The History of the Sega Saturn--JGC Special Feature

Largely dismissed in the West as an epic failure, the Sega Saturn enjoyed healthy success in its native Japan during the 1990's. Perhaps more than any other console, the Saturn saw a number of games never make it to Western shores. The import Saturn scene today has finally started to take off as the console is finally getting the respect it deserves outside of Japan. In this feature, JGC will take a look back at one of Sega's most misunderstood efforts.

Development of the Saturn started in 1992, in Japan. Partnering with Hitachi, the Saturn ended up using a complex CPU/Video architecture as a response to the looming threat of the 3D capabilities of Sony's Playstation. Notoriously difficult to program, much has been said of the "sub-par" 3D capabilities of the Saturn. With 3D gaming driving much of the gaming market in the 1990's, this perhaps explains some of the Saturn's struggles in Western markets.   The release of the Saturn was also hampered by Sega's recent release of the 32X. A dismal failure in the West and abroad, the 32X alienated Sega fans who were forced to purchase an expensive add-on that was quickly killed in the Saturn's wake.

Despite the difficulties surrounding the release of the Saturn, Sega released the console to Japanese homes in November of 1994. At a cost of over 45,000 yen, the CD-based console was quite expensive, even for the time. With an arcade-perfect port of Virtua Fighter (a big game at the time) and the revolutionary IP Panzer Dragoon, sales of the Saturn were brisk during the 1994 and early 1995. However, the massive onslaught of Sony's Playstation would damper the prospects of Sega's new console, especially outside of Japan. Despite the challenges, the Saturn would hold its own at home by finding a niche that would almost define its existence.

Much has been said of the Saturn's 2D capabilities. The Saturn would truly show its strength in this area of gaming. Nearly arcade-perfect ports would soon arrive in the dozens. SNK brawlers such as Samurai Spirits 3 and 4, the King of the Fighters 95-97, and many other SNK games would be released on the system. From Capcom, many of the VS. series would arrive nearly perfect from the arcade. All three versions of Street Fighter Zero/Alpha arrived on both the PS and Saturn. However, and fan of 2D fighters will tell you of the superior Saturn versions.

Much of this 2D horsepower came from the release of RAM expansion carts. Initially, a 1MB cart was released for us with most SNK games. Ports of Metal Slug, KOF, and Samurai Spirits/Real Bout made use of these 1MB carts. Capcom preferred using a 4MB cart, which allowed even more in the way of sprites. 2D fans will only a Playstation drooled over the wonderful ports the Saturn got at the time. Despite the technical benefits of these carts, they were never officially released in North America or Europe (except a KOF 95 ROM cart in PAL regions). For us North American and European Saturn owners at the time, we could only watch as wondrous ports never made it to our living rooms.

Despite being overtaken by the Playstation in 1995, sales of the Saturn in Japan were steady through the late 1990's. The same cannot be said in the West. In North America, Sega of America localized only a tiny fraction of the great games that were being released in Japan. Classics such as Radiant Silvergun, Princess Crown, Shinning Force III (parts 2 and 3), and most of the SNK and Capcom 2D fighters were never released here. Sega placed a distant 3rd in North America as the PS and N64 soon slaughtered it. Today, North American releases are highly expensive and collectible due to rarity.

With the U.S./PAL Saturn dead in the water by 1997, Japanese Sega fans were left alone to wait for the release of the Dreamcast in 1998.A beautiful white Saturn was released in 1995 to replace the uglier grey model. Besides colour, the white Saturn was basically identical to the model 2 Saturn released in the West. Featuring one of the best game-pads of all time, I much prefer this model of Saturn. Despite declining sales, Sega managed to sell around 5 million consoles in Japan

Some of the Saturn's greatest games would be released in its twilight years. Azel (Panzer Dragoon Saga), Magic Knight Rayearth, Sonic R, Burning Rangers, and Radiant Silvergun (among many others) kept the system going strong into 1998 and the release of the Dreamcast. Despite its lack of Western success, the Saturn is in high-demand today from hardcore gamers. A true gem of a console, I do not share the belief that it was a failure. For original owners of the console such as myself, it always had more to offer than was released outside of Japan. It just took a big of digging.