Anyone here ever owned a Sega Saturn ?

[Scuba 06]

Recently with talk of the Nintendo 64 in these forums, I was thinking about that generation of gaming that defined the mid to late 1990s. Looking back now, pretty much everyone I knew had either the PlayStation or N64. Both consoles sold fairly well and released dozens upon dozens of great games that really helped spark a renewed interest in gaming, especially in the mainstream. However, we often forget of the 'other' console that actually came before both of them and helped introduce the world to the capabilities of 3D graphics, like in the game, Virtua Fighter. I knew a couple of people who bought the system but didnt really continue to use it after buying one of its competitors. Looking at the library of games, it was unique as it seemed to appeal more to Japanese audiences than America and was a good system for Arcade ports. I noticed they never released a true Sonic game for the console as it was canceled before release, and as their biggest franchise, this probably hurt the standing of the console and sales a lot. It seems like by 1997, Sega was starting to give up on it leaving the system in limbo in the U.S, while working on sales in Japan, before a new system was released in 1999. I have always thought the system was in a strange spot following the very successful and legendary Genesis, then preceding the Dreamcast, which although at the time didn't sell, is now considered a pretty good and unappreciated console of its time. So did anyone here own one or still currently does ? What was your opinion of the system ? What games did you own and were they unique ? Did it get a bad rap and how did it shape up next to its competitors ?

 

[Cracka Jack]

I used to have a Saturn, but I was pretty young at the time and don't really remember much about it. I remember how freaking awesome Virtua Fighter was (not sure which one it was though), and I'm pretty sure I had a Sonic game for it too. I think we ended up selling it not too long after and getting an N64, then eventually a PS1. I can't say if the system's bad reputation is well deserved or not since I didn't spend too much time with it, but it did basically lead to Sega's death as a hardware manufacturer. That's something it may never be forgiven for.

 

[thegreatwhat]

My cousin used to have one. I played it a few times. The only game I recall playing back then was Street Fighter: The Movie. It was okay, but I just prefer Nintendo systems.

 

[Dusty Roids]

Bad marketing, No Sonic titles, difficult system for 3rd party developers, and the fact that they delayed the release of the saturn caused sega to lose this war against sony and nintendo. Especialy against Sony.

When Sega's Megadrive/Genesis was in a war against the SNES, they tried al things to pimp the Sega genesis with all kind of enxpesive 32 bit add-ons like Sega CD and the Sega 32X. I think that they should have gone for a full 32bit console like the Sega Saturn earlier they would stand more of a chance.

Nintendo also tried to imrpove the SNES by making a CD add-on created by Sony. the deal would not continue because Nintendo thought CD's were too slow for a console. Eventually Sony went on with the idea and thus the Playstation was born.

I always wanted a Saturn. But by the time I was ready to trade my Megadrive for a newer console, the Saturn was already off the shelves. So than I bought a Playstation, which in my opnion was the best console of that era. The N64 was by that time the least succesfull console Nintendo created (not counting the Virtual Console) and because of GoldenEye and the Mario franchise it still had decent succes. So PS> N64 for me.

 

[DirtyJosé]

I had a Saturn way before I ever got my PlayStation. It was iffy. Memory cards was an issue, but PS1 had that issue too and at least the Saturn had some built in memory for most smaller games. FMV's were all the rage back then and JEEZUS did they look like shit. The Saturn game boxes were ridiculously designed, not enough quality titles compared to Sony...it's no wonder this thing died so fast.

However, I will defend it with my life. The controller was far and away my favorite, much better than the PlayStation's until the advent of the Dual Shock. Mind you, I had the controllers which were different that the ones pictured above. Mine were a little bigger, more rounded, and with a d-pad which made playing easier. The in-system CD-player was also better, minus the visuals the PS1 had.

I think back to some of my favorite games of ever and there are quite a few Saturn titles on there. NiGHTS into Dreams. The Horde. Sonic Jam, a collection of old Sonic titles with some awesome extras that was much better than any current collections available. I miss my Saturn, I believe it's still kicking around in a parent's attic or something. Maybe I'll go dust it off soon...