Sega Saturn
In 1992, Sega began developing the Saturn while its Model 1 arcade hardware was already proving that 3D polygonal graphics could captivate players. Hideki Sato supervised the project as director and deputy general manager of research and development. The team behind the Saturn had previously built the System 32 arcade board, giving them deep experience with high-performance game systems. By early 1994, reports about Sony's upcoming PlayStation prompted Sega to add a second video display processor to improve both 2D performance and 3D texture mapping. Kazuhiro Hamada, who served as section chief for Saturn development during its conception, explained that the SH-2 chip was chosen for cost and efficiency reasons. He noted that a single CPU would not be enough to calculate a full 3D world. Tom Kalinske, president of Sega of America, fought against the Saturn's architecture for quite some time. He tried to broker a deal with Silicon Graphics but was rejected by Sega of Japan. That company later collaborated with Nintendo on the Nintendo 64 instead.
Sega released the Saturn in North America on the 11th of May 1995, four months ahead of its scheduled September launch date. This surprise move caught retailers like Best Buy and Walmart completely off guard. Toys "R" Us, Babbage's, Electronics Boutique, and Software Etc. received 30,000 units before any public announcement. The decision upset major retail partners who had no time to promote the system or its games. In response, KB Toys refused to carry the Saturn and its software entirely. Sony used this moment to announce the PlayStation price of $299 at the same Electronic Entertainment Expo event. The Saturn launched at $399 including Virtua Fighter, putting it at a significant disadvantage. By November 1995, the PlayStation had already outsold the Saturn by a factor of three in the United Kingdom. Sony allocated £20 million for holiday marketing compared to Sega's mere £4 million. The early rescheduling yielded only six launch games, all published by Sega itself. Most third-party titles were scheduled around the original release date and could not be delivered in time.
The Saturn featured eight processors working together, including two Hitachi SH-2 microprocessors clocked at 28.6 MHz. These CPUs shared the same bus and could not access system memory simultaneously, creating major challenges for developers. A Motorola 68EC000 ran at 11.3 MHz as a sound controller while custom video display processors handled backgrounds and sprites. Ezra Dreisbach, a programmer at Lobotomy Software, described the Saturn as significantly slower than the PlayStation despite its raw power. Kenji Eno of WARP observed little difference between the systems in practice. Developers had to write code in assembly language because no useful software libraries existed initially. This approach offered speed increases of two to five times over higher-level languages like C. The Visual Display Processor 2 generated and manipulated backgrounds with impressive flexibility. However, the dual-CPU design made full utilization difficult without deep hardware knowledge. Steven L. Kent stated that the Saturn was essentially a 2D system doing good work with 3D objects but not optimized for true 3D environments. Treasure CEO Masato Maegawa claimed the Nintendo 64 was more difficult to develop for than the Saturn. Jon Burton of Traveller's Tales noted that while the PlayStation was easier to start on, it quickly reached its limits.
Sega tasked the U.S.-based Sega Technical Institute with developing the first fully 3D entry in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The game became known as Sonic X-treme after prototypes for other hardware were discarded. It featured a fisheye lens camera system that rotated levels as Sonic moved through them. Nakayama ordered the game reworked around an engine created for boss battles, forcing developers to work between 16 and 20 hours daily. Weeks of progress vanished when Bernie Stolar rescinded access to Nights into Dreams engine following an ultimatum by Yuji Naka. Programmer Ofer Alon quit the project while designers Chris Senn and Chris Coffin fell ill. The cancellation occurred in early 1997, leaving the platform without a flagship 3D title. STI disbanded later that year due to management changes at Sega of America. David Houghton of GamesRadar described the lost opportunity as "a What if... situation on a par with the dinosaurs not becoming extinct." Travis Fahs of IGN called it "the turning point not only for Sega's mascot and their 32-bit console, but for the entire company." Mike Wallis maintained in 2007 that X-treme would have been competitive with Super Mario 64. Yuji Naka expressed relief over the cancellation since the game was not promising.
By 1996, the PlayStation had sold 2.9 million units in the U.S., more than twice the 1.2 million Saturn units sold. The Christmas 1996 Three Free pack bundled Daytona USA, Virtua Fighter 2, and Virtua Cop to drive sales dramatically. Despite this effort, the Saturn failed to take the lead after the Nintendo 64 launched in late 1996. In 1997, the PlayStation outsold the Saturn by three-to-one in the United States. Sony controlled 47% of the console market by August 1997 while Sega held just 12%. Worldwide shipments from March to September 1997 dropped from 2.35 million to 600,000 units. North American shipments fell even sharper, declining from 800,000 to 50,000 during the same period. Sixty of Sega of America's 200 employees were laid off in late 1997 due to poor performance. Nakayama resigned as president in January 1998 in favor of Shoichiro Irimajiri. Sega suffered its first consolidated net loss since 1988, reporting ¥35.6 billion in losses for the fiscal year ending the 31st of March 1998. Only seven Saturn games were released in North America throughout 1998. Magic Knight Rayearth became the final official release in that region. The company announced plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs, nearly a quarter of its workforce.
Much of the Saturn library comprised faithful arcade ports including Daytona USA, Virtua Cop, and Street Fighter Alpha 3. Highly rated exclusives like Panzer Dragoon Saga, Dragon Force, and Guardian Heroes found strong followings. Shining creators Hiroyuki Takahashi and Shugo Takahashi named Shining the Holy Ark and Shining Force 3 their favorite games in the series. Many well-regarded titles remained exclusive to Japan such as Sakura Wars and Grandia. These games mixed tactical RPG elements with anime cutscenes and visual novel storytelling. Working Designs localized several Japanese Saturn games but switched to PlayStation following a public feud between Victor Ireland and Bernie Stolar. Panzer Dragoon Saga received fewer than 20,000 retail copies in North America according to IGN's Levi Buchanan. Only the first installment of Shining Force III was released outside Japan. Sonic Team developed Nights into Dreams instead of a new Sonic platformer. Burning Rangers garnered praise for transparency effects but was criticized for short length. The system lacked sequels to high-profile Genesis franchises like Eternal Champions. Sega of Japan cancelled a third installment of that popular series causing significant controversy among fans.
Famicom Tsūshin awarded the Saturn 24 out of 40 points at release while giving the PlayStation only 19. Dennis Lynch of the Chicago Tribune praised its double-speed CD-ROM drive and intense surround-sound capabilities. Albert Kim of Entertainment Weekly called Panzer Dragoon a lyrical and exhilarating epic. By December 1998, Electronic Gaming Monthly reviews became more mixed citing lack of games as a major problem. Greg Sewart of 1UP.com stated the Saturn would go down in history as one of the most troubled yet greatest systems of all time. IGN named it the 18th-best console of all time in 2009. Edge noted hardened loyalists continued to reminisce about titles like Burning Rangers and Dragon Force. Keith Stuart wrote in 2015 that the Saturn had perhaps the strongest lineup of 2D shooters and fighting games in console history. Damien McFerran said even today the Saturn remains worthwhile for those who appreciate unique gameplay styles. Adam Redsell highlighted Sega's devil-may-care attitude toward game development during that era. Brandon Sheffield described the system as a landing point for adult content too mature for other platforms. Victor Ireland called it the start of future console gaming by getting developers thinking with parallel-processing architecture in mind.
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Common questions
When was the Sega Saturn released in North America?
Sega released the Saturn in North America on the 11th of May 1995, four months ahead of its scheduled September launch date. This surprise move caught retailers like Best Buy and Walmart completely off guard.
Who supervised the development of the Sega Saturn project?
Hideki Sato supervised the project as director and deputy general manager of research and development. The team behind the Saturn had previously built the System 32 arcade board, giving them deep experience with high-performance game systems.
Why did the Sega Saturn struggle to compete against the PlayStation?
Sony allocated £20 million for holiday marketing compared to Sega's mere £4 million. By November 1995, the PlayStation had already outsold the Saturn by a factor of three in the United Kingdom.
What happened to the Sonic X-treme game during the Sega Saturn era?
The cancellation occurred in early 1997, leaving the platform without a flagship 3D title. STI disbanded later that year due to management changes at Sega of America.
How many units of the Sega Saturn were sold worldwide between March and September 1997?
Worldwide shipments from March to September 1997 dropped from 2.35 million to 600,000 units. North American shipments fell even sharper, declining from 800,000 to 50,000 during the same period.