Sega broke ground on optical disc development with its Sega CD add-on for the Genesis, but the Saturn was the first standalone Sega console to rely on the medium. While gamers praised Genesis for its graphics and sound, cartridges were being phased out in favor of optical discs.

After being turned down by Sega, Silicon Graphics formed a partnership with Nintendo for the N64. Miller and Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske were impressed by the chipset, but Sega of Japan hardware guru Hideki Sato said the chip was too big and wasted too much silicon. Unfortunately, Sega of Japan didn’t believe that Sony was serious about creating hardware, so the discussions fell apart and the two companies went separate routes.Īround that time, Sega executives also met with Silicon Graphics founder Jim Clark, who pitched a new chipset the company thought would be great for gaming. The team pitched the idea to Sony of Japan president Nobuyuki Idei, who agreed that it made good business sense. Sega of America worked with Sony on specs for a potential joint platform. Sega of -America’s head of R&D Joe Miller was unimpressed with the initial hardware specs of the proposed console, and he liked the idea of sharing the costs on the creation of the hardware since platform holders typically lose money on hardware. Before the creation of Saturn, Sega explored the idea of a joint-hardware platform.

Sega beat blast