Today marks the anniversary of a once-great console maker’s first real fall from grace: one that started its undesired transition away from its former strength.
On this day way back in 1995, the Sega Saturn launched in North America, with an aim to change the gaming landscape forever. Admittedly, that did happen, but not in the way Sega hoped.
Sega’s flagship was the first-ever fifth-generation console, getting ahead of its traditional main rival Nintendo and its N64, as well as an upstart Sony Corporation which, to that point, was believed to be creating a platform primed for failure, not least because of its perceived lack of gaming expertise.
However, Sony was clearly doing something right, as the PlayStation’s purported 3D focus had already put Sega on the back foot. Before learning of Sony’s plan, the Saturn had prioritized 2D graphics, reflecting the company’s ongoing success with arcade games utilizing this approach. The Saturn’s design was all but complete by the end of 1993, but leaked information about the PlayStation forced Sega to add another video display processor to boost its texture mapping and 2D performance.
Meanwhile, in the US, Sega of America looked to fix a deal with Silicon Graphics to boost the Saturn’s processing power, but Sega of Japan decided otherwise. A lack of communication between two wings of the same company meant Silicon Graphics wouldn’t partner with Sega; it eventually lent its tech prowess to Nintendo for the development of the N64.
The earliest battles between the Saturn and PlayStation took place over the five months prior to their releases in North America. In Japan, Sega dropped its new flagship console on November 22, 1994, just two weeks ahead of Sony’s launch on December 3. It sold well – Japanese manufacturers of consoles always have, domestically – yet while Sega was bolstered by sales of half a million Saturns in the first month, the upstart PlayStation was catching up.
An early release in the American market was seen by Sega as its best means to secure global success. After all, who’d buy two full-priced consoles in one year, and at $800 a pop in today’s money?
Sega wanted to surprise its audience, and it had the best opportunity to do so on May 11, 1995: during the first day of the first-ever E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Taking the stage, Sega of America president Tom Kalinske announced that the Saturn was available immediately for $399. This didn’t just shock attendees; he also caught plenty of others off guard.
Firstly, retailers were up in arms: aside from a handful of partners who had small stockpiles of the Saturn, others didn’t have it, and wouldn’t get it for a long while, owing to production shortages. KB Toys, which Sega didn’t initially provide the Saturn to, felt so slighted by the move that it never stocked it.
Secondly, game developers weren’t ready for such an early release, as evidenced by its restricted launch titles: arcade ports of Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter, plus Clockwork Knight and Panzer Dragoon.
Thirdly, buyers weren’t prepared. The gaming rumor mill in the mid-90s was powered by magazines and TV ads. The build-up was almost non-existent, leading to more of a false start than an explosion out of the blocks. And if you think the Saturn’s TV campaign was enough to excite the average US customer, think again:
That’s not to say the E3 reveal wasn’t incredible, but Sega had decided to go all in on the first day before any other cards were turned over. Before the flop, if anything. Sony knew it needed to surprise the audience too and, in one of E3’s best-ever moments, it did exactly that.
Sony’s head of development Steve Race took to the remarkably austere E3 stage to make the simplest announcement. Responding to the Saturn briefly, but devastatingly, he said just three words:
“Two ninety-nine.”
Sony had priced the PlayStation at $100 less than the Saturn. Gamers just had to wait until September 9 to get it, but by then, Sony would have amassed a game line-up which included Ridge Racer, Rayman, NBA Jam: Tournament Edition and Battle Arena Toshinden, with Wipeout, Jumping Flash, Twisted Metal, Mortal Kombat 3 and Tekken not far behind. Tekken 2 was already in arcades, and was secured as a PlayStation exclusive.
That’s not to say the Saturn was in its death throes: far from it. It ended up giving us Panzer Dragoon Saga, Radiant Silvergun, Virtua Cop, Guardian Heroes, Sega Rally Championship and NiGHTS into Dreams. But the sales figures speak for themselves: in its lifetime, the Saturn sold three million units in the US. The N64 sold just over 20 million. The PlayStation? 40 million.
Sega stopped supporting the console in 1998, going out with a bang with the release of, er, Magic Knight Rayearth. The year after, Sega learned from its mistakes and released the glorious Dreamcast, which went on to be the savior of the company.
Just kidding, of course. It absolutely bombed and, exactly like its predecessor, took four years to enter and exit the market. Sega’s entire console division left the market alongside it.
