Difference between revisions of "Saturn consoles in South Korea"
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In 1995, while LG was distributing the 3DO in Korea and Nintendo was distributed by Hyundai, [[Samsung]] (who previously distributed both the [[Master System consoles in Asia#South_Korea|Master System]] and [[Mega Drive consoles in South Korea|Mega Drive]]) distributed the Saturn. It was released as the Samsung Saturn (삼성새턴) in November 10th 1995 and was made only for South Korea. There are a lot of rumors about what is inside these, but all units that have been seen opened up were all completely stock Japanese VA1 motherboards (171-7006C 837-11613-01), had everything intact, with only the region jumpers and the BIOS rom being different. The region is set to 2 for Korea, and the bios version states v1.02a and looks like the North American/European version rather than the Japanese one. The bios is unique in that it disables the Japanese language option when the console is set to the default region 2 code (it reappears if the region code is set to anything other than region 2). There was no Korean language option added. It's power supply is unique in that it is capable of handling 110v-220v. This was due to South Korea converting it's power grid from 110v to 220v, so most South Korean retro game consoles came with a multi-voltage power supply. Units produced: unknown, probably ~3,000-4,000, but there might have been a lot more. | In 1995, while LG was distributing the 3DO in Korea and Nintendo was distributed by Hyundai, [[Samsung]] (who previously distributed both the [[Master System consoles in Asia#South_Korea|Master System]] and [[Mega Drive consoles in South Korea|Mega Drive]]) distributed the Saturn. It was released as the Samsung Saturn (삼성새턴) in November 10th 1995 and was made only for South Korea. There are a lot of rumors about what is inside these, but all units that have been seen opened up were all completely stock Japanese VA1 motherboards (171-7006C 837-11613-01), had everything intact, with only the region jumpers and the BIOS rom being different. The region is set to 2 for Korea, and the bios version states v1.02a and looks like the North American/European version rather than the Japanese one. The bios is unique in that it disables the Japanese language option when the console is set to the default region 2 code (it reappears if the region code is set to anything other than region 2). There was no Korean language option added. It's power supply is unique in that it is capable of handling 110v-220v. This was due to South Korea converting it's power grid from 110v to 220v, so most South Korean retro game consoles came with a multi-voltage power supply. Units produced: unknown, probably ~3,000-4,000, but there might have been a lot more. | ||
| − | There are 4 different model numbers of the Samsung Saturn (SPC-SATURN, SPC-SATURN II, SPC-ST, SPC-ST2), although the consoles themselves are identical. The model number only indicates whether the console was packaged with a game or a [[Saturn region converter cartridges|region converter cartridge]] (the only Saturn console release to do so). SPC-SATURN and SPC-SATURN II were the initial released models, with SPC-SATURN II including [[Virtua Fighter Remix]]. SPC-ST and SPC-ST2 were later released models and both came with a ST-KEY region converter cartridge (hence the model name), with SPC-ST2 also including one game. | + | There are 4 different model numbers of the Samsung Saturn (SPC-SATURN, SPC-SATURN II, SPC-ST, SPC-ST2), although the consoles themselves are identical other than a few differences on the stickers between the SPC-SATURN/SPC-SATURN II and SPC-ST/SPC-ST2 models. The model number only indicates whether the console was packaged with a game or a [[Saturn region converter cartridges|region converter cartridge]] (the only Saturn console release to do so). SPC-SATURN and SPC-SATURN II were the initial released models, with SPC-SATURN II including [[Virtua Fighter Remix]]. SPC-ST and SPC-ST2 were later released models and both came with a ST-KEY region converter cartridge (hence the model name), with SPC-ST2 also including one game. |
Launch games included [[Daytona USA]], [[Panzer Dragoon]], [[Virtua Fighter Remix]] and [[Worldwide Soccer: Sega International Victory Goal Edition]]. | Launch games included [[Daytona USA]], [[Panzer Dragoon]], [[Virtua Fighter Remix]] and [[Worldwide Soccer: Sega International Victory Goal Edition]]. | ||
Revision as of 23:15, 23 November 2020
Samsung Saturn
In 1995, while LG was distributing the 3DO in Korea and Nintendo was distributed by Hyundai, Samsung (who previously distributed both the Master System and Mega Drive) distributed the Saturn. It was released as the Samsung Saturn (삼성새턴) in November 10th 1995 and was made only for South Korea. There are a lot of rumors about what is inside these, but all units that have been seen opened up were all completely stock Japanese VA1 motherboards (171-7006C 837-11613-01), had everything intact, with only the region jumpers and the BIOS rom being different. The region is set to 2 for Korea, and the bios version states v1.02a and looks like the North American/European version rather than the Japanese one. The bios is unique in that it disables the Japanese language option when the console is set to the default region 2 code (it reappears if the region code is set to anything other than region 2). There was no Korean language option added. It's power supply is unique in that it is capable of handling 110v-220v. This was due to South Korea converting it's power grid from 110v to 220v, so most South Korean retro game consoles came with a multi-voltage power supply. Units produced: unknown, probably ~3,000-4,000, but there might have been a lot more.
There are 4 different model numbers of the Samsung Saturn (SPC-SATURN, SPC-SATURN II, SPC-ST, SPC-ST2), although the consoles themselves are identical other than a few differences on the stickers between the SPC-SATURN/SPC-SATURN II and SPC-ST/SPC-ST2 models. The model number only indicates whether the console was packaged with a game or a region converter cartridge (the only Saturn console release to do so). SPC-SATURN and SPC-SATURN II were the initial released models, with SPC-SATURN II including Virtua Fighter Remix. SPC-ST and SPC-ST2 were later released models and both came with a ST-KEY region converter cartridge (hence the model name), with SPC-ST2 also including one game.
Launch games included Daytona USA, Panzer Dragoon, Virtua Fighter Remix and Worldwide Soccer: Sega International Victory Goal Edition.
It is compatible with all Samsung Saturn games as well as all South Korean Sega Saturn games (non-Samsung branded). There are also a few Japanese, Asian and North American games that were also coded for region 2, which will play on Samsung Saturn without the need for a region converter cartridge; this can lead to confusion as some believe the console is region-free.
Initially retailing for up to ₩595,000 the Samsung Saturn was a commercial failure due to the high price and limited number of available games. Most people instead imported the cheaper Japanese consoles.
By February 1997, Samsung completely exited the gaming business due to the failure of the Samsung Saturn and the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
| Box | Name | Date & Price | Console | Label | Hardware | Software | Documentation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Samsung Saturn
(삼성새턴) |
 SPC-SATURN |
|||||||
| Samsung Saturn
(삼성새턴) |
SPC-SATURN II |
||||||||
 |
Samsung Saturn
(삼성새턴) |
SPC-ST |
|||||||
     |
Samsung Saturn
(삼성새턴) |
SPC-ST2 |
 unknown |
Sega Saturn
In September 1997, Kama Entertainment (카마 엔터테인먼트) distributed the model 2 Sega Saturn in South Korea, known unofficially as the Kama Saturn. It looks similar to the North American model 2 console but has the Japanese-style Sega Saturn logo, 220v power supply, uses VA13 motherboards with the region code set to 1 for Japan and bios v1.01. It was released at a cheaper price of ₩349,000. It has the standard Sega Saturn branding (세가새턴) instead of Samsung Saturn (삼성새턴). Kama Entertainment and Wooyoung System also distributed a handful of games under the Sega Saturn branding, with some of them being officially translated into Korean. Some consoles were also bundled with Sega Rally or Virtua Cop 2.
| Box | Name | Date & Price | Console | Label | Hardware | Software | Documentation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
      |
Sega Saturn
(세가새턴) |
 MK-80226-08 |
|||||||
      |
Sega Saturn +1 Virtua Cop 2
(세가새턴 +1 버쳐캅2) |
MK-80226-08 |
|||||||
 |
Sega Saturn +1 Sega Rally
(세가새턴 +1 세가 랠리) |
MK-80226-08 |
