no_donatello

It's kind of like the PS2. From a hardware perspective, it probably should have failed. It was hard to develop for, and the GameCube and Xbox were more powerful. But that's where the audience was, so devs got familiar with it and tools got better over time. Late releases look much better than the launch games. I'm sure the same would have been true for Saturn (and Dreamcast), but there just wasn't that much time for multiple generations of games on either platform. I always look at Burning Rangers as an example of what could have been. That game is fully 3D with transparency and impressive (for the time) lighting, etc.

Well, when they were originally going to use that messed up sonic design for the first movie, he probably didn't want credit for that nightmare. But yeah, it would be nice if they acknowledged him.

I love the Saturn. I really think it got a raw deal. Pretty obviously a better piece of hardware than the N64 (There are great games on the N64, no doubt. But people like to say that the Saturn didn't give gamers of the time what they wanted, while the N64 used CARTRIDGES). Marketing and in particular localization choices were just so bad. It's like a completely different console in Japan (where -surprise- it did quite well).

But even what we got in America was so unique, and unlike other famous console failure the Wii U, most of those unique games are still exclusive, which is simultaneously a shame and makes Saturn a more special console to collect for.

One thing I have always been impressed by is how comparatively good the Dreamcast looks upscaled compared to all the other sixth generation consoles. VGA mode is just amazing.

As for this feature, this is a very deep cut, but it's cool. haha.

Actually did visit the Vigamus with my wife when we visited Rome several years back. It was a real change of pace from all these ancient buildings and ruins to... video games.

Even if it's real, there's just no way Sega is going to let them use that name. Even websites with "Sega" in the name have trouble selling merch.

The MP3 player feature is kind of pointless, but THAT looks great! An actual benefit to having a color screen.

Have definitely experienced the bloat in some PSP batteries. The PSP was a really good console, and its library is great. However, the hardware had so many drawbacks, stuck pixels on the screen, the little analog stick being kind of terrible and (worst for me) the batteries didn't seem to hold a charge while not being used for long at all. PSP wasn't my main platform, so it was something I would pick up when I wanted, and it was almost always dead. Compare that to my GBA SP, which seemed to maintain at least some level of charge for YEARS. Sony just used trash batteries.

I have a lot of really nice PS Vita physical games from them. But selling CD-Rs is definitely not okay.

@UK_Kev My Google searches for GameCube profitability seem mixed. I'm not sure how financial reporting in Japan works, but it does seem like we get less information out of Nintendo than, say, Microsoft or Sony. I know that Nintendo is famously thrifty (sometimes to their detriment, like launching the 3DS for $250 and then having to massively cut the price), so maybe they managed to pull off a small profit from the GameCube, though I kind of doubt it. Like I said, GBA and Pokemon sold like gangbusters, so they could weather a failing home console better than Sega.

Sega's logo was literally all over Japan when I visited in 2015 and 2018. As a Sega fan, it was really an incredible thing to see. And then they sold all their arcades. So I mean, I hope Sega does elevate their brand, but they are the reason their brand is no longer out there.

@UK_Kev Where's your source that the GaneCube was profitable for Nintendo? The console was sold at a loss and got deep discounts through the generation, and obviously it sold poorly. Nintendo was saved by handheld sales and Pokémon. XBox almost certainly was also a loss for Microsoft, but it created a brand that would become very successful, so that probably counts as a win.

I think Sega did a lot of things very right when it came to the Dreamcast, but their public perception and limited cash reserves hurt them. Also hype for PS2 was immense. I wonder if Sega holding the launch outside Japan for almost a year was a mistake, and it probably was. Yes, it came out of the gate with a lot of great software, but it lost a year of building an install base before PS2 sucked all the oxygen out of the room.

For me, the Dreamcast is the best console of that generation. There is nothing wrong with celebrating the dreamcast, and I feel like the "wrong console won" thing is tongue in cheek. While I obviously wish things had gone differently, I enjoyed a ton of ps2 games. It had the third party support that generation.

Can't believe this article didn't mention the Test Donkey mode.

The color screen is obviously unnecessary and makes it feel less "authentic," but, yeah, it's probably cheaper to source. I already have the VM2, but if the price is right on this, I could see myself picking one up.

I absolutely love Feel the Magic and Rub Rabbits. It's essentially a mini-game collection, but they package it in such a quirky and fun way. And the music in the context of playing the game is very fitting, and I love it. However, I could never see myself sitting there listening to the music while NOT playing the game. But hey, pretty cool nonetheless!

I remember when I first got my Motorola DROID (with the slide out keyboard — definitely miss those!), I thought to myself now I can game all the time. Even bought this little thing that overlayed on the DROID keyboard to make it feel more like a controller. But guess what. I basically never used it for gaming. Dedicated hardware like a Retroid is just always better.

It looks like Enix did release a few Saturn games in Japan, one of which I actually own (Ninpen Manmaru). But, yeah, my first reaction to reading this was so NOW they realize Sega consoles exist. haha.

@Bonggon5 It's good advice. I did manage to play through Astrobot recently. It took a few weeks, but it was fun (and despite being a brand new game, it's a great throwback to when games were good). Where I am in life right now, full time job and two year old at home, the time is severely limited. Looking forward to him developing some better hand-eye coordination, and I will have a new player two that should increase my gaming time a lot.

Immediately noticed the Working Designs song when I watched the trailer. These games had such a huge impact on me. I haven't played them in several years. My gaming time nowadays is so short that playing RPGs seems too daunting. But I think about these games all the time. It's great more people will get to play this.

@slider1983 Plus there's some setup involved with a Sinden, so that excludes more casual gamers.

I like the idea of this. I do wish it included a couple games instead of just one.

Japanese Saturn consoles actually go for pretty cheap, honestly. These things (all "retro" consoles minus the very best selling ones, like PS2, Wii) are going to get rarer and rarer, but I doubt this will have a huge impact overall. Machines dying and not getting repaired is/will be the biggest problem. And that's why I own four Sega Saturns.

I guess I'm a little confused about the difference between AI and "procedural generation," which is something that has been around for decades in gaming. I guess there's still a human touch in procedural generation, whereas AI is all computer-created?

Anyway, I will echo the sentiment that I have long lost interest in the kinds of games EA releases. Probably have not bought one since the PS2/GC/Xbox generation. I feel like the NFL license was kind of the nail in the coffin. I mean, the games they make no longer interested me anyway, but that was just really anti-consumer. They were awesome back in the Genesis days though. That's for sure!

EDIT: I take that back. Alice: Madness Returns in the PS3 era was legit. And then they refused to work with American McGee on the sequel (or so the story goes). BAH!

@PopetheRev28 I would pick the Dreamcast, but I totally get it. I feel like the Dreamcast was Sega at their creative peak, but there's no question the arcade conversions on Saturn are phenomenal, especially if you look into the Japanese library. That's the thing, too. You've got to import to get the most out of your Saturn. Less so with Dreamcast.

As for this thing, it is beautiful!

Interesting that they include a light gun game among these. Light gun games with controller input are pointless. However, if Evercade were to release a light gun (or add support for the Sinden light gun) and release some arcade carts with long forgotten light gun titles, the money would fly out of my wallet so fast!

And 3DO was likewise criticized for being overpriced. The difference is the 3DO at least promised to do something new, though the overall quality of its games ultimately held it back. The PS5 Pro offers marginally better graphics and high frame rate. They'll sell some to enthusiasts, but that's about it. Now, selling it for 700 WITHOUT a disc drive feels like a practice run to drop the optical media on the next PlayStation. Ugh..

Great article. It really is easier getting online nowadays because I don't have to share the phone line with the rest of my family! haha. Huge, huge kudos to the community that works so hard on this. Bringing unreleased games online (Dee Dee Planet) is just unbelievable. Gives me hope to one day play Propeller Arena online, though I think I heard that one is tricky.

Fortunately got a copy upon release, and it's a good survival horror title. Really disturbing story, though not for the reasons the media hyped up back in the day.

My preorder of the Tomb Raider cart has also not shipped and has no estimated ship date. I've got plenty to play and no time to do it, so it's okay. haha.

Good to hear demand is high if that is really the reason!

It really is worth it. Even the backlight alone is a game changer. I'm not some animal that plays video games with the lights on (particularly survival horror games), so I can now finally see the VMU screen without tilting it towards the screen to catch some of the light off the TV screen. I can see the health and ammo information on the VMU in Resident Evil games. And obviously the rechargeable battery is a game changer. Can actually enjoy the minigames without dealing with the abysmal VMU battery life.

I have one disc that I have a little concern has disc rot on the VERY edge of the disc. Because of the location of the spot, it plays perfectly fine. It was an eBay purchase, so it didn't happen on my watch. I have always kept my games in air conditioned spaces, and my media room where they are stored essentially gets no natural light. I don't think this is something that will spread now that it's in a controlled environment. Hope not! Not a cheap game to replace...

How strange but fascinating time capsule before video streaming was ubiquitous. Will have to check it out. I hope we eventually get a translation of the El Dorado Gate games, another early experiment with episodic releases (but actually a game).

I'm always skeptical these sorts of projects will actually release as a final product, but it does look cool. I love the respect that the 32-bit generation is finally getting with retro-inspired games.

Will never understand why people put so much effort (this looks very good!) into something that will get shut down by Nintendo if it gets any attention.

And here I am struggling to get my soundbar to reliably switch between five inputs! Need to show this to my wife so she stops calling me obsessed. haha. It does make me laugh that this guy with all these retro consoles (I even saw a Panasonic Q in there) is doing it wrong and connecting them to an HDTV. However, seeing his setup, I'm sure there's a CRT off camera somewhere.

Very cool, but I'm not sure why people continue with these Nintendo fan projects. We all know how they end up...

I applaud the effort, and I did my part in purchasing these games. There are so many PC ports of games that are more or less lost to time. Yes, you can get abandonware versions online and spend an evening trying to get it to work, but this is far more satisfying. Lots of Sega PC releases to be resurrected. I also recall having a version of FF7 for PC that I could never actually get to run properly back then (ah, PC gaming in the 90s..).

Harder than I imagined it would be...

Considering I have waited so long for orders from lrg that I have actually forgotten I even made them in the past, I wouldn't expect them to have a solution in two months. The right thing would have just been to refund everyone and move on probably. That would have done more to put the controversy behind them than a vague promise to make things right.

Not my thing, but I do find it funny that GameCube now has achievements before Switch. For all of its success, Switch feels like kind of a half baked effort from Nintendo. Wii U gets this whole social network, and Switch doesn't even have folders (at least last I checked).

@RetroGames It's called an opinion, and it's okay.

Kudos for the effort on this. I see Burning Rangers as Sega's first step towards the design aesthetic that would be popular on Dreamcast. It definitely does not feel like other Saturn games, and it proves that, if the Saturn had a longer lifespan, games could have been pushed a lot further. Really wish this game had received a sequel. Playing through the Burning Rangers level on Sega Allstars Racing really made me think about what could have been...

The OG Xbox was a legitimately interesting platform. It actually has a LOT of exclusive titles to this day that require me to keep that beast around. They really threw everything at that first attempt. I also find it funny that it only did a little better than the GameCube, yet the GameCube is considered a failure while the Xbox is not.

360 is the last Xbox I bought. Again, there were enough interesting exclusives to warrant it, Blue Dragon, Tails of Vesperia, some of Rare's games, etc, but it got a lot less use than the OG. Haven't seen anything interesting whatsoever about the Xbox One or later. And if there is a one-off title I'm interested in, I know they'll release it on PC.

Absolutely love going back and watching videos from E3 in the 90s and early 2000s. E3 was an event I anticipated all year, and back then, the announcements really delivered.

@Nahhhtendo Indeed. Played through it a few times when I visited the Galloping Ghost a few years ago. It's short and honestly not too difficult. Very grateful to have had the chance to play it "irl."

From what I can tell, at least people know up front what they're buying in this case, whereas there was no disclaimer that people would be receiving a CD-R. The USB-A being phased out claim is plainly nonsense. Just don't buy it if you don't like it.

I will shout out Mighty No. 9 here (don't hear that much!) and state that my Kickstarter pledge included a DRM-free PC version that came on a USB stick, but the body of the stick looked like an NES cart with the character's face on it. Very premium feeling. If Limited run did something like that, people would be happy.

@Gamer_X I think, with the exception of Nintendo, consoles are becoming redundant with PCs. Microsoft seems to care less and less about their Xbox consoles, and Sony is following suit with porting their games to PC now, too. Sadly, I feel the days of console generations and consoles having their own "personality" is coming to an end.

As for this article, how interesting! I did not know there was cross-play between Dreamcast and PS2.

I think I alone would make a Saturn mini or Dreamcast mini a profitable endeavor for Sega. Haha. I love the Genesis minis, but Saturn and Dreamcast are the ones that would really get me. At least one of every regional variant and then a few to give as gifts at Christmas? Come on, Sega! Take my money!!

I guess I'm impressed with the durability of those cases graded games are put in, but yes, games are meant to be played — ESPECIALLY rare and hard to find games.

@KitsuneNight Yeah. I have started the original Tomb Raider on Saturn a few times and fizzled out a few levels in. The lack of checkpoints makes mistakes (which are inevitable) really demoralizing. But that's the beauty of save states. Maybe I'll finally finish this game!

Very impressive achievement! Hopefully this will lure some bigger publishers.