Released May 11, 1995, the Saturn was Sega’s primary entry in the 32-bit generation. Internal competition with Sega’s 32X attachment for the Genesis lead to a rough start, but the Saturn initially held its own against its primary rival, the
Sony PlayStation. The Saturn was successful in Japan, but failed to sell in large numbers in the US. After the debut of the Nintendo 64 in 1996, the Saturn rapidly lost market share and was discontinued in 1998.

Having sold 9.26 million units, the Saturn is considered a commercial failure. The Saturn marked the beginning of the end for Sega but is still remembered for several well-regarded games, including the Virtua Fighter series.