Editing Sega Saturn (section)

===Cancellation of ''Sonic X-treme''===
{{main|Sonic X-treme}}
[[File:Sxtreme-jadegully.jpg|thumb|right|Chris Senn and Ofer Alon's version of ''[[Sonic X-treme]]'' was canceled, and the lack of a fully 3D ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' platformer became a significant factor in the Saturn's [[List of commercial failures in video gaming|commercial failure]].]]
As [[Sonic Team]] was working on ''Nights into Dreams'',<ref name="Sega-16 STI"/> Sega tasked the U.S.-based [[Sega Technical Institute]] (STI) with developing the first fully 3D entry in its popular ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series. The game, ''[[Sonic X-treme]]'', was moved to the Saturn after several prototypes for other hardware (including the 32X) were discarded.<ref name="Sega-16 STI">{{cite web|last=Horowitz|first=Ken|url=http://www.sega-16.com/2007/06/developers-den-sega-technical-institute/|title=Developer's Den: Sega Technical Institute|work=Sega-16|date=June 11, 2007|access-date=April 16, 2014|quote='''Roger Hector:''' When it became obvious that Sony was taking the lead, Sega's corporate personality changed. It became very political, with lots of finger-pointing around the company. Sega tried to get a handle on the situation, but they made a lot of mistakes, and ultimately STI was swallowed up in the corporate turmoil.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408141746/http://www.sega-16.com/2007/06/developers-den-sega-technical-institute/|archive-date=April 8, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Fahs revisited">{{cite web |author=Fahs, Travis |url=https://ign.com/articles/2008/05/29/sonic-x-treme-revisited |title=''Sonic X-Treme'' Revisited |website=[[IGN]] |date=May 29, 2008 |access-date=April 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712125403/http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/05/29/sonic-x-treme-revisited |archive-date=July 12, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Xtreme">{{cite web|url=https://gamesradar.com/the-greatest-sonic-game-we-never-got-to-play/|author=Houghton, David|title=The greatest ''Sonic'' game we never got&nbsp;...|work=GamesRadar|date=April 24, 2008|access-date=July 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026090625/http://www.gamesradar.com/the-greatest-sonic-game-we-never-got-to-play/|archive-date=October 26, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> It featured a [[fisheye lens]] camera system that rotated levels with [[Sonic the Hedgehog (character)|Sonic]]'s movement. After Nakayama ordered the game be reworked around the [[Game engine|engine]] created for its boss battles, the developers were forced to work between 16 and 20 hours a day to meet their December 1996 deadline. Weeks of development were wasted after Stolar rescinded STI's access to Sonic Team's ''[[Nights into Dreams]]'' engine following an ultimatum by ''Nights'' programmer [[Yuji Naka]].<ref name="Fahs revisited"/><ref name="Xtreme"/><ref name="Edge X-Treme">{{cite magazine|date=July 2007|title=The Making Of... ''Sonic X-treme''|magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]|publisher=[[Future plc]]|volume=15|issue=177|pages=100–103|url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/the-making-of-sonic-x-treme/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130417052400/http://www.edge-online.com/features/the-making-of-sonic-x-treme/|archive-date=April 17, 2013|via=Edge Online|url-status=dead}}</ref> After programmer Ofer Alon quit and designers Chris Senn and Chris Coffin became ill, ''Sonic X-Treme'' was cancelled in early 1997.<ref name="Fahs revisited"/><ref name="Xtreme"/><ref name="Edge X-Treme"/> Sonic Team started work on an original 3D ''Sonic'' game for the Saturn, but development shifted to the Dreamcast as ''[[Sonic Adventure]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Barnholt |first=Ray |url=http://www.1up.com/features/yuji-naka-interview-ivy-kiwi?pager.offset=2 |title=Yuji Naka Interview: ''Ivy the Kiwi'' and a Little Sega Time Traveling |work=1UP.com |access-date=December 10, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140304180628/http://www.1up.com/features/yuji-naka-interview-ivy-kiwi?pager.offset=2 |archive-date=March 4, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="Relief">{{cite web|last=Towell|first=Justin|url=https://gamesradar.com/super-rare-1990-sonic-the-hedgehog-prototype-is-missing/|title=Super-rare 1990 ''Sonic The Hedgehog'' prototype is missing|work=GamesRadar|date=June 23, 2012|access-date=March 4, 2014|quote='''Yuji Naka:''' The reason why there wasn't a Sonic game on Saturn was really because we were concentrating on ''Nights''. We were also working on ''Sonic Adventure''—that was originally intended to be out on Saturn, but because Sega as a company was bringing out a new piece of hardware—the Dreamcast—we resorted to switching it over to the Dreamcast, which was the newest hardware at the time. So that's why there wasn't a Sonic game on Saturn. With regards to ''X-treme'', I'm not really sure on the exact details of why it was cut short, but from looking at how it was going, it wasn't looking very good from my perspective. So I felt relief when I heard it was cancelled.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324080928/http://www.gamesradar.com/super-rare-1990-sonic-the-hedgehog-prototype-is-missing/|archive-date=March 24, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> STI was disbanded in 1996 as a result of changes in management at Sega of America.<ref name="Sega-16 STI"/>

Journalists and fans have speculated about the impact a completed ''X-treme'' might have had on the market. David Houghton of ''[[GamesRadar]]'' described the prospect of "a good 3D ''Sonic'' game" on the Saturn as "a 'What if...' situation on a par with the dinosaurs not becoming extinct".<ref name="Xtreme"/> ''[[IGN]]''{{'}}s Travis Fahs called ''X-treme'' "the turning point not only for Sega's mascot and their 32-bit console, but for the entire company [and] an empty vessel for Sega's ambitions and the hopes of their fans".<ref name="Fahs revisited"/> Dave Zdyrko, who operated a prominent Saturn fan website during the system's lifespan, said: "I don't know if [''X-treme''] could've saved the Saturn, but&nbsp;[...] ''Sonic'' helped make the Genesis and it made absolutely no sense why there wasn't a great new ''Sonic'' title ready at or near the launch of the [Saturn]."<ref name="1UP Pleasure and Pain"/> In a 2007 retrospective, producer Mike Wallis maintained that ''X-treme'' "definitely would have been competitive" with Nintendo's ''[[Super Mario 64]]''.<ref name="Edge X-Treme"/> ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' reported in late 1996 that ''X-treme'' would have harmed Sega's reputation if it did not compare well to contemporary competition.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=In the Studio|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=23 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=November 1996|page=17}}</ref> Naka said he had been relieved by the cancellation, because the game was not promising.<ref name="Relief"/>