History of the Sega Saturn
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Contents
Background
In the early 1990s the video game industry was going from strength to strength. Sega were in engaged in global market battle with market leaders Nintendo, and each were keen to demonstrate their fourth generation video game console was the top console to own at the time. Sega had put forward the Sega Mega Drive in 1988, while Nintendo had countered with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990, with the success of both consoles varying across the world.
However, rapid improvements in technology meant by 1993, both consoles were starting to look out of shape. Competitors were emerging and although the marketing might of the two then-industry giants kept both systems in the console race, talk was beginning to emerge of possible "fifth generation" successors to carry the industry forward for the next half decade or more. The so called "16-bit era" was dead, and the upcoming "32-bit era" was widely anticipated by the gaming public.
Sega had already tried to extend the life of its Mega Drive with the ill-fated Sega Mega-CD add-on, taking advantage of compact discs, considered to be the next technological leap forward for video game media. Nintendo had also been engaging in a similar process with Japanese electronics giant Sony, but after discussions collapsed, later switched to Philips before stepping back from the concept almost entirely (the resulting product being the equally ill-fated CD-i console).
Consumer demands were changing. For developers and publishers, compact discs and their storage and streaming advantages were seen as the future, while consumers were ready to embrace 3D games into the home. The home computer markets of the world were crumbling due to the rise of the IBM PC standard (and milestones in gaming such as Doom) and the arcade industry was begnning to decline. Superior experiences to the Mega Drive and Super Nintendo were already commonplace (not least thanks to the Sega Model 1 arcade board) and the next wave of consoles were expected to bring the best of all recent advances in technology in one place for a more affordable price.
Sega is seen retrospectively by many to have had a very hap-hazard approach to the video game industry in the early 1990s. Though it had pushed for important milestones such as the ESRB in North America and the formation of the now-annual E3, the US and Japanese arm of the corporation rarely communicated and aimed to serve only their local consumer base. Japan would veto American ideas it did not like, and be reluctant to change its ways to suit overseas markets - policies it adopted during the early 90s and did not shake until pulling out of the console race entirely in the early 2000s.
Development
Though seen by many as a commercial failure, the Mega CD had cemented Sega's view that CD technology was the way forward, and now that their internal teams had gained some experience programming for the media, a CD-based fifth generation video game console was inevitable. It was also established early on that unlike the Mega Drive, any future console would aggressively target the Japanese market - something which after ten years of attempts, Sega had still not managed to crack to the same degree as Nintendo (or NEC).
And so, during 1993 a 27-member group known as the Away Team, began development of the "Saturn" project - a CD-based 32-bit gaming system to carry the company forward. Away Team was composed of Sega employees from a wide range of specialties, including hardware engineering, product development, and marketing, and was headed by Hideki Sato, who had also been responsible for designing Sega's prior "main" consoles. The team worked roughly two years on the project exclusively, in an attempt to get the console to launch with the some of the world's best hardware and software of the era.
32X
During the Saturn's development, the ill-concieved "Mars" project, headed by Sega of America came into fruition. Seemingly unaware of the upcoming Saturn hardware, the project, later known as the Sega 32X, set itself the task of extending the Mega Drive's lifespan, first as a true successor to the system, then as a hold-over to the Saturn. As a result, many early Sega "32-bit" projects have confused development history - some were converted into Saturn games, others were mislabeled as Saturn software, and many projects were never completed.
The 32X created a great deal of customer divide - it was an expensive and cumbersome unit, incompatible with the Saturn and was supported for less than two years. In most of the world the unit debuted before the Saturn, however in Japan it arrived some months after, damaging both consumer confidence and future Saturn sales.
The Saturn project started too early to learn from the 32X's mistakes - it too was considered a cumbersome machine from an early stage of development, most notably from Tom Kalinske, CEO of Sega of America at the time. It was upgraded several times during development - the final product being a great deal more powerful (but inherently more awkward to work with) than originally planned.
Pre-PlayStation Model
Though the Saturn was likely influenced by the design of Sony's PlayStation, Saturn development is believed to have pre-dated the PlayStation as a stand-alone unit (the PlayStation was for many months a SNES add-on (known as the "Play Station"). It is Earlier models of the Saturn (from 1993) were reported to be less powerful than the final version.
EDGE magazine issue #4 (from late 1993) states that the Saturn had a SH7032 CPU RISC chip running at 27MHz as its main processor, 3MB of RAM (which suggests a lack of VDP2 chip), "32 audio channels" (with support for PCM and FM) and a release date of November 1994. The final model opts for two SH-2 processors, with the SH-1 reduced to controlling the CD-ROM drive.
Saturn/Jupiter
For a while, the Sega Saturn project worked in parallel with the similar but ultimately scrapped Sega Jupiter console. The main difference between the two was a CD-ROM drive - at one point, the Saturn set to be able to run cartridge as well as disc-based software, with the cartridge port later being downgraded into a feature which would "assist" games. The Jupiter project was essentially a Saturn without a CD-ROM drive, but could have been upgraded at a later stage to create a makeshift Saturn console.
As explained Sega on both sides of the pacific saw CD technology as the way forward, so the Jupiter idea was scrapped by mid-1994.
Silicon Graphics
Tom Kalinske was reportedly never impressed by the Saturn hardware, but Sega of Japan refused to give the American branch of Sega much say in regards to the console's development. Kalinske did not see the Saturn as a console that could sell in the region in its current form - it was not engineered in such a way that would appease western developers, and he was fearful that the competition would eat into Sega's market share relatively quickly (at numerous points in the first half of the 1990s, the Mega Drive (or Genesis) was the best selling home video game console in North America).
Kalinske even went so far at one stage to source out an alternative graphics chip, approaching James H. Clark of Silicon Graphics (SGI), who, along with the recently acquired MIPS Computer Systems, were working together to create a low-cost real-time 3D graphics system. Negotaions fell through - though Sega of America were positive about the project, Sega of Japan were not keen, with the company collectively evaluating an early prototype as having several unresolved hardware-issues and deficiencies which made the project too risky. Sega would have also demanded exclusive rights to the upcoming chip, while SGI wanted to license the technology to other vendors.
The Silicon Graphics deal is controversial, not least because it was picked up by Nintendo for use in the Nintendo 64 in the Summer of 1993.
Sony Deal
Having been more-or-less rejected by Nintendo, Sony Electronic Publishing turned to Sega of America for help get into the console race. The PlayStation project (or what would become the PlayStation) was not thought highly of by Sony executives in Japan (a view which would not change until E3 1995), and Sega of America, reportedly impressed by the PlayStation project were keen to get Sony on board to create a Sony-Sega console. Japan once again rejected the idea based on Sony's perceived inexperience, however Sony Imagesoft, along with Sega of America would work with Digital Pictures to test out CD-based game development prior to the deal's collapse.
Inevitably Sony would hire Steve Race who was working under Tom Kalinske at the time and challenge Sega head-on at E3 1995.
Toyko Toy Show 1994
The Sega Saturn was unveiled to the public for the first time at Toyko Toy Show 1994, held on the 2nd of June 1994. Though mostly complete in design, the Saturn hardware had yet to be condensed into its final form, and while a Saturn console was put on display, this consisted solely of a plastic shell. Alongside the Saturn, prototype control pads and Virtua Sticks were put on display, with both undergoing cosmetic changes before release.
The event featured a number of early Saturn games, although with the exception of a 30% complete build of Virtua Fighter (according to Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine), most were said to be unplayable. Technical demos featuring content from what would emerge as Daytona USA were featured, and Clockwork Knight also showed up in some form.
The Saturn model on display was much like the final Japanese HST-0001 console, spare for one key difference - it was a shiny silver as opposed to a dull grey. Also printed on the unit was the text "High Performance CD-ROM/Cartridge Entertainment System", suggesting that cartridge-based software was still being considered at this stage.
EGM reported that the Saturn was due to retail at ¥49,800 or less, would have two SH-2 32-bit RISC CPUs, have a Motorola 68000 chip driving the sound and could handle 16.77 million colours. Flat shading, gourard shading and texture mapping were all set for 3D models, and scaling, warping and rotation were set for sprites. Five layers of scrolling were available for 2D graphics, and 32-channel PCM and 8-channel FM audio were available. These figures suggest that the hardware was roughly the same as the final Saturn model, though with some figures missing, there is the possibility of slight differences. The final cost of the Saturn in Japan was ¥44,800, reduced primarily to compete with the PlayStation.
Photos of a slightly earlier model were sent to the press a couple of months before the event, with almost identical aesthetics bar a non-final "Sega Saturn" logo.
- SaturnProto4.jpg
Earlier model, seen in Joypad magazine.
Featured model, seen in EGM.
Release
Japan
Sony announced the PlayStation, its "32-bit" CD-based console would arrive in Japan in late 1994 - the same period as the Saturn. Feeling they could take Sony with one fell swoop, the Saturn was rushed to the market, just six weeks ahead of the PlayStation. Very few games were available when the Saturn launched — Sega's Virtua Fighter, Sega/Micronet's WanChai Connection, Electronic Arts Victor's Mahjong Goku Tenjiku, Sunsoft's port of Myst, and Time Warner Interactive's Tama.
Despite all of this, 170,000 machines were sold the first day. The Sega Saturn quickly surpassed the popularity of any Sega console released before it in Japan. Part of this success was due to strong, inspiring adverts featuring Segata Sanshiro, who would travel around Japan and punish those who did not play their Saturns. While Saturn systems were being outsold by PlayStation systems in Japan in 1995-1997, Sega actually sold more software for the Saturn during the same time period. The result was that in Japan the Saturn became the platform of choice for more dedicated gamers while the PlayStation had an audience comprised of more casual customers who bought fewer titles.
Japan had numerous Saturn models available within its lifespan of varying colours. It can be seen as one of the first systems to offer a choice in colour - a practise that would later be expanded on further by the Nintendo 64.
In the end the vast majority of the Saturn's game library remained exclusive to Japanese customers. More than 80% of the console's 1000+ strong library did not leave the country.
All this considered, the Sega Saturn is widely regarded as the most popular Sega platform of all time in Japan, selling more than the also-popular Nintendo 64 (6 million vs. 5.54 million). The console was supported with software until 2000, almost two years after the Dreamcast launched in that region.
North America
With perceived weaknesses both inside and outside of Sega of America, the Saturn had a tough time outside of Japan. The press were intrigued, if not ecstatic about the console's arrival and many were questioning the long-term future of the 32X, which already seemed to be on its way out.
Before word of the PlayStation's earlier release, the release day in the US was to be 'Saturnday' on September 2, 1995 - delayed to ensure the console had games at launch. However, following Japanese worries at E3 1995, the Saturn was released four months ahead of the schedule - on the very day of Sega's E3 press conference. The timing was not great - not only did Sony turn around some hours later to annouce a lower price point ($299 vs. $399), the early Saturn release surprised everybody - not just consumers and developers, but retailers too. This pricing move, along with much better marketing than that of Sega of America, wreaked havoc on the Saturn's place in the market and ultimately caused its downfall.
The American branch did not have enough stock or enough games to justifty the early launch - many retailers were left alienated (most notably Kay-Bee Toys) because console supplies were too low (which meant Sega had to prioritise some stores over others), and with the PlayStation seen to have dominated E3, enthusiasm for the Saturn was low. Not only did the announcement of an early release take third-party software developers by surprise, it also meant that Sony would have more time to put some finishing touches on their PlayStation, draw up a well-planned strategy and learn from the pitfalls of the Saturn.
Third party developers had no time to get their games translated and out to market by launch, leading to a severe drought of games which plagued the system for its first year. The early launch was in a sense, meaningless, as few games launched on the Saturn ahead of their originally planned schedules, and many games which did see a release were considered by many to be under-par.
Over time, Sega also changed its marketing strategy, and the successful rebellious advertising campaign of the Sega Mega Drive (for example, the Sega Scream television commercials) was toned down and exchanged for advertisements which took on a more conservative attitude.
Perhaps the biggest contribution to the system's failure was the distrust that gaming consumers were developing for Sega after a series of add-on peripherals to the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis in the US), the Mega CD and 32X, which were discontinued around the same period as the Saturn's launch after only lukewarm support. The PlayStation also had many more popular software titles much earlier in the race than Sega did, such as ports of Namco's Ridge Racer which was technologically superior to Sega's Saturn release of Daytona USA.
Unfortunately, many of the games that made the Saturn so popular in Japan such as the Sakura Taisen series or many of the quirky anime style RPGs that sold well in Japan were never released elsewhere. Much of the reasoning behind this was due to policies put in place under the management of former Sega of America president Bernie Stolar, who believed that RPGs were never to have great commercial success in North America.
Sega's flagship character and mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, never made a particularly major Saturn appearance - an enhanced Mega Drive port, a racing game and a compilation of his major Mega Drive adventures were made, but only the racing game was exclusive and it was hardly a major title. In fact, the one truly major title (Sonic X-treme) wound up being canceled.
80,000 Saturn units were sold in North America before the PlayStation. 100,000 PlayStation units were sold within its first few days.
Europe
Once again the Sega Saturn was launched early in Europe - this time in July 1995, a few months before the PlayStation. Until this point, all Sega consoles supplied to Europe had been a success, thanks to little marketing and delayed releases from Nintendo, however newcomer Sony would not follow in Nintendo's footsteps, and gave the region a constant supply of new, high quality titles.
The momentum for Sony's console built up rapidly and consumers seemed less interested in Sega's console than in previous generations. However, Sega's console was kept in the UK race by the very well written Sega Saturn Magazine, with November 1998's Deep Fear being the last game to be released in this region.
Unlike previous consoles which require physical mod chips, the Saturn simply requires an Action Replay cartridge in order to run software from overseas. This made importing games from Japan a much easier process.
Brazil
Like previous consoles, the Sega Saturn was distributed by Tectoy, and eventually adopted many of the colour schemes set out by Sega of Japan. Though not a commercial failure fewer Saturn games were released than Master System or Mega Drive games, with a vast number being US imports.
South Korea
The Saturn was also released in South Korea by Samsung as the SamsungSaturn (삼성새턴). It is rumoured that there are at least two revisions of the console - original models had a faulty reset button which did not function.
Asia
Much like previous consoles, the Saturn had a patchy release across Asia, seeing a release in nations such as Thailand and Hong Kong. A special Saturn with VCD support was released in this "region".
Decline
After the holiday shopping season in 1996, the Saturn had fallen far behind the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 in North America and Europe, and Sega senior management wanted to produce a new platform pretty quickly. The idea was to get the jump on the next generation of systems ahead of their competitors, and so by E3 1997 Sega had already begun talk of the new system, code named Katana, which would eventually turn into the Sega Dreamcast.
As Sega started aggressively moving the Katana project forward it caused something of a rift between Sega and many third party developers. The Saturn was more than holding its own in the Japanese marketplace where the vast majority of Sega game development was based. As a result many Japanese developers saw little to no reason for Sega to rush another platform to the market, which would in the process, effectively kill the Saturn despite its large user base and many active development projects.
After another third place turnout during the Holiday season in 1997 a number of third party publishers started cancelling titles, as a result many games planned for a US Saturn release, including renowned titles such as Policenauts and Lunar The Silver Star Story. A chain reaction of cancellations rushed through the Saturn market transforming a seemingly promising 1998 schedule of North American releases to a small handful of titles.
In Europe, particularly in the UK, the Saturn held its own for roughly the same period of time, continuing a long running trend of supporting aging or comparitively weaker systems well into old age. However, rising development costs, awkward hardware and low sales forced publishers like Eidos to reconsider their policies, and similar to North America, the Saturn began to be dropped by third-parties during 1997 and 1998. Difficulties with Saturn development created numerous problems for the European market - many top games like Wipeout and Destruction Derby were released many months after their PlayStation counterparts while some such as Micro Machines V3 were never released at all.
The Saturn would be discontinued in late 1998 for Europe, and April 3, 1999 in North America. Sega's history would damage the Dreamcast's reputation, with notable publishers such as Electronic Arts refusing to back the system, having made losses on the Saturn. It is widely considered that the Saturn was simply not up to the task of competing effectively in the fifth generation of video game consoles - it was not a machine built for 3D games, yet this was the expected standard throughout the latter half of the 90s.
The Saturn frequently benefited from the experimental period of early 3D gaming - quadrilateral-based polygons (which the Saturn employed) were for a while, just as widely used as the triangle-based model of the PlayStation and later consoles, so in some cases, Saturn ports fared better than their PlayStation counterparts. By 1997 this was no longer the case - the quality gap had widened and Saturn ports were frequently seen as lesser versions. Many PlayStation (and PC) games were seen as too complex for the Saturn hardware, and although Sega's console had the edge on 2D graphics, western developers were no longer interested in producing 2D games.
In the end, 9.5 million Saturn consoles were sold worldwide, with the console faring worse than both the PlayStation and the Nintendo 64 (despite the latter arriving more than a year late). In Japan, the Saturn out-sold the Nintendo 64 by a considerable margin (though still lagged behind the PlayStation), and the system enjoyed some, albeit muted, success in smaller markets.
Aftermath
Though the Sega Saturn is not amongst the most fondly remembered video game consoles, it is still considered noteworthy. The 3D Control Pad set the standard for analogue control pads going forward, introducing the concept of analogue shoulder triggers and a thumbstick on the left hand side of the controller (something continued with the Dreamcast and later the Xbox line). Its six face buttons also made its controllers ideal for fighting games.