CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
Amazing that after all these years these old prototypes are still getting unearthed.
This is Sega Saturn 'Pluto' prototype. It includes built-in NetLink capability. The guy on Assembler who has it doesn't make it clear if this was going to be revision of the Saturn or in addition.
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?45489-The-Real-Sega-Pluto
More pics at the link.
This is Sega Saturn 'Pluto' prototype. It includes built-in NetLink capability. The guy on Assembler who has it doesn't make it clear if this was going to be revision of the Saturn or in addition.
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?45489-The-Real-Sega-Pluto
A little more background info -- as most of you know, Sega is a company with a history of turmoil. Employee turnover is a sad theme, and the Sonic Reaper (as we call him) strikes all too frequently. As such, the past gets forgotten quickly -- treasures from the previous generation are quickly cast aside, as a new regime tries to make a name for themselves (or justify their existence). As such, some of said treasures get left on laid-off-peoples' desks. And in a beautiful twist of fate, this beauty ended up finding its way to my desk, and then in a box with the rest of my stuff when I left Sega.
I was told that only two of these prototypes were made -- and this is #2.
This thing is a beast, and definitely the heaviest console I've ever held in my hands. The front features two controller ports, and on top you have a flip-top drive bay, a cart slot, a Power button, and the venerable Reset button. Note that the logo still says Saturn, so I'm guessing the Pluto codename was simply that, and they were thinking of branding it with the Saturn name. (The logo is printed on production-style though, so I'm guessing they were fairly serious about this one.) The left and right sides feature beautiful-and-exotic vents, while the back is standard Saturn, save for the Netlink ports. The bottom has nothing of note except for the "PLUTO-02" sticker (which is, of course, of note).
More pics at the link.