Mystery of the Lost Sega Saturn 64X - Console Gaming History
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2023
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In this video, we discuss the mysterious lost Sega Saturn 64X. How real was this mythical console add on and what is the truth behind it's story.
#retrogaming #segasaturn #sega
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It's "Seh-Gah", not "Say-gah".
I worked for a movie retailer and we actually hired a couple of guys from Sega's Redwood campus to run logistics. I clearly recall them telling us that the Saturn upgrade was actually just a 4mb memory expansion cart with a SVP2(sega virtual processor 2) that nearly tripled polygon count by reworking algorithms used to render quadrilaterals. Apparently the Saturn pissed away exponential amounts of raw power when polygons scaled outward. The guys said that it was designed specifically fot VF3 but was canned for two reasons: cost of SVP2 and the fact that the cartridge bus bandwidth would restrict the game to 30 frames.
The article i remember reading in next Generation
Magazine at the time said almost the same thing. Except your description is even more detailed than the article!
Thanks for this info 👍
Wow thanks for sharing!!
I think this is the upgraded cartridge behind the Shenmue Saturn demo.
Tnx man for sharing
I swear every few weeks i hear about some new thing sega was developing in the 90s. They were so open minded their brains fell right out. Such an interesting odyssey
They must have hemorrhaged R&D money like no other in the 90s being since they scrapped more consoles than competitors have released to this day. Once I started learning about all these consoles it made perfect sense they almost went completely under.
That Sega leak revealed a lot
You know, if that slot would also have allowed you to play Genesis and 32x games with backwards compatibility, it could have done better. I heard that some people that bought the Saturn returned it after finding out that the slot in the back was not for their old games.
What's worse is that the Saturn has a Motorola 68000 like the Genesis and the SH2 processors in there aren't far off from the ones in the 32X. They probably could have condensed the Genesis down to a single chip by that point anyways. Sure this would have raised the price of the Saturn, but at least they could have an entire great library of games that worked day one on this monster. That's the real value of backwards compatibility for a new console, the library of the old one.
@@railsrustSega Lord X even suggested just taking many of the old ssga games and packing bunches of them onto CDs. So you would have the Shinobi pack, sonic pack, Phantasy star pack, etc. Just like what we've got today for $4.99 on the Play Store. Yeah, you've got to buy a $40 CD, but it would come with at least one or two upmade, upscaled games with vastly improved sound and music that you didn't already have.
Sony’s $299 was bullcrap. You cannot do anything without a game and a memory card. Saturn included both internal memory and a game. So you paid more but got more. Wasn’t even a big deal.
Agreed, Sony's highly superior marketing wins again!
Soj messed up at than doing there suprise launch in NA.
@@TopHatGamingManChannel PlayStation actually sucked as a console. Saturn had the library to wipe the floor with it, but just left 7/9ths of the library in Japan for some dumb reason
So 3 out of Sony's first 4 home consoles, they marketed the price. The one they didn't (PS3) struggled, while the Xbox 360 had an entry level model with no HDMI or Memory and did better. That marketing strategy has worked perfectly but you are 100% correct, you end up paying more
Remember when you had to go to Walmart and sit in the magazine isle as a kid to get your gaming news? I miss those days.
I literally bought various gaming magazines just to play specific demos such as medal of honor Frontline for ps2
@@adamrogowski2748 same. I eventually talked my mom into subscribing to OPM so I could get the latest PSX demos. I have like 50 of them. Still have some today at 41 years old.
My preferred spot was the magazine rack at a People's Drug Store (later CVS) in the late 80s/early 90s. I later upgraded to Barnes and Noble.
Sega were the biggest risk takers in innovation. And I take my hat off to that.
Completely agreed. Unfortunately for them, some of their innovations turned out to be just a little too soon...
The fact that DLC, something SEGA already did in 1999, was still a work-in-progress on the original Xbox with Xbox LIVE, and it wasn't clearly adopted until 2005 with the release of the 360 is just insane...
That's a whole 6 years earlier...SEGA knew that Online play would be the future when they included Networking possibilities into the Dreamcast.
while innovation is great that wasn't what they needed to focus on... if their attention was more centered in global marketing then they would have been more successful and thus their success there monetary gains would have allowed them to "innovate" with out any issue and they would have be able to deal with that losses better......
The Saturn could've been 64 bits anyways if Sega hadn't turned down the offer to develop a console around the chip that ended up in the N64. Hell, they could've released a 64-bit Sega Playstation if they'd played their cards right.
Imagine if they did play their cards right, who knows what the Sega Ps2 would’ve been…
Yeah, Sega was too high from the success of Sonic that they fell off really quick. However, I believe the real sign of the beginning of the end was not having an official main Sonic entry for the console. This was due to the engine made for the new Sonic game was originally created by a game trying to expand way beyond the Sonic formula with the game Nights Into Dreams. He refused to allow his art piece to be used for Sonic and without the funds needed to develop another game engine of this caliber, Sonic got shafted from the console.
Does anyone else remember Sega TV? It was a streaming service for Sega Genesis back in the day. I had it and loved it.
I do.
It was The Sega Channel stateside... Basically a slow cable modem and a small memory bank to store games until the console was turned off. A close friend had it and we would play for hours...
Yes I remember I just hated that with certain games you would only have half of it. For instance Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. You were only able to pick half the roster.
I had the service and didn't care for it.
I remember my mom asked if I wanted it. It was a bit overpriced if I recall. The only game I wanted was mega man the Wiley wars
I would much rather see Sega in the console market instead of Microsoft
Me too. Sega of America was the biggest reason they failed. 32x should have never been released, and they should have stuck with the CD only. Sega of America pushed those aweful FMV games. Sega of America pushed for releasing sequels on the XBOX instead of the Dreamcast, causing the premature death of the console, or at least that is what my research has led me to believe. I could be way off base, though.
@@nickwest932despite being developed by SoA, the 32X was SoJ's idea. I don't think the 32x was a bad idea, I think having two 32-bit platforms released within a year of each other was.
Yeah ponys😂😂😂
+1
+ Tons of missing Saturn games.
That Sega Saturn 64X thumbnail is going to haunt me in my nightmares.
Sega saturn 64x?
Ok sega your drunk.
Aahhh the good ol days when it was 8bit, 16bit, 32bit, 64bit, 128bit, 256bit, and Component cables. Now it's HD, 3K, 4K, 5K. Nothing beats a 32bit 2D sidescroller with 3D backgrounds
64X; you can't open the cd lid
There were actually several accelerator cards considered for the saturn ranging from $35-100 with release dates suggesting 1995-99.
64x 😢 I wanted it sooo bad!!!!!!
I remember back in the day an article in a Brazilian magazine talking about the "Dural" and they even showed a picture of the so called console and it was black and also if I'm not mistaken the controller was actually the SS 3d analog.
Sega after too many uh... lets generously say 'energy dring' "I got a great idea lads, lets paint the magic mushroom white & stick it on a Saturn so the disc cant open, it'll be great!"
I always wondered if Sega had some sort of plan, to use that megadrive like slot for more than just extra ram and saves. Would be interesting for someone to tear down a Saturn and see how closely that socket is wired to main brains of the machine.
The guy who made the Satiator, Doctor Abrasive?, did just that while he was developing said Satiator. He was originally going to use that port. He is the reason you are going to see more fan translations for the Saturn because he was able to make headway into the console structure and code, or at least that's what I have found out on the interwebs. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.
Sega never had a plan at any point.
1:32 the strongest man of all tiem
The M2 had an unofficial release in arcades, with only a few games from Konami supporting the hardware. I honestly don't think it could have come close to the Dreamcast let alone the Model 3.
This only makes me wish the Neptune (Genesis + 32x hybrid prototype discarded console) was released and sold as a Genesis recall with a Sonic collection as memory embedded game. And postponed the Saturn release, compatible backwards to the Sega CD and the 4MB team and this 64X embedded in the console.
Neptune was doomed for failure as the market was ramping up for the 32 bit era and we had already got a taste with the 3DO and CDI. Sales of 16 bit consoles started to slow as people were waiting for the next gen. The Neptune was cancelled as it was too little too late. It should have been released when the 32x originally came out. It would have succeeded then. They couldn't postpone the Saturn as Sony was about to release the PlayStation so they made the move to get their console to market first. Sega CD working on Saturn probably wouldn't be able to be setup without extra hardware costs as the processing of each console's software is hardware dependent of the console it was designed for.
Neptune CD was designed and would've cost just $199 and beaten PS1 to market with a decent library of games. Worse, most Saturn and PS1 games would've run with minor cutbacks on the Neptune CD.
That picture is obviously a mock-up of a 32x over a Sega Saturn, because we would have to remove the "64x" every time we wanted to insert/remove a CD... it would probably be something closer to the 4MB expansion cart, but with more technology inside and an extra power plug 🙂
If this wasn't cancelled, Sonic X-treme would be released
And somic adventures on the Sega saturn.
I don’t think the 32X even kind of hurt the Saturn, if for no other reason that nobody really even bought the 32X to begin with. It may have been a waste of money on Sega’s part, but I can’t see it having hurt the Saturn.
Saturn’s big problem was it’s huge price tag. I wouldn’t even say in relation to the PSX either, because nobody really followed E3 back then, but the thing was like double the price of the previous consoles when they were new. I only knew two people with a Sega Saturn, my rich neighbor, (who got one and every game it released with) and a guy my mom worked with who sold me his Sega Saturn. Sega’s other big problem was completely abandoning all their Sega Genesis. No real Sonic game despite Sonic being the whole reason the Genesis was being Nintendo until like Donkey Kong Country. No Streets of Rage. The only Golden Axe game was a fighting game spinoff.
I think the opposite. I believe the 32X hurt the Saturn more than people realize but not for the reasons often stated. I agree that I don't think it hurt Sega's reputation or that the "confusion" of it coming out so close to the Saturn really mattered.
The reason the 32X hurt the Saturn is that it took game development resources away from the Saturn launch library. A whole host of those 32X games would have been Saturn launch titles and they would have benefitted from the greater processing power and more development time. Even though the 32X didn't have an amazing game library it still had a handful of decent games that would have been even better on the Saturn. The fact that Star Wars Arcade was being developed from the 32X and not the Saturn is just so idiotic it defies comprehension. Besides it being Star Wars it was a huge arcade hit at the time and they could have had approximately 6 more months of development time with it on top of the Saturn's additional power. Imagine the Saturn launching with a Star Wars game and a dozen other improved 32X games instead of the measly six games it originally launched with in the U.S. Worse yet after those initial six games only two additional games were released over the next 3 months.
@@User-gs1dk I believe you hit the nail on the head. One of the things I noticed during that era was that since a game would be released on the Game Gear, Master System, Genesis, 32X and Saturn all at once, people tended to the confuse the very unimpressive (and I recall playing it at the store for the first time and thinking my SNES does better) 32x graphics with the Saturn graphics.
If you're going to have an add on, you have to have a launch title that is head and shoulders above anything else on the console, and pretty far ahead of the industry. 32x had fucking knuckles chaotix as the big time exclusive game.....come on. better colors and slightly better graphics, slightly. that virtua fighter 3 would've have to have been dreamcast like to work.
6:53 what the heck ??
I'm in love 😆
Nice try despite the poor information available about this topic. Anyway back then i had for second time a new Sega Saturn and bought it because Next Generation said Yu Suzuki was working in an 64 add-on for the sega saturn and in vf3 for it. Yes, i was going to buy it no matter what happen, like i bough two sega saturn and the infamous 32x. Thanks Sega…
I would think SEGA would've learned from the "32X" (which I actually liked alot, and wish I still had)... but I guess they didn't.
"Repeating the same behavior over and over again and expecting a different result" is the very definition of insanity, no?
I loved sega, but the constant add ons is what killed off all their line ups, the more you add the more you dilute the fan base and mess with the status quo. Also it comes off as cash grabs without a solid thought, in fact ill go as far as to day kts downright embarrassing. Master system was my first main console after my c64 and its my gem, mega drives early days was amazing but then sega hq of the multi national locations couldn't agree on anything
It was the changing roadmap. From January 1994 through October 1995, SoJ went through so many changes that devs, retailers, and gamers got burned over and over again. Obviously, everyone left.
I FUCKING LOVE THE SATURN!!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤
The fact saturn had the cartridge slot built in from the get go proves the slot was there to be exploited and help enhance the saturn, Sega not pushing the saturns potential and bringing out dream cast was a terrible decision
I miss Sega I was disappointed after I bought my Dreamcast I didn't even have it for a year and they stopped making games for it at least here in the US.
I saw this on GamePro back in the day. It was another 32x case, I still don't know what Sega was smoking back then.
Nobody in the right mind would believe that a 64X would look like on that picture. How would you open the CD drive? Makes no sense.
For me, one of Saturn's big mistakes is having denied backward compatibility with Genesis/Megadrive, that would have given it an immense catalog compared to Sony, which was just starting out in the world of video games. Even go one step further and make a "Game Gear Player"
Neptune CD would've done that for $199 and played 80% of the games seen on the Saturn and PS1.
I want a Playstation which can plug into that Saturn cartridge port...
Hahaha, I love the cut of bubbles !
The 32X and Saturn did not release nearly simultaneously...
I rented a 32X from Blockbuster months before I bought a Saturn at launch.
I was not confused... but the avg consumer was about the industry as a whole. Everything was a Nintendo back then.
As of Wikipedia, the 32x was released in North-America on 21th Nov, 1994...one day later the Saturn was released in Japan.
@@DJ_SaHKu apples to oranges. Japan never got the 32x.
Top Hat Gaming Man is Don Turtelli
I fricking miss Seeeeegaaaaa
THe saturn was still a 3D powerhouse but it seems if you are no no.1 you are last.
it was better at 2d games maybe even the best at the time
The Saturn was unique in many ways. The biggest way was the fact it didn't use polygons, it used squares.
@@ThePsydiztik More systems used quadrilaterals than triangles in those days.
As am American viewer who loves your channel I laughed at the scene of Biden looking confused.
yeah I loved tonging my Saturn too.... lol
Them some pearly graphics lol with jarusalem waves 6:42
who knows what game is that in 3:37 ??? seems like a 2.5D RPG, looks great
Grandia
man, the Saturn and Dreamcast fucked so hard. Shame they flamed out so miserably.
omg what the F was sega snorting back then...
Sega Kept Nintendo on their feet soon as they went bust Nintendo lost its way.... Now sony and Xbox are leading, Nintendo is 1 fail away from bankruptcy
Nope
Also, when I worked for Nintendo, the word around the company was that we had enough money to fail for 30 years and still be in business... they still got about 7 to go.
@@ThePsydiztik this is a joke correct
Blast processing....check
32X2.......check
Saturn.....check
Why would I want anything else? Genesis does what nintendont, playdont, 3dont.
...what PlayStation't and N64't.
The Saturn seems like the Atari 5200 of the 90s
Harsh lol. Id consider it the PSVita. Both were huge in Japan.
Let me somewhat "fix" old Sega's schedule
Megadrive/Genesis release 88JP/89 Resto of the world.
Sega/Mega Cd 2 years later, with no hardware scaling and rotation.
32X 2 years later.
Saturn 2 years later, with a proper 3D processor, just 1 CPU, and a good SDK or maybe adding + 4MB RAM built-in.
Never release the Nomad.
Releasing a cheaper, thinner, smaller, and using fewer batteries (2 or 3) of the Game Gear, also having the possibility of turning off the backlit.
I know it is a lot, I'm just dreaming hahaha
🎉
Sega accidentally became successful for a single console generation despite, as usual, trying their best to implode. They are a consistently terribly managed company that everyone has irrational nostalgia for.
wrong..... black belt????? dreamcast was mean't to have voodoo but it was dropped.
again
Tubular
Something like that could have kept the Saturn going for a couple more years and kept Sega relevant to the public eye, if they brought out Virtua Fighter 3 in 1997 or something. Better than discounting support for the Saturn altogether for 18 months before coming out with the Dreamcast. They could have released a more powerful version of the Dreamcast in 2000 or 2001 which could have something like the original Xbox and that could have been backwards compatible with both the original Saturn and the 64 bit add-on. Make sure there's a DVD drive in there that was a big selling point for the PS2 at the time.
at 3:40 ish you're just repeating exactly what nostalgia nerd said....... word for word.....
If Sega took a hint from Atari’s logic with the Jaguar, the 64x could have been achieved by plugging a 32x into a 32x.
Haha that joe biden Gif 😅
Your hat's too big for ya
how have you weedled your way back onto youtube?????????? still stealing patreons money!!!!!!!