Sega Saturn

The Sega Saturn is a fifth-generation video game console developed by Sega. It was first released in Japan on November 22, 1994, and in North America on May 11, 1995. The fourth console in the Sega family, it succeeded the Sega Genesis and preceded the Dreamcast. It used CD-ROMs for its games and could also play audio CDs.

The Sega Saturn has a cartridge slot on the top of the console, originally intended for a Genesis backward compatibility adapter that was never released. Save data was stored on an internal memory chip powered by a replaceable CR2032 battery, with external memory cartridges available for expanded storage.

The Saturn was one of the first home consoles to offer internet access. Sega of America released the NetLink in the United States on October 31, 1996, a 28.8 kbit/s modem that plugged into the cartridge slot and provided web browsing and email through the console. It also enabled online play for compatible games, including Sega Rally Championship and Duke Nukem 3D. In Japan, Sega sold a separate Saturn Modem and released a number of games in SEGAnet-compatible versions.^[1]

Sega required full button remapping for all Sega Saturn games as a certification requirement, making it one of the first major console manufacturers to mandate an accessibility feature.^[2] The console also has a notable accessibility milestone: Real Sound: Kaze no Regret, released in Japan in 1997, was the first video game designed to be fully playable by blind players. It used audio only, with no visuals, and shipped with a braille manual.^[3][4]

Accessibility

• Sega Saturn console tactile guide
• Sega Saturn controller tactile guide
• Sega Saturn menu walkthrough

Games

• List of Sega Saturn games

Hardware and Setup

• List of Sega Saturn accessories
• Sega Saturn hardware mods and adapters
• Sega Saturn softmods and homebrew

Related Pages

• List of Sega home consoles
• Sega Genesis
• Dreamcast
• Fifth generation of video game consoles
• List of video game console generations

References

1. NetLink Internet Modem - Sega Retro. Documents the US release on October 31, 1996, the 28.8 kbps modem, cartridge slot connection, web browsing and email via the NetLink Custom Web Browser, and compatible games including Sega Rally Championship Plus NetLink Edition and Duke Nukem 3D. Also notes that Japan used a separate, slower Sega Saturn Modem with different online services.
2. System level button remapping - IGDA Game Accessibility SIG. "In previous console generations it has been a certification requirement – no SEGA Saturn game was permitted to launch unless it had full remapping." Archived on 2026-04-19. Live version
3. The neglected history of videogames for the blind - Kill Screen, September 26, 2016. "The 1997 Sega Saturn Japan-only release, Real Sound: Kaze no Regret, is a fully-voiced interactive romance game with no visual elements for its entire runtime." Archived on 2025-05-21.
4. An Introduction to Video Game Accessibility - American Foundation for the Blind, Summer 2023. "The most famous example of an early attempt at an accessible game was Real Sound: Kaze no Regret, released in 1997 for the Sega Saturn." Archived on 2026-06-17. Live version