survived alongside the arcade PCB.

The title is notable because Sega's Mega Drive version of Tetris was not commercially released in the normal Japanese retail market.

Its appearance on Mega 6 therefore represents one of the few documented official Sega uses of that version of the game.

Relationship to Mega-Tech

The Mega 6 is closely related in concept to Sega's export:

Sega Mega-Tech System

Both systems:

Use Sega Mega Drive-derived arcade hardware
Use proprietary game cartridges
Allow multiple games to be installed simultaneously
Allow the player to select between installed titles
Were designed as multi-game amusement systems rather than conventional single-game PCB installations

They should not, however, be treated as identical systems.

Feature	Sega Mega 6	Mega-Tech
Primary market	Japan	Export markets
Game capacity	6	8
Main board	Dedicated six-slot MEGA-6 board	Dedicated Mega-Tech hardware
Main display	Single CRT	Main CRT
Secondary display	None documented	Separate upper information monitor
Game information	Static six-title instruction panel	Secondary display and title information

The Mega 6 is therefore best treated as a distinct Japanese Sega multi-game platform rather than simply a Japanese-labelled Mega-Tech cabinet.

Surviving cabinet

A surviving Mega 6 cabinet has been documented with the same general design shown in the period Sega News material.

Visible features include:

Large MEGA6 logo above the CRT
Illuminated six-game instruction panel
Single main CRT
Two-player controls
Six game-selection buttons
Lower front coin door
Narrow upright cabinet body

The photographed surviving example carries English instructions and a 25-cent coin mechanism, indicating that this particular machine was configured for use outside Japan.

This should not be taken as evidence that all Mega 6 cabinets were supplied in that form.

PCB markings

Visible markings on the documented board include:

SEGA
834-6969
MEGA-6
171-5777
MADE IN JAPAN
MEGA-SYSTEM

These markings provide strong primary evidence for the official hardware identity.

Sega News advertising

The period Sega News sheet presents the Mega 6 as a machine intended for locations including:

Game centres
Shopping centres
Toy shops

The pricing field states:

業者価格：追ってご連絡申し上げます。

approximately:

Trade price: we will contact you later.

No actual wholesale price is shown on the surviving sheet.

Specifications

Specification	Value
Manufacturer	Sega
Model	Mega 6
Japanese name	メガ6
Year	1989
Type	Upright multi-game cabinet
Width	545 mm
Depth	660 mm
Height	1600 mm
Weight	75 kg
Video	15 kHz
Power consumption	105 W
Game capacity	6 cartridges
Hardware	Sega MEGA-6 / MEGA-SYSTEM
PCB assembly	834-6969
PCB number	171-5777

Gallery

Period Sega News sales sheet showing the Mega 6 cabinet and factory specifications
Surviving Sega Mega 6 cabinet with six-game instruction panel
Lower front and coin-door area of a surviving cabinet
Complete six-slot Mega 6 PCB with cartridges installed
Mega 6 PCB detail
Documented Mega 6 cartridges
Dedicated Sega Mega 6 cartridge
Digital recreation pending a good full photo of the cab. Questionable proportions!