Better of Sega's last two systems: Saturn or the Dreamcast?

Both systems had great games. Both were capable 3D systems but also featured 2D games.

I personally prefer the Dreamcast because I feel its library is superior to the Saturn's and because the gameplay was smoother and the graphics were better which helped in most genres.

Also the Dreamcast was more capable and innovative than the Saturn when it came out.

Well, I haven't played a ton of Saturn, but looking at the libraries, The Saturn does look considerably better to me. I'm not a big fan of the dreamcast, and I think Sega fans over rate it to death because it was Sega's last console.

its a no brainer. Dreamcast by a mile. Saturn was a big flop. Dreamcast was a hit.

Depends. You could say that the Dreamcast had more appeal to gamers all around. I personally prefer the Saturn a little bit more.

its a no brainer. Dreamcast by a mile. Saturn was a big flop. Dreamcast was a hit.

Talldude80

:? The Dreamcast didn't do all that much better than the Saturn world wide.

[QUOTE="Talldude80"]

its a no brainer. Dreamcast by a mile. Saturn was a big flop. Dreamcast was a hit.

amari24

:? The Dreamcast didn't do all that much better than the Saturn world wide.

dreamcast sold 5 million consoles in us within 1 year while saturn sold 500.000 in one year. so yeah pretty big difference. dreamcast was way more popular then saturn except in japan but we are not in japan. european I don't even dare to say figures of the satuyrn as it didn't even sell 1 million systems in nearly 4 years

to me saturn is better, because it's games appeal more to me and give me more of a sega feel as well. still it's very close. for overall gamers I will always advice dreamcast and for hardcore gamers the saturn

dreamcast sold 5 million consoles in us within 1 year while saturn sold 500.000 in one year. so yeah pretty big difference. dreamcast was way more popular then saturn except in japan but we are not in japan. european I don't even dare to say figures of the satuyrn as it didn't even sell 1 million systems in nearly 4 years

to me saturn is better, because it's games appeal more to me and give me more of a sega feel as well. still it's very close. for overall gamers I will always advice dreamcast and for hardcore gamers the saturn

bultje112

They both sold 10 million. Where and when just doesn't really matter.

dreamcast sold 5 million consoles in us within 1 year while saturn sold 500.000 in one year. so yeah pretty big difference. dreamcast was way more popular then saturn except in japan but we are not in japan. european I don't even dare to say figures of the satuyrn as it didn't even sell 1 million systems in nearly 4 years

to me saturn is better, because it's games appeal more to me and give me more of a sega feel as well. still it's very close. for overall gamers I will always advice dreamcast and for hardcore gamers the saturn

bultje112

Both systems had great games. Both were capable 3D systems but also featured 2D games.

I personally prefer the Dreamcast because I feel its library is superior to the Saturn's and because the gameplay was smoother and the graphics were better which helped in most genres.

Also the Dreamcast was more capable and innovative than the Saturn when it came out.

Banjo_Kongfooie

Oh btw, I find it funny that you say the Saturn was a capable 3D system, but in the other thread you completely bashed it because it apprently "sucked" for 3D games. :P

[QUOTE="Banjo_Kongfooie"]

Both systems had great games. Both were capable 3D systems but also featured 2D games.

I personally prefer the Dreamcast because I feel its library is superior to the Saturn's and because the gameplay was smoother and the graphics were better which helped in most genres.

Also the Dreamcast was more capable and innovative than the Saturn when it came out.

amari24

Oh btw, I find it funny that you say the Saturn was a capable 3D system, but in the other thread you completely bashed it because it apprently "sucked" for 3D games. :P

[QUOTE="bultje112"]

dreamcast sold 5 million consoles in us within 1 year while saturn sold 500.000 in one year. so yeah pretty big difference. dreamcast was way more popular then saturn except in japan but we are not in japan. european I don't even dare to say figures of the satuyrn as it didn't even sell 1 million systems in nearly 4 years

to me saturn is better, because it's games appeal more to me and give me more of a sega feel as well. still it's very close. for overall gamers I will always advice dreamcast and for hardcore gamers the saturn

Darkman2007

saturn sold almost 7 million in japan. 11 million worldwide, of which 3.5 in usa. dreamcast sold 6 million in usa.

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"][QUOTE="bultje112"]

dreamcast sold 5 million consoles in us within 1 year while saturn sold 500.000 in one year. so yeah pretty big difference. dreamcast was way more popular then saturn except in japan but we are not in japan. european I don't even dare to say figures of the satuyrn as it didn't even sell 1 million systems in nearly 4 years

to me saturn is better, because it's games appeal more to me and give me more of a sega feel as well. still it's very close. for overall gamers I will always advice dreamcast and for hardcore gamers the saturn

bultje112

saturn sold almost 7 million in japan. 11 million worldwide, of which 3.5 in usa. dreamcast sold 6 million in usa.

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"][QUOTE="bultje112"]

dreamcast sold 5 million consoles in us within 1 year while saturn sold 500.000 in one year. so yeah pretty big difference. dreamcast was way more popular then saturn except in japan but we are not in japan. european I don't even dare to say figures of the satuyrn as it didn't even sell 1 million systems in nearly 4 years

to me saturn is better, because it's games appeal more to me and give me more of a sega feel as well. still it's very close. for overall gamers I will always advice dreamcast and for hardcore gamers the saturn

bultje112

saturn sold almost 7 million in japan. 11 million worldwide, of which 3.5 in usa. dreamcast sold 6 million in usa.

I'm not saying sales matter in which is better. as I said I like saturn more. it was just a response to someone saying dreamcast was a flop like saturn

dreamcast sold 5 million consoles in us within 1 year while saturn sold 500.000 in one year. so yeah pretty big difference. dreamcast was way more popular then saturn except in japan but we are not in japan. european I don't even dare to say figures of the satuyrn as it didn't even sell 1 million systems in nearly 4 years

to me saturn is better, because it's games appeal more to me and give me more of a sega feel as well. still it's very close. for overall gamers I will always advice dreamcast and for hardcore gamers the saturn

bultje112

I've never even played a dreamcast, but for me, the sixth generation is when games started to go downhill. I seldom play my Xbox anymore. I just find the early 3D games far more appealing than the super realistic and overblown graphics of today's consoles. I have no urge to get an Xbox 360 at all, there are a few games on the PS3 that look pretty good, and I were to get a current gen console, that would be the one for me. That's why I answered Saturn, as the 5th generation was in my eyes, the pinnacle of gaming :P (that and I just bought a Saturn!)

Both systems had great games. Both were capable 3D systems but also featured 2D games.

I personally prefer the Dreamcast because I feel its library is superior to the Saturn's and because the gameplay was smoother and the graphics were better which helped in most genres.

Also the Dreamcast was more capable and innovative than the Saturn when it came out.

The Dreamcast, duh. It had Sonic Adventure 1+2, Shenmue and Jet Grind Radio.

my vote is for dreamcast.

saturn sold almost 7 million in japan. 11 million worldwide, of which 3.5 in usa. dreamcast sold 6 million in usa.bultje112

Source please, I've never seen anything corroborating these Saturn figures.

Saturn sold less than 2 million in the US according to the New York Times.

Famitsu has Saturn's worldwide sales at 8.7 million

Gamepro has Saturn's Worldwide sales at 9.5 million

So we're probably looking at ~9 million worldwide sales for Saturn

[QUOTE="bultje112"]saturn sold almost 7 million in japan. 11 million worldwide, of which 3.5 in usa. dreamcast sold 6 million in usa.Domino_slayer

Source please, I've never seen anything corroborating these Saturn figures.

Saturn sold less than 2 million in the US according to the New York Times.

Famitsu has Saturn's worldwide sales at 8.7 million

Gamepro has Saturn's Worldwide sales at 9.5 million

So we're probably looking at ~9 million worldwide sales for Saturn

it would help to get figures from Sega themselves, but I can't seem t find those.Darkman2007

They don't exist unfortunately, and believe me when I say that, I've been searching for them for literally years :(

There's talk of a "fabled" press release in 2001 which included a list of their hardware sales figures that I've seen mentioned in two forum posts, but I, and nobody else has ever been able to find it.

What's even more annoying, is that there's no info on software sales for Mega Drive either.

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"]it would help to get figures from Sega themselves, but I can't seem t find those.Domino_slayer

They don't exist unfortunately, and believe me when I say that, I've been searching for them for literally years :(

There's talk of a "fabled" press release in 2001 which included a list of their hardware sales figures that I've seen mentioned in two forum posts, but I, and nobody else has ever been able to find it.

What's even more annoying, is that there's no info on software sales for Mega Drive either.

is vgchartz supposed to be a reliable source?Darkman2007

No (in fact even Wiki refuses to let people source VGChartz), though to be fair the Saturn figures you just posted look like they correlate pretty well with what I've seen in magazines, newspapers and on websites like IGN and Gamepro.

Japan should be somewhere in the region of 5.5 million-6 million

US should be around ~2 million

Europe should be ~1.3 million

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"]is vgchartz supposed to be a reliable source?Domino_slayer

No (in fact even Wiki refuses to let people source VGChartz), though to be fair the Saturn figures you just posted look like they correlate pretty well with what I've seen in magazines, newspapers and on websites like IGN and Gamepro.

Japan should be somewhere in the region of 5.5 million-6 million

US should be around ~2 million

Europe should be ~1.3 million

I didn't vote because I don't have much experience with the Dreamcast, but it seems to me that the Saturn is better overall. The DC has some great games, though.

I'm with Tallman, Dreamcast by a mile. That's not to say Saturn was bad, I love my Saturn. But I like my Dreamcast more. It definetly has great arcade ports. And it was the first console to have built-in, easy access online play. Plus it has 4-controller ports to boot. I also love the VMUs, it's nothing but a gimmick, I know, but they look so freaking cool. And unlike most people that complain abou it, I actually really like the Dreamcast controllers. They fit nicely into my full-grown man hands, and the triggers feel very nice when you use them (at the top of the controller).

But most of all, I feel Dreamcast has a better library of ACCESSIBLE (Panzer Dragoon Saga for example is FAR from accessible) games:

• Crazy Taxi 1 & 2
• Dead or Alive 2
• Draconus: Cult of the Wyrm
• House of the Dead 2
• Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
• Maken X
• Marvel vs. Capcom 1 & 2
• Metropolis Street Racer
• MDK 2
• Sega Smash Pack
• Spider-Man
• Phantasy Star: Online
• Quake III: Arena
• Resident Evil 2 & 3
• Resident Evil: Code Veronica
• Soul Caliber
• Tomb Raider: Last Revelation
• Unreal Tournament
• Vigilante 8: Second Offense

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"]it would help to get figures from Sega themselves, but I can't seem t find those.Domino_slayer

They don't exist unfortunately, and believe me when I say that, I've been searching for them for literally years :(

There's talk of a "fabled" press release in 2001 which included a list of their hardware sales figures that I've seen mentioned in two forum posts, but I, and nobody else has ever been able to find it.

What's even more annoying, is that there's no info on software sales for Mega Drive either.

Hmm. Those figures look a bit conservative. I've heard Saturn got as high as 10.5 million worldwide, and Dreamcast got as high as 12mil worldwide. To be fair, Darkman, the figures you gave are within the range I've heard, and it's a pain to find anything resembling official numbers. I usually just call it in the middle, 9.5mil for the Saturn, and 10.5-11mil for the Dreamcast, but that's just an educated guess on my part. I'd say the Dreamcast is considered to have done better because it was more cost effective hardware, and sold more software on a month-by-month basis then the Saturn did. Also, there's a better perception of the Dreamcast in the West because it did better then the Saturn in the West.

For me, though, I persoanlly prefer the Saturn because the Saturn had more titles in the Genres that I like best (RPGs, Shoot 'em Ups, and 2d platform action games). Dreamcast's library was better balanced IMHO, though.

Hmm. Those figures look a bit conservative. I've heard Saturn got as high as 10.5 million worldwide, and Dreamcast got as high as 12mil worldwide. To be fair, Darkman, the figures you gave are within the range I've heard, and it's a pain to find anything resembling official numbers. I usually just call it in the middle, 9.5mil for the Saturn, and 10.5-11mil for the Dreamcast, but that's just an educated guess on my part. I'd say the Dreamcast is considered to have done better because it was more cost effective hardware, and sold more software on a month-by-month basis then the Saturn did. Also, there's a better perception of the Dreamcast in the West because it did better then the Saturn in the West.

For me, though, I persoanlly prefer the Saturn because the Saturn had more titles in the Genres that I like best (RPGs, Shoot 'em Ups, and 2d platform action games). Dreamcast's library was better balanced IMHO, though.

armouredpriest

I feel the DC impressed a lot more than the Saturn. The problem with DC was really that they cut support too soon.

[QUOTE="Domino_slayer"]

[QUOTE="bultje112"]saturn sold almost 7 million in japan. 11 million worldwide, of which 3.5 in usa. dreamcast sold 6 million in usa.Darkman2007

Source please, I've never seen anything corroborating these Saturn figures.

Saturn sold less than 2 million in the US according to the New York Times.

Famitsu has Saturn's worldwide sales at 8.7 million

Gamepro has Saturn's Worldwide sales at 9.5 million

So we're probably looking at ~9 million worldwide sales for Saturn

sega never released them, but vchartz is wrong in so many ways. for instance I think they had listed virtua fighter 2 to have sold 1 million on saturn while in reality accoriding to japanese chartsite (I forgot name) it sold 1.75 in japan alone. problem is many of these website forget to mention rereleases and budget releases. in terms of consoles it's especially in the vague. I think officially megadrive sold 28.5 million worldwide while real number is more like 35-37 million.

I will look up later where I got the numbers. I;m of to bed now

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"]is vgchartz supposed to be a reliable source?Domino_slayer

No (in fact even Wiki refuses to let people source VGChartz), though to be fair the Saturn figures you just posted look like they correlate pretty well with what I've seen in magazines, newspapers and on websites like IGN and Gamepro.

Japan should be somewhere in the region of 5.5 million-6 million

US should be around ~2 million

Europe should be ~1.3 million

that would mean saturn sold almost as much in europe as in usa. which by any stretch of the imgaination is ludicrous to think considering how much bigger the us market was and how incredibly hard the saturn flopped in europe, even compared to usa. also many different continents are forgoitten in these sales like south america, korea, china etc

for instance megadrive sold 3-4 million in brazil but is usually not taken into total console sales on any website

[QUOTE="armouredpriest"]

Hmm. Those figures look a bit conservative. I've heard Saturn got as high as 10.5 million worldwide, and Dreamcast got as high as 12mil worldwide. To be fair, Darkman, the figures you gave are within the range I've heard, and it's a pain to find anything resembling official numbers. I usually just call it in the middle, 9.5mil for the Saturn, and 10.5-11mil for the Dreamcast, but that's just an educated guess on my part. I'd say the Dreamcast is considered to have done better because it was more cost effective hardware, and sold more software on a month-by-month basis then the Saturn did. Also, there's a better perception of the Dreamcast in the West because it did better then the Saturn in the West.

For me, though, I persoanlly prefer the Saturn because the Saturn had more titles in the Genres that I like best (RPGs, Shoot 'em Ups, and 2d platform action games). Dreamcast's library was better balanced IMHO, though.

Darkman2007

actually master system sold 14 milion + I don't even know if brazil is taken into that number but it was the 2nd best selling piece of hardware sega ever made. also sega cd sold 6.5 million worldwide which is a lot more than what most people would think, mostly because of japan though

The Dreamcast by a fairly large margin, but the Saturn is still a damn good system.

that would mean saturn sold almost as much in europe as in usa. which by any stretch of the imgaination is ludicrous to think considering how much bigger the us market was and how incredibly hard the saturn flopped in europebultje112

No, the Saturn flopped incredibly badly in the US (they had the surprise launch there), it just flopped in Europe, also, that's just an estimate (hence the ~ sign) and if the true Europe figure is a little lower (say 1 million), and the US one is high estimate (2 million) we've got a very possible double sales figure for the US, remember that the percentage difference is more useful than the unit difference in this instance.

The US Genesis sold halfway between double, and three times the Euro amount, so for Saturn, 3 million US sales Vs 1 million Europe sales would've been more US biased than the previous gen, whilst 2 million US vs 1 million Europe would indicate Saturn as slightly more popular in Europe in comparison.

Even compared to usa. also many different continents are forgoitten in these sales like South America, Korea, China etcbultje112

The Chinese don't buy consoles, they make their own pirate knock-offs, the same generally goes for most of South America (TecToy were the exception tothe rule, and had success with the SMS, and to a lessor extent the Mega Drive, but I've not heard about huge success there with the Saturn),

I'm not sure if Japanese goods are even allowed to be sold in Korea (With the Master System, and the Mega Drive Sega had to partner with Korean company Samsung to release their systems)

Generally the majority of the worldwide sales will be North America, Japan, and Europe.

Definitely going with the Saturn.

The Chinese don't buy consoles, they make their own pirate knock-offs, the same generally goes for most of South America (TecToy were the exception tothe rule, and had success with the SMS, and to a lessor extent the Mega Drive, but I've not heard about huge success there with the Saturn)

Domino_slayer

Don't be ridiculous, the fact that there are pirate knock-offs sold in many countries doesn't mean people don't buy the original systems. Sure, the majority of sales is in North America, Europe and Japan, but consoles are sold around the world. The only possible exceptions might be a few parts of Africa and Asia.

The problem here is that there aren't any sales figures for most of the world, since in third world countries, the systems are usually imported rather than manufactured or officially sold.

Regarding Tectoy, the Mega Drive was very successful in Brazil, even though it lost a considerable amount of market share to the SNES. The Saturn was relatively successful considering the market was much smaller here than in NA or Europe, but was crushed by the PS1 and N64 in sales. The Dreamcast, unsurprisingly, sold better than the Saturn here as well. (it was also sold by Tectoy) Proof of this is that I see more Dreamcasts than Saturns being sold in used game stores, and I also know more people who own DCs.

The dreamcast because most of its good games don't require some serious $$$.

The Saturn is my favorite console of all time. So many great games... The Dreamcast is up there for me too, though. About tied with my 2nd-favorite system, PS2.

SATURN for me, and by a landslide.

Its a personal and subjective choice based on my favorite genres, RPG and SHMUP, the two genres where the Saturn absolutely destroys the DreamCast.

The dreamcast because most of its good games don't require some serious $$$.

ultramega9

yeah because every game on the Saturn is called Panzer Dragoon Saga and costs £150........

Saturn isn't the cheapest system to collect for , but the pricing is just a bit exaggerated, especially if you go for the Japanese imports, even of games that were released in the west.

though I will say Saturn games have been steadily rising in cost, for whatever reason

The dreamcast because most of its good games don't require some serious $$$.

ultramega9

[QUOTE="ultramega9"]

The dreamcast because most of its good games don't require some serious $$$.

amari24

its the same analogy I could use for the SNES and Chrono Trigger/Earthbound/Mario RPG.

the biggest advantage the SNES would have imo ,is that SNES games are considerably easier to find in 2nd hand shops, most of which don't research the value of the games , and tend to sell them for £1 or £2 , when they really could be worth much more than that. with the Saturn its harder to find such deals, unless you wait for one (which is something Ive done more than once)

also there are some regional differences, Saturn Rayman for example is quite cheap here, while in the US its at least twice the price, same goes for Resident Evil it seems (I paid £8 for both)

[QUOTE="bultje112"]that would mean saturn sold almost as much in europe as in usa. which by any stretch of the imgaination is ludicrous to think considering how much bigger the us market was and how incredibly hard the saturn flopped in europeDomino_slayer

No, the Saturn flopped incredibly badly in the US (they had the surprise launch there), it just flopped in Europe, also, that's just an estimate (hence the ~ sign) and if the true Europe figure is a little lower (say 1 million), and the US one is high estimate (2 million) we've got a very possible double sales figure for the US, remember that the percentage difference is more useful than the unit difference in this instance.

The US Genesis sold halfway between double, and three times the Euro amount, so for Saturn, 3 million US sales Vs 1 million Europe sales would've been more US biased than the previous gen, whilst 2 million US vs 1 million Europe would indicate Saturn as slightly more popular in Europe in comparison.

Even compared to usa. also many different continents are forgoitten in these sales like South America, Korea, China etcbultje112

The Chinese don't buy consoles, they make their own pirate knock-offs, the same generally goes for most of South America (TecToy were the exception tothe rule, and had success with the SMS, and to a lessor extent the Mega Drive, but I've not heard about huge success there with the Saturn),

I'm not sure if Japanese goods are even allowed to be sold in Korea (With the Master System, and the Mega Drive Sega had to partner with Korean company Samsung to release their systems)

Generally the majority of the worldwide sales will be North America, Japan, and Europe.

that's really not true. 1.3 billion people don't just all copy(exegarate) and pirate. there will always be a huge group that buy the original as they are sold there in shops. I have been to china almost 10 years and could get anything there.

also I could list the middle east. my cousin worked in dubai and you could get everything there as well. In fact I believe the 3do actually sold very well in middle east. will still be a low number of course but they definetely sell as they do in south america and not just pirated consoles and keep in mind that sega was relatively popular in china and south america for sure, a lot more than nintendo

[QUOTE="ultramega9"]

The dreamcast because most of its good games don't require some serious $$$.

amari24

exactly, get nights, daytona usa, virtua fighter 2, sega rally, virtua cop games, fighters megamix, panzer dragoon, panzer dragoon zwei

top titles that don´t need to be imported and don´t cost much or almost nothing at all

[QUOTE="amari24"][QUOTE="ultramega9"]

The dreamcast because most of its good games don't require some serious $$$.

Darkman2007

its the same analogy I could use for the SNES and Chrono Trigger/Earthbound/Mario RPG.

the biggest advantage the SNES would have imo ,is that SNES games are considerably easier to find in 2nd hand shops, most of which don't research the value of the games , and tend to sell them for £1 or £2 , when they really could be worth much more than that. with the Saturn its harder to find such deals, unless you wait for one (which is something Ive done more than once)

also there are some regional differences, Saturn Rayman for example is quite cheap here, while in the US its at least twice the price, same goes for Resident Evil it seems (I paid £8 for both)

problem is they are all cartridge only. I have come to accept it but definetely do not like it. I can´t understand for the life of me why people threw away their snes game packages and manuals