Editing Sega Saturn (section)

==Reception and legacy==
At the time of the Saturn's release, ''[[Famicom Tsūshin]]'' awarded it 24 out of 40, higher than the PlayStation's 19 out of 40.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine Cross Review: セガサターン |magazine=Weekly Famicom Tsūshin|issue=335|page=166|date=May 12–19, 1995|language=ja}}</ref> In June 1995, Dennis Lynch of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' and Albert Kim of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' praised the Saturn as the most advanced console available; Lynch praised the double-speed CD-ROM drive and "intense surround-sound capabilities" and Kim cited ''Panzer Dragoon'' as a "lyrical and exhilarating epic" demonstrating the ability of new technology to "transform" the industry.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lynch|first=Dennis|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1995/06/16/saturn-runs-rings-around-its-rivals/|title=Saturn Runs Rings Around Its Rivals|work=Chicago Tribune|date=June 16, 1995|access-date=January 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120044130/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-06-16/entertainment/9506160099_1_sega-saturn-saturn-system-32x|archive-date=January 20, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kim|first=Albert|url=https://ew.com/article/1995/06/09/sega-saturn/|title=Sega Saturn|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=June 9, 1995|access-date=January 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120053245/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,297526,00.html|archive-date=January 20, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In December 1995, ''Next Generation'' gave the Saturn three and a half stars out of five, highlighting Sega's marketing and arcade background as strengths but the system's complexity as a weakness.<ref name="NextGenDec"/> Four critics in ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]''{{'}}s December 1996 ''Buyer's Guide'' rated the Saturn 8, 6, 7, and 8 out of 10 and the PlayStation 9, 10, 9, and 9.<ref>{{cite journal|title=EGM rates the systems of 1996!|journal=1996 Video Game Buyer's Guide|date=December 1996}}</ref> By December 1998, ''EGM''{{'}}s reviews were more mixed, with reviewers citing the lack of games as a major problem. According to ''EGM'' reviewer Crispin Boyer, "the Saturn is the only system that can thrill me one month and totally disappoint me the next".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Electronic Gaming Monthly looks at the top systems for this year|journal=1998 Video Game Buyer's Guide|date=December 1998|page=51}}</ref>

Retrospective feedback of the Saturn is mixed, but generally praises its game library.<ref name="IGNHistory_pg8"/><ref name="GamesRadar library">{{cite web|url=https://gamesradar.com/best-saturn-games-all-time/|title=Best Saturn games of all time|work=GamesRadar|date=March 6, 2014|access-date=April 6, 2014|quote=But that doesn't mean it's a total bust. Numerous excellent games were released for the console, which was supported primarily in the mid-to-late 1990s, including a variety of original Sega classics and several stellar third-party releases. RPG and fighting game fans, in particular, enjoyed a healthy array of options on the platform.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408045155/http://www.gamesradar.com/best-saturn-games-all-time/|archive-date=April 8, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Greg Sewart of [[1UP.com]], "the Saturn will go down in history as one of the most troubled, and greatest, systems of all time".<ref name="1UP Pleasure and Pain"/> In 2009, IGN named the Saturn the 18th-best console of all time, praising its unique game library. According to the reviewers, "While the Saturn ended up losing the popularity contest to both Sony and Nintendo&nbsp;[...] ''Nights into Dreams'', the ''Virtua Fighter'' and ''Panzer Dragoon'' series are all examples of exclusive titles that made the console a fan favorite."<ref name="Number 18">{{cite web |url=https://ign.com/top-25-consoles/18.html |title=SEGA Saturn is number 18 |work=IGN |access-date=January 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120021737/http://www.ign.com/top-25-consoles/18.html |archive-date=January 20, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' noted that "hardened loyalists continue to reminisce about the console that brought forth games like ''Burning Rangers'', ''Guardian Heroes'', ''Dragon Force'' and ''Panzer Dragoon Saga''".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/how-consoles-die/3/ |title=How Consoles Die |page=3 |work=Edge |date=September 17, 2008 |access-date=March 5, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129171554/http://www.edge-online.com/features/how-consoles-die/3/ |archive-date=November 29, 2014 }}</ref> In 2015, ''[[The Guardian]]''{{'}}s Keith Stuart wrote that "the Saturn has perhaps the strongest line-up of 2D shooters and fighting games in console history".<ref>{{cite web|last=Stuart|first=Keith|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/15/sega-saturn-how-to-buy|title=Sega Saturn – how to buy one and what to play|work=The Guardian|date=May 15, 2015|access-date=May 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526192113/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/15/sega-saturn-how-to-buy|archive-date=May 26, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[Retro Gamer]]''{{'}}s Damien McFerran wrote: "Even today, despite the widespread availability of sequels and re-releases on other formats, the Sega Saturn is still a worthwhile investment for those who appreciate the unique gameplay styles of the companies that supported it."<ref name="RetroinspectionSaturn"/> IGN's Adam Redsell wrote "[Sega's] devil-may-care attitude towards game development in the Saturn and Dreamcast eras is something that we simply do not see outside of the [[Indie game|indie scene]] today."<ref name="IGNSooth"/> Necrosoft Games director [[Brandon Sheffield]] said that "the Saturn was a landing point for games that were too 'adult' in content for other systems, as it was the only one that allowed an 18+ rating for content in Japan&nbsp;[...] some games, like ''[[Enemy Zero]]'' used it to take body horror to new levels, an important step toward the expansion of games and who they served."<ref name="Parish"/> Sewart praised the Saturn's first-party games as "Sega's shining moment as a game developer", with Sonic Team demonstrating its creative range and AM2 producing numerous technically impressive arcade ports. He also commented on the many Japan-exclusive Saturn releases, which he connected with a subsequent boom in the game import market.<ref name="1UP Pleasure and Pain">{{cite web|last=Sewart |first=Greg |url=http://www.1up.com/features/pleasure-pain?pager.offset=0 |title=Sega Saturn: The Pleasure And The Pain |work=1UP.com |date=August 5, 2005 |access-date=December 10, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140317211403/http://www.1up.com/features/pleasure-pain?pager.offset=0 |archive-date=March 17, 2014 }}</ref> IGN's Travis Fahs was critical of the Saturn library's lack of "fresh ideas" and "precious few high-profile franchises", in contrast to what he described as Sega's more creative Dreamcast output.<ref name="IGN History of Dreamcast"/>

Sega has been criticized for its management of the Saturn. McFerran said its management staff had "fallen out of touch with both the demands of the market and the industry".<ref name="RetroinspectionSaturn"/> Stolar has also been criticized;<ref name="1UP Pleasure and Pain"/> according to Fahs, "Stolar's decision to abandon the Saturn made him a villain to many Sega fans, but&nbsp;[...] it was better to regroup than to enter the next fight battered and bruised. Dreamcast would be Stolar's redemption."<ref name="IGNHistory_pg8"/> Stolar defended his decision, saying, "I felt Saturn was hurting the company more than helping it. That was a battle that we weren't going to win."{{sfn|Kent|2001|p=558}} Sheffield said that the Saturn's quadrilaterals undermined third-party support, but because "[[Nvidia|nVidia]] invested in quads" at the same time, there had been "a remote possibility" they could have "become the standard instead of triangles [...] if somehow, magically, the Saturn were the most popular console of that era."<ref name="Parish"/> Speaking more positively, former Working Designs president Victor Ireland described the Saturn as "the start of the future of console gaming" because it "got the better developers thinking and designing with parallel-processing architecture in mind for the first time".<ref name="1UP Pleasure and Pain"/> In [[GamesRadar]], Justin Towell wrote that the Saturn's 3D Pad "set the template for every successful controller that followed, with analog [[shoulder triggers]] and left thumbstick&nbsp;[...] I don't see any three-pronged controllers around the office these days."<ref>{{cite web|last=Towell|first=Justin|url=https://gamesradar.com/sega-saturn-turns-20-its-not-shit-as-you-think/|title=Sega Saturn turns 20, and it's not as shit as you think|work=GamesRadar|date=November 22, 2014|access-date=January 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120044933/http://www.gamesradar.com/sega-saturn-turns-20-its-not-shit-as-you-think/|archive-date=January 20, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Douglass C. Perry of [[Gamasutra]] noted that, from its surprise launch to its ultimate failure, the Saturn "soured many gamers on Sega products".<ref>{{cite web|author=Perry, Douglass C.|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-dreamcast|title=The Rise and Fall of Dreamcast|work=Gamasutra|date=September 9, 2009|access-date=December 24, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318193258/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4128/the_rise_and_fall_of_the_dreamcast.php|archive-date=March 18, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Sewart and IGN's Levi Buchanan cited the failure of the Saturn as the major reason for Sega's downfall as a hardware manufacturer, but USgamer's Jeremy Parish described it as "more a symptom&nbsp;[...] than a cause" of the decline, which began with add-ons for the Genesis that fragmented the market and continued with Sega of America's and Sega of Japan's competing designs for the Dreamcast.<ref name="1UP Pleasure and Pain"/><ref name="Parish"/><ref name="Top 10">{{cite web|last=Buchanan|first=Levi|url=https://ign.com/articles/2008/07/29/top-10-sega-saturn-games|title=Top 10 SEGA Saturn Games|work=IGN|date=July 29, 2008|access-date=March 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712125018/http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/07/29/top-10-sega-saturn-games|archive-date=July 12, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Sheffield portrayed Sega's mistakes with the Saturn as emblematic of the broader then-decline of the Japanese gaming industry: "They thought they were invincible, and that structure and hierarchy were necessary for their survival, but more flexibility, and a greater participation with the West could have saved them."<ref name="Parish"/> According to Stuart, Sega "didn't see&nbsp;[...] the roots of a prevailing trend, away from arcade conversions and traditional role-playing adventures and toward a much wider console development community with fresh ideas about gameplay and structure".<ref>{{cite web|last=Stuart|first=Keith|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/14/sega-saturn-how-one-decision-destroyed-playstations-greatest-rival|title=Sega Saturn: how one decision destroyed PlayStation's greatest rival|work=The Guardian|date=May 14, 2015|access-date=May 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526191917/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/14/sega-saturn-how-one-decision-destroyed-playstations-greatest-rival|archive-date=May 26, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Pulp365 reviews editor Matt Paprocki concluded that "the Saturn is a relic, but an important one, which represents the harshness of progress and what it can leave in its wake".<ref name="Parish"/>