Planet codenames
From Sega Retro
During the 1990s, Sega gave planet codenames to its consoles and hardware. While some of the examples of the naming scheme were released publicly, many were cancelled or had to be renamed due to prior trademark applications.
The naming scheme was created during the development of the TeraDrive.[1] IBM referred to their projects with star codenames, the TeraDrive subsequently known to them as "Spica".[1] Sega were influenced by this, and named the project "Terra" (meaning Earth).[1] However, the company discovered at the very last moment that the name had already been trademarked by another company, leading to its renaming as TeraDrive based on the Mega –> Giga –> Tera logic.[1]
Following the TeraDrive, staff continued to use this naming scheme out of documentation convenience. Further trademark issues arose with other hardware; the Saturn was always known officially as "Sega Saturn" due to a toy company holding the trademark for a toy based on the rockets of the same name.[1]
Consoles
A visual layout of the planet codenames, in a presentation by Hiroyuki Miyazaki.
| Codename | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Mercury | Sega Game Gear |
| Venus | Sega Nomad |
| Earth | Equivalent to "Terra", working name for the TeraDrive, which had to be abandoned due to it already being trademarked. Outside of consoles, "Terra" was also initially said to be the tentative name for the first of Sega's Amusement Theme Park locations.[2] |
| Mars | Sega 32X |
| Jupiter | Cart-based 32-bit system; abandoned in planning stages in favour of a disc-based system that became known as... |
| Saturn | Final name. |
| Uranus | Unused.[3] Hiroyuki Miyazaki offered a few explanations for this, saying when pronounced in Japanese it sounds like "Uranu" or "won't sell", what he called "an ominous name for a project." |
| Neptune | 32X/Mega Drive combo unit |
| Pluto | Sega Saturn prototype unit featuring a different shell with a NetLink Internet Modem accessory built in. Only five produced. Uses US BIOS. |
Furthermore, hardware released around the time the Saturn was had codenames based on Saturn's moons:
| Codename | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Titan | Sega Titan Video |
| Janus | Sega Picture Magic |
It is unknown whether the Sega CD, Sega Mega Jet, Sega Pico, arcade hardware, or any other Mega Drive/Saturn-related hardware were designated codenames.
By the time the Sega Dreamcast was planned, Sega had moved on to a new scheme. However during the development of the Mega Drive Mini, due to an urban legend about Earth being the Mega Drive's codename, Hiroyuki Miyazaki decided to give the Mega Drive Mini the codename of "Moon"[4].
Games
In addition to using planet-themed codenames for its consoles, the initial lineup of Saturn games also used codenames internally, this time as constellations[5]:
| Game | Constellation | |
|---|---|---|
| English | Japanese | |
| Blue Seed: Kushinada Hirokuden | Chamaeleon | カメレオン |
| Clockwork Knight: Pepperouchau no Daibouken Joukan | Apus | エパス |
| Gale Racer | Aquarius | アクエリアス |
| Gotha: Ismailia Seneki | Pegasus | ペガサス |
| Gran Chaser | Cassiopeia | カシオペア |
| Kanzen Chuukei Pro Yakyuu Greatest Nine | Ara | アラ |
| Kisuishou Densetsu Astal | Centaurus | セントーラス |
| Mahou Kishi Rayearth | Delphinus | デルフィナス |
| Panzer Dragoon | Andromeda | アンドロメダ |
| Pebble Beach Golf Links | Canis Major | カニスメジャー |
| Rampo | Columbia | コロンバ |
| Riglordsaga | Lacerta | ラセルタ |
| Shinsetsu Yumemi Yakata: Tobira no Oku ni Dareka ga... | Coma | コマ |
| Shin Shinobi Den | Auriga | アリガ |
| SimCity 2000 | Draco | ドラコ |
| Victory Goal | Aquila | アクイラ |
| Virtual Hydlide | Cancer | キャンサー |
| WanChai Connection | Cygnus | シグナス |
| Wing Arms: Kareinaru Gekitsuiou | Antares | アンタレス |
| World Advanced Daisenryaku: Koutetsu no Senpuu | Aries | アリエス |
Only three were ever used in public:
- Panzer Dragoon's "Andromeda" codename became the name of development team behind it, Team Andromeda. They would go on to produce the two Saturn sequels; Panzer Dragoon Zwei and Panzer Dragoon Saga.
- Victory Goal's "Aquila" codename was also used as a team name, and was seen again in sequel Victory Goal '96.
- Wing Arms was (accidentally?) named as "Antares" in early promotional material.
The two earliest first-party games that did not originate on the Saturn, Virtua Fighter and Daytona USA did not adhere to this naming scheme.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 https://note.com/beep21/n/nc2a39d194f85
- ↑ Famitsu, "1992-10-30" (JP; 1992-10-16), page 11
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqdN_L4YaDE#t=20m24
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqdN_L4YaDE#t=5m43
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRLGPRHFiQE
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| Sega Mark III | 32X | Dreamcast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Master System | Master System II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AI Computer | Game Gear | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Pico | Beena | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||