All Hail the Saturn.. i have three, a Japanese Grey, two Pal Black , one of which is chipped for all regions and a 60hz switch. In the UK it launched at £399. People where just not buying into it. i wanted it so bad but could not afford that kind of money, But by the following year it was doing bad in the West, Most Saturns where sold in Japan. I think it was about a 80% of all Saturns sold where in Japan. I picked one up from Dixons for £250 including the newly released Sega Rally, Clockwork Knight and a soccer game.
I also invested in a FMV card to play VCD movies which cost a whopping £75, but i was able to buy rare Hong Kong martial arts action on VCD in London's China Town , films i would never would have seen if not for Saturn.
Dead or Alive was first released on Saturn in Japan after Tecmo Team Ninja licensed the Virtua Fighter engine from Sega. I paid £65 for the import and it sits on my shelf as i type.
All those great SNK and Capcom games which never saw the light of day in the West where great, many utilising the 4mb Ram cart. Real Bout, Pocket Fighters,Xmen vs Streetfighter where just a few of the titles in got on import.
Some of my prized possessions are on Saturn , games like Panzer Dragoon Saga,Deep Fear,DARK Savior,Funky Head boxers, Radiant Silvergun and every possible beat 'em up i could find.
The Saturn is host to some great wrestling games from Japan.
The Saturn was never a weak console Western developers where lazy for most part in not trying to utilize the extra processor, When programmed properly games like ,Panzer Dragoon,Sega Rally,Burning Rangers,Wipeout 2097,Nights,Exhumed,Virtua Fighter, and many more gave the PSX a run for it's money and then some.
Fighting games where more fluid on Saturn, especially 2d fighters, Racing games where faster on Saturn, Ridge Racer on PS never got out of first gear.
But Sega's problem by and large was releasing at a stupid price, Sony was a brand name in electronics worldwide, there £299 price seemed cheap to Sega's £400 console.
Saturn, it could have run rings around the PS had it been given a chance. but sadly those rings faded .
Long Live the Saturn.
BRKITG
