Back in 1990, Hartung released the Game Master to compete with the Nintendo Game Boy and the Sega Game Gear. It's safe to say that it didn't take off in quite the same way - it only ever had 18 games in its back catalogue, and in terms of the best-selling handhelds of all time, it doesn't actually register on the scale. But that only adds to its rarity, as does the fact that it was called different things in different territories.
Hartnung released it in Germany as the Game Master. It was called the Game Master in Hong Kong and many other territories, sometimes with a different brand as the maker, like Videojet or Impel. The United Kingdom is the only place where it was called the Systema 2000 under the Systema branding, making it the holy grail of an already rare console. And now, it's up for sale in its original box, a never-before-seen sale on second-hand sites.
We were contacted by one of our readers, Kaleb, about his Systema 2000 auction, and the fact that this is the first time that a boxed Systema 2000 has been up for sale on second-hand sites. It's currently the only known box to have survived, and while it has a small tear on it and some other tiny imperfections, that's to be expected for cardboard that is approaching four decades old. The colours are all super bright, though, and it still makes for a great display piece.
The console itself is in great working order, like a slice of the 90s that has just landed in 2026. The screen looks amazing, and the handheld itself is still in its original packaging. Kaleb has shown that there isn't any corrosion in the battery compartment, though sadly the original earphones have perished a little slightly over the years.
The console comes with the original booklet and one of the eighteen games available, Falling Block, meaning that if you did want to start playing this amazing handheld and not just leave it as a display piece, then you could get going straight away!
This is a great example of retro gaming history. It's the kind of thing that we've grown used to seeing coming out of InsertBid of late, but it's nice to just see one out in the wild on eBay for all to see, just like when we spotted Spud's Adventure on eBay complete with box - when they appear, you've gotta act quick!
Head to eBay to check out the listing!
