The Sega Saturn appreciation thread

[Da_Shocker]

Shenmue's budget was like 70 million dollars.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

The reason Shenmue cost so much to make was because it was in Development hell for the better half of a decade. It started back around 1993/1994 as a Virtua Fighter RPG for the Sega CD if I remember correctly. It was shifted to the Dreamcast because the Dreamcast came out in 1998 in Japan. For them to not make that switch a few things need to happen. One the Saturn needs to be doing exceptionally well on the Market. It needs to be doing so well that Sega doesn't feel the need to rush out another Console. The next thing that needs to happen is that the Dreamcast needs to not come out for a few more years.

So the question is, do you want Saturn Shenmue and no Dreamcast until around 2000 or 2001, or would you rather have the Dreamcast in 1998/1999?

[Da_Shocker]

I would've preferred to have the Saturn outsell the N64. 32 million Saturns sold worldwide and we'd still be playing Sega to this very day. And M$ would probably still be making computer products.

[Moirai]

So the question is, do you want Saturn Shenmue and no Dreamcast until around 2000 or 2001...?

Yes! And they'd have to get a really good launch lineup for dreamcast in Japan, like in the US. And DVD support, of course.

[StarMist]

Sonic X-Treme does indeed look like crap but it can't play know worse than Sonic 3D Blast. I'd take a good looking, shitty 32-Bit game rather than a mediocre looking port of a shitty 16-Bit game.

I'd take a potentially shitty Saturn Sonic game over the definitely shitty Sonic Adventure.
And here's a fantasy: how about no Shenmue and Sega using the $70 million wisely on the Saturn or Dreamcast?

[Moirai]

I would've preferred to have the Saturn outsell the N64. 32 million Saturns sold worldwide and we'd still be playing Sega to this very day. And M$ would probably still be making computer products.

Me too, and I would have liked n64 to have been CD based, and for it to have outsold the playstation.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

I would've preferred to have the Saturn outsell the N64. 32 million Saturns sold worldwide and we'd still be playing Sega to this very day. And M$ would probably still be making computer products.

Oh I agree I would have liked to see that too. I would probably be fine to see the scenario I mentioned happen with the Saturn staying alive and healthy for 2 more years into 1999/2000 with the Dreamcast releasing a year or two later around the same time as the PS2 or possibly even around the Gamecube. But it's something a lot of people don't think about when they bring up wanting to see these late Saturn games released.

I'd take a potentially shitty Saturn Sonic game over the definitely shitty Sonic Adventure.
And here's a fantasy: how about no Shenmue and Sega using the $70 million wisely on the Saturn or Dreamcast?

What's so bad about Sonic Adventure? Yeah it has some bugs in it, but the original Dreamcast version is fine if you ask me. People whine about the stupidest shit with that game these days. Yet 13 years ago you heard no one complaining about it because they were all having a blast playing it. People's dislike for Sonic Adventure seems to stem from the bad Gamecube port and the fact that bashing Sonic became the cool thing to do after Sonic 2006.

[Da_Shocker]

Oh lord not Sonic Adventure lol. I think it's the best 3D Sonic game but it still not as good as the 2D Genesis games and I will leave it at that.

[sheath]

Bashing Sonic Adventure started way before the Gamecube port, there were people bitching about ethereal "camera problems" before the release of Sonic Adventure 2, and these same people claimed Sonic Adventure 2 was worse. To me all of the glitches in Sonic Adventure are caused by trying to circumvent level segments, and in Sonic Adventure 2 they are caused by trying to explore in the speed levels.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

Oh the Camera complaints where there, but there wasn't this consensus that Sonic Adventure is one of the worst Sonic games ever that people seem to spew about these days. But I 100% agree, Sonic Adventures camera problems arise when you try to do something you're not supposed to be doing.

[Da_Shocker]

Taromaru is on my list of Saturn games to buy. I wish I would've had the foresight to buy it when Gamecave was advertising the hell out of it back in the day. 69.99 doesn't seem to bad now. Those graphics are great as hell but the gameplay looks to be a bit undesirable. ANd what about the beat em ups? I own:

Guardian Hero's
Crows
D&D: Collection
Die Hard Arcade
3 Dirty Dwarves
Tenchi o Kurau 2

I can't really can GH a beat em up or maybe I can but are there any others out there that I am missing out on?

[sheath]

Yeah, I had to put the game down for more than a few years and pick it up again to have unlearned any tendencies that avoided camera "glitches". Playing popular 3D action-platform series also helped me to play Sonic Adventure wrong.

Also, on Shenmue, the 70 million dollar thing is somewhat unconfirmed. I'd like to see how much of that was the total cost of Suzuki efforts on the Saturn and Dreamcast, and how much of that cost rolled over into saving cost on the development of Shenmue 2. If they had syndicated the game as planned that cost would make more sense. I wonder how much it cost to make original middleware or engines such as Unreal 3.

[Da_Shocker]

Shot out to TA for providing this video

[zetastrike]

Do you think the Saturn could have survived to around 99-early 2000 if Stolar hadn't been in control? Isn't it true that the third parties didn't really start jumping ship until he started talking shit about his own product? He seemed to have it out for the Saturn as soon as he came in. Kalinske's early launch did a lot of damage, but I feel like more could have been salvaged from the Saturn. Stolar was like "Well fuck that shit, don't buy it, but still wait for our new console".

[StarMist]

Bashing Sonic Adventure started way before the Gamecube port, there were people bitching about ethereal "camera problems" before the release of Sonic Adventure 2, and these same people claimed Sonic Adventure 2 was worse.

I never had any trouble with the camera or other glitches and have declared so before. The problem is the game's just no fun. The only reasons I played up to Big's part are it's Sonic and I had few DC games.
Releasing Shenmue for the Saturn would've been overwhelmingly foolish unless Sega was foolish enough to let a Saturn version near completion in the first place. Vastly too small a customership to justify the expense. It would've made more sense to release it on the Playstation as an advertising tool for the DC version.