[mdasen]

I remember being a kid and not knowing what kind of Sega I was supposed to want. Sega CD came out in 1992 and CDs were the new thing - most of the next-gen consoles were CD-based. But the 32X was newer (1994). But when the 32X was released, we already knew that the Saturn was coming. The Saturn was released in Japan the day after the 32X was released. It also meant the release of three consoles in less than three years.

For parents who had no interest in the systems, Sega seemed like a way to just keep spending money. First the kid wants Sega CD, then they want 32X, then they want Saturn. During the CD and `-bit` wars, Sega's lineup was weird and hard to decipher. Even if you were a kid that might know why a Saturn was better, how do you explain it? "Yea, it's the same 32-bits as the 32X and the same CD as a Sega CD, but it's better dad/mom!"

Nintendo had an easy story: it's been over 5 years since you bought me a Nintendo and this one goes from 16-bit to 64-bit! Sony had an easy story: it's 32-bit, only $299, CD-based, and Sony is the best name in all electronic stuff!

If you'd convinced your parents to buy a 32X for Christmas 1994, you weren't getting a Saturn 6 months later. "And what about the Jupiter that'll be out in another 6-12 months?" any parent could retort.

Sega burned developers with too many machines to develop for. Sega burned consumers with too many machines that would be quickly abandoned.