The unreleased SEGA 'Saturn 2' and The Dreamcast Story

[parallaxscrolling]

From Next Generation November 1995:

http://i.imgur.com/4fBFl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Z6hbZ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/vQK0g.jpg

'Saturn 2' could've been a new console instead of Saturn or a quick replacement
(not in place of Dreamcast, it's not of that class) or as a Saturn upgrade cart for Model 2 ports and downscaled Model 3 conversions.

Note that the Real3D/100 graphics card is not to be confused with the high-end Real3D/Pro-1000 GPUs used in Sega's Model 3 arcade board.

More on Real3D/100:

http://i.imgur.com/CfcM0.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/TYRpc.jpg

The Real3D/100 chipset could've been reduced into a single chip, much like PS1's CPU+GTE or better yet, the 3DO M2's Bulldog ASIC. If Lockheed Martin had desired to enter the consumer market in a big way (nevermind the i740), They would've been a force to be respected.

We would've had visuals like these:
http://i.imgur.com/aJqcE.jpg

The Dreamcast Story

''A do-or-die machine which will decide whether Sega stays in the
hardware biz''

Dreamcast is a system born out of Sega's darkest hour, a do-or-die
machine which will decide whether the company stays in the hardware
business. Its precursor, the 32bit Sega Saturn, had been widely
expected to conquer the world with Nintendo's own second next
generation system heavily delayed -- due to the collapse of an
alliance with Sony -- and neither Atari nor 3DO seriously threatening
mass market success.
All that changed with the November '93 announcement of the Sony
PlayStation, a system which would heavily defeat Sega's system and
become a considerable influence on how Sega designed Dreamcast.
Although there had been rumours of Sony producing a console, what came
as a heavy shock to Sega was the technical superiority of the
PlayStation. While the Saturn had been designed as perhaps the
ultimate 2D arcade machine, albeit with a substantial 3D capability,
PlayStation was totally committed to polygons.

Sega boss Hayao Nakayama angrily berated Sega's engineers for their
failings, but it was too late to totally redesign the system if the
1994 launch was too proceed. Instead, Sega added yet another processor
to an already over-complicated design. In terms of raw power, the new
Saturn was much more of a match for PlayStation, but it would never be
an easy machine to program for. The twin CPU design in particular
demanded highly specialised machine code rather than the C most
Japanese developers prefered: barely a year after Saturn's launch a
key Sega manager admitted only one in a hundred programmers would have
the skill to use the machine's full potential.

Ironically, the Saturn's Japanese launch would be Sega's best ever
performance in its home territory. Even a flawed version of Virtua
Fighting was enough to transform the company's traditional weakness in
its home territory. Overseas, however, it was to be a different
matter. Scepticism about the prospects of a CD-ROM machine succeeding
in the cost-sensitive US market meant Saturn was originally partnered
with a low-cost, cart-based system codenamed Jupiter -- principally
due to American scepticism that a CD-ROM machine could be
competitively priced. When Saturn was upgraded, Jupiter got axed in
favour of Mars, an upgrade for Sega's 16bit Mega Drive which was
supposed to protect the company's hugely lucrative US market. In fact,
32X was an unmitigated disaster, drawing vital developer support away
from Saturn and destroying the company's reputation among gamers who
found themselves with an add-on with barely a handful of games.

The Saturn debacle would cost the jobs of Sega's American and Japanese
bosses, beside reducing its US empire to a ruin running up losses of
$167 million in 1997. For any replacement machine the lessons were
clear: a single format, complete user-friendliness for developers and
a new brand -- so low had sunk the once mighty Sega name.


As soon as any console is launched, work is usually underway on a
replacement but the Saturn's troubles gave this process an unusual
urgency for Sega. By 1995, rumours surfaced that US defence
contractors Lockheed Martin Corp. were already deep into the
development of a replacement, possibly even with a view to releasing
it as a Saturn upgrade. There were even claims that during Saturn's
pre-launch panic a group of managers argued the machine should simply
be scrapped in favour of an all-new LMC design.

Sega originally entered into partnership with LMC to solve problems
with its Model 2 coin-op board, however by 1995 the relationship had
soured somewhat with the Model 3 board suffering massive delays.
Around the same time, 3DO began shopping around its 64bit M2 system.
According to informed sources, Sega's Japanese bankers had brokered an
unwritten deal whereby Matsushita would manufacture M2 units, while
Sega would concentrate on the software. M2 devkits were supplied to
Sega in early 1996, with initial work reputedly concentrating on a
Virtua Fighter 3 conversion for M2's launch.

Sega's M2 project soon fell apart however. 3DO's Trip Hawkins blamed
corporate ‘egos' for the collapse, while Sega insisted its engineers
were unconvinced M2 was the breakthrough technology they needed.
Instead, the company was increasingly preoccupied by the PC market --
unlike Nintendo, it was fully prepared to convert its games onto the
format and in mid-1995 it had entered into a partnership with PC
graphics card manufacturer nVidia. Under the terms of the deal, Sega
would supply ports of key Saturn titles exclusively for the nVidia PC
graphics card. At the time, pundits wondered if Sega might be
switching from Saturn to nVidia as its principal platform.

By 1996, this speculation was ebbing away as two clear frontrunners
emerged in the PC graphics market: VideoLogic's PowerVR and 3Dfx's
Voodoo chipsets. Sega approached both companies to be partners in two
parallel Saturn 2 projects, each of which having minimal if any
knowledge of the other. The 3Dfx-Sega of America project was codenamed
Black Belt, while the VideoLogic-Sega of Japan system was known as
Dural. Although console development is usually shrouded in total
secrecy, Saturn 2's development coincided with the rise of the
Internet and Black Belt soon became a popular topic of gossip. For a
time, many presumed Black Belt was the only new Sega system.

All this changed on July 22nd, 1997, when 3Dfx was informed them Black
Belt was cancelled. It was a shattering blow -- "Our contract with
Sega was considered to be gospel right up until we received the call,"
admitted marketing manager Chris Kramer. Two months later, 3Dfx issued
a lawsuit against Sega while blaming VideoLogic's Japanese backers,
NEC, for bringing influence to bear on a decision which would
otherwise have gone to 3Dfx. An initial burst of publicity soon gave
way to highly confidential discussions which settled the lawsuit away
from the public eye in August 1998.

For outsiders, 3Dfx had always been the favoured partner due to their
leadership in the PC market, moreover Sega let it be known the
decision to cancel wasn't due to either performance or cost reasons.
What may have been a factor is 3Dfx's very strength made it a
difficult partner for Sega, VideoLogic's second-place status obviously
made it the hungrier partner. Moreover, whereas 3Dfx see themselves as
creating a new gaming platform around their Voodoo hardware and Glide
software, VideoLogic were much more eager to use Microsoft's Direct3D
API.

Whatever the reasoning behind the decision, the PowerVR decision
further dampened excitement about a machine soon to be redubbed
Katana. In January '98, UK trade newspaper CTW ran a savage onslaught
upon the new format: "When one looks at a format owner that actually
struggles to garner interest in its latest hardware announcements, you
know it''s in trouble. From Black Belt to Dural and Katana,
journalists have leapt into headline mode, but the level of
disinterest elsewhere is palpable." Commenting upon the latest
redundancies in America and Britain, Dinsey wondered whether the
company was "giving up and trying to re-invent itself as a PC
publisher."

In May, Sega gave its response with the official announcement of its
new system, its specifications and that controversial name: Dreamcast.
The marketing campaign began with the announcement of the marketing
campaign and its $100 million budget for each territory: America,
Europe and Japan. Sega boss Shoichiro Irimajiri put the cost of
hardware development at $50-80 million, software development at
$150-200 million, which with marketing added up to half a billion
dollars.

The PR statements were suitably bullish: "Dreamcast is Sega's bridge
to world-wide market leadership for the 21st century" commented Sega
US VP Bernie Stolar. "I am confident that Dreamcast will become a de
facto standard for digital entertainment" claimed Sega chairman Isso
Okawa. However, it was at E3 itself that the tide really began to turn
for Sega with bravura software demos finally earning the machine
journalists' respect. Post E3 reports were full of adoration , as
impressed by the restoration of Sega's old self-confidence as the raw
processing power on show. Dreamcast's launch date was set as November
20th and this time all Sony can threaten is the announcement of new
hardware -- 1998 is Dreamcast's alone.

From E3 onwards, Sega orchestrated a careful drumbeat of
announcements, including the launch of the VMS unit on July 11th to
tie-in with the Godzilla movie and a much hyped August 22nd PR event
for Sega's old mascot in Sonic Adventure. In September, Sega ran an ad
showing MD Eiichi Yukawa being abused by members of the public who
preferred Sony -- and promising all would change with Dreamcast's
arrival. And so it is, everything now rests with the machine and its
software.

I was devastated when SEGA decided not to use Lockheed Martin Real3D in Dreamcast.
I mean, PowerVR2 was great, but not Real3D-great. I figure Lockheed could've come up with a cost-effective next-gen GPU beyond what was in Model 3 to compete with the other consoles of its generation.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

In hindsight, it's a was bad decision on Sega's part...but since they called the shots, so be it.

To have a DC with GPU power that eclipses Sega's own Model 3 based arcade hardware, wouldn't that have increased the overall production costs (not mention the final MSRP cost as well)?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[parallaxscrolling]

In hindsight, it's a was bad decision on Sega's part...but since they called the shots, so be it.

To have a DC with GPU power that eclipses Sega's own Model 3 based arcade hardware, wouldn't that have increased the overall production costs (not mention the final MSRP cost as well)?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I think not, IF the a Lockheed Martin Real3D-based console had been subsidized by Lockheed, Microsoft and IBM to prevent Sony from taking over the living room. Highly integrated parts that are mass produced. Unlike Model 3 which was very expensive.

[Friendly]

Woulda coulda shoulda. The story of Sega.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I was devastated when SEGA decided not to use Lockheed Martin Real3D in Dreamcast.
I mean, PowerVR2 was great, but not Real3D-great. I figure Lockheed could've come up with a cost-effective next-gen GPU beyond what was in Model 3 to compete with the other consoles of its generation.

It always boils down to the actual games that come out for the stuff, though. I mean, every "next gen" people ramble on about the hardware, but then the games come out and a console awesome on paper doesn't necessarily live up to its hype. In hindsight, Dreamcast's CPU wasn't exactly its biggest problem. With N64, missing RGB output was a bad sign, but it's the games (or lack of thereof) that sealed its fate. And so on. I still like the "on paper" idea of N64, but its library of games hasn't aged gracefully (this is coming from someone with a soft spot for PSX and Saturn alike).
Having said that, I don't even think Sega needed its own hardware. Their last-gen, post-DC output is quite underrated. As if the moment they ceased flexing their muscles, they started to make games I enjoy.

[GaijinPunch]

Woulda coulda shoulda. The story of Sega.

They really have redefined the term. The sad thing is, I think they did a good job w/ the DC (even the marketing wasn't bad... at least in Japan). Nobody gave a shit though.

[louisg]

Woulda coulda shoulda. The story of Sega.

They really have redefined the term. The sad thing is, I think they did a good job w/ the DC (even the marketing wasn't bad... at least in Japan). Nobody gave a shit though.

The DC and the Turbografx-16 are two of my favorite systems, and both tanked in the US. I've spent a disproportional amount of time with those. IMO they also both had great hardware design in addition to having an arcade-freak-friendly library of games.

[E. Randy Dupre]

(even the marketing wasn't bad... at least in Japan).

The marketing of the Dreamcast in the UK was terrible. First there was the 'up to 6 billion players' ads, which got them into shit when people realised that there weren't yet any games on sale that supported online multiplayer.

At the same time, they gave the official magazine license to a different publisher and team than they'd gone with in the previous two generations - unsurprising in one sense, because the official Saturn mag became massively critical of Sega's European release schedule, to the extent that they started recommending that readers get their machines modded and even provided contact details for outlets that would provide the service. Unfortunately, the people that they went with for the Dreamcast mag designed it as a 'lifestyle' rag and aimed it at an audience who hadn't gone anywhere near a games console for years - the embarrassment about the Saturn was palpable.

Pretty quickly after release, you'd have been lucky to even know that the machine existed.

edit: Tell a lie, they pissed away a lot of their advertising spend on sponsorship of a Premier League football team. Like the magazine, a poorly judged attempt to appeal to a non-videogaming audience.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I recall that the USA DC demo kiosks had JPN DC consoles up & running to give a sample taste for the folks whom pre-ordered a USA region DC close towards the eventual launch date. This is what I was told at my local Software Etc. store back in early September of 1999.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Obiwanshinobi]

PAL-wise, wasn't Sega the first publisher to release fully 50 Hz-optimised (full screen, full speed) games, as well as the 60 Hz option? Started with Mega Drive stuff (Ristar, Alien Soldier), through the Saturn (Panzer Dragoon Zwei, Guardian Heroes), to the 60 Hz goodness in a number of DC releases.

[neorichieb1971]

Dreamcast never really took off for me. I like arcade games like anyone else but its over reliance on them backed up by that awful joypad put a sour taste in my mouth. The most fun i had with the DC was Crazy Taxi, RE CV and Soul Calibur. When Namco announced Mr driller several months later instead of SC2 along with Konami/EA rejecting any kind of support, I knew it was over.

Capcom had a good run, but Capcom supported all the machines in those days.


Going back even further to 1994. I knew the PS1 was gonna kill the Saturn. Ridge racer was somewhat inferior to Daytona in the arcades. But the PS1 managed to reverse that quotation by making the home version of RR vastly superior to the Daytona home conversion on the Saturn.

The other thing that killed the Saturn was the PS1's ability to mimmick arcade games based on system 10 and 11. Sega on the other (even up as far the DC) brought out F355 on a triple monitor system utilizing 3 DC's and alot of RAM. So the outcome of Sega's success relied on the mistakes of Sony, which didn't come that often enough for Sega.

I did enjoy the Saturn though. Especially the fighters Capcom brought out and Saturn Bomberman. I often speculated that Sega would bring out some unbelievable 2D games kinda like Astal, but Astal is where it stopped. That was disappointing for me. Instead of playing to its strengths like SNK did with the Neo, Sega decided to play golf with a baseball bat by making its Saturn compete with the much more 3Dized PS1.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Dunno, man, while Saturn didn't really trump the PSX in any aspect (even some 2D ports came out better on the latter), the machine itself is still kinda worth owning (next to a proper telly, that is). Moreso than N64 I'd say. Which was, um, silent, and that's about it.

[mrsmiley381]

I remember reading about the double-Dreamcast development, but never about the Saturn upgrade. Really neat stuff. I'll have to read it entirely later, but even skimming it was interesting.

I'm also fairly certain I've blown through more Dreamcasts than any other console. They tend to die when you play them as much as I do. I'm going to blame all of the awesome arcade ports, Record of Lodoss War, and Phantasy Star Online. Dreamcast had some basic online functionality without DLC and achievement nonsense shitting it all up. Border Down and Capcom Vs. SNK 2 are also sick as hell, so there's that. And VGA support, which is gorgeous.

Sometimes I wonder if the Dreamcast's failure was partially due to how well it was suited to gaming enthusiasts over run of the mill casual once in while game players.

[louisg]

As far as the reason more 2d games weren't brought over goes, maybe you don't remember the general attitude back then. If anything 2d came out, every single review usually said something like "EW! THIS LOOKS LIKE A GENESIS GAME!"-- no matter how sophisticated the 2d was. Most gamers preferred the half-assed 3d of the time because it was novel.

The other thing that killed the Saturn was the PS1's ability to mimmick arcade games based on system 10 and 11. Sega on the other (even up as far the DC) brought out F355 on a triple monitor system utilizing 3 DC's and alot of RAM. So the outcome of Sega's success relied on the mistakes of Sony, which didn't come that often enough for Sega.

I don't know if you've played it, but F355 on the DC is a really solid port. Same with VO:OT. One thing that really appealed to me about the DC *was* the fact that you could play at home very close representations of arcade games. Of course, F355 at home is only one monitor, but it does support widescreen.

Back to the Saturn: I'm guessing what really killed the Saturn, aside from half-finished launch games, was both that the system was too expensive (though this never hurt the PS2), and an advertising failure. No Sonic game, and I actually had *no idea* that you could play some of these games like Darius, Die Hard Arcade, Virtua Cop, and other arcade ports. I didn't even see the Saturn in stores much-- it was always the PSX hooked up to the TV. If I had known more about it, I think I would've wanted one. Sega probably just didn't understand their target audience, among other complications.

BTW the Saturn also had the ST-V in arcades, so Sega was trying the same strategy as Sony to some degree. I should also point out that Namco's games, for the most part, were pretty stripped down by the time they hit PSX-- The Ridge Racer and Time Crisis games for example were high resolution, decently high polygon, and the textures did *not* boogie. If anything, the fact that ST-V and the PS-based hw existed at all is probably more of a sign of the arcade scene dwindling than anything. Remember, there was a time when every arcade machine was a generation or two ahead of what you had at home.

Dunno, man, while Saturn didn't really trump the PSX in any aspect (even some 2D ports came out better on the latter), the machine itself is still kinda worth owning (next to a proper telly, that is). Moreso than N64 I'd say. Which was, um, silent, and that's about it.

There's some good N64 stuff, but yeah, it has the worst library of any of the other systems that generation outside of the 3do, Jag and CD-i. Some of the good N64 games are off the beaten path. S&P, for example, is brilliant, and Tetrisphere and Wetrix addictive. The Midway ports are also underrated-- Rush 2049 and Hydro Thunder can compete with the DC versions, NFL Blitz is good, and NBA Hangtime is the best NBA Jam you can play at home.

It's too bad-- most games were slow and mushy, but every now and then you got something like Ridge Racer 64 that showed what the system could do. Even Perfect Dark, with its slow framerate, is a pretty good show-off piece. I was also reading that Nintendo didn't want people to disable all the slower video processing features to get things to run faster until later in the system's life. I wonder if that's true.

[E. Randy Dupre]

I recall that the USA DC demo kiosks had JPN DC consoles up & running to give a sample taste for the folks whom pre-ordered a USA region DC close towards the eventual launch date. This is what I was told at my local Software Etc. store back in early September of 1999.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Something similar used to happen in the UK - we'd get demo pods in stores pre-release that actually housed NTSC-U consoles, not PAL ones. I remember playing Super Mario 64 on one, then when the game eventually got released being massively pissed off by how much slower the PAL version was than the one that they'd been using to promote it.

[Ganelon]

Dreamcast received very strong marketing for its US release. Sega clearly learned from the US Saturn that a mystery launch with no publicity wasn't a viable choice. As the above article suggested, everyone knew that Sega was in a make or break situation with the DC. If anything, the DC marketing campaign helped popularize the concept of viral ads. And the system received a record number of launch day sales as a result. Still, everyone was concerned that Sega was already damaged goods by then and the PS2 tech demos (e.g. old man, Tekken brawl, Ridge Racer) had players worried that the DC would be quickly overtaken. I didn't buy a DC until it started clearing out for under $100 in stores. Sure, the Naomi ports were exceptional, but there just weren't enough games that really appealed to me. If Capcom hadn't supported the system, it'd probably have been even longer until I bought a console.

I don't remember the Saturn 2 (too many rumors in those days) so this article was a nice read. I'm not certain Real3D (and its antecedents) would've been the answer though. While its capabilities are unquestioned—Model 1-3 were by far the most powerful 3D systems available in their day—Real3D wasn't a well-known brand in a time when names mattered a lot in the 3D graphics world. Much as with the DC situation later on, if the system wasn't using an established brand—such as 3Dfx Voodoo, Matrox, ATI Rage, and Nvidia—then average players wouldn't really know what to expect. Still, name recognition hardly matters if the graphics really delivered. Whether or not the SS was better or not in its exclusive titles, it suffered a lot in comparison screenshots. Although I support the SS nowadays for being one of the last remnants of the halcyon 2D gaming days, I instead chose the PS back in the day since the PS was clearly going to be better supported.

If the Real3D-backed Saturn 2 could really pull off the street environments from those magazine pictures in realtime with a decent allocation of resources for an actual game as well (the last part often conveniently neglected by the "realtime Toy Story" hype men), then perhaps there was a chance. But even then, that article neglects to mention the cost. Arcade boards cost much more than console boards for a variety of reasons so there's no point mentioning that but comparatively, IIRC, Model 2 setups still sold for 3 times the price of System 11 setups. How dumbed down/high priced/sold for a loss would the Saturn 2 have to be in order to remain sellable? Sega was so upset with the 2D situation that I imagine they would've taken the development loss, especially since Nintendo was reporting a huge delay with the Ultra 64. But I imagine the lack of a feasible way to sell a console with premium Real3D graphics was why this approach was never taken. I think that may have been one of Sega's wiser decisions too with how Real3D faded away at the mass-production level (same with not choosing 3Dfx right before the graphics company's epic downfall).

I've actually begun to respect Sega's decisions more over the years since it's been easier for me to deduce their motives. Sega released the Mega CD and Super 32X hoping to capture the PC Engine's expansion glory (that even Nintendo almost fell for as well until the disagreement with Sony). It tried the CDX hoping to spark CD sales much as the Duo did. It focused on 2D for the SS because the tepid response to the Jaguar and 3DO showed that 3D technology of the time may not have been enough to appeal to players. It tested out the arcade-console hardware model used by PS-System 11 with the SS-STV and then adopted it for the DC-Naomi. They released the DC with a heavy focus on online gaming seeing the success on PC and rise of home internet but didn't expect the dot-com bubble to burst and slow the process down. Most of these choices appear to be honest strategic miscalculations so I mostly sympathize with Sega nowadays.

[louisg]

I don't think Real3d would've made a big difference. That PowerVR in the DC was really powerful for the time. I was doing PC gaming around that era, and the graphics in something like Sonic Adventure, Soul Calibur or Crazy Taxi were eye-catching for 1998, 1999.

When I look back on failed/successful consoles, I don't see the performance of the systems being much of a factor. I think it's mostly down to library, knowing your target audience, brand name, and things of that nature. I'm also not entirely sure if the DC would've failed if Sega had the funds to keep it going. And wasn't there some kind of management shakeup that preceded it? It would've been interesting to see what the DC would've done if they hadn't pulled the plug.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Launching with the slogan "up to 6 billion players" and then only having Chu Chu Rocket to actually play online was daft enough but coupled with sinking sponsorship into Arsenal without having any decent football games is just moronic. The two biggest presences for the console in the UK and they served only to advertise disappointment.

[drboom]

(even the marketing wasn't bad... at least in Japan).

edit: Tell a lie, they pissed away a lot of their advertising spend on sponsorship of a Premier League football team. Like the magazine, a poorly judged attempt to appeal to a non-videogaming audience.

I own one of those Arsenal jerseys. Awesome. And I'm also a fan of Arsenal. Seemed weird at the time that they were sponsoring them, but I also thought it was cool that they did.

[null1024]

wall of text

Jeez, I keep hearing about how the DC tanked in the US, and I remember wondering why it was getting pulled -- where I used to live, I knew tons of people with DCs and tons of not-burned games. I thought it would be around enough for me to get my own, and was so happy about all the Capcom support it got, etc.
Better hardware wouldn't have helped, unless the price stayed the same. Consumers go first to lowest cost [and only to the big console names], then to best hardware -- why the hell do you think the Wii sold so much? Hell, I bought a Wii because it was cheaper than a 360 or PS3. The N64 had better hardware than the PS1 or Saturn, but that didn't stop the games from being expensive because of cartridges.
Back to the DC specifically, Sega really couldn't have done any better -- great library, relatively decent price, excellent marketing. It just didn't work because of years of Sega screwups combined with the looming PS2 [which I've heard people say is a bit weaker than the DC, but I say that's real BS].

On the Saturn -- I respect Sega's choice for a more 2D focused design, but when you consider the attitude of the time [seriously, read a review of any 2D game on the PS1, where they state like fucking idiots that "oh, this would have been fine 3 years ago on the SNES, derp" -- something that bothered me like fuck], there was no hope of it succeeding, especially with the somewhat weaker 3D of the Saturn, combined with the high price. A game that looked as nice as say, Ridge Racer R4 probably would never be doable on the Saturn. Look at end-of-life PS1 stuff, and end-of-life Saturn stuff. Yeaaaah.
Although, undermining my whole argument is that Shenmue Saturn video, which looks awesome as fuck, and shows the Saturn really pushing some nice 3D.
It's a shame, because a lot of 3D games from around then LOOK LIKE ASS, whereas I can always pick up Mega Man X4, and it still looks good with nice 2D art+some prerendered stuff. Actually, Capcom had balls, releasing 4 2D Mega Man games at a time when 2D was totally out of fashion.

A Saturn 2 would have been GODAWFUL for Sega -- yet another console in so few years, yet again. Sure, it wasn't an addon, but it would have seriously undermined their brand, putting yet another segment into it.

I can't respect Sega's other decisions after the Genesis until the Saturn.
The 32X is just Sega not knowing what Sega is doing until the last minute, and then trying to release it anyway. On the other hand, there are quite a few good 32X games, so I can ALMOST respect them releasing it [Chaotix is decent, Shadow Squadron is AWESOME, Star Wars Arcade is OK, but beat by Shadow Squadron, the Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racing ports are good, same with the After Burner and Space Harrier ports, and there's a handful other that I've missed]. It just had no chance in the market with the Saturn existing, and it's their own damn fault for going ahead with multiple projects like that.
If the Saturn could play 32X titles, THAT might have worked. But then you'd need proper Genesis support and whatnot, and the Saturn was expensive enough.

The Sega CD misutilized its own capabilities. Rather than shitty "interactive video" that had next-to-no real gameplay, and lazy Genesis ports with CD audio, we could have had more stuff like that Star Wars game [Rebel Assault?] or Silpheed, where you had live graphics over pre-rendered stuff, and it looked really nice and played well. Or that Dracula game [which sucks, but could have been good], which was a platformer that used prerendered video for the stage. Sega emphasized the wrong kind of FMV gaming, and you ended up with dreck like Night Trap and its ilk.

Also, in semi-unrelated ranting, I don't remember anything terribly wrong with the N64 library. Loads of the Nintendo produced titles were considered some of the best games ever, along with the second-party Rare stuff.
On the other hand, I still hate how most N64 games look -- all blurry and choppy. My PS1 games might have visibly pixelated textures, but they don't run at 15fps or whatnot like OOT. Even at the time I was bothered by how choppy the games were.

[BIL]

My N64 is a splendid Sin & Punishment adaptor, and that's really all I'd ask of any system.

[Stormwatch]

The 32X is just Sega not knowing what Sega is doing until the last minute, and then trying to release it anyway.

The 32X was Sega's answer to the Atari Jaguar. Seriously.

32X essentially started with a call to Joe Miller at CES. He, Marty Franz and a few of the senior production guys were in Joe's suite when the call came through. Nakayama-san was on speaker phone and the word was, "We have to counter Jaguar. Make it happen." The original concept for 32X was literally drawn on a cocktail napkin after that call.

[Specineff]

I don't think Real3d would've made a big difference. That PowerVR in the DC was really powerful for the time. I was doing PC gaming around that era, and the graphics in something like Sonic Adventure, Soul Calibur or Crazy Taxi were eye-catching for 1998, 1999.

This. If the graphics on that Real3D promo are what the final product would have looked like, it looks about the same as what we got with the DC's chipset.

[BIL]

"We have to counter Jaguar. Make it happen."

Brilliant line. Could've come straight out of Where Eagles Dare. Should've been printed on the 32X's box.

My most enduring memory of the 32X is getting a static shock when handling those metal prongs you were meant to keep the Genesis's cart slot prised open with, Clockwork Orange-style.

[E. Randy Dupre]

32X essentially started with a call to Joe Miller at CES. He, Marty Franz and a few of the senior production guys were in Joe's suite when the call came through. Nakayama-san was on speaker phone and the word was, "We have to counter Jaguar. Make it happen." The original concept for 32X was literally drawn on a cocktail napkin after that call.

It's a little-known fact that they also drew the character designs for Cosmic Carnage on that same napkin, then scanned them straight into the game.

[Khan]

Woulda coulda shoulda. The story of Sega.

They really have redefined the term. The sad thing is, I think they did a good job w/ the DC (even the marketing wasn't bad... at least in Japan). Nobody gave a shit though.

I dont know, i think the marketing here in the UK was terrible god I even remember the TV adverts most gamers recognised it but the majority of people watching the ad didnt have a clue what the heck was being advertised lol

[shmuppyLove]

My N64 is a splendid Sin & Punishment adaptor, and that's really all I'd ask of any system.

Gat dang I swear I will get around to playing this one day. I have S&P2 for the Wii and I'm pretty sure I have the N64 ROM somewhere ...

[GaijinPunch]

I dont know, i think the marketing here in the UK was terrible god I even remember the TV adverts most gamers recognised it but the majority of people watching the ad didnt have a clue what the heck was being advertised lol

Probably, but I would have no clue about that. My point was, I was technically "out of games" when it came out but I was very, very aware of the release. I even thought of getting one to play casually despite teh fact I was broke, but they were sold out. By the time they got them back in I had lost interest.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Also, in semi-unrelated ranting, I don't remember anything terribly wrong with the N64 library. Loads of the Nintendo produced titles were considered some of the best games ever, along with the second-party Rare stuff.

Have you tried playing Jet Force Gemini recently? I only tried it emulated briefly, and if my experience was anywhere near the real thing, it's one example of things wrong with the N64 library (and a harbinger of things wrong with console shooters today). I can imagine N64 owners enjoying it back then, but I can also name quite a few polygonal TPP run & guns of the time that's aged far better. N64 needed more S&P, Star Fox and F-Zero, not more textures, even fever frames per second and slower pacing like in JFG.
Quite ironically, your average console run & gun today is a lot like JFG (more polished and playable perhaps, but substantially just as meh).

I too would like to see the DC putting a good tech-porn fight against PS2. Most advanced PS2 games would be probably out of its reach, but I'd like to see it kicking against even some 2001 stuff: Twisted Metal: Black (ugly one, but the engine did some next-gen job for its time) and SH2 for example.

[BIL]

JFG does run a bit choppy on a real N64. It's not so much a shooter as a collect 'em up with guns, really. I tried replaying it recently and couldn't be bothered. If I'm going to blow polygonal shit up on my N64 in 2012 it's either S&P or Starfox.