Sega Saturn have so much potential, having amazing games, graphics and hardware but yet it's failed. If Sega launch a Saturn with a 2D Sonic game like game like Sonic Time Twisted. It's could be perfect to give Sonic a last hurrah to 2D before he transition to 3D in the following years.
What have gone wrong with the Saturn?! What have gone wrong during development?!
I think people resented the 32X fiasco way too much to care about SEGA's new console.
As far as they were concerned, they had been sucked into blowing $160 on a piece of hardware that was rendered obsolete in a few, short months. To give more money to the same company would have felt insulting (and this is coming from a die-hard SEGA fan). Plus, the N64 and the PS1 looked like safer bets.
Sony and the PS1 happened, mostly. Sega was also rather ineffectual in providing proper support for 3rd party developers in the form of proper documentation and development kits.
The hardware was powerful, but unconventional and that became something of a thorn on the Saturn's side.
The Saturn failed mostly in America. In Japan it continued to sell and get new games. They decided to pull the plug early in the west in favor of going all in on the Dreamcast. That pissed off Saturn customers and hurt the image of SEGA in the west.
The Saturn failed mostly in America. In Japan it continued to sell and get new games. They decided to pull the plug early in favor of going all in on the Dreamcast. That pissed off Saturn customers and hurt the image of SEGA in the west.
The biggest reason, other than burning people with the SegaCD and the 32X, was the fact that most of the Saturn's library stayed in Japan. You want to play Symphony of the Night? Saturn's got it. IN JAPAN. Grandia? Oh yeah, we got it. IN JAPAN. That blockbuster killer app called Sakura Taisen? You're damn right we've got it! IN JAPAN.
Saturn had good games. The only problem was that if you wanted to play them in a language you understand you had to do so on the Playstation or not at all.
The biggest reason, other than burning people with the SegaCD and the 32X, was the fact that most of the Saturn's library stayed in Japan. You want to play Symphony of the Night? Saturn's got it. IN JAPAN. Grandia? Oh yeah, we got it. IN JAPAN. That blockbuster killer app called Sakura Taisen? You're damn right we've got it! IN JAPAN.
Saturn had good games. The only problem was that if you wanted to play them in a language you understand you had to do so on the Playstation or not at all.
Sega Saturn have so much potential, having amazing games, graphics and hardware but yet it's failed. If Sega launch a Saturn with a 2D Sonic game like game like Sonic Time Twisted. It's could be perfect to give Sonic a last hurrah to 2D before he transition to 3D in the following years.
What have gone wrong with the Saturn?! What have gone wrong during development?!
Sega: "Hmm yes, I'm gonna shadow drop a console that no one knew was being created, not even the people who would be tasked with selling said console, what could PAWS-ibly go wrong?!"
Sega: "Hmm yes, I'm gonna shadow drop a console that no one knew was being created, not even the people who would be tasked with selling said console, what could PAWS-ibly go wrong?!" View attachment 33074
eh, I never felt burned by SegaCD, I loved the thing n wnhile my OG Genesis with OG SegaCD (the one that goes under instead of to the side) were stolen long ago, I stiLL have a JVC Genesis/SegaCD combo console n many games that thankfuLLy a friend was borrowing at the time my original stuff got swindled.
my Saturn was one of the other things that were stolen, but I stiLL have many games I been fishin outta storage n wiLL be sure to grab the console again at some point comin up.
Sega 32x on the other hand... *pthhh* =P
the fact that Saturn was $100 more n didn't even have much that brain-damaged casuals were lumbering around mindlessly hunting for like zombies who eat brains but it stiLL never improves their own... ok hehe I'm soundin bitter here but you know the deal. imaginative, colorful Japanese worlds of innovative wonder were widely considered 'kiddie stuff' here n the 'realistic' grainy, buggy, clunky, bad three-dimensional polygonal atrocities with horrifyingly Z-rate voice acting n other dumb pander-happy shit with guns, more guns, n for some diverse variety OTHER GUNS were for the "I'm a Big Kid NeeeoWW!!" adults who lie to themselves 40,000x a day untiL they drop dead. o _ O
a lil melodramatic n abrasive but I'm drained n hurtin, gotta caLL it n crash out before my skuLL disintegrates ^_^ the rock-solid competition from Sony n Nintendo is to be praised n respected n I love so many games for aLL their respective consoles... but I'm none too chuff'd about Sega's (mostly USA) corporate shootin themselves in the goddamn'd foot so many times it verged on record-breaking incompetence n mismanagement of obvious assets/commodities n ofc stubborn-ersed Sonic Team were a factor. n the "no RPG localizations' policy... you wonder how Sega even made it to the point of releasing n supporting the Dreamcast with all this chaotic horseplay n horseshit ughh lol g'night aLL
I feel that SEGA of America absolutely failed to bring in any of the Japanese-only games here, sure, most of the beloved translated games would have gotten the Working Design treatment, but it would have been something, at least.
The Saturn was a bitch to code for.
The Playstation could get better effects/results with less effort/money.
Sony out-spent SEGA on advertising and securing 3rd party exclusives.
No new standard Sonic title.
In America, people were leery after the 32X.
A LOT of the launch games were arse.
The botched America launch that got the company banned from multiple retailers like KBToys.
Big-name non-launch titles (like Virtua Fighter 2) paled in comparison to the Arcade.
Sony convinced Americans that 2D sucked for years when the Saturn was a 2D beast.
Bernie Stoler's "The Saturn is not our future" line at E3 2007 (just 2 years after launch).
Many reasons. Saving the Saturn worldwide would have been a monumental task, as the problem goes that SEGA of Japan never got the hit in their home country they desired, so, fueled by pride and a desire to sell in their home, they made the Saturn to be EXTREMELY Japanese appealing. This includes not giving any leverage to their worldwide branches.
The Saturn got roasted in the U.S., where 3D was the future, as many of its games early on didn’t push the hardware and lagged behind PS1’s 3D performance, creating a reputation for the Saturn that was only further cemented by poor U.S. software that barely understood how to code for the device (apparently the documentation was HORRIFIC). The Saturn was BUILT for 3D, but it was built similarly to SEGA’s arcade hardware, which meant getting multiple video display processors to play nice with one another and run as parallel as possible. While Japanese developers, many of whom were used to this development environment, faired well on the device, U.S. developers struggled.
This is to say nothing of the UK. SEGA had always been big there, arguably their most successful market overall, but it almost seems like a fluke that they were. They were negligent of the region in some respects, with SEGA of Europe (what little there was) having to beg for games to be localized to the region. Sony recognized the weakness and chomped down on that region by partnering with UK based devs to make games NATIVELY in 50hrtz, which played better with UK displays, and games that appealed to European sensibilities. They just actually made games and marketing efforts that region wanted, so they took the market away from SEGA overnight.
In Brazil, TecToy was still humming along, releasing the Saturn in that market. But, since they were still dependent on software from other regions for the most part, they didn’t fair very well either.
Ultimately, for as good as the Saturn was, it was a worldwide calamity. SEGA of Japan got their wish of a console that was successful in their home region, but they sacrificed everybody else in the process. It’s a shame, really.
That said, on a final note, SEGA ALWAYS had horrible internal communication. SEGA ALWAYS had messy hardware policies. SEGA ALWAYS had poor U.S.-made software on their consoles. SEGA ALWAYS relied on the arcade to fuel their home business. These things, no matter what, were always wounds that would eventually lead to their demise. It was simply a matter of when.
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Another thing may be packaging. JP software has a confident presentation, with a beautiful golden logo and a standard CD jewel case. That region had already taken to CDs as a standard, and Saturn games went for a “less is more” approach.
Alternatively, U.S. games are in bulky/large cases, presumably because they were afraid jewel cases wouldn’t stand out at retail. This isn’t a SEGA exclusive sin, as PlayStation and 3DO had already done this, but notice how… unconfident the packaging looks. The logos, the ratings, the weird blurbs that HAVE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT ITS AN ARCADE SMASH HIT! The presentation reeks of early 90’s in the worst of ways, as the design elements don’t gel together, nor do they gel with the Saturn’s whole vibe. Saturn is a surreal dream, an ethereal vibe slipping through your fingers, but U.S. SEGA saw fit to try and sell it like the Genesis, which had a totally different vibe. What worked for that console comes across as awkward here.
IMO it came down to a few things, first was the graphics
I remember going to buy a PSX/Saturn from my local importer when they were pretty new out of Japan. When I got there I was speaking to him about the consoles and what he thought was better. He said "When you see them side by side, you'll pick the PSX every time."
And he was right, seeing Ridge Racer and Tekken vs Virtua Fighter and Daytona was like night and day graphics wise.
Second was the PSX being hacked to run copies. This happened pretty early on, so knowing that you had the option to get 'cheap games' was a BIG pull for a lot of people and pushed up PSX console sales.
So now you've got a console that; looks better, has a cheap game option, and is outselling its competitor (the popular choice).
From this point the Saturn had a real up hill struggle.
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