Dancing Across the Rings of Saturn

I've decided to handle the Saturn differently than I did the Dreamcast when I picked it up. I have an older post that lists all the licensed Dreamcast games and other items but crossed out, with the ones I own un-crossed and bold. A crazy idea I had at the time that I'm sticking to for that console.
I don't know if I want to do a list like that for Saturn. Until I decide what to do with the Saturn I do want to talk about the history of the Saturn first since it's a lesser known console. It had a much different history than others and I think it's fascinating it was able to hold as much ground as it did back in the day (when you really think about it). So that's what this will be, a condensed, objectively fair (I'll try) viewpoint of the Sega Saturn, it's history, and the promise of game reviews to quickly follow.

Mistakes of a Previous Generation

Sega made a lot of odd decisions in the early 90s. Their console the Genesis/Mega Drive was proving to be a smash hit! It was in competition with Nintendo that Sony vs Microsoft has nowadays (only more fun and less stupid). Say all you want about the tech behind the console, what really mattered were the games. I could go into that for ages, but that would be off topic and we don't need to do that. All in all Sega had a great spot in the market while remaining in good competition.
Then something else started happening. CDs. So many games were jumping to the CD format because it can hold more and do more while remaining less expense than the very limited cartridges. So all these new consoles were coming out based in CDs or older consoles made CD add-ons.

While not all of these were released before Sega's idea, there were a good chunk of consoles that came out in the span of a few short years based in CD gaming, or are a CD add-on. including:
-3DO
-Jaguar CD
-Neo Geo CD
-Phillips CD-I
-Turbo Grafx CD
...to name a few.

Just think about that. Think about how many consoles are released at the same time per generation? Maybe 2 or 3 a generation not counting portable? Does Ouya count or is that too similar to PC? Crazy to think but in the mid 90s there was an explosion of gaming consoles and add-ons! Some of these were released years apart, sure, but these were just the CD add on or CD based consoles. There were even more  Just like in the pre-NES days as the legendary crash happened. In a way the market almost crashed again because there was so much but no one knew enough about most of them. Thankfully the not so great consoles bombed like Jaguar and 3DO. However it is a shame the Neo Geo and Turbo Grafx weren't a bigger hit. I've heard those are fantastic consoles!

Sega jumped onto the gravy train in 1991 in Japan with the Mega CD, or the Sega CD in 1992 for Americans. While somewhat impressive for the time the add on was not terribly popular. It managed to crank out a couple of notable titles but those were either due to controversy (Night Trap) or cult following (Snatcher.) They would repeat themselves in 1994 with another add on. The 32X. A cartridge based add on that played 32 bit games, a step up from the 16 bit the Genesis could do on it's own. It was an even bigger failure than the CD. Again it had a couple notable titles (including Knuckles Chaotix.) Definitely not system sellers, though, at least from what I've heard. Despite this Sega had plans on releasing ANOTHER console that was built to play Genesis and 32X games without the add on. They had already done this with the Sega CD. Thankfully this new console didn't come out cause the star of our show was on the way.

So with all those problems behind them one would think the Sega Saturn would be handled with better care. Well... almost.

Launch

From promo material. Similar to final look of the Japanese model.

The Sega Saturn was released in Japan on November 22nd 1994 and it was a hit! The console sold it's entire initial shipment of 200,000 units the first day. Fueled mostly by the popularity of the console's port of Virtua Fighter. A game that sold at almost a 1:1 ratio with the console. In November of 1994 nearly a quarter million people owned a Saturn in Japan, and close to every single one of them had Virtua Fighter. The next shipment came through on December 3rd. The launch date of Sony's first console the Playstation. This may be hard to believe for American readers but the Saturn was initially the better selling console in Japan even when sold side by side.
Ironically this was when the 32X was released in America. Giving Americans a lesser product AND blue balls waiting for the new console to come out.

And of course America fucks it up.

In March 1995 Sega of America announced the Saturn would be released on 'Saturnday' (Saturday) September 2nd 1995. However, in an effort to compete against Sony, Sega did something to get a head start. During E3, May of that same year they revealed the console's price ($399) and it's capabilities. They also announced that 30,000 units have already shipped to select stores in select cities ready for purchase. This was a bold move that upset more people than it excited, specifically the retailers who were not all aware of the early launch.
Since the only people who knew about this early launch was Sega the lineup of games was limited with few on the way before the proper launch. Only two more games were scheduled for release between May and September. Meaning over the course of nearly half a year there were less than ten games available for this new console. To add insult to injury the Playstation was selling at $100 less than the Saturn and sold more units only days after it's launch than the Saturn did in it's entire five month head start.

Egg... on... face...

It should come at no surprise that the system dropped it's price to $299 by the end of the year. Still it wound up struggling in the states from here on out always trailing behind the Playstation. This is usually the story with consoles. If you don't have a good start then it's very likely failure is imminent (with the exception of the Wii-U maybe?)
At least in the states that was true. Japan had a very different story with the Saturn. More on that in a bit.

Tech

The Saturn was caught between a rock and a hard place. I'm not an engineer or a tech junkie so I can't go into deep detail but I can tell you where and why things went wrong.

First the Saturn worked much better as a 2D console. During initial development 2D was still a big part of gaming. While 3D was starting to enter the scene, especially with Sega's own Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racing in the arcades, it wasn't entirely clear what level of 3D future consoles could handle. So 2D was the focus with 3D elements incorporated but not to the level we now know. Keep in mind up to this point we saw little to no 3D in games. Some of the 3D seen was faux-3D using sprites. Polygons were barely a thing, and when those were used it was at the most basic, primitive level. We had Star Fox, Hard Drivin', but not much else.
Then, suddenly, 3D was proving to be the way of the future. Since Sega was so far along in development their method of catching up was Frankenstein-ing their console. Again I am not a tech guy and I don't even want to re-post what others may post for the tech specs cause I won't be able to follow up on those comments. Instead I'll tell you what you know in the way I know it.
There was something with the hardware where they used two of the same processors in order to achieve the results they wanted in theory. Again, to my understanding this wasn't smart cause it was like trying to cut a steak with two butter knives when one sharp steak knife would have been preferred. Only they didn't have the time or the money to start over and build a stronger fire pit. Or maybe they didn't even have the interest? Maybe they wanted to focus on 2D despite kicking ass with polygons in the arcades.

Because of this odd setup the Saturn proved to be very difficult to program for. This is something else that confuses the hell out of me. Starting with the fact they used different shapes as their basis for polygons. Something about how one system uses triangles whereas others use quadrilaterals or whatever. In a way this as a preview to the Playstation 3. It was built much different than the competitors and in a confusing way. It made it difficult to program which meant less games were being made for it (at first). Less games meant less selection. But even if the same games were made for both Saturn and Playstation it had the whole 'which is better' thing going on like the Genesis/SNES competition before only not as extreme in difference.
With the constant failing in popularity the Saturn saw developer's lack of interest in making games for the console. Some of which were sequels to games already on the console. Tomb Raider for example was on the Saturn. Tomb Raider 2 was only on Playstation. Same with Resident Evil. First was on Saturn, not the sequel. Although that would change when Resident Evil 2 was ported to the Dreamcast. Plenty of examples like this (and with porting to Dreamcast actually.)

Another problem is Sega got a little too ambitious and indecisive with their console despite it's power. There were multiple games that started on the Saturn only to be released for later consoles or not released at all! Did you know Shenmue started development on the Saturn and it was going to be an RPG staring Akira from Virtua Fighter? The game's creator Yu Suzuki was impressed by what the console could do but development was going painstakingly slow. After two years of development the game was put on hold until it picked up speed again on the Dreamcast.
Then of course there's the notorious Sonic X-Treme. A game that deserves it's own posting (which I'm working on.) To be brief, Sonic X-Treme was going to be the Saturn's official entry in the mainline Sonic games not counting spin offs or ports. The game was delayed multiple times and saw many engine changes. In the end the game was cancelled and barely finished. Like Duke Nukem Forever minus being eventually finished and released twelve years later. Because of that the Saturn only had the previously mentioned ports and spin-off Sonic games. Really sad considering there were four mainline Sonic games on the Genesis plus spin-offs.

The difficulty of programming also meant it's difficult to emulate. This goes beyond playing games on your computer using emulators. This pulls in ports to newer console. The console is so weird to work with many, if not every game ported from the Saturn onto later consoles were not ported from the Saturn versions. Usually their source was the original arcade (Virtua Fighter 2) or the PC ports (Panzer Dragoon). To this day it is still uncommon to see Saturn games available on modern consoles and not for lack of interest. There are lots of adored games on the console. There's just not enough easy to port games or enough interest in investing the time and money to port the harder to port games.

Speaking of games...

Games

It's always hard to find a perfect full list of games for any console. Outside the failure consoles that had literally a handful of games like the Virtual Boy. I'd say it's especially difficult for the Saturn considering it was a much bigger success in Japan than America. I know I've been talking some smack about it til now but really that was the case. It's simply my American perspective and experience.

While researching I found a really cool and exciting fact about the games. I already knew games were being released for the console in Japan as late as 1999-2000 (America stopped in 1998.) What I didn't know was the success between us and them was so dramatic. According to some sources there were over a thousand games released for the Saturn, more than half of which never made it to the states. Let that sink in considering the failure the console was in America.
This completely changed my perspective and outlook on the system. It makes me feel like my American collection I'm building is a niche portion even though that was my entire experience in the mid/late 90s. In a way it's funny I find this out. At one point before picking up a Saturn again I considered buying a Japanese model and sticking strictly to imports. I guess I sub-consciously knew about the drastic difference.

That's for the future of my collecting. I'm sure in time you'll see plenty of import reviews. For now I'm focusing on what I once experienced while branching out from there.

When I do review the games it's shocking to see how much variety there was for the console. It's not like the N64 where RPGs were almost non-existent or the XBox 360 where FPS games dominated. There were a lot of unique titles that made up the Saturn experience. Ten of which that come to mind for me and my experiences include:

Bug!

Clockwork Knight

Daytona USA

Nights into Dreams...

Panzer Dragoon

Sonic R

Virtua Cop

Virtua Fighter

Virtual On

World Series Baseball

While all those titles are key to my personal tastes and experiences it's still easy to see the variety. There are platformers, shooters, racers, fighters, whatever the hell Nights can be classified, even sports! Yes, the Saturn is one of the veeeeeeeeeeeeery few consoles where it had sport games I didn't just like, but loved! That's because Sega did a great job with not just one or two genres. Most genres they developed were great with few exceptions. Making them very well rounded which, again, surprises me in thinking how they were once considered a 'failure.' But if there's one genre I had to classify as the Saturn's strongest it would easily be arcade.
A cheat? I think not. Arcade is a genre in and of itself having it's own rules, restrictions, and high points. While Nintendo slowly moved their way out of the arcade Sega made sure to stay in it alongside their consoles. Sadly this would be part of their downfall in the console market in the long run. At least they made some great experiences before that happened. They kicked major ass in the arcades and their ports were top notch as well. Sega even went so far as to release the dual stick joystick for Virtual-On so the home player could have a similar experience to the arcade.

More on that in a bit. But first here's the arcade unit controller. Think of that at home.

Instead I think the best way to handle the rest of this (since I plan on doing full reviews as I pick up games) is to do a rundown of notable games. These showcase either the console's power, the public opinion, or my personal experience. Some of these games I have not have played yet so it's based on what I've read. Should be obvious.

And now for my seemingly random choices in no particular order...

The Virtua Franchise - A series of games that started in arcades but quickly became hits at home, if not more popular at home. The games I'm referencing are Virtua Racing, Virtua Cop, and Virtua Fighter. All are great games and were revolutionary at the time for their use of polygons. With the exception of Virtua Racing there were sequels to these games made (Racing just had an updated version in arcades) with Fighter being the longest running at five games and a handful of spin-offs. The only downside to these games is their generic nature. They have great engines and are fun but visually and stylistically are lacking. Racing is straight up F-1, Virtua Cop sometimes feels like every other 90s cop movie but stripped down, and Virtua Fighter's characters couldn't be more predictable. All of which is forgiven when you play because of how damn fun they are!

Panzer Dragoon - Even on some of Sega's first party exclusives for the system they stuck with an arcade style. Panzer Dragoon is an on rails shooter that is surprisingly varied for the time. You ride on the back of this dragon-like creature shooting down all kinds of crazy and scary creatures. In a way it's more like Space Harrier and less like Virtua Cop because you have more control than just where you're shooting. Also you don't just shoot in front of you. You also shoot side to side and behind needing to watch all around you so you don't get killed.
There were two sequels, neither of which I've played. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei looked to be similar to the first. I imagine there were plenty of enhancements to make it stand out on it's own. The second sequel, Panzer Dragoon Saga, is much more notable. It took the genre into RPG territory expanding well beyond the flying and shooting arcade style mechanics of the first two games. The only problem is it was released late in the Saturn's American life, shipping in very limited quantities. The Japanese release is easy to get but the American release runs an average of $300 or more.

WARP - No game was named WARP, but there were some by the developer WARP. Specifically I'm talking about D and Enemy Zero. You already know about my love of D, as I've linked back to my review more often than anything else I've done because I talk about it so much. Also it was on a couple other consoles including the Playstation, 3DO and PC. Enemy Zero on the other hand was a Saturn exclusive (not counting PC 2 years later.)
Basically these games are like interactive movies that somehow work. Each game is a multi-disc game solely because of the nature of the gameplay. You navigate through a series of pre-rendered videos with limited interaction. Still the experiences are insanely engaging and is way better than it may sound. Certainly a higher experience than the FMV games for consoles like Sega CD. You can always see my thoughts in my D review (which I already linked back to) and my inevitable Enemy Zero review coming later.

Nights into Dreams... - Another title I've already talked about in a previous post, albeit it's the PS3 HD re-release.
This is easily one of the most popular and most loved games on the Saturn. It's an easy to pick up and play game structured on arcade-style gameplay. Simple to learn, tough to master as getting the highest rating in each level is quite a challenge. Yet flying through the sky with such grace and ease will make it okay if you never achieve that level of expertise. Just re-playing the same level over and over is fun enough. It's also got a lot of charm and character that anyone can relate to since it's about dreams and nightmares.
It's like a Pixar movie in a way. Simple and straightforward concept most can enjoy living in a vibrant and colorful world. It may seem shallow on the surface but the more time you spend with it the more you see the depth it offers. Without a doubt this is one of the top ten best games released for the console and remains one of my personal favorites to this day.

Duke Nukem 3D - A game that's been ported and re-released to death had a pretty legit port on the Saturn. While definitely not as good as Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown for the Playstation it was still a great experience for me on the Saturn. It didn't cut out or redo a lot of stuff like in the N64 version. It stayed pretty true blue for the most part, but couldn't really tell you where the minor differences are. Despite the differences there was one thing this port had the other home ports didn't. Online play. This was one of the few games that took advantage of Saturn's online capabilities whereas the other consoles simply couldn't. Outside of PC this was the only place to play Duke 3D online. I never experienced it myself but the sheer fact it could in the mid-90s is saying something, right?

2D Fighting - Since the Saturn does 2D way better than 3D it should come as no surprise there were a lot of 2D fighters for the console. While I was busy kicking ass in Fighter's Megamix, a bunch of Japanese kids were kicking ass in multiple versions of King of Fighters, Street Fighter, and Marvel Super Heroes. Add the 'vs' games like X-Men vs Street Fighter and you've got some of the most celebrated games for the console. It helped these games already had a following to begin with. Then there's the fact so many of them were so well done they were done too well. And by that I mean if you wanted to play some of these exciting, action packed fighters at full speed and capacity you needed the 1 or 4 meg ram expansion cartridge. A little like the N64 ram expansion only not as crippling if you don't have it.
I am VERY excited about importing these along with an arcade fighting stick.

Die Hard Arcade - One of my favorite arcade games of all time and it's only home release was on the Saturn. I freaking love this game! It's an arcade action beat-em-up through and through in the tradition of games like Final Fight. Only this one is in full polygonal 3D.
While the name speaks for itself it wasn't always a licensed game. In Japan it is known as Dynamite Deka and is only inspired by Die Hard. It wasn't until it hit other regions that the likeness got adapted to what it was based off of in the first place. It should be known this is not connected to any of the movies. Simply similar in theme and style. The sequel Dynamite Deka 2 would be released in America as well but in the form of Dynamite Cop for the Dreamcast. No more Die Hard name connected to it.

Early Kojima - Hideo Kojima, most well known for Metal Gear Solid these days, was making plenty of legendary games before his most popular franchise. Two of those games originally released for the Japanese computer NEC PC-9801 got ports for the Saturn among a couple other consoles. Those games were Snatcher and Policenauts.
Yes they were both released in enhanced versions for the Saturn. But there's a good reason you didn't see these games in the states. Back in the mid-90s Snatcher did get an American release on the Sega CD. While the game was critically acclaimed it did very poorly in sales, leaving it as a rare and valuable items since few copies were sold. Then Policenauts was in development for the Saturn's English market but eventually cancelled due to technical reasons with the translation. Something's telling me there was more to it than that.
So the adventure games remained quite a mystery to most before the age of the internet. Still the only way to play these games on the Saturn is to import them. Something I plan on doing one day even though I won't understand a word of them.

Burning Rangers - And for my last entry in this list is one of the later games in the console's life.
A little like Panzer Dragoon Saga but not as insanely rare. This action game developed by Sonic Team was released in mid-1998, about six months before the last US Saturn game was released. Much like a few other games that year it was critically acclaimed but sold very few copies due to the inevitable failure of the Saturn. So naturally the game is quite rare in it's American release commanding roughly $100 for a complete set (disc, case, and manual.)
A shame because the game looks really cool and really fun. In short the game is set in the future where you go on missions of search and rescue. You fly around in a mechanical suit that helps you put out fires and save civilians. The game was criticized for a low difficulty but praised for it's great replayability.
Since this game is action based it would be much easier and more financially efficient to get the import copy. Seeing as how I don't have a personal connection to the American version like Sonic Jam and Fighter's Megamix.

Peripherals

For the most part the Saturn's accessories weren't too different from other consoles.

To start they had their standard controllers. The first model I don't like as much as the second model. The first is much bigger with a slightly blockier design. It's not built quite right but is definitely functional. Come to think of it I'm not sure if this model ever came out in Japan as the only controller I've seen for them has been equivalent to the model 2 here. Even after doing some research I couldn't find a Japanese version of this controller. Doesn't surprise me. The large size and layout feels very American. A little like the first XBox controller.

Model 2 being a vastly superior controller and the one Japan had from the start. The best thing to compare it to is the Genesis controller. Essentially they took that design and made it much more comfortable. Even to this day I love playing games on this model controller. It fits so well in your hands and everything is place perfectly. The only downside to the controller is in retrospect. I've gotten so used to playing with a Playstation 3 controller it's weird going back. Not just because it feels different (I believe the Playstation Dual Shock controllers are among the best controllers available. WAAAAAY over XBox), but because of the weight. I'm used to having a rumble pack so picking up a Saturn controller is like putting down a full gallon of milk to pick up an almost empty jug. Still a great controller.

The third standard controller released was the 3D controller. What a steaming pile of crap this thing is. The design went from a comfortable Genesis-like controller to a circle with handlebars. The buttons no longer have that comfortable clicking feel. Instead they're squishy, like you're pushing down on marshmallows. The big addition to this, though, was the joystick... if you can call it that. It moves 360 degrees like a joystick should but it's shaped awkward. It looks like a scalped dome and it feels awkward to use. Nowhere near as natural as a joystick on controllers released only a year or two after this one. Thankfully this wasn't the standard. But if you wanted to play with a joystick this was pretty much it for first party stuff. And the worst part is the Dreamcast controller is damn near the same thing... minus marshmallow buttons.

We'll take the 3D controller, remove two buttons, and add a spot for a VMU. I'm going on lunch.

Just like most other consoles at the time and before it there were a ton of additional controllers and specialized peripherals. Such as...

The Gun Controller - Easily one of the most popular peripherals for any console throughout the late 80s and entire 90s. Here was a solid and freaking HUGE gun controller used for games like Virtua Cop and Area 51. I loved it's size but hated how light it was and it's color. Although gun controllers have been odd colors dating back to the NES with the orange gun for Duck Hunt.

The Multitap - A unique one at the time considering that most mutlitaps increased the player count to 4. Whereas this one had a whopping six ports. Mostly used for sports games as you can imagine. But if you had two multitaps, a copy of Saturn Bomberman, and nine friends you could play ten player multiplayer!

Racing Controller - I find this one to be unique in that it's not a circular controller. Usually the racing controllers look like steering wheels. One would imagine. But I like this breakaway from the norm giving it the handles on either end. Feeling more like you're not driving any ordinary car, but something unique, exciting, and fast paced!

Stick Controllers - There were three notable stick controllers. The Arcade Stick, the Flight Stick, and the Twin Stick.

The Arcade Stick is exactly what it sounds like. An arcade controller for the many fighting games for the console. Seriously, the Saturn was loaded with Street Fighters, Marvel, and other Capcom or Capcom-esque fighting games. I've never been big on these controllers despite loving the arcade experience. Likely because I'm much more used to fighting with a D-pad than a stick.

Then the Flight Stick was for flying games. Not that it was restricted to those. I remember playing Need for Speed with this bad boy because I didn't have the driving controller but for some reason had this. I did really like this controller, though. I thought it had a cool design and it was even ambidextrous. Lefties need not be worried.

Lastly the Twin Stick. A controller specifically designed for the game Virtual-On. It replicated the arcade feel instead of forcing a change to adapt to the home market. In that case it has a bit of a Rock Band/Guitar Hero problem with only being used for one game/franchise. None the less it's a specialized experience that most see as worth the extra cash.

Modem/Internet Accessories - As I very briefly mentioned earlier the Saturn had the capability to go online. Even though this was the 90s and it was through dial-up it was still pretty incredible for the time. What with being the only source for console online gaming at the time.
I don't know the specs for Japan, but in America there were only five games you could compete online with. Those games were: Daytona USA: CCE NetLink Edition, Duke Nukem 3D, Saturn Bomberman, Sega Rally Championship: NetLink Edition, and Virtual-On. Again not a big deal in today's standards. Thinking about it contextually it was awesome.
Of course with that came accessories for surfing the web...
Much like the Dreamcast that came after, the Saturn had a keyboard and mouse used for web surfing among other things. I really can't commentate on these because I've never used them. But look at 'em. They're a keyboard and mouse. What's there to say? As long as it typed and the mouse moved the cursor it's great. Although I'm sure some computer and tech junkies would have more to say about that.

Cartridges: Ram Expansion/Backup - Say what you will about the Saturn it did have ambition. Some of that ambition came from pushing it's capabilities as far as it would go.

With that said there were a few games that wouldn't run at 100% unless you had a ram expansion. Typically these were the Capcom fighting games that went very fast paced. But if I understand correctly a ram expansion would help any of the games because it gave it more memory. These were never released in America proper.

A cartridge that was released was the memory backup cartridge. The Saturn had internal memory  when other consoles either had memory cards (Playstation) or stored on the cartridge itself (N64 for the most part.) So Saturn had a leg up there minus the fact the storage wasn't that big. The memory backup cartridge but honestly wasn't that necessary unless you had A LOT of games. I never needed it as a kid and I'd say I had a pretty good stack.

Something released third party that did all that and more was the Action Replay 4M Plus. It provided the 1MB and 4MB expansions, backup capabilities, AND allows you to play imports. This is very high on my list of items to pick up because of those features all in one $40 cartridge. I love importing for Sega consoles. It's so easy!

Plenty more where that came from. Especially from third party companies. But I don't feel the need to talk about those peripherals since most of them are either specialized or not worth talking about.

End of Life & Legacy

The console really had the potential for success. Unfortunately it didn't turn out as well as it could have. It had lots of great features for the time, lots of great games, and yet some poor decision making along the way completely ruined it for the American market. I wish I could see what it would have been like if it succeeded here anywhere near what it did in Japan. It would have been a different world of gaming that could have been toe to toe instead of complete domination by Sony.
Of course there's always wishful thinking of what could have been. Much like the Saturn's successor, the Dreamcast. Looking back on the Saturn's life it's a bit odd to think how the Saturn was, in a way, more successful than the Dreamcast, a superior console. Think about it. Saturn was released in Japan in late 1994, produced games until 2000. Even in America it had a life from mid-1995 until ending game production in late 1998. The Dreamcast hit Japan in late 1998 and less than a year later in America, then being pulled from American markets in 2001. Although lasting until 2006 in Japan, making it somewhat a bigger success but I doubt the consistency of licensed games and popularity was as high as the Saturn's later years.

Simply put the legacy of the Saturn depends on where you're from and what you experience. If you were an American gamer it was seen as a joke and a disaster. After the mistakes of the Sega CD and 32X this seemed to add logs to the fire. The hasty early release pissing off a lot of retailers and developers, higher price tag, etc all made the American market uninterested and lacking faith in Sega. But in Japan it was seen as a much greater console that could do so much (as it did.) Providing a ton of not just good but great games to choose from. Perception is everything, which is why I'm excited to start importing for this on top of importing more for the Dreamcast.
Sega had more going for it than it appeared to from the eyes of the American market. Such a shame it never got to show it's truest colors here. Then when it did those games became rare, meaning I'll have to pay out the ass to get some of the console's best games in their American release.
Totally worth it, though...