The Sega Saturn was the most successful Sega console in Japan. Until FFVII released the Saturn was the number one system in Japan. Sega's problem was poor management. Sega of Japan was run by idiots.
They forced Sega of America to release the 32X when they were against it. Tom Kalinske, Sega of America president at the time, told the Sega of Japan that releasing the 32X right before the Saturn would piss off their fanbase, they didn't listen to him and he quit. They hired Bernie Stolar and Sega never recovered in the US.
As a direct result of this, they had to prematurely end the lifespan of the Saturn in Japan because the Saturn bombed so hard in the US. Ending the successful run of the Saturn in Japan pissed of Japanese third party developers and retailers. This combined with anger several major American retailers and developers had over the Saturn's surprise early launch in the US doomed the Dreamcast before it even launched.
