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| Title | Sega Saturn |
| Manufacturer | Sega |
| Type | Video game console |
| Generation | Fifth generation era |
| Lifespan |
Japan : November 22, 1994
North America : May 11, 1995
Europe : July 8, 1995
Australasian : July 8, 1995 |
| Discontinued | Late 1998
2000 (Japan) |
| CPU | 2 x Hitachi SH-2 32-bit RISC (28.6 MHz) |
| GPU | VDP1 & VDP2 |
| Media | CD-ROM, CD+G |
| Modem | 2400 bauds modem |
| Storage | Internal RAM, cartridge |
| Onlineservice | Sega NetLink, SegaNet (XBAND spin-off) |
| Unitssold | Worldwide: 9.5 million |
| Topgame | Virtua Fighter 2 (1.7 million in Japan) |
| Predecessor | Mega Drive/Genesis |
| Successor | Dreamcast |
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|
The
|} is a 32-bit video game console that was first released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe. The system was discontinued in North America, Europe, and Australia in 1998, and in 2000 in Japan.
While the system was popular in Japan due to its successful marketing such as with the character Segata Sanshiro, it failed to gain a similar market share in North America and Europe against its competitors PlayStation and Nintendo 64.
According to a July 2007 GamePro article, the Saturn sold 9.5 million units worldwide.
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| Asian models : |
|---|
| Manufacturer and model |
Case color |
Button color |
Type of buttons |
Notes |
|---|
| Sega HST-3200 |
Gray |
Blue |
Oval |
The original Japanese Saturn. This model had a black cartridge flap and came in a box labeled HST-0001. The power cord is un-notched and this machine has a drive access light. |
| Sega HST-3210 |
Gray |
Blue |
Oval |
Second model. It looks the same as the HST-3200 but the inside layout is similar to the early model HST-3220. Production was ended in favor of the White Saturn. |
| Sega HST-3220 |
White |
Gray/Pink |
Round |
Sega switched from blue to gray & pink buttons during the production run. This controller was a matching white with multi-colored buttons similar to a Super Famicom controller with the bottom row buttons colored green, yellow, and blue. The 'white' plastic is a very light gray and shares its color with the later Dreamcast. The cartridge flap is visibly gray. Limited models of the Saturn had oval buttons. Later units have some compatibility problems. |
| Sega Skeleton Saturn (HST-3220) |
Translucent black |
Black |
Round |
Included a matching translucent black controller. Both controller and system had "This is cool" printed on them. Only around 50,000 were produced. Has some compatibility problems, notably with Metal Slug, Out Run, and Space Harrier. |
| Sega Derby Saturn (HST-3220) |
Translucent blue |
Black |
Round |
Released on March 25, 1999, this model was only available as part of a promotion with ASCII's popular horse racing sim, Derby Stallion. It came with the same translucent black controller as the Skeleton Saturn but did not have "This is cool" printed on the system. After limited supplies of the Skeleton Saturn, the Derby Saturn was quickly bought in bulk by exporters and for a time was easier to find outside Japan than inside. Shares the compatibility problems of the Skeleton Saturn. |
| Hitachi Hi-Saturn (MMP-11 and MMP-1) |
Charcoal |
Khaki |
Round/Oval |
This machine appears similar in color to the European and North American Saturn without close inspection. Hi-Saturn is printed on the CD drive lid. Controllers have the same color layout as the unit with pinkish-beige and dark bluish/gray buttons. The Hitachi logo appears on them. The machine was packaged in an almost all-black box with a light-gray/white border. Excepting some limited promotional bundles, the Hi-Saturn came packaged with an MPEG plug-in card allowing Video CD playback. The start-up screen differs slightly from other models � instead of a shower of pieces forming the Saturn logo, the word "Hi-Saturn" shoots out from the middle of the screen and then flips around until it is readable. |
| Hitachi Hi-Saturn Navi (MMP-1000NV) |
Charcoal |
Khaki |
Round |
This is the only consumer Saturn to differ in functionality or shape. It is much thinner, and is flat instead of curved on top, in order to accommodate a folding LCD monitor that clips to the rear. It includes GPS capability, and has a standard port on the rear for use with an included antenna. Navi-ken CDs are used for map data. Since Navi-ken was only available in Japan, only Japanese maps are available. |
| JVC/Victor V-Saturn RG-JX1 |
Gray |
Blue/Gray |
Oval |
Resembles the first Japanese Sega Saturn with oval buttons and access light. "V-Saturn" is printed on top of the machine. Features a V-Saturn logo in place of the Sega Saturn logo at boot-up. |
| JVC/Victor V-Saturn RG-JX2 |
Light Gray/Dark Gray |
Blue/Green/Pink |
Round |
Resembles the white Japanese Sega Saturn with round buttons. Case is light gray on top, with a darker gray base. Features a V-Saturn logo in place of the Sega Saturn logo at boot-up. |
Samsung Saturn
(삼성새턴) |
Black |
- |
Oval |
Intended only for South Korea, this machine combines the older style oval-button shell with the smaller and newer mainboard which normally comes with a round-button shell. The Japanese language option was removed from the setup screen on some models. These models also use the North American region code. Samsung later released a conversion kit for Japanese games. |
Fifth generation video game consoles
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