SEGA Had The Opportunity Of Being The Leader In The US 32-Bit Market

[TEXAN*]

http://www.sega-saturn.com/saturn/other/june-n.htm

Next Generation Online has just learned that the "white" Saturn hardware (which is considerably less expensive), has been in Black US Saturns since as early as last August. What does Sega have to say about that? Next Generation Online explores...

In opening an off the shelf Saturn which had been marked manufactured in August of 1995, Next Generation Online found an astounding fact. The hardware inside the black case, was identical to the hardware inside the new white Saturns.

The ramifications of the discovery are indeed potentially far reaching. Theoretically Sega may have been able to sell Saturn for as little as $199, last Christmas, a feat which Sony couldn't have matched and would have very likely secured them as the leader in the US 32-bit market.

So why didn't they do so? Why did they keep the price as high as $299 for so long? One possible reason could have been that the Saturn was moving so well in Japan, where it is the undisputed market leader, Sega of Japan wanted to keep the prices high there. By keeping prices higher in Japan, there was no way that they could implement a price cut in the US, as it would constitute "dumping" for selling a foreign product substantially cheaper than it is selling in its country of origin.

Just imagine if SEGA had gone ahead and cut the price in Japan so that they could also cut it in the US without facing the wrath of the law.

A SEGA Saturn debuting at $199.99 in 1995.

Sony and Nintendo would have been horsemeat.

 

[grandmaster]

An interesting flight of fancy but it would never have happened. PS2 was over-priced at launch in Europe compared to the Dreamcast and still nobody bought the Dreamcast in appreciable amounts. It was all about the PlayStation brand which was all-powerful at that point. SEGA had a good stab in the US but realistically as soon as the EA Sports support disappeared everyone knew it was game over.

Plus of course, having attended both New Challenge Conferences in Tokyo with all that promise and then gradually watching it all falling apart in person from the sidelines, there was a horrible inevitability about it all that maybe you could only appreciate if you were there.

 

[DeadlyNinja]

The PS1 had Final Fantasy 7.

 

[TEXAN*]

The PS1 had Final Fantasy 7.

It's just a shame the Saturn edition of Grandia never saw western release.

 

[Nesh]

I am really surprised to that discovery since an article I read ages ago said that they were manufacturing and selling the console at a loss or something. Which makes you wonder why opt for the expensive manufacturing process even if you are not going to reduce the price?

Secondly if I remember correctly they didnt have much time to develop the Saturn which resulted to hasty hardware decisions. This was supposed to be one of the reasons why the Saturn was expensive and had high manufacturing costs

 

[Akumajou]

http://www.sega-saturn.com/saturn/other/june-n.htm



Just imagine if SEGA had gone ahead and cut the price in Japan so that they could also cut it in the US without facing the wrath of the law.

A SEGA Saturn debuting at $199.99 in 1995.

Sony and Nintendo would have been horsemeat.

I used to frequent that website you linked and don't really remember reading an article saying something like that.

I feel that since this is a dead site the article should be taken with a grain of salt as we do have the ability to look back and find better records.

I also have to say, I rolled my eyes when I saw your thread title and your assumption that in 1995 Sega could have done this since those were different times and the specter of Sega cd, 32X and Dural/Katana leaks are so close to each other.

I will say this, with all of the damage being irreversible back then, the best thing Sega could have done is cancelled Dural/Katana, focus on requiring a SGL using the 4MB cart and focused on supporting Saturn until a retail replacement would be available by 2001.

 

[Jedi2016]

It's my recollection that it was the game library (or lack thereof) that killed Sega in the hardware market. I remember buying a Dreamcast on launch day, but it eventually sat unused next to my PS2.

 

[grandmaster]

It's just a shame the Saturn edition of Grandia never saw western release.

It would have made no difference to the fortunes of the machine whatsoever. Once again it's all down to the brand and the marketing. At that point in time, Sony was the undisputed master whereas SEGA was nothing short of an embarrassment. Comedic moves like SEGA paying £10m to Arsenal Football Club in the UK will never be forgotten.

The thread seems rather pointless as it based on an entirely false premise. There was no opportunity of "being the leader in the US 32-bit market". This just seems to be more bizarre wishful thinking...

TEXAN* - you're not going to start up with the "SEGA returning to the hardware market" nonsense are you? Please spare us.