Western logo
Model 1 from North America
Eastern logo
Model 2 from Japan
The Sega Saturn (shortened to Saturn) is Sega's home game console for the fifth generation consoles, putting it at odds with the major consoles of the time — the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Atari Jaguar, Nintendo 64, and the Sony PlayStation — and the lesser consoles of the time: The Amiga CD32, Apple Bandai Pippin, Casio Loopy, FM Towns Marty, PC-FX, and the Playdia. It was the successor to the Sega Genesis and was eventually succeeded by the Dreamcast. It launched on November 22, 1994 in Japan; May 11, 1995 in North America; and July 8, 1995 in Europe.
The Saturn has a dual-CPU architecture and eight processors. Its games are in CD-ROM format, and its game library contains several ports of arcade games as well as original games.
The Saturn was initially successful in Japan but failed to sell in large numbers in the United States after its surprise May 1995 launch, four months before its scheduled release date. After the debut of the Nintendo 64 in late 1996, the Saturn rapidly lost market share in the U.S., where it was discontinued in 1998. Having sold 9.26 million units worldwide, the Saturn is considered a commercial failure. The failure to release a game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, known in development as Sonic X-treme, has been considered a factor in the console's poor performance.
Although the Saturn is remembered for several well regarded games, including NiGHTS into dreams..., the Panzer Dragoon series, and the Virtua Fighter series, its reputation is mixed due to its complex hardware design and limited third-party support. Sega's management has been criticized for its decisions during the system's development and discontinuation. It's failure is considered to be a major factor in Sega dropping out of the console race years later.
Launch Games[]
Segata Sanshiro Commercials
The Segata Sanshiro commercials
Japan launch[]
- Mahjong Gokuu Tenjiku
- Myst
- Tama
- Virtua Fighter
- WanChai Connection
North America launch[]
- Clockwork Knight
- Daytona USA
- Panzer Dragoon
- Pebble Beach Golf Links
- Virtua Fighter
- Worldwide Soccer: Sega International Victory Goal Edition
Europe launch[]
- Clockwork Knight
- Daytona USA
- International Victory Goal
- Virtua Fighter