Sega Saturn (SEGA SATURN) Roms

Sega Saturn ROMs

Produced by Sega, Sega Saturn was initially released in the autumn of 1994. It was originally designed for the Japanese market only. By the end of 1995, it was available in North America and Europe as well, as part of a fifth generation of consoles.

Sega Saturn came out with a massive responsibility. It succeeded the famous Genesis, which dominated the market for years, so it had to be better than that. For this reason, Saturn came with a dual CPU architecture and not less than eight processors.

Games evolved a little, as they were available on CDs.

The development took a couple of years. The original CPU was made by Hitachi. Prior to its official release, the brand upgraded its design with an extra video display processor. Without it, it would’ve been impossible to compete against Sony’s upcoming PlayStation, which had 3D capabilities.

Sega Saturn was released on time in Japan, so it was quite successful. When released in North America, it came out early. Sega thought it would be a good idea, but no one expected it at that time, so its release wasn’t great.

Furthermore, Nintendo 64 came out at the end of 1996 and quickly snapped some of Sega Saturn’s users. By 1998, Sega Saturn was discontinued in the USA because competition was no longer doable. It was considered a failure.

Another issue that took Sega Saturn down was the low third party support. The hardware was too complex for that time as well. Despite having some quality games in its pocket, Sega Saturn didn’t last much.

Some of the best games available for the console include Sega Rally Championship, Panzer Dragoon Saga, NiGHTS into Dreams, Fighters Megamix, Radiant Silvergun, Guardian Heroes, Virtua Fighter 2 and Street Fighter Alpha 3.

From many points of view, Sega could have done a better job with Saturn. It was often criticized for how it was developed, but also for its discontinuation. Some experts believe the company could’ve tried harder to get it on track against its direct competition.

The decline was fueled by more elements in the manufacturing process, but not only. The cancellation of Sonic X-treme was another major reason.

Sonic X-treme would’ve been the first 3D title in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Everyone was eagerly waiting for it. The release would’ve been a massive hit for Sega Saturn, adding to its popularity and keeping it on the floating line for more.

A few management changes led to the cancellation of Sonic X-treme. With a massive fanbase experiencing disappointment, the issue contributed to the overall decline of the console. The release of new consoles from the competition ruined the console, leading to its end.

With all these, Sega Saturn has been produced until 2000, yet the American market saw it ended in 1998.

Some of its iconic games can still be enjoyed today, with or without the actual console. Games are available for download as ROMs, meaning fans of the console can enjoy the exact same experience on modern machines, too.