10 Worst Mistakes Ever Made By Video Game Companies
4. Sega Releasing The Sega Saturn Out Of Nowhere In The US
It all started off so brightly for the Sega Saturn. No one really had faith that Sony's foray into the console market would amount to much, Nintendo wasn't bringing out its N64 for another year, and Sega had all the time in the world to establish itself as top dog.
The Saturn was selling extremely well in Japan, and with a bit of marketing investment and patience, it could've done so in the US as well. However, determined to launch before the PlayStation and to banish memories of the flopped Sega 32X, Sega shipped the Saturn to several US retailers before the console was even unveiled for the US market. This pee'd off all the retailers who didn't get in on the action, who subsequently refused to stock the console. The $400 Saturn didn't sell in many major retailers, didn't get much marketing love, and was released with almost no fanfare in the US and Europe.
Plucky Sony unveiled its PlayStation soon after, undercutting the Saturn's asking price by $100, investing much more in promoting the console, and soon obliterating it on the sales front.
Not quick to be disheartened though, Sega was determined to give it one more shot, though you can probably already guess that it didn't end well...