Sega SaturnIn 1994, Sega
developed two 32-bit consoles at the same time: the Saturn, a CD-ROM
based system and the Jupiter, a cartridge based system. Seeing that
CD-ROMs were cheaper to produce and offered a greater storage
capacity than silicon cartridges, Sega decided to proceed with the
Saturn. The Jupiter became the 32X add-on for the Genesis system. In
the final design, Sega did add a cartridge port to the Saturn
console only for the purpose of external storage and future
expansion.
Sega had Hitachi, Yamaha and JVC manufacture internal components for
the Saturn system in an effort to get it in stores as fast as
possible. Later Sega announced that each of the same three companies
would distribute the Saturn system.
In March 1995 Sega of America announced that the Saturn would be
released on September 2 in time for the Christmas holiday. Sega was
in a race to beat the highly anticipated Sony Playstation which was
also due out in September. However, despite the announcement, Sega
surprised consumers in May, when a supply of 30,000 Saturns were
released in American stores. Retail price on the system was $399.
Included with the console was an eight button control pad and a
CD-ROM of the arcade hit Virtua Fighter. Sega made the console
available with no game for $349.
Also caught off guard by the early release of the Saturn were third
party game developers. With no warning time, a minimal amount of
software titles were distributed in the first months of the Saturn's
American release.
The Saturn console was built around a double-speed CD-ROM drive. It
featured a total of eight microprocessors. It was powered by two
Hitachi SH2 32-bit processors that operate at 28.8 MHz. The Saturn's
parallel processing architecture was designed so both engines would
be working in conjunction with each other. The two graphics
processors could display up to five background planes and rotate two
playfields for the enhancement of depth and perspective.
Among the peripherals available was the Sega Saturn Stunner. It was
a light gun that featured single action firing and reloading. It
provided a similar feel and appearance of a genuine arcade shooter.
It could be used with Saturn shooting games like: Area 51 and Virtua
Cop.
In 1996, Sega unveiled the Net Link add-on for the Saturn. It
retailed for $199.99 and featured a 28.8kbps modem that plugged into
the cartridge expansion port. With the modem, Sega packaged a CD-ROM
that contained a custom-designed Net Link web browser that
compensated for the low-resolution of television sets.
Users could type E-mail with an on-screen-virtual keyboard using the
Sega Saturn Controller or an optional Net Link mouse. Unlike a home
computer, the Saturn was only equipped with a RAM memory and could
not permanently store downloaded data or E-mail. There was no
printer available so all information needed to be read on-screen
before turning the power off.
Net Link offered the feature of allowing Saturn players to compete
against each other on-line. Unlike previous console modems, Net Link
gave gamers using different platforms to the ability to compete. All
players were required to have versions of Sega's customized software
to participate. On-line games available for the Saturn include:
Virtual On, Daytona C.C.E., Duke Nukem 3D, Sega Rally and Bomberman
Sega reported good initial sales for the Saturn but the Sony
Playstation and Nintendo 64 systems soon dominated the market. By
March of 1998, Sega of America had reported losses of $309 million.
Sega continues to sell software for the Saturn but is now
concentrating on the release of the 128-bit Dreamcast system. It is
scheduled for release in Japan on November 20, 1998 and America in
fall 1999.
— Dave Beuscher
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