1993 · Sega · Japan · arcade
Sega Model 2
The arcade board that brought texture-mapped 3D to the coin-op floor.
Mixed Some setup ▶ Watch on YouTube ↗
Sega's 1993 arcade board, the one that brought texture-mapped 3D to the coin-op floor at a smoothness home machines could not touch for years. For a stretch it defined what an arcade looked like.
Virtua Fighter 2, running at sixty frames a second, was a genuine cultural event in Japan; Daytona USA and Sega Rally kept it busy.
What it cost
about 7.8 months of an average wage in 1993 · about $32,563 today
| Arcade cabinet launch cost (~$15,000 USD) |
$15,000 (1993)
Sega & Evans & Sutherland 3D texture-mapped polygon arcade board. |
|---|---|
| Typical street price | — No verified mass-market street price recorded yet. |
| Units sold | ≈50,000 estimate Over 50,000 arcade cabinets operated globally (Daytona USA, Virtua Cop). |
Why it mattered
Model 2 brought texture-mapped 3D to the arcade and, with Virtua Fighter 2 and Daytona USA, set the visual standard home consoles chased for years.
Emulating it today
| Emulators | Model 2 Emulator (by Elsemi), MAME |
|---|---|
| Setup effort | Some setup (4 on this site's scale) |
| Controls | A standard modern controller covers the ordinary controls, though unusual accessories may need custom mapping. |
| Runs on a handheld | Yes |
The emulator names above are starting points, not a promise that every title or accessory behaves identically. Computer platforms usually add model selection, disk handling and keyboard setup even when CPU emulation itself is mature.
Model 2 Security & Sound BIOS (model2.zip)
Sega Model 2 arcade hardware requires system BIOS ROM archives (model2.zip) containing the security CPU firmware, communication board ROMs, and sound board program. Without these files, Model 2 Emulator and MAME cannot initialize the arcade board.
How many files you need: 1. A single archive: model2.zip placed in the emulator's ROM directory.
Where it stands legally: Copyrighted by Sega Enterprises.
Firmware details checked 2026-08. Emulator requirements change — see MAME Arcade Documentation for the current list.
Where the software is
Preservation catalogues describe verified dumps; they do not grant permission to download commercial software. A curated, correctly matched set is easier to use than an undifferentiated archive.
Copyright: Commercial software remains copyrighted unless its owner explicitly released or relicensed it. Homebrew, public-domain programs and current reissues should be treated separately from abandoned commercial titles.
This site names preservation projects and explains what they are. It does not link to ROM downloads.
Where to start
- Virtua Fighter 2 1994 fighting
Texture-mapped 3D fighting at 60 frames a second, and a genuine cultural event in Japan.
- Daytona USA 1994 racing
- Sega Rally Championship 1995 racing
- Virtua Cop 1994 light gun
- The House of the Dead 1996 light gun
- Fighting Vipers 1995 fighting
The verdict
Essential arcade history; Virtua Fighter 2, Daytona and Sega Rally still play brilliantly and emulate well.
These are coin-op games designed to eat quarters — expect arcade pacing rather than home-length experiences.
- Worth it if
- Players curious about sega handheld and arcade platforms and willing to learn how the original machine worked.
- Not for
- Anyone who wants a large, instantly accessible library and no model, firmware or control decisions.
Scored 3/5 for fun today and 3/5 for historical importance. Those two scores decide the label at the top — a machine can matter enormously and still be no fun.
Read more & watch
This page is 50% complete against the facts we try to record for every system. Gaps are shown as gaps.