Sega Saturn
Manufacturer	Sega
Type	Video game console
Generation	Fifth generation era
First available	JP November 22, 1994 NA May 11, 1995 EU July 8, 1995
Discontinued	North America and Europe: late 1998 Japan: 2000
CPU	2 x Hitachi SH-2 32-bit RISC (28. A console manufacturer is a company that manufactures and distributes Video game consoles It is also known as a first-party Video game publisher. is a multinational Video game Software and Hardware development company and a former Home computer Video games were introduced as a commercial entertainment medium in 1971, becoming the basis for an important entertainment industry in the late 1970s/early 1980s in the United The fifth-generation era (more commonly known as the 32 bit era and occasionally after the release of the Nintendo 64, the 64 bit era and more rarely For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Events 330 - Byzantium is renamed ''Nova Roma'' during a dedication ceremony but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000 Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) 6 MHz)
GPU	VDP1 & VDP2
Media	CD-ROM
System storage	Internal RAM, cartridge
Online service	Sega NetLink
Units sold	17 million[1]
Best-selling game	Virtua Fighter 2 (1. The Sega Saturn is equipped with dual custom VDP chips for graphics processing The VDP 2 serves as the Sega Saturn 's background processor Certain special effects such as texture transparency and playfield rotation and scrolling (up to five fields at any given time CD-ROM (an initialism of "Compact Disc Read-Only Memory " is a pre-pressed Compact Disc that contains data accessible to but not writable NetLink here For the Linux program see Netlink. SEGA Netlink Sega NetLink also known as Seganet in Japan was an This is a list of Video game consoles and Handheld game consoles that have sold or shipped at least one million units This is a list of Video games that have sold or shipped at least one million copies including the top ten best-selling franchises. Virtua Fighter 2 is a Fighting game developed by Sega. It is the sequel to Virtua Fighter and the second game in the 7 million)[2]
Predecessor	Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
Successor	Dreamcast

The Sega Saturn (セガサターン, Sega Satān^?) is a 32-bit video game console that was first released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe. The is a 16-bit Video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988 North America in 1989 and the PAL region in 1990 The is Sega 's most recent Video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn. The range of Integer values that can be stored in 32 bits is 0 through 4294967295 or −2147483648 through 2147483647 using Two's complement encoding Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Events 330 - Byzantium is renamed ''Nova Roma'' during a dedication ceremony but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000 Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 The system was supported in North America and Europe until late 1998, and in Japan until the end of 2000. Events Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo Events May 11 - 13 &mdash 6th annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo the 3rd annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of

Development

Sega's 27-member Away Team, comprising employees from hardware engineering, product development and marketing, worked for two years to design the Sega Saturn's hardware. is a multinational Video game Software and Hardware development company and a former Home computer The Saturn was a powerful machine for the time, but its design, with two CPUs and six other processors, made harnessing this power extremely difficult. Also, many of the ancillary chips in the system were "off the shelf" components, increasing the complexity of the system because the components were not specifically designed to work together. Rumors suggest that the original design called for a single central processor, but upon hearing of the Sony PlayStation's capabilities, a second processor was added late in development to increase potential performance. The PlayStation (abbreviated PS, PSone, PS1, or informally as PSX) is a 32-bit fifth generation Video game console

Third-party development was initially hindered by the lack of useful software libraries and development tools, requiring developers to write in assembly language to achieve good performance. In Computer science, a library is a collection of Subroutines used to develop Software. A programming tool or software development tool is a program or application that Software developers use to create debug maintain or otherwise See the terminology section below for information regarding inconsistent use of the terms assembly and assembler At least during early Saturn development, programming in assembly could offer a two to fivefold speed increase over the C language. tags please moot on the talk page first! --> In Computing, C is a general-purpose cross-platform block structured ^[3] To save development costs and time, some programmers would utilize only one CPU. One such case was with Alien Trilogy. Alien Trilogy is a 3D First-person shooter based on the first three movies in the ''Alien'' film series.

The implementation of dual CPUs within the Saturn was not ideal. The biggest disadvantage of the architecture was that both processors shared the same bus and had problems accessing the main system RAM at the same time. In Computer architecture, a bus is a subsystem that transfers data between computer components inside a Computer or between computers The 4 KiB of cache memory in each CPU was critical to maintaining performance. A kibibyte (a contraction of ki lo bi nary byte) is a unit of Information or Computer storage, established by the International In general, very careful division of processing, in addition to the already-challenging task of parallelizing the code, was required to get the most out of the Saturn. Parallel computing is a form of computation in which many instructions are carried out simultaneously operating on the principle that large problems can often One example of how the Saturn was utilized was with Virtua Fighter's use of one CPU for each character. Virtua Fighter is a 1993 Fighting game developed for the Sega Model 1 arcade platform by AM2, a development group ^[3]

Compared to the PlayStation, the Saturn's hardware was difficult to work with because of its more complex graphics hardware and lesser overall performance, as noted by Lobotomy Software programmer Ezra Dreisbach. The PlayStation (abbreviated PS, PSone, PS1, or informally as PSX) is a 32-bit fifth generation Video game console Lobotomy Software was an American video game company best known for the game PowerSlave ( Exhumed in the Europe as well as the successful Sega Saturn ^[4] In order to bring Duke Nukem 3D and PowerSlave to the Saturn, Lobotomy Software had to almost entirely rewrite the build engine to get adequate performance from the Saturn. Duke Nukem 3D is a First-person shooter computer game developed by 3D Realms and published by Apogee Software. PowerSlave ( Exhumed in European territories and Seireki 1999 Pharaoh no Fukkatsu in Japan the US title itself being a clear reference to the The Build engine is a First-person shooter engine created by Ken Silverman for 3D Realms. ^[4] Also, during testing of an unreleased Quake port for the PlayStation, the Saturn's performance was found to be notably inferior for the game. Quake is a First-person shooter Computer game that was released by Id Software on June 22, 1996. ^[4]

The Saturn version of Shenmue, considered by many to show the true capabilities of the system. is an Adventure game developed by Sega-AM2 and published by Sega for the Sega Dreamcast, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki.

Unlike the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 which used triangles as its basic geometric primitive, the Saturn rendered quadrilaterals. The, often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo 's third home Video game console for the international market In Geometry, a quadrilateral is a Polygon with four sides or edges and four vertices or corners. This proved to be a hindrance because most of the industry's standard design tools were based around triangles. One of the challenges brought forth by quadrilateral-based rendering was problems with making some shapes, notably triangular objects. This can be seen in the Saturn version of Tomb Raider, in which triangular rocks are not rendered as well as other system's versions of the game. Tomb Raider is a Video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. ^[4] The hardware also lacked light sourcing and hardware video decompression support, the latter being a major disadvantage during a time when full-motion video was quite popular.

Still, if used correctly, the quadrilateral rendering of the Saturn had advantages. It could potentially show less texture distortion than was common with PlayStation titles, as demonstrated by several cross-platform titles such as Wipeout and Destruction Derby. Wipeout (also WipEout) is a Racing game developed and published by Psygnosis, which was released in 1995 for the Sony PlayStation Destruction Derby is a 1995 Video game developed by Reflections and published by Psygnosis, the former The quadrilateral-focused hardware and a 50% greater amount of video memory also gave the Saturn an advantage for 2D game engines and attracted many developers of RPGs, arcade games and traditional 2D fighting games. A computer role-playing game ( CRPG) is a broad Video game genre originally developed for personal computers and other home computers An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in businesses such as Restaurants Pubs Video arcades and Family Entertainment With creative programming, later games like Burning Rangers were able to achieve true transparency effects on hardware that used simple polygon stipples as a replacement for transparency effects in the past. Burning Rangers is a Video game developed by Sonic Team for the Sega Saturn. Stippling is the technique of using small dots to simulate varying degrees of solidity or shading

The cartridge slot was useful for adding extra RAM or storage devices for saving games to the system. One ROM cartridge was released with King of Fighters '95. which contained part of the game data because not enough RAM was available. Two different RAM cartridges were released for the system; a 1 MB RAM cart by SNK for King of Fighters '96 and a 4 MB RAM cart by Capcom for X-Men vs. Street Fighter and Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. The King of Fighters '96 is the third game in The King of Fighters series by SNK. For the original NASA meaning see capsule communicator. is a leading Japanese International developer X-Men vs Street Fighter is an Arcade game released by Capcom in 1996 and is the first game in the Marvel vs Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter is the fourth Marvel Comics -licensed Fighting game produced by Capcom (see ''Marvel vs Both companies were known for their sprite-based 2D competitive fighting games and many of their subsequent games utilized their respective cartridges. A fighting game (also referred as a versus fighting game, competitive fighting game, tournament fighting game or head-to-head fighting game)

Performance in the marketplace

The optional analog controller (North American and European version) that came packaged with Nights into Dreams...

Japan

The Japanese Saturn was rushed to the market in November 1994, just a few weeks ahead of its rival, Sony's PlayStation. Nights into Dreams (trademarked NiGHTS into Dreams) is a Video game released by Sega in 1996 for the Sega The PlayStation (abbreviated PS, PSone, PS1, or informally as PSX) is a 32-bit fifth generation Video game console The difficulties in programming for the system along with the early release led to very few games being available at launch. Approximately 170,000 machines were sold the first day the console went on sale. Although the Saturn was outsold by the PlayStation in Japan between 1996 and 1997, Saturn software enjoyed higher sales.

Many of the games that made the Saturn popular in Japan, such as the Sakura Taisen series and numerous quirky anime style RPGs, were never released in foreign territories due to policies put in place by then Sega of America president Bernie Stolar. is a Japanese Media franchise owned by Red Entertainment and Sega; it was created by Ouji Hiroi with original character designs by Kōsuke Fujishima (anime in Japanese, Bernard "Bernie" Stolar is an American businessman who worked in the video game industry for several important companies Some suggested that Stolar was taking orders from Sega of Japan's CEO Hayao Nakayama, who believed that RPGs (or even most Japanese games in general) were not appealing to the North American audience. A chief executive officer ( CEO) or chief executive is typically the highest-ranking corporate officer ( executive) or administrator

The last commercial licensed release in Japan and last official game for the system was Yuukyuu Gensoukyoku Hozonban Perpetual Collection, released by MediaWorks on December 4, 2000. was a Japanese Publishing company in the Kadokawa Group known for their brand magazines and book labels "December 4th" redirects here For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.

North America

By the end of 1994, the 16-bit video game era was in twilight in North America and gamers were eagerly anticipating the new 32-bit machines from Japan. In early 1995, Sega president Tom Kalinske announced that the Saturn would launch in the U. Thomas "Tom" Kalinske is an American businessman best known as the president and CEO of Sega of America from 1990 to 1996 S. on "Saturnday", (Saturday) September 2, 1995. Events 44 BC - Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 This date was greatly anticipated by gamers and the media. It also allowed Sony to announce that the PlayStation release date would be one week later on September 9, 1995. Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995

However, at the first Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May 1995, Kalinske announced that the "Saturnday" date was a ruse and that the system was being released nationwide by a few select retailers immediately. The E3 Media and Business Summit, formerly known as Electronic Entertainment Expo and commonly known as E3, is an annual Trade show for the computer It appeared that Sega had a real opportunity to take a commanding lead in the 32-bit race by beating the PlayStation to the market.

However, the "surprise attack" launch backfired on Sega for several reasons. The Saturn was released at a high price point of US$399, while Sony announced a US$299 price for the PlayStation at E3 itself, as a response to the Saturn's earlier release. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been

The early launch also meant that the Saturn had only a handful of games available at the moment, as most third party games were slated to be completed and rolled out around the original September 2nd launch date, and as many successful Japanese titles were not imported. Third party publishers, particularly these based in North America, were angered as the surprise launch prevented them from capitalizing on the momentum inherent in an anticipated, planned release. Essentially the only software available on the shelves at launch was software released by Sega. Many within the gaming industry viewed the early launch as a calculated move to give Sega larger sales of Saturn software at the expense of independent developers.

In addition, the retailers who were not included in the early launch (most notably Wal-Mart and KB Toys) felt betrayed, with some retaliating by supporting Sega's rivals. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores KB Toys (previously known as Kay Bee Toys) is a chain of mall-based Retail Toy stores in the United States. This resulted in Sega having difficulties with these distributors for the Saturn (and also for its successor, the Dreamcast). As an example: the leadership within KB Toys were so angered by Sega's actions that they refused to release the Saturn at all and even actually going as far as having some retailers removing anything Sega-related in stores, providing more retail space in many American shopping malls for the Saturn's competition instead.

By the time of the PlayStation's release on September 9, 1995, the Saturn had sold approximately 80,000 systems. Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 The PlayStation sold over 100,000 units upon release in the U. S. , and Sega's dreams of early domination of the new generation of hardware were quickly forgotten.

From 1995–1997 the Saturn became the "other" system, running a distant third behind the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation. The, often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo 's third home Video game console for the international market However, it was the preferred system for many arcade gamers who eagerly anticipated Sega's arcade classic games being ported to the system. Sales of the Saturn would generally spike as new arcade ports were released, then die off shortly thereafter. By the end of 1997, with Sega publicly saying that it would develop a successor, later known as the Dreamcast, console sales and released games dropped dramatically. The is Sega 's most recent Video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn.

The last commercial licensed release in North America was Magic Knight Rayearth, released by Working Designs on December 11, 1998. Magic Knight Rayearth is an Action adventure Video game that was released for the Sega Saturn. Working Designs was an American Video game publisher that specialized in the localization of Japan -native RPGs, strategy games and top-down Events 359 - Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar)

Europe

Despite the successful results of previous Sega consoles in this region (Master System and Mega Drive were both the top-selling consoles of their generations in the European market) and although the Sega Saturn was launched in Europe in July 1995 — a few months before the newcomer PlayStation's release — the momentum for Sony's console amongst consumers began to build rapidly, stalling Saturn sales in the region. The Sega Master System is an 8-bit cartridge-based Video game console that was manufactured by Sega and was first released in 1986. The is a 16-bit Video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988 North America in 1989 and the PAL region in 1990 The PlayStation (abbreviated PS, PSone, PS1, or informally as PSX) is a 32-bit fifth generation Video game console As a result, the Sega Saturn never enjoyed the success it achieved in Japan or even the post-launch hype the machine was awarded in North America, leaving the market almost solely in the competition's hands. By the time that the Nintendo 64 hit European shelves in early 1997, the Saturn's sales had long since stagnated. The, often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo 's third home Video game console for the international market

The last commercial licensed release in Europe was Deep Fear, released by Sega Europe in November 1998. Deep Fear is a 1998 Survival horror Video game for the Sega Saturn.

However, support for the Sega Saturn in the UK was bolstered by the successful publication of Sega Saturn Magazine. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Sega Saturn Magazine was a monthly UK Magazine dedicated to the Sega Saturn. Although the publication of the magazine technically ran parallel to the last commercially released games, it dedicated the bulk of its pages to reviewing Japanese releases and news relating to the eagerly anticipated Dreamcast. The is Sega 's most recent Video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn. In another marketing blunder, Sega refused to give EMAP (the publisher of Sega Saturn Magazine) the Official Dreamcast Magazine licence in the UK, despite a large and extremely loyal fanbase. EMAP is a British media company specializing in the production of B2b magazines and the organization of business events and conferences ^[5]

End of an Era

As price drops continued throughout the 32-bit era, the system board design of the Saturn was not as easy to condense in a cost-saving manner and Sega fell behind after price drops offered by Nintendo and Sony. As a marketing strategy, Sega bundled with the system three of its best selling games (Daytona USA, Virtua Cop, Virtua Fighter 2) in order to keep the more expensive Saturn competitive with its rivals. This was not entirely successful as gamers preferred to purchase game titles of their own choice instead, so they turned to cheaper competing systems.

The Saturn's motherboard was complex and difficult to consolidate, making it expensive to produce.

By early 1997, the Saturn was trailing the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation in both North America and Europe to such an extent that senior management began planning a new platform and, by E3 in 1997, had begun talk of the system called the Katana (which would later be named the Sega Dreamcast). The, often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo 's third home Video game console for the international market The PlayStation (abbreviated PS, PSone, PS1, or informally as PSX) is a 32-bit fifth generation Video game console The history of the E3 began with its creation in 1995 and has continued through the current expo in 2008 Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar The is Sega 's most recent Video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn. Sega America President Bernie Stolar, who was strongly in favour of the upcoming console, announced "The Saturn is not our (SEGA's) future". Bernard "Bernie" Stolar is an American businessman who worked in the video game industry for several important companies

As Sega began public discussion about their next generation system, barely two years after having launched the Saturn, it ironically became a self-fulfilling prophecy, some citing it as an example of the Osborne effect. A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true The Osborne effect is exhibited when a company's revelation of information about future products results in customers not purchasing (or delaying purchases of the current offering This move, combined with Sega's recent history of short-lived consoles, particularly the Sega CD and 32X which were considered ill-conceived "stopgaps" that turned off gamers and developers alike, led to a chain reaction that quickly caused the Saturn's future to collapse. The is an add-on device for the Sega Mega Drive that was released in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan. The Sega 32X ( Japanese: セガ スーパー32X codenamed Project Mars is an add-on for the Sega Mega Drive Video game console by Sega Immediately following the announcement, sales of the console and software substantially tapered off in the second half of 1997, while many planned games were canceled, causing the console's life expectancy to shorten substantially. While this let Sega focus on bringing out its successor, premature demise of the Saturn caused them financial problems. Even though the Dreamcast did address many of the problems with the Saturn, Sega's bad reputation caused customers and publishers to be skeptical and holdout to see how it would fare against Sony's PlayStation 2. The is Sega 's most recent Video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn.

The aggressive move to replace the Saturn resulted in a rift between Sega and many of their third-party developers and publishers. North American developers were already hostile to the Saturn because it was difficult to program for, and because they were left out by its early release, so the future project alienated what remaining support Sega had in that region. However, many Japanese developers had strongly supported the Saturn in its homeland and saw little reason for Sega to rush another platform to market. The announcement caused a substantial drop in software sales, causing frustrated third parties to cancel many planned releases. The early abandonment of the Saturn hurt third party software support not only for that system, but also for Sega in general. Several major publishers such as Electronic Arts declined to support the upcoming Dreamcast, which played a part in its failure as well. The is Sega 's most recent Video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn.

Among the games planned to be released in North America or Europe that were canceled including highly anticipated titles such as Sonic X-treme, Policenauts and Lunar: Silver Star Story. Sonic X-treme is an unreleased Platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series is a cinematic Adventure game, with a hard science fiction storyline published by Konami, written and directed by Hideo Kojima. Lunar Silver Star Story Complete, originally released in Japan as simply, is a Console role-playing game developed by Game Arts and Japan Art A chain reaction of cancellations transformed the 1998 schedule of released games down to a minimum with titles like Steep Slope Sliders, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Burning Rangers, The House of the Dead, Shining Force III (only part one of the three-part series) and Magic Knight Rayearth. Steep Slope Sliders is a console game made for the Sega Saturn, published in 1996. Panzer Dragoon Saga (titled Azel Panzer Dragoon RPG in Japan is a critically-acclaimed role-playing video game (RPG released exclusively for the Burning Rangers is a Video game developed by Sonic Team for the Sega Saturn. The House of the Dead is a first-person Light gun Arcade game released in 1996 by Sega. Shining Force III is a video game designed for the Sega Saturn by Camelot Software Planning. Magic Knight Rayearth is an Action adventure Video game that was released for the Sega Saturn.

The Saturn was discontinued in both Europe and North America in late 1998, far earlier than the typical 5-year life cycle of most video game consoles.

Saturn models

Asian models

In Japan, Sega licensed the rights to produce Saturns to their hardware partners – Hitachi, who provided the CPUs and several other chips, and JVC who produced the CD drives for most models, although functionally identical Sanyo drives were sometimes used. () is a Multinational corporation specializing in high-technology and services headquartered in Marunouchi Itchome Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. ( usually referred to as JVC, is an International consumer and professional electronics Corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded () is a major Japanese electronics company and member of the Fortune 500 whose headquarters is located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan SunSeibu released a model with a 7-CD changer for use in hotels. The concept of a multi-game player for hotel use is very common in Japan. A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging usually on a short-term basis

North American models

All North American models are black in color and were produced by Sega.

Early models came packaged with a redesigned controller that was slightly bigger than the Japanese variant. Eventually the Japanese controller was adopted.

Sega Saturn Start-up Screen (PAL Version)

===European/Australian models===

European and Australian Saturns are identical as both regions share the same AC voltage and TV standard. There is no internal variation between PAL and SÉCAM machines as all were shipped with SCART leads. PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is a colour -encoding system used in Broadcast television systems in large parts of the world SECAM, also written SÉCAM ( Séquentiel couleur à mémoire, French for "Sequential Color with Memory" is an analog color television system SCART (from Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs) All models are black and externally quite similar to the North American variations. PAL and SECAM machines will have "PAL" next to the BIOS revision number on the system settings screen instead of "NTSC".

Game packaging

Japan

The inlay and spinecard for the Japanese release of Bubble Symphony – games were packaged in standard CD jewel cases

Japanese software was packaged in a standard CD jewel case with a spinecard – a tri-fold piece of light cardboard that hugs the spine of the jewel case and is held in place by the overall shrinkwrap. Optical disc packaging is the Packaging that accompanies CDs DVDs and other formats of optical media. "Shrinkwrapped" redirects here For the album see Shrinkwrapped (album. These spine cards had a gold and black color scheme with the Japanese Sega Saturn logo, along with lettering printed vertically. The spinecard bears the title of the game to which it is attached. Saturn games re-released under the Saturn Collection (Satakore) label (which can be thought of as a kind of "Player's Choice" for Saturn games) have a red and white spinecard with white lettering, the Saturn Collection logo under that, and the 2,800 yen price featured prominently. Spinecards are valuable to collectors, and necessary if one wishes to sell the game as "complete. " Games spanning multiple discs were packaged in diamond case double CD cases, which are twice as thick as a standard case; "Burning Rangers", although it is only a single-disc game, was packaged in a diamond case because of the bonus audio CD that was included with it. Burning Rangers is a Video game developed by Sonic Team for the Sega Saturn.

The game manual is included in place of liner notes, and the cover will usually carry a bar similar in appearance to the spinecard, along with the Japanese rating, if there is one. The back liner usually features artwork or screenshots from the game and a black bar at the bottom containing necessary legal information, such as copyright notices. This liner sometimes had artwork printed on both sides, and a clear CD tray would be used (in place of the black tray that many Saturn games used) in order to see the artwork.

Some games that came with thicker instruction manuals were packaged in a non-standard, slightly thicker variant of the standard jewel case. Only about 20% of Saturn games used this particular type of case. The game Super Robot Wars F (a Japanese-only game produced by Banpresto) comes with this special jewel case, which is approximately 1 mm thicker, necessitated by its 54-page manual. ( is a Japanese game development firm It was founded April 1977 as Hoei Sangyo Co Langrisser 3 and Riglord Saga 2 also used a similar case for the same reason.

North America

The box for the North American release of Street Fighter Alpha 2, showing all vertical edges

In North America, the existing tall, single hinged case design used for Sega CD games was adopted for Saturn titles. Street Fighter Alpha 2, known as in Japan, Asia, South America and Spain, is a Fighting game originally released The is an add-on device for the Sega Mega Drive that was released in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan. The cases incorporate a white spine containing a 30 degree stripe pattern in gray (although this pattern was not used with later games), with white outlined lettering displaying the words "Sega Saturn". The manual slides into the case in the same manner as the liner notes in a normal jewel case, and the cover often carries a back insert with information about the game. The manuals were substantially larger than standard CD manuals, and as a result had more room for art. Games spanning multiple discs had special inserts to accommodate the extra discs; two-disc games had an extra plastic tray that slotted into the front half of the case to hold the extra disc, and three-to-four disc games had the extra discs packaged in paper sleeves specially cut to fit into the case.

These cases had several problems:

• Their sheer size made them difficult to store and vulnerable to cracking.
• The mechanism that keeps the cover closed wears out quickly if the cover is opened and closed too much.
• There is sufficient empty space inside the case that, if the CD comes loose of the case's spindle, it can easily suffer scratching or be shattered during case transportation. Some games (especially early in the system's life) came with a foam brick to keep the disc from falling off the spindle. The most general definition of foam is a substance that is formed by trapping many gas Bubbles in a Liquid or Solid. A brick is a block of Ceramic material used in Masonry construction laid using mortar. This brick was left out later on to save costs, but an improved spindle design was implemented, which held the discs more securely than the old design.
• Because these cases were proprietary for the most part, replacement cases were difficult to find.

Games packaged with the system (such as Virtua Fighter) or a peripheral (such as NiGHTS Into Dreams...) often came in a standard CD Jewel case. Virtua Fighter is a 1993 Fighting game developed for the Sega Model 1 arcade platform by AM2, a development group Nights into Dreams (trademarked NiGHTS into Dreams) is a Video game released by Sega in 1996 for the Sega

Europe

The box for the European release of Saturn Bomberman, showing all vertical edges

The European Saturn cases were custom designed and similar to a DVD case, composed of either a two piece clamshell enclosure held together by a single large piece of card comprising both the front and back covers and spine, or a single-piece plastic case with a paper insert detailing covers and spine underneath a flexible plastic outer window similar to a commercial VHS video case except in dimensions. Saturn Bomberman is Video game for the Sega Saturn. It is part of the Bomberman series DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is Some titles, notably those from Electronic Arts, featured an extended deeper version of the VHS style case.

When the case is opened the disk rests inside the case to the right of the hinge, while the booklet was placed to the left. Standard art design includes a solid black spine and white lettering displaying the words "Sega Saturn".

These cases had several problems:

• The cardboard hinges wore out very quickly
• The spindles which held the discs in place wore out very quickly, causing discs to move around in the cases in transit and scratch
• There was nothing holding the manual in place; as the manuals were often heavy, with several languages, it was difficult to close the cases without the manual falling out of place.
• The mechanism for closing the cases wore out very quickly and was very ineffective to begin with

The cases were redesigned closer to the end of the life of the console in Europe in later years, with a plastic case and a sleeve insert, much like a DVD case, the games cases were fairly hard to open but more sturdy and less prone to breaking, the later games were all released in these cases and some earlier games were released both in this case and the older one, like Athlete Kings and Sega Rally.

Technical specifications

Processors

• Two Hitachi SuperH-2 7604 32-Bit RISC processors at 28. The SuperH (or SH) is brandname of a certain Microcontroller and Microprocessor architecture 63 MHz (50-MIPS) – each has 4 KB on-chip cache, of which 2 KB can alternatively be used as directly addressable Scratchpad RAM
• SH-1 32-bit RISC processor (controlling the CD-ROM)
• Custom VDP 1 32-bit video display processor (running at 7. Scratchpad memory (SPM also known as scratchpad, scatchpad RAM or local store in Computer terminology is a high-speed internal memory used The SuperH (or SH) is brandname of a certain Microcontroller and Microprocessor architecture 1590 MHz on NTSC Systems, 6. 7116 MHz for PAL Systems)
• Custom VDP 2 32-bit video display processor (running at 7. 1590 MHz on NTSC Systems, 6. 7116 MHz for PAL Systems)
• Custom Saturn Control Unit (SCU) with DSP for geometry processing and DMA controller (running at 14. 3 MHz)
• Motorola 68EC000 sound controller (running at 11. 3 MHz / 1,5 MIPS)
• Yamaha FH1 DSP sound processor, "Sega Custom Sound Processor" (SCSP), running at 22. A digital signal processor ( DSP or DSP micro) is a specialized Microprocessor designed specifically for Digital signal processing, generally 6 MHz
• Hitachi 4-bit MCU, "System Manager & Peripheral Control" (SMPC)

Memory

• 1 MB SDRAM
• 1 MB DRAM, combined with SDRAM to make the main 2 MB memory area
• 1. SDRAM refers to synchronous Dynamic random access memory, a term that is used to describe dynamic random access memory that has a synchronous interface 5 MB VRAM
• 4 KB VDP2 on-chip color RAM
• 512 KB audio RAM
• 512 KB CD-ROM cache
• 32 KB nonvolatile RAM (battery backup)
• 512 KB BIOS ROM

Audio

• Saturn Custom Sound Processor

Video

• VDP1 32-bit video display processor
• VDP2 32-bit background and scroll plane video display processor

Storage

• Saturn double-speed CD-ROM drive

Input/output

• Two 7-bit bidirectional parallel I/O ports (controller ports)
• High-speed serial communications port (Both SH2 SCI channels and SCSP MIDI, also used for the Serial port)
• Cartridge connector
• Internal expansion port for MPEG adapter card
• Composite video/audio (standard)
• NTSC/PAL RF (optional RF adapter required)
• S-Video compatible (separate cable required)
• RGB compatible (separate cable required)
• EDTV compatible (separate cable required)
• Hi-Vision (separate cable required)

While the Saturn is capable of VGA (progressive/non-interlaced) video, no software ever used this mode and the system cannot force software to run in this mode. The Saturn Custom Sound Processor (SCSP is manufactured by Yamaha and consists of several components The Sega Saturn is equipped with dual custom VDP chips for graphics processing The VDP 2 serves as the Sega Saturn 's background processor Certain special effects such as texture transparency and playfield rotation and scrolling (up to five fields at any given time The Sega Saturn Video game console features a double speed CD-ROM drive manufactured by JVC-Victor (some models may have been manufactured by Hitachi In Computing, input/output, or I/O, refers to the communication between an Information processing system (such as a Computer) and the outside The Moving Picture Experts Group, commonly referred to as simply MPEG, is a Working group of ISO / IEC charged with the development of video and NTSC ( National Television System Committee) is the Analog television system used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is a colour -encoding system used in Broadcast television systems in large parts of the world Super Video or Separated Video abbreviated S-Video and also known as Y/C is an analog video signal that carries the video data as two separate Enhanced-definition television, extended-definition television, or EDTV is a CEA marketing shorthand term for certain Digital television MUSE ( Multiple Sub-nyquist Sampling Encoding System also known as Hi-Vision for marketing purposes was an early high-definition analog television standard developed Some development systems had VGA ports, but no consumer units ever offered this or other high-res functionality.

Power source

• AC120 volts; 60 Hz (US)
• AC240 volts; 50 Hz (EU)
• AC100 volts; 60 Hz (JP)
• 3 volt lithium battery to power non-volatile RAM and SMPC internal real-time clock
• Power Consumption: 25 W

Dimensions (US/European model)

• Width: 260 mm (10. Non-volatile Random access memory ( NVRAM) is the general name used to describe any type of random access memory which does not lose its information A real-time clock ( RTC) is a Computer Clock (most often in the form of an Integrated circuit) that keeps track of the current Time 2 in)
• Length: 230 mm (9. 0 in)
• Height: 83 mm (3. 2 in)

Errata

VDP1 transparency rendering quirk causes strips of pixels to be rewritten to framebuffer for 2-point (scaled) and 4-point (quadrangle) "sprites", applying the transparency effect multiple times. Rarely seen in commercial games (Robotica explosions), later titles implemented software transparency via direct framebuffer access to correctly render polygons (Dural in Virtua Fighter Kids). Virtua Fighter Kids is an installment in the Sega-AM2 Virtua Fighter Fighting game series

Another technique developed for pseudo-hardware transparency was to rasterize polygons using one or two pixel tall sprites with transparency enabled to fill in horizontal spans. Because 2 of the 4 quadrangle points were identical, there was no framebuffer rewrite during rendering.

The Linux kernel contains code specifically designed for the Saturn; it is unclear if this effort was ever completed. Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks

Compatibility

In addition to playing games, all of the Saturn models could play music CDs and CD+G discs. A software disc was sold by Sega to allow the playing of PhotoCDs ('Photo CD Operating System'). An MPEG decoding hardware module was released by Sega, JVC and Hitachi, allowing VideoCD playback. JVC later released a VideoCD module that included the software for displaying PhotoCDs, eliminating the need for a software disc.

There were some titles that could be played on both U. S. and Japanese consoles. Street Fighter Alpha 2 was one of the titles that could be played on both regions systems without a converter. Scud: The Disposable Assassin, which was only released in the US, was compatible with both European and Japanese Saturns, in addition to US Saturns. Scud The Disposable Assassin is a Video game based on the Comic book series of the same name. It is one of the very few region-free Sega Saturn games. ^[8]

Marketing techniques

Segata Sanshiro

In 1996, Sega started a marketing campaign that featured a naked woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. It used screenshots from the games to cover her breasts and pubic area. ^[9] It was very successful, and EGM selected the campaign as the best ad during the 1997 Buyer's Guide.

For a time, Sega mailed out videotapes containing an infomercial advertising its system to potential customers. It ran roughly eight minutes long and featured gameplay footage and a collection of Saturn commercials. It has become somewhat infamous for its bizarre content (a bald woman with a ring around her head, a dancing slacker, etc). ^[10]

A device resembling a Saturn appears briefly in Neon Genesis Evangelion episode 23, with a Sega-badged TV. commonly referred to as NGE, Eva, or Evangelion, is a commercially and critically successful influential and controversial Japanese Anime that Sega was a sponsor of the program and the movies, but it is unclear why it was not featured more often or more prominently.

A Sega Saturn can be seen in the movies, Mallrats, First Kid, and Dead man on Campus.

Also in the Jet Li movie Black Mask, Tracy Lee is playing a Sega Saturn with various games while she is being held hostage by Tsui Chik, with two of the games being Virtua Fighter and Darius Gaiden. Black Mask ( is a 1996 Hong Kong action film starring Jet Li, Lau Ching-Wan, Karen Mok and Anthony Virtua Fighter is a 1993 Fighting game developed for the Sega Model 1 arcade platform by AM2, a development group Darius Gaiden (or Darius III in US arcades is a horizontally-scrolling Shoot 'em up Arcade game, released by Taito in 1994

One of the more infamous marketing techniques used by Sega to promote the Sega Saturn was Mr. Segata Sanshiro - a man who devoted his life to the way of gaming. Sanshiro Segata (せがた三四郎 Segata Sanshirō) is a fictional character created by Sega to advertise the Sega Saturn in Japan between He would discipline himself to true power and then discipline those who did not play the Sega Saturn. Although his way of promoting the Sega Saturn could be conceived as quite sinister, he was received with critical acclaim in Japan. His reign did not reach any country other than Japan, however.

The Sega Saturn was also prominently featured atop Drew Carey's TV in The Drew Carey Show for some time, even after its discontinuation. The Drew Carey Show is an American Sitcom (set in Cleveland Ohio) that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004 Eventually, in Season 6, it was replaced with a Sega Dreamcast. The is Sega 's most recent Video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn.

In Shenmue for the Sega Dreamcast, a Sega Saturn can be seen in Ryo's TV Room in his house. is an Adventure game developed by Sega-AM2 and published by Sega for the Sega Dreamcast, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. The is Sega 's most recent Video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn. You can come back at a later time in the game to play it. It is humorous to note that the Saturn would not actually be released for another 8 years after Shenmue takes place. It may, however, be a subtle nod to the fact that the game began development on the Saturn.

In "Choukou Senshi Changerion" the main character owned a Sega Saturn that was prominently displayed on top of his tv, this was done also because the toys and show were sponsored by Sega. is a Tokusatsu series created by Toei Company. The series aired from April 3 1996 to December 25 1996.

Accessories

Direct Link

The DirectLink (also known as Link Cable) is a device that enables two Sega Saturns to connect to each other for multiplayer gameplay. A multiplayer video game is one which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time The device requires two televisions and two copies of the same game. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic

Arcade Racer

Arcade Racer is a steering wheel type of joystick for the Sega Saturn, helpful when playing racing games. A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling Many Board games can be said to be racing games such as Snakes and Ladders, Cribbage, or Formula Dé. Unlike most controllers at that time which were digital, the Arcade Racer is analog. A digital system uses discrete (discontinuous values usually but not always Symbolized Numerically (hence called "digital" to represent information for An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature (variable of the signal is a representation of some other This gives the controller a smoother response. The controller works with a variety of Sega Saturn games including:

• Time Warner Interactive's V. Time Warner Inc ( is the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerate, headquartered in New York City. R. Virtua Racing
• Sega's Daytona USA. Virtua Racing or VR for short is a Formula 1 racing Arcade game, developed by Sega-AM2 and released in October Daytona USA is a racing Arcade game by Sega. It was originally released in 1993, with a revision in 1994.
• Sega's Sega Rally Championship
• Sega's Sega Touring Car Championship

See also

• List of Sega Saturn games

References

External links

• Saturn at the Open Directory Project