A huge trove of Sega documents from the ’90s has leaked

While the Microsoft FTC case has allowed the world to get a sneak peek behind the scenes at accident platform standThe emails, meanwhile, have leaked a massive trove of old Sega docs from the ’90s, and they’ve gone a long way in explaining… well, why Sega isn’t a platform holder anymore.

collected documents and Uploaded to Sega Retro, is a mixed bag of everything from E3 floor plans to financial results. However, some of the highlights are internal emails, like this one from March 1996 where former Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske wrote about the Sega Saturn versus Sony’s PlayStation, a battle that didn’t end the way it began:

It’s one thing to hear/read about how well we fared in Japan versus Sony, and another to witness it in person. I’ve just been to 10 retail stores in Tokyo (mostly in Akihabara); It’s now spring break so the crowds of teens/college kids are huge. We kill Sonny. In every store Saturn hardware is sold out and there are stacks of Playstation. Retailers commented that they could not compare the true sales rate because the Saturn sells out before they can measure accurately. Our interactive displays are better, and our software displays and stores much better. It is not unusual to see 40-50 copies of Panzer Zwei or Virtua Fighter 2 stocked even in small shops and sold out quickly. I hope to get all of our employees, sales people, retailers, analysts, media, etc. to see and understand what is happening in Japan; They will then understand why we won here in the States in the end.

How do we show that at E3?

To be fair to Tom, in the early days of 1994-1995 Saturn – buoyed by the popularity of Virtua Fighter– Has PlayStation already outsold Japan? This success was only short-lived, however, and by the time Final Fantasy VII Sony’s console was dropped in 1997 and was out of sight, making Kalinsky’s “we’re killing Sony” line one of the most egregious in video game history.

In another document, Here’s It Again, Kalinske cut an even more miserable number in April 1996 as he further explained the new Saturn’s $249 price point –An attempt to lower the launch price of Sony’s popular $299 PlayStation—Meanwhile also wondering what the hell is going on with the “Hare Krishna cult members” in a commercial on Saturn TV:

Here’s the ad, if you haven’t seen it before:

Also interesting is a collection of 1997’s marketing strategies, which give some insight into the kind of battle Sega was facing at that point in the Saturn’s launch; While some ideas are built on selling the Saturn on its strengths, like first-party games from Sega, there’s a lot that’s just obsessed with Sony’s plans, reacting to Sony’s pricing, trying to get ahead of Sony’s launch schedule… really speaks to a company that was by 1997 is playing catch-up in almost every way possible.

Moving on, here’s a list of Sega’s “Critical Software Problems” Facing the Saturn in FY ’97, and they’re fiercely honest, calling Psygnosis, talking crazy nonsense (famous hellish) Heart of Darkness I wonder how many of these games will be ready to show at E3:

If you would like to read the entire document dump, it is available hereAnd, aside from what kind of stuff you posted above, it also includes a bunch of cereal promo box art, sales records and even internal emails lamenting how great Sega’s sports productions are.

And if you’re reading any of this feeling like Sega was a company in trouble, remember that a lot of these documents date back to 1997. Sega would exit the console completely only four years later, in 2001.