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Many people say the Saturn is dead, and for the most part it is. That is, if you consider only new games to keep the system alive. I, however, believe that as long as gamers discover old games that they never heard of or played they will be keeping their game systems alive. Also many wonder why the Saturn "failed". For all the reasons that writers put out you can but out twice as many.

    The SEGA Saturn will always be known for its new style of play in games like NiGHTS, Burning Rangers, Sonic R, and Panzer Dragoon Saga. Also people recognize all of the 2-d masterpieces created, such as X-men vs. Street Fighter, Vampire Saviour, and Guardian Heroes. The fact is though, for every good game released there are twice as many(if not more) bad games released. But this holds true to almost every system.

    In my opinion, the reason SEGA went through hard times was the rise of Nintendo once more and the great Sony company with their Playstation. Why did the Playstation sell about 25 machines of theirs for every single Saturn system? The reason is simple: Sony is one of the largest electronic, multimedia and overall mega company, whatever they put out will sell. And it just so happens they pushed the advertising so far that everywhere you looked you saw a Sony Playstation add. Nintendo was not as big  a force as Sony, but with equal ammunition.

Another major reasons is Sega-bashing. Although many mags have done it, and deny it, it still occurs. I was checking out the zd site Videogames.com. They have polls that the readers vote on. On the weekend of September 18th they posted a poll that asked for the readers favorite rpg series. The choices were Dragon Quest, Phantasy Star, Final Fantasy, Shining Force, Shining(an offspring of Shining Force). The results were very dim for SEGA. With well over 3000 people polling in the most favorite was Final Fantasy with over 80%. The other titles which have(for them most part) been released for the Saturn are :Phantasy Star with 5%, Dragon Quest 4%, Shining 0%, and Shining Force 8%. Shining Force, SEGA's flagship rpg series, came in second compared to over 80% from Final Fantasy. These series are all equal and awesome in there own respect and way, however, don't you find it a little overwhelming to find so many Final Fantasy lover. If it had not been for the huge success of the Playstation and Final Fantasy VII on it the results would have differed greatly. I am sure that for many, the only series above listed known to them would be Final Fantasy VII.

I am sure that everybody loves and respects games that deserve that, but for a game series like Shining Force to get 8% in comparison to Final Fantasy's 80% is absurd. The only reason, and I am not being stereotypical or Playstation biased, is because of the massive marketing by Sony. How can you not be impressed by there ads. "Years in the making, millions of dollars worth of production: FINAL FANTASY VII" these are irresistible claims by and gamer. The Final Fantasy series has always been a landmark in the video game world, but so has Phantasy Star, Dragon Quest, and Shining Force, not to mention others, like Chrono Triger, Earthbound, or Secret of Mana. They all deserve equal respect and think this poll shows how absurd the industry is in 1997 and 1998, not to mention what will happen in 1999. I think sooner or later that Nintendo will be in even more serious competition with Sony, and with the oncoming of the next Sony machine one can only wonder what adds will come. Of course SEGA's next System, Dreamcast, looks to be great, and will be known all over for that SEGA touch. But who can really tell if they will be able to beat Sony for now and overshadow the Playstation. Or will the Playstation continue to dominate for many more years, overshadowing all new systems to come along. Hopefully not, every one deserves an equal share of the market. We all know the Playstation has so many great games, but I am sure many others companies want to release there own systems and games and be recognized. However, most of these aspiring young people working today wont be able to be recognized the way pro gamers and such have been at Sony. At this point almost every game Sony puts out, regardless of what it is, sells 10 times more than any SEGA game.

As anyone can see, my points are, for the most point are valid. I am sure many more feel the way I do, but take into consideration, this is my opinion. SEGA can at any time make a great comeback, and we all want them to. Anyone can get success, and lets hope everyone will get equal opportunity to put out their games and technology, not just SEGA.