Would the Saturn have done better if it were backwards compatable?

[Tanegashima]

Just a theory, would the Saturn have done better if it could play Genesis, 32X and Sega CD games along with its own Saturn titles? I mean the thing has a cartridge slot, it seems like it could have been done...not to mention that sega seemed big on making its add-ons into independent consoles (X'Eye, CDX, "Neptune")

[Iron Lizard]

I don't think it would have hurt but I also don't think it would have been that big of a selling point. The Genesis was pretty easy and cheap to come by second hand at that point along with the bargain bins full of 16bit games. It would have been nice though.

[Joe Redifer]

It would have helped the Genesis I think, and possibly Sega's reputation. More developers would have had confidence to finish Genesis projects they were working on and it may have given some devs a reason to create new games, especially for the 32X. I don't think the Saturn would have sold shitloads more, but maybe a little. Who's to say how much cost this would have added to the hardware. True, it already had a 68000 and two SH2's, but it'd need another 68000 for the Sega CD and a Z80 for the Genesis side, not to mention any special logic just to get these games to run on the system. I would have loved it at the time because the Saturn had S-video available right away and the Genesis always eluded me with its lack of s-video at the time.

They might as well have made it able to play Sega Master System games while they were at it.

[Mr Smith]

*Agrees with Joe*

[playgen]

Megadrive compatability would have helped I think especially if Megadrive consoles and games were still sold too. It worked well (In Europe anyway) with the Megadrive and Master System selling alongside each other, and the MD having SMS backwards compatability.
Having MegaCD and 32x compatability would have just over complicated things though, and probably made the Saturn more expensive. 32X compatability would have been especially pointless, when the Saturn couild just have remakes of the best games done a whole lot better.

[Psy]

Megadrive compatability would have helped I think especially if Megadrive consoles and games were still sold too. It worked well (In Europe anyway) with the Megadrive and Master System selling alongside each other, and the MD having SMS backwards compatability.
Having MegaCD and 32x compatability would have just over complicated things though, and probably made the Saturn more expensive. 32X compatability would have been especially pointless, when the Saturn couild just have remakes of the best games done a whole lot better.

It wouldn't have complicated things as they could have had a Genesis adaptor cart, the only issue would be such an adaptor cart would be occupying the Saturn's slot so the adaptor would probably have to have another cart slot so Saturn carts can pass through and you don't have to swap the adaptor out for your memory cart.

[sketch]

It probably would have helped but not enough to save the Saturn. The prohibitively high price when it came out really kept it from getting any quick momentum.

[Rusty Venture]

I honestly think that the backwards compatibility would have done more to help save reputation (outside of Japan) than make it a PSX killer.

[Black_Tiger]

It would have been a great idea. At least when you invested in a 32X, you could still play Genesis games on the same setup.