Does anyone have more information about this item; http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sega-Saturn...6216?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item1c39777c58 Description from the seller: "Sega Saturn Confidential These are demo discs, they say "Alpha Version Work in Progress" "Will not work on all Sega Saturns try multiple machines or watch demo mode" The titles are: Virtua Fighter 2 & Sega Rally Championship The discs U.S. version and are in excellent condition. I could not find any info on these discs, only a single thread where someone referenced the as prototypes."
I saw that and was going to place a bid but it went for mad money, I haven't been able to out much info at all on them so if anyone knows anything please share!
It nothing, it just a demo with non-playable unfinished product which I believe. I pretty sure someone had upload the ISO on the internet
Those discs are "trade demos." It is the US Saturn equivalent of PAL Dreamcast white labels and PAL PS2/PS3/360 promo discs. They were also common in the US with the original PSone. They were sent out to stores as playable demo discs. What's rare about that auction is the fact that this one actually has seems to have a jewel case. Most of these discs were shipped in sleeves. SEGA produced some for their own games and third parties could also have SEGA make them for cost of production. No licensing fee was paid for the demo since it was not sold. While it may not be identical code to the final retail disc, the "Alpha Version" marking on the disc is more marketing (to the store getting the demo) than a real description of the state of the code therein. Basically, SEGA wanted the store to get this into a Kiosk ASAP and by making it seem "exclusive" and "early" the store would be more likely to promote it. Hope this helps.
Interesting marketing tactic of SEGA of exploiting the fact that 'people are not to be trusted', since the discs clearly state they are 'highly confidential' Interesting stuff nevertheless.
When it comes to marketing the goal is to get maximum exposure. Taking advantage of human nature was just a smart move on Sega's part. I mean we're still talking about it now, years later.
i used to have some demo disc like this for the sega saturn but i sold it for 340 to get a new camera
Sega Of America might have fooled a few people back in the day that these promotional discs were genuine "confidential internal alpha versions" but some of us know better - prototypes of high profile first party Saturn conversions such as Virtua Fighter 2 and Sega Rally would probably never have left the AM offices in Japan! Then again, I'm curious to know more about that early video footage also listed on the back of the box...
Not exactly. The equivalent of the white labels are silvers. They are retail discs before they were silk screened. They were all IDENTICAL to retail discs. This, however, is different. It's not the jewel case that makes it so - it's the fact that these are NOT retail games. Demos, plus video. And I don't know why people don't believe it's a work in progress. Why do you think we have prototypes? They were works in progress, sent out for magazines to review. I'm not sure whether this would have been released to retailers, or just magazines.
I'm certainly no expert but it's exactly what hl718 says it is. I remember seeing stuff like this back in the day at an indie store I used to shop at. Peculiar? Yeah, but basically a goofy, pre-internet attempt at getting fanboys and collectors to freak out.
What do you think these discs were before they were silkscreened? These aren't burned discs. They are silvers that were produced with the express purpose of being sent out as trade demos. That "wavy" pattern was standard on the discs, just as the general format of PAL promos is standard from disc to disc. The only bit that differed was the name of the game printed on the disc. I've got a few other titles, complete with the standard cardboard sleeve that went out with most of them. The main target for these discs was stores. US media would generally have gotten burned discs, as this was pre-Internet and just anybody couldn't throw up a website overnight. No company is going to bother to create a glass master and do a full production run just for a prototype. Protos were generally meant for a handful of people. Trade demos went to a much wider distribution network, so the extra cost could be justified. Now, I'm not saying that what's on these specific discs is identical to final retail code, but it's certainly not alpha code. That would never have seen the light of day outside Sega.
