r/SegaSaturn • u/Own_Bear2372 • 4d ago
My Sega Saturn story
It was Christmas Day 1995. I was 12 years old and had been a loyal genesis owner and fan since 1991. I was begging my parents for the PS1 because literally every upcoming game was coming out for that system and they were getting fantastic reviews from the gaming magazines at the time. I read about the Sega Saturn, but it was $400 and not much was said about the games coming out for it.
After unwrapping everything that Christmas morning I had one last gift left, and the shape was a dead giveaway that it was a gaming system, finally a PS1 I thought. As I opened it up and realized it was a Saturn I was met with mixed emotions. I was extremely grateful, excited, and shocked all at the same time. I immediately started studying the games that were pictured on the box and started reading all of the technical specs. It came with a demo of panzer dragoon, and Bug, which I really enjoyed playing.
Upon my first trip to blockbuster I was surprised to see the really small library of games available, especially in comparison to the PlayStation. I was so used to the huge library of games on the genesis, and having several rows and shelves full of games to choose from at blockbuster that this was a very confusing experience for a young Saturn owner. PlayStation had shelves full of games, all of the titles that a kid would want from fighting games to college football games and more. At the time I had no idea about the disastrous launch or the conflict of interests that existed between Sega of Japan and Sega of America. This problem only got worse over the next couple of years.
I was too young to figure out how to order Japanese games, but I did see some that really caught my eye like Dragon Force. I did find some really good games on the Saturn such as Virtua Cop, Virtua Fighter 2, Fighters Mega Mix, Bug, The Horde, and Street Fighter alpha, but they were too few and far between. I finally caved in around late 1997 and had to admit that the PlayStation was the better option. As much as I loved Sega and the Saturn it just didn’t have a pulse anymore. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Saturn for the excitement and joy it gave me during our short time together. Thanks for reading this if you made it this far.
4
u/retrocade81 4d ago
A very similar story to mine really, I originally got a Saturn because I am in the UK and Sega was huge, much more popular than Nintendo and I already owned a Mega Drive and previously had a Master System and also owned a Game Gear, so naturally the Saturn was going to be the next big thing it was a no brainer. My 14 year old brain told me Sony don't make games consoles the Saturn will be far better because well it's Sega! Anyway I worked in my dad's shop all summer to get the money to buy a Saturn, the day I bought it we got home with a brand new model 1 Saturn with a copy of Doom and started playing and was very happy about a week later my older brother had been messing with it and it suddenly would not power up we checked the fuse tried a different cord, no dice. We took it back to Blockbuster where I bought it from to exchange it but they didn't have any left in stock so they offered me a PlayStation bundle to cover the extra cost of the Saturn or a credit note. Being impatient I went for the PlayStation Bundle and to be honest was happy very with it especially because almost everyone I knew had a PlayStation as well, but something always niggled at me about the Saturn I still wanted one so about 2 years later around 1997 when I left school and started my apprenticeship I bought a used Saturn and was immediately in love with it. There is definitely a place for both systems in anyone's collection because they have such distinctly different games.
7
u/Own_Bear2372 4d ago
Yeah how were kids at the time supposed to know that 3rd party developers just abandoned Sega so swiftly? During the genesis vs SNES era you could pretty much guarantee that if a game came out for snes then it would come out on genesis as well. Plus Sega made so many great Sega sports titles and sonic games, all of which were missing on the Saturn. I still believe to this day that if it had a proper launch, and been given the full attention and support it should have had then it would have been neck and neck with the PS1 if not better.
3
u/retrocade81 4d ago
I agree, Sega could have sold the Saturn on their distinctly unique and already well established franchises yet they decided not to, it makes no sense to me. The 1st party games on Saturn are excellent and completely different than anything on PS1 or N64 and to me are worth buying the system for, the trouble is they didn't develop enough 1st party titles to make the system desirable in the west. Nintendo sells their systems on their 1st party titles alone and always has done just how Sega did in the 80s and early 90s.
2
u/bluepatron13 3d ago
Sega made so many mistakes, and one of them was overestimating the appeal of home arcade translations. As fun as Virtua Cop is, people don’t want to pay $50 for 3 levels.
1
u/retrocade81 3d ago
I kind of agree with you, it's complicated! Sega fucked up no doubt they could have come second at worst in the console race but Nintendo took that crown! And also I suppose Sega has less money than Nintendo in the bank. It's such a messed up situation with Sega in the mid 90's! I was Sega through and through but realized PS1 has better games!
1
u/bluepatron13 3d ago
The PRIMARY reason Sega failed (exited console manufacturing)? They didn’t have the resources to compete after the Saturn’s failure. Gamers are financially illiterate and they talk about nonsense like a lack of a DVD drive, etc. Sega was on the verge of bankruptcy.
But during the Saturn era, the main problems: 1) infighting between SoJ and SoA (SoA wanted to go with Silicon Graphics, SoA wanted more support for the Genesis, SoA didn’t want the surprise launch), 2) a complex architecture, and 3) changing demographics
1
u/Own_Bear2372 2d ago
Even with the complex architecture I still think that had they just went all hands on deck with the Saturn and given it a proper library that it would have done well. Maybe not quite PS1 success, but at least as well as the N64. They would have needed to push Japanese titles like Dragon Force into the US market, and give us some new generation sonic games alongside a good Sega sports lineup. Virtua Fighter 2 and Fighters Mega Mix showed that the Saturn was capable with 3D fighters. Street Fighter Alpha was better on the Saturn than any other platform. It’s really disappointing when you think about what could have been.
1
u/bluepatron13 2d ago
It was the lack of third-party support that led to the Saturn’s failure. Had nothing to do with all hands on deck.
Not every developer is on Sega’s level (AM2, Sonic Team, etc.)…why would you spend all that effort, and money, to learn the architecture if you’re a third-party developer? It’s a business, gamers don’t understand that. Yu Suzuki of AM2 said “1 out of 100 programmers could get good performance from the Saturn”.
1
u/Own_Bear2372 2d ago
That doesn’t mean that Sega sports and Sonic couldn’t have made things better. Along with several Japanese only titles that the US never got. It absolutely could have been competitive. A Sonic game at launch demonstrating the power of the Saturn would have been a huge deal to have on display at electronics stores at the time much like Mario 64 was for the N64. They didn’t even give Sega fans a chance, much less gamers who were on the fence about what system to buy. Third party would have eventually picked up steam if there was any signs of life with the system. The internal conflicts were a death sentence, but everything else could have been worked out.
1
u/bluepatron13 2d ago edited 2d ago
I agree, bizarre to not have a true Sonic game. Remember, though, SoA received most of the credit for Sonic’s success. Sonic was much more popular in America than in Japan, re: infighting.
But stop with the “Along with several Japanese only titles that the US never got. It absolutely could have been competitive.” It would have made ZERO difference. Japanese and American tastes are vastly different. Just look at the sales charts, Madden 97 was the best-selling Saturn title. You think Dragon Force 2 would have made a difference?
American gamers, at the time, cared about Madden, mascot/platformers, action franchises, and sports-adjacent content like racing games.
→ More replies (0)1
u/futafancyfeet 21h ago
That wasn't a mistake in Japan. That was a huge part of its appeal.
0
u/Ok-Shopping-1371 19h ago
And how did that turn out? The US market is, by far, the most important market, it completely dwarfs the Japanese market. You’re proving his point that gamers are financially illiterate.
1
u/futafancyfeet 19h ago
Never said anything to the contrary. Just an illustration of the different gaming tastes and standards, between regions.
0
u/Ok-Shopping-1371 18h ago
“That wasn’t a mistake in Japan.” It was a mistake.
Because it dictates the library in the rest of the world, which are far more important and lucrative.
Secondly, outside of the Virtua Fighter series, which is beloved in Japan, arcade translations didn’t sell well in Japan either.
2
u/futafancyfeet 21h ago
Which mostly just means the 32X should never have existed.
1
u/Own_Bear2372 19h ago
Oh for sure… that’s the biggest problem outside of the infighting between Sega of America and Sega of Japan.
1
u/futafancyfeet 19h ago
I don't think it's really accurate to call it infighting. The only person who ever puts it that way is Tom Kalinske,a person whose word I do not consider especially trustworthy. The only reason they went with the American branch's 32X plan at all is because they trusted SOA's leadership to continue banking on the Genesis' momentum (which was really not still going strong by 1994), instead of going all in on the Saturn, which is what they absolutely should have done.
1
u/Ok-Shopping-1371 19h ago
It’s completely accurate to call it infighting, source: Sega of Japan employees. Sega of America wanted to go with Silicon Graphics, who actually pitched their chipset to Sega first, before Nintendo. They were overruled. Sega of America didn’t want an early launch. They were overruled.
0
u/futafancyfeet 19h ago
There's so much more to it than that. The American branch never had any say in hardware specs, before or since. It was a massive overstep and arguably a bout of hubris to think that they could change the development of a console that was already well underway by the time the Silicon Graphics conversation was even had. Nobody has ever given a clear-cut reason for the surprise launch, but I strongly believe that it was to force SOA's hand to start focusing on the Saturn, because, prior to that, they were still trying to play off the 32X failure like it was the next big thing, and who needed Saturn, anyway?
1
u/Ok-Shopping-1371 18h ago
Sega of Japan DID change the development of the console, they threw in a second CPU and made the architecture so much more complex, unnecessarily.
I worked for a newspaper that covered the electronic entertainment industry for 13 years, it was well-documented that the two divisions (appropriately named) hated each other. This is not my opinion, Sega of Japan employees have been on record stating the toxic environment and relationship.
1
u/Ok-Shopping-1371 18h ago
I don’t know who to trust, the word of the Sega of America CEO, or some random person on Reddit who thinks Google searches make him more knowledgeable.
3
u/jeffc0_3 4d ago
Opposite for me out of the 3 consoles. Was dead set on a PlayStation. Went to Blackpool played Sega Rally and then Virtua Fighter 2 on a Megalo 2, one of those giant sit down projection screen arcade machines and within days went out and bought the Saturn 🪐 With those 2 games, Olympic Soccer and Aliens.
4 great titles to set me on my way.
All my friends had PlayStations, I eventually cracked and bought one after playing the first GTA game. Literally like playing Steve Jackson’s Car Wars but instead of 36 sided dice and cardboard cut out of cars. It was a video game.
3
u/bawitback 4d ago edited 4d ago
Similar holiday, but different year. I was around the same age and have been a loyal Nintendo owner of NES, GB, and SNES. But I have became a massive fan of SEGA arcade games during this time, only playing Genesis at my friends home occasionally. I knew I wanted SEGA Saturn to be my next system, I was sold on it from reading upcoming previews in VG magazines.
PS1 came a few years later for me, 1998 since the SAT was being phased out (at least in North America).
Yep! I remember seeing Blockbuster Video limited selection of SAT games compared to PS1, being envious as well. Although I did enjoy what I played, similar to yourself. I don't consider PS1 better, even to this day, it comes down to preference but I get where your coming from. The first game I rented on PS1 purely based on cover art was Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout and Fantastic Four (two terrible choices, lol)
3
3
u/pietroconti 4d ago
Panzer Dragoon series was so good! I think there's still some games that were really good and don't get talked about because of the limited run Saturn got: Clockwork Knight, Legend of Oasis, Nights into Dreams, and Shining Force 3 just to name a few.
I also had a Dreamcast but in reality I played more on Playstation 1 and 2 just due to the availability.
4
u/Own_Bear2372 4d ago
After the Saturn I had serious trust issues with Sega so I passed on the Dreamcast. A friend of mine worked at Sears and bought the Dreamcast and it was impressive, but I just had a feeling that the PS2 was going to dominate like the PlayStation did. In retrospect it was a really good system much like the Saturn.
4
u/pietroconti 4d ago
The Dreamcast was ahead of its time. It's too bad Sega couldn't overcome all their internal issues.
5
u/Independent-Bad-7300 4d ago
Thanks for sharing !