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Would the Sega Saturn be considered a success during the 90’s?

The Sega Saturn is a game console that does not get talked about nearly as much as the Sega Dreamcast despite the fact that it was an advanced game console that was arguably better than the PS1 when it comes down to quality.  The Sega Saturn definitely handled arcadevgand better than the PS1 but at the same time there were hardly any games featured on the Saturn console that would be considered memorable.


While Virtua Fighter 2 sold close to 2 million units worldwide on the Sega Saturn and is considered to be the best selling game for that console even though it’s not quite as memorable as many other 3D fighting titles from the 90’s.  In terms of overall sales the Sega Saturn has managed to sell over 9 million units worldwide since its release between 1994-1995 which is actually considering how competitive the console wars was starting to become during the time. 

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What was the best CPS II game of the 90’s?

Generally when it comes down to CPS II games of 90’s it tough to decide which one was the very best.  When it comes down to 2D CPS II arcade titles there were games such as Marvel vs Capcom,  X-Men Vs Street Fighter and Marvel Super Heroes vs Capcom which many people considered to be addictive.

We also had titles such as X Men Children of the Atom which was probably one most popular arcade one on one arcade fighting games next to the Street Fighter series.  When it comes down to worldwide games titles such as Marvel vs Capcom and X-Men Children of the Atom did not do as well as some people would expect.  In fact, some of those games fell below the one million mark for separate consoles such as Sony PlayStation, Dreamcast and the Sega Saturn.


Ever since Street Fighter Alpha 3 was released in the late 90’s it had managed to sell over one million units worldwide for the Sony PlayStation.  This was an impressive feat considering the fact CPS II gaming was starting to become obsolete going into the new millennium.  Since the mid 90’s more people started turning to 3D gaming for popular fighting titles such the Tekken and Soul Calibur series.  While many people have their own respective opinion on which CPS II fighting game was the best the truth is they were all great making it very to choose one.

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Would Final Fantasy VII have worked on Sega consoles during the 90’s

When it came down to RPG titles of the 90’s Square Enix was one of the best video game companies that produced titles within that genre.  During the first half of the decade many people bought the Super Nintendo Entertainment System to play titles such as Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy IV, Secret of Mana and others.  During the second half of the decade it seemed like a majority of the best RPG titles were featured on the PS1.


If the Final Fantasy VII was featured on the Sega Saturn or even the Sega Dreamcast both consoles could have done far better than they did in terms of worldwide sales.  However, its still questionable on whether or not doing business with Square Enix back in the 90’s would have gave Sega the edge over their competitors Sony and Nintendo.

Even if Square Enix did business with Sega instead Sony during the second half the 90’s there would been a good chance that Final Fantasy VII would have suffered in sales due to the fact that the Sega Saturn was too expensive when it was first released in 1995 for $399.  If Final Fantasy VII was released for the Sega Dreamcast which only priced at $199 following its initial release then Final Fantasy would probably have been more of a success.  In terms of whether or not Square Enix and Sega collaborating more would have had a significant impact on the landscape of the RPG genre of gaming is still debatable. 

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Retro Gaming- Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete: (1998)

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As some people know Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete is the remake of the original Lunar Blue game that was first released for the Sega CD in 1994.  Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete was the Sega Saturn and the PlayStation 1 version of the original Lunar: Eternal Blue game and was also the sequel to Lunar: The Silver Star game which was released for the Sega CD back in 1992.   When it comes down to role playing games of the 90’s many people would argue that the Lunar series was highly underrated.  Despite, not selling as much in America Lunar 2: Eternal Blue was a fun RPG title that was featured on a Sega console opposed to Nintendo.  Generally, when it comes down to RPG titles they were generally featured on the Super Nintendo because the Sega Genesis was not known to have too many RPG titles back in the 90’s.

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While this game stood out as an RPG mainly because it was featured on a Sega console some people still consider it to be a generic role playing title.   Around the mid 90’s fighting games were starting to become more popular along with the fact that 3D gaming was starting become more popular following the release of the Sony PlayStation around that time period.  When it comes down to games featured on Sega console some people would say that Lunar 2: Eternal Blue was underrated and deserved more credit than it got.

 

 

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Have Sega Saturn games been completely forgotten?

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When it comes down tot he Sega Saturn many people see it as one of the most underrated game systems of the 90’s.  The Sega Saturn deserved better in terms of marketing in countries like America with the release of so many exciting games such as Dreams into Nights, Daytona USA, Shining the Holy Ark, X-Men vs Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter and many more.  Despite, how cool some of the Sega Saturn games were we rarely ever hear news about remakes or re-releases regarding Sega Saturn classics which is actually a shame.  As a 32 bit console the Sega Saturn was arguably better in quality than the original Sony PlayStation.

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To say that Sega Saturn games have been completely forgotten would not be entirely true because there are some retro gamers who are familiar with some of the titles on console itself.  However, since too many people did not own the Sega Saturn to the same extent as the Sony PlayStation or the Nintendo 64 there is a good chance many of them have no played a single on the game system either.    The Sega Saturn being too expensive in America is definitely one of the main reasons why Sega Genesis games are more memorable than the Sega Saturn .   If the Sega Saturn has marketed right and priced around the same range as the PS1 or the Nintendo 64 more people would have bought the console back in the 90’s and the games on the system itself might have became more popular.

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Should Sega make a new Thunder Force game?

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When it comes down to classic games for the Sega Genesis the Thunder Force series is something that instantly comes to mind when people think about the 16 bit era of gaming.   Even though, the Thunder Force series was not as popular as other Sega titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Streets of Rage it was definitely a fun title to play if you were a fan of the rail shooting genre of gaming.   The last Thunder Force game that we ever got from Sega was back in 2008 when Thunder Force IV was released for the PlayStation.   While some people may have good opinions about Thunder Force IV others would agree that the series is better suited as a 2D 16-bit side scrolling game opposed to the utilization of 3D graphics.

Thunder Force IV

Not only that the Thunder Force series had interesting storylines involving the Galaxy Federation and the ORN Empire that really drew people into the game.   Looking back at the Thunder Force series now its probably one of those things that many retro gamers took for granted growing up in the 90’s.  While the latest game Thunder Force IV did not do too well in terms of sales did does not mean that there are many people who are not interested in the series itself.  If Sega wanted to revive the Thunder Force series one of the things they should do includes reverting back to the 16 bit graphics and 2D gameplay that made it popular to begin with.  Second, Sega would have to effectively market the game in a way that would grab the attention of  both retro and modern day gamers.  However, that is a task which is easier said than done considering the fact that the landscape of the gaming industry has changed dramatically since the early 90’s.  While rail shooters seem not existent when it comes down to mainstream video games reviving a title like the Thunder Force series would make it stand out from all the other RPG’s and first person shooter titles that are very popular today.

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Should Square Enix have collaborated more with Sega back in the 90’s?

 

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When we look back at all of the games that Square Enix has produced for over the past two years sometimes its hard to believe that the company hardly ever did business with Sega.  After Square Enix had its fallout with Nintendo  around the mid 90’s many people believe that it would have been a perfect time for the company to stick to Nintendo by working with Sega in relation to releasing more video games.   The only problem was that Sony’s PlayStation was more popular then the Sega Saturn which seemed under-marketed in countries like America.    If Square Enix had decided to collaborate with Sega around the mid 90’s that would have been a gamble which could have came back to bit them in the future.  While the Sega Saturn was not nearly as popular as the Sony PlayStation the 128 bit Dreamcast console seemed just as popular as PlayStation and Nintendo 64.  The Sega Dreamcast was a console that high quality games in comparison to Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation.   However, by 1998-1999 PlayStation was already too popular and it had seemed like Sony was starting to dominate the gaming industry.

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Besides Square Enix had released some of their best games on the Sony PlayStation such as Final Fantasy VII & VIII which went on to sell millions of copies around the world.  While some people might argue that having Final Fantasy IX for the Sega Dreamcast would have been very cool to see it could have been easily overshadowed by games such as Phantasy Star Online and Sonic Adventure which were also big games that were feature on that console as well.    Even though, the Phantasy Star series has been competing with the likes of Final Fantasy since the late 80’s some people believe that Phantasy Star Online would not have posed a serious threat to Square Enix if they had decided to release their for the Sega Dreamcast.    However, some might believe that Square Enix collaborating with Sega on more games back in the 90’s would have put Nintendo in jeopardy during the console wars back in the day.

Final Fantasy IX

With games like Final Fantasy VII- IX the Sega Dreamcast could have sold more units worldwide as a game console.  Also, Sega could have earned more revenue than it did during the late 90’s.   However, Square Enix never had much of a history working with Sega prior to the release of the Sony PlayStation since they generally did business with Nintendo.   In fact, some might argue that Nintendo played a significant role in the Final Fantasy series obtaining the level of popularity it did.  While its true that Nintendo helped the Final Fantasy series become very popular others would agree that Sony had took the Final Fantasy series to the next level following their partnership with Square Enix.

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Did the Sega Saturn ever reach its full potential?

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The Sega Saturn is one of the many game consoles that does not get mentioned as much as the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, Sony PlayStation and the Nintendo 64.   When it comes down to 32 bit era of gaming the Sega Saturn along with the Sony PlayStation were consoles that delivered high quality gameplay that many people could enjoy.  When it came down to actual gameplay the Sega Saturn version could run arcade quality titles on its system.

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Shortly, after its arcade release in the mid 90’s a popular crossover fighting game known as X-Men vs Street Fighter was released for the Sega Saturn and  Sony PlayStation.  The differences between both versions was that the Sega Saturn port was closer to arcade overall.  While the PlayStation version had lengthy loading times along with restrictions dealing with crossover gameplay the Sega Saturn version made people feel like they were inside a arcade center playing the game.

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When it came down to Sonic games for the Sega Saturn they were not quite as popular as the ones of the Sega Genesis or even Sega CD.  Titles such as Sonic Jam and Sonic 3D Blast had paled in comparison to games such as Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2 and 3 which sold millions worldwide after their releases during the early to mid 90’s.  Even though, the first three Sonic the Hedgehog games for the Genesis console were great in terms of detailed graphics and overall quality Sonic CD was probably the best.  If Sega had produced games like Sonic CD for the Saturn console then Sonic games  on that system could have possibly been more popular during the mid 90’s prior to the Adventure series that started on the Sega Dreamcast in the late 90’s.

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Similar to X-Men vs Street Fighter the Sega Saturn had ported some awesome arcade classics such as Marvel vs Street Fighter and X-Men Children of the Atom.  While the Sony PlayStation may have had these games the Sega Saturn versions of each were far better.  As a game system the Sega Saturn was fantastic but one of the problems with this game system was that it was too expensive.  When the Sega Saturn was first released during the mid 90’s it averaged around $400 which was at least $100 more than what the PS1 was worth.  Not did the Sega Saturn cost more than the original PlayStation console it was worth at least twice the amount of the Nintendo 64.  Along with being very expensive the Sega Saturn was not marketed as much as their competitors which could have made a significant difference despite being slightly more expensive.  While opinions may vary on whether or not the Sega Saturn had lived up to its full potential many can argue that its was one of the most underrated consoles of the 90’s.   Even though, the Sega Saturn had its share of 3D games its was much better at producing arcade quality 32 bit 2D titles.

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The evolution of gaming in the 90’s

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In terms of graphics and gameplay there has never been a decade that featured more diversity than the 90’s.  It was during the 80’s where 8-bit games for consoles like the NES were very popular with games such as Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, Double Dragon, Metroid, Castlevania and more.  Towards the late 80’s the Sega Master System had introduced 16-bit graphics and gameplay on its consoles which would eventually become popular during the early 90’s.  Following the Sega Master System we got to see the releases of consoles such as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the PC Engine also known as the Turbografix-16.

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The 16-bit Super Nintendo console featured many memorable games including The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario World, Mega Man X and more.  Shortly, after the 16-bit consoles started to become popular during the early 90’s we briefly got to see some 32-bit style games for systems like Sega 32X, Sega Saturn and the original Sony PlayStation.  The Sega Saturn was released about a year after the Sony PlayStation and the Sega 32X was released during the winter of 1994.   Shortly, after the Sony PlayStation became a commercial success in gaming markets around the world we saw the development and release of the Nintendo 64 in 1996.

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Following, the release of the Nintendo 64  Sega had introduced the 128 bit console known as Sega Dreamcast  in 1998.  The Sega Dreamcast was amazing because it provided people with so many interesting titles including Power Stone, Skies of Arcadia, Sonic Adventure and much more.   In terms of game development the 90’s was arguably a better decade than the 00’s.  During the 00’s we saw gaming evolve due to the development of  online multiplayer gaming along with the inclusion of high definition visuals for consoles like PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.    Overall, the 90’s had more variety in terms of gaming than the 00’s making it a much more memorable decade as far as video games were concerned in general.  During the 90’s we saw the inception of many different gameplay styles such as 32 & 64 bit which would be utilized for handheld consoles such as the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS during the 00’s.  When it came down to creativity and development the 90’s seemed like a much better time period than the 00’s which was also very special as well.

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Was Sega the true innovator of online gaming?

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As we know online gaming has become extremely popular since the early to mid 00’s with the rise of service networks such as Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.  But believe it or not online game has been around since the 90’s which is something at may be hard to believe right now.  Back in December of 1994, an online gaming service known as the Sega Channel created for  North America.  The only thing about the Sega Channel was that many people in America knew nothing about it.  Around the mid 90’s people began shifting their focus to game consoles such as the Sony PlayStation which was also released in 1994.  The Sega Channel  service was provided to customers through television companies such as: Tele- Communications Inc & Time Warner and lasted for a few years before it was discontinued altogether.

However, when the Sega Channel was active during the mid 90’s it provided people with cool games including Mega Man: The Willy Wars, Eternal Champions, Space Harrier II, Sonic & Knuckles and more.   Shortly after the development of the Sega Channel we got Sega NetLink in 1996. The Sega NetLink was developed exclusively for the Sega Saturn and averaged around $200.  The fact that customers was expected to pay over $200 for networking services seemed insane especially considering the fact that the Sega Saturn averaged around $400 following its release.

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Shortly, after the release of the Netlink Sega had provided another online service for its Dreamcast console entitled the “Dreamarena” which was released in 1999.  The Dreamarena had allowed people to play games such as Phantasy Star Online and Quake III Arena which were popular during that time period.  Many people can easily argue that the concept of online gaming services such as the Dreamarena had provided Microsoft with the idea of developing Xbox Live in 2002.  When it came down to online gaming Sega was ahead of its time with the development of services such as the Sega Channel, Netlink and the Dreamarena.  Even though, a majority of Sega’s online services were not as successful as the PlayStation Network or  Xbox Live the company itself had specialized in online gaming before it became mainstream during the 00’s.