SEGA Model 3

SEGA Model 3 is an arcade system board that SEGA released in 1996, with Virtua Fighter 3 as its first game. Its graphics were built by Real3D, then part of Lockheed Martin, using technology from flight simulators, and for several years it was the most powerful 3D gaming hardware available.

The board went through several revisions, called steps. Step 1.0 ran its PowerPC processor at 66 MHz, Step 1.5 at 100 MHz and Step 2.0 and 2.1 at 166 MHz, with each step adding more power for later games.

Its library includes Scud Race, SEGA Rally 2, Daytona USA 2, Harley-Davidson & L.A. Riders, Star Wars Trilogy Arcade, Virtua Striker 2 and Fighting Vipers 2. Only a few of these games were ported to home systems, mostly to the Dreamcast.

Model 3 was replaced by NAOMI in 1998, which cost far less to build, although Model 3 games were still being released until 1999.

Supermodel is the emulator to use for Model 3. It runs almost the whole library at full speed on a modern PC, with network play for linked cabinets.