_joshuaTurbo
Saturn Player
The Disposable Assassin
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Post by _joshuaTurbo on Mar 15, 2008 3:49:10 GMT
After reading some of the threads in these forums, it seems people really wanted to see Saturn games emulated on the Dreamcast. That would have been cool,
but what about the Saturn having backwards compatability? Is there a possibility that Sega could have made Sega CD games playable on a Saturn?
Thanks for reading
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Post by Yart on Mar 15, 2008 5:24:35 GMT
I doubt it. The Saturn can barely emulate just a Sega Genesis without the attachments properly.
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mick_aka
Kickin' it lively!
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Post by mick_aka on Mar 15, 2008 11:08:46 GMT
Given that the vast majority of SegaCD/MegaCD games used VERY little processing power from the Genesis/MegaDrive I dare say it would be easier than MD emulation would be.
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blackjackuk
To be this good takes ages!
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Post by blackjackuk on Mar 15, 2008 12:34:55 GMT
Its a shame that they didn't make it backwards compat! I originally thought thats what the cart slot was for. You can imagine my dissapointment when it was just for memory cards and evenutally ram add-ons.
I think it may have helped sega if they did have backward compat. But at that time in the gaming world it really wasn't a big thing. It's only really recently when sony did it on the PS2 that it's become a required item.
But even sony have removed the PS2 backwards compat on the PS3 the dum-asses but thats another topic for another forum!
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Post by chizzles on Mar 15, 2008 14:17:52 GMT
Given that the vast majority of SegaCD/MegaCD games used VERY little processing power from the Genesis/MegaDrive I dare say it would be easier than MD emulation would be. I doubt they'd emulate it. Emulation itself is a serious hit on the CPU, not counting the games that are being emulated - the more likely option is to include a Megadrive chips inside the Saturn itself - which wouldn't be that hard as by the time the Saturn was made the ability to produce chips of small sizes had increased dramatically since the Megadrive's conception. (Nomad etc) Although if I'm being honest, there is another side to backwards compatibility, in that it makes the previous conosle totally obsolete with no other reason to hold onto it other than liking the look of it or sentimental value or whatever. However this could also be a good thing, as it means the original console can be recycled.
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neptune
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Post by neptune on Mar 28, 2008 13:20:42 GMT
I guess SEGA'S original plan was to support the 32X alongside the Saturn (in the same way the Master System was supported during the Mega Drive years). There was no need to make the Saturn backwards compatible because the 32X was there to extend the MD shelf life for those who could not afford the Saturn. Only when SEGA'S bosses saw the stuff running on the PSX did they change the Saturn's 3D capabilties so that it was too big a gap between that and the 32X. SEGA were too reluctant to let the huge MD user base go, undoubtadly this was the beginning of their downfall.
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Post by chizzles on Mar 28, 2008 19:23:14 GMT
Nah, the 32X, Neptune and Saturn were your typical "Sega of Japan was not aware of what Sega of America was doing " situation. Total lack of co-ordination between regions
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blackjackuk
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Post by blackjackuk on Apr 3, 2008 11:43:12 GMT
I personally would have bought a Neptune cause it was a very good idea, but at the time sega did indeed lose the plot with the market. They should have been challenged to better themselves and not worry about what sony was doing at the time!
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Post by chizzles on Apr 3, 2008 11:47:24 GMT
SEGA of America came up with their own "Next Gen" system also, to be released in place of the Saturn, however SEGA shunned the idea in favor of the SH-2 setup.
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blackjackuk
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Post by blackjackuk on Apr 3, 2008 11:51:07 GMT
Yeah sega should have went for a one chip console, for ease of use for the programmers but if they did that then would have seen the amazing 2D games that graced the console? Its a pity they couldn't have done a half-way house on the machine, one with a PSONE type 3D omph and just kept the 2D processor as it was but cost was an issue.
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Post by ajmetz on Mar 3, 2009 16:01:40 GMT
SEGA of America came up with their own "Next Gen" system also, to be released in place of the Saturn, however SEGA shunned the idea in favor of the SH-2 setup. I'd be interested to read up/learn more about that. ^_^ Have any books been written about Sega during this time, similar to Game Over or something?
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mick_aka
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Post by mick_aka on Mar 3, 2009 18:03:59 GMT
Yes there are book detailing Sega's exploits over this era, however unless you read Japanese you're shit outta luck. Sega of America had reached an agreement with Silicon Graphics to provide a single CPU, but apparently Sega's Japanese CEO Hayao Nakayama decided against it for budgetary reasons. Here's an excerpt from Sega Base: The Saturn was to be Sega's first purpose-built dual-processor console. This was in direct opposition to a proposal that was already on the table from Tom Kalinske and his staff from over at Sega of America. They had contacted Silicon Graphics, one of the companies behind the PlayStation's 3D graphics capabilites, and had come up with an alternative, single-chip simplistic design that they were convinced could compete with PlayStation on its own terms. To their surprise, Nakayama overruled them in favor of the Away Team's proposal. He had been unimpressed by a demonstration of the technology arranged by Kalinske, remaining convinced that Sato's dual-processor concept was actually the more flexible choice of the two. His decision left a bad taste in Kalinske's mouth, who sensed even at this early point that Saturn was going to be a doomed venture. "The Japanese are making the decisions for the U.S. market," he later grumbled, "and they do not know what they are doing." Full Article: www.eidolons-inn.net/tiki-index.php?page=SegaBase+Saturn&bl=y
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Post by RallyDon82 on Mar 10, 2009 14:44:12 GMT
sega of america are evil i tell ya, EEEEVILLL.
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Havoc
Air goes in and out, blood goes round and round. Any variation to this is bad.
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Post by Havoc on Apr 11, 2009 20:34:50 GMT
You shouldn't say that baout Sega of America, if it wasnt for them Sega would be in a really bad place. Thanks to Peter Moore the Dreamcast helped the company to pay some debts, and it wasnt in japan that they got that money, it was in america, thanks to Sega of America marketing campaigns. Of course that Bernie Stollar was a total diferent story but...
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Post by grolt on Jun 29, 2009 18:01:04 GMT
Yeah, back when the Saturn came out information wasn't near as ubiquitous as it is today, so when it had pictures of that cartridge slot on the back, naturally you'd assume it was for Genesis backward compatibility. That would have been killer, but at the same time would have made the 32X seem even less redundant than it already was. The first thing I did when I got my console was pop in T2: The Arcade Game just to see if that slot actually did work. Other than that, it went unused by me until I started picking up the hobby again later in the 2000's.
As for backwards compatibility, there is of course the Power Base Converter already mentioned here for the Genesis-->Master System, but even their Master System had backwards compatibility with their first system, the SG-1000, in Japan. SEGA was great for that, indeed they pioneered the concept, so it's a shame to see them abandon it in later generations.
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