Sega Saturn

Also known as JVC Saturn, Hi-Saturn, Samsung Saturn, V-Saturn

Manufacturer: Sega
Type: Home console
Generation: 5th generation
Released (North America): May 11, 1995
Released (Japan): Nov 22, 1994
Released (Europe): Jul 8, 1995
Launch price: $399.99
Discontinued: 1998
Units sold: about 9.26 million

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About the Sega Saturn

Sega launched the Saturn in North America four months early, in May 1995, at $399 — then watched Sony announce the PlayStation at $299 at the same E3. Its dual-CPU design was hard to develop for, and in the West it never recovered. In Japan it did well and received many games that never left the country.

Nights into Dreams, Virtua Fighter 2, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Guardian Heroes, Shining Force III, Dragon Force and Radiant Silvergun define the system. Low print runs on the late North American releases make the Saturn one of the most expensive libraries of its era: Panzer Dragoon Saga, Burning Rangers, Shining Force III and Magic Knight Rayearth are well-known examples.

Many collectors import Japanese games, which need a region mod or a cartridge like the Action Replay. Original long boxes and jewel cases crack easily, and the internal battery for saves is a common replacement.

Sega Saturn games by the numbers

295

Games tracked

6,880

Live eBay listings

$19.69

Median loose value

$42.56

Median CIB value

$49.61

Average loose value

Loose prices across 265 priced games

Under $10

$10–25

120

$25–50

$50–100

$100–250

$250+

Most valuable Sega Saturn games

1 Lost & Found Volume 3

Lost & Found Volume 3 $1,199.99 loose

2 Sega Screams Volume 2

Sega Screams Volume 2 $879.77 loose

Panzer Dragoon Saga $841.03 loose

Magic Knight Rayearth $399.99 loose

Burning Rangers $390.99 loose

Battlesport $349.99 loose

The House of the Dead $312.50 loose

Mega Man 8 $260.03 loose

Shining Force III $222.66 loose

Lunacy $193.45 loose

Saturn Bomberman $189.99 loose

Herc's Adventures $168.84 loose

Most valuable sealed Sega Saturn games

Daytona USA Championship [Net Link Edition] cover art

Daytona USA Championship [Net Link Edition] $11,050.00 new

2 Lost & Found Volume 3

Lost & Found Volume 3 $3,839.97 new

3 Sega Screams Volume 2

Sega Screams Volume 2 $2,815.26 new

Panzer Dragoon Saga $2,177.00 new

Dragon Force [Best] $1,912.49 new

Magic Knight Rayearth $1,567.91 new

Top rated Sega Saturn games

NHL 97 89/100 rating

Dragon Force 87/100 rating

Mega Man X4 84/100 rating

Command and Conquer 84/100 rating

Riven: The Sequel to Myst [Tec Toy] cover art

Riven: The Sequel to Myst [Tec Toy] 83/100 rating

Guardian Heroes 83/100 rating

Tomb Raider 83/100 rating

Quake 82/100 rating

Panzer Dragoon Saga 81/100 rating

Herc's Adventures 81/100 rating

The King of Fighters '97 81/100 rating

Warcraft II The Dark Saga 80/100 rating

Most listed on eBay right now

Virtua Fighter 2 117 listings

Panzer Dragoon 80 listings

Nights into Dreams 69 listings

Virtua Cop 63 listings

Tomb Raider 57 listings

Madden 97 54 listings

Daytona USA 51 listings

Bug 48 listings

X-Men Children of the Atom 47 listings

Panzer Dragoon II Zwei 43 listings

Sega Rally Championship 42 listings

Virtua Cop [Not For Resale] 42 listings

Sega Saturn games by release year

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

By each game's original release year, so ports count under the year the game first came out.

Hardware specs

CPU: Hitachi SH-2 @ 28,6 MHz
Graphics: VDP1 (Polygons, Sprites, Texture Mapping, Gouraud Shading) VDP2 (Transparency, Scaling, Rotations, and Scrolling)
Memory: 40 MB
Sound: SCSP (SEGA Custom Sound Processor (Yamaha YMF-292 32 Channels FM sound PCM MIDI, Pitch Bending))
Media: Sega Saturn Cartridge
Storage: Internal RAM, cartridge
Resolutions: 320 x 224, 704 x 480,
Online: Sega NetLink, SegaNet