ST-V (Sega Titan Video game system) was an arcade system board released by Sega in 1994. Departing from their usual process of building custom arcade hardware, Sega’s ST-V is essentially identical to the Sega Saturn home console system. The only difference is the media: ST-V used ROM cartridges instead of CD-ROMs to store games. Being derived from the Saturn hardware, the ST-V was presumably named after the moon Titan, a satellite of Saturn. The majority of ST-V titles were released in Japan only, but a notable exception was the port of Dynamite Deka, which became Die Hard Arcade. Games released for the ST-V includes the arcade version of Virtua Fighter Remix, Golden Axe: The Duel and Final Fight Revenge. The shared hardware between Saturn and ST-V allowed for very “pure” ports for the Saturn console.
The Sega Saturn is a 32-bit fifth-generation home video game console that was developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America and July 8, 1995 in Europe as the successor to the successful Sega Genesis. Saturn has a dual-CPU architecture and a total of eight processors. Its games are in CD-ROM format, and its game library contains several arcade ports as well as original titles. Development of the Saturn began in 1992, the same year Sega’s groundbreaking 3D Model 1 arcade hardware debuted. Designed around a new CPU from Japanese electronics company Hitachi, another video display processor was incorporated into the system’s design in early 1994 to better compete with Sony’s forthcoming PlayStation. The Saturn was initially successful in Japan, but failed to sell in large numbers in the United States after its surprise May 1995 launch, four months before its scheduled release date. After the debut of the Nintendo 64 in late 1996, the Saturn rapidly lost market share in the U.S., where it was discontinued in 1998. Having sold 9.5 million units worldwide, the Saturn is considered a commercial failure. The failure of Sega’s development teams to release a game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, known in development as Sonic X-treme, has been considered a factor in the console’s poor performance. Although the system is remembered for several well-regarded games, including Nights into Dreams…, the Panzer Dragoon series, and the Virtua Fighter series, the Saturn’s reception is mixed due to its complex hardware design and limited third-party support. Sega’s management has been criticized for its decision-making during the system’s development and cancellation.
