To buy a Saturn

[RCBH928]

Hello,

I will be leaving for a vacation in the USA within 3 days and i have been thinking about buying a Sega Saturn.

I won't be buying online, but looking into retro stores
In another post I was looking for them:
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 28&t=21747

Will I be able to find a modded one?
Is there anything I should be looking for or be aware of before buying a Saturn?
Are there any memories cards or expansions I should get?
How much should I be paying?

I am going to Las Vegas and NY too, so if you have good stores over there please inform me, thanx.

I know this is a Sega forum, but will I be able to find ps2's modded in stores too?

[Anthony817]

If I were you I would try going to a Flea market. No idea how you would know if it was modded.

When I had a Saturn, I had a Gameshark for it that was awesome, and I think you can get memory carts that plug into the slot in the back. If I am not mistaken, I think you can do a swap disc method to load burnt cd's, but you will need to open the system, and put some tape over the lever that depresses a button when the disc tray is closed, so you can open the lid without reseting the system.

You would basicaly boot a retail game, and when it stops spinning, you would take it out and pop in your burnt copy and it would play. I am only going by what I have heard, so I by no means am an expert on saturn backups. I think others here will be more of assitance to you than I am, and good luck with finding one.

[emwearz]

1. I doubt you will be able to find a modded console in the wild as most people who mod them, want to keep them.

2. If you plan on getting a mod chip then a Model 2 is far easier than a Model 1 to mod (Round buttons for the Model 2, Oval for the Model 1)

3. If you get yourself a 4 in 1 one it will allow you to play imports (Important as there are many Japan only releases that are great / Fighters are much cheaper in japanese) as well as use it as a memory card and as a 4M/1M memory expansion for Capcom / SNK games that require them. It is an all round must have for any Saturn owner.

4. I am not too sure how much they run you up in the states so I will let someone else answer the money related questions.

For modded PS2's, if you are just wanting to play PS2 backups, soft modding is free and really easy (many people on the forum will do it for free for you, or if you have a friend with a chipped console you can do it yourself). It is hard to tell if a console has been modded when it is in the wild.

The Sega Saturn really is an amazing console, I am sure you will enjoy it.

I had a Gameshark for it that was awesome,

Whatever you do, don't use Gamesharks, it damages the cart slot.

If I am not mistaken, I think you can do a swap disc method to load burnt cd's, but you will need to open the system

If you get one and want to try some games out you can also do the swap trick (if you click the banner in my link there are 2 different versions of the swap trick) until you get hold of a modchip.

This is the one I suggest trying first. However modchips are always better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhCsuC6j57c

Hope the info helped.

[RCBH928]

I really can't mod, I never played with electronics I just buy.

If I get a modded one, will I still need action replay to play imports?
How much should I pay for a white Sega Saturn? I believe it Japanese, will it play NTSC games?

[Octopod]

I sold my modded white Japanese Sega Saturn with box and paper work on here about a year or so ago for $120 plus shipping if that gives you an idea. I forget who bought it.

They do not play US games but if it is modded you can play burned disc and change the region to Japan.

[emwearz]

If I get a modded one, will I still need action replay to play imports?
How much should I pay for a white Sega Saturn? I believe it Japanese, will it play NTSC games?

If it is chipped you will be able to play any backup as long as it is patched, however a chip does not allow you to play real copies of imports.

[PSony]

Backups:

Modchipped consoles are the only way to play backups. You can buy a premodded console on segastyle.com, or send your system to them to get modded. This will play US games and backups (backup imports need to be patched). It will not play genuine imports on it's own.

Imports:

The cheapest way to play genuine imports is to get an Action Replay 4-in-1 cartridge.

Another way is to get a switchless region mod installed, where you hold down the reset button to change what region the console boots up in. The advantage to this is that you don't have to power off the console and back on to get to the Action Replay menu if you want to change games. This guy seems to do great jobs: http://gametz.com/forum/Classifieds/top ... 2.html#new

And of course you can get an import console.

Personally I use a Japanese Saturn with Action Replay 4-in-1 since most of my games are genuine imports. The AR is so I can play a few US games, backup my save files, and also as a 4MB RAM expansion for the Japanese games. I also have the premodded Saturn from segastyle.com for backups, though I stopped using it since it's more fun to play the real thing.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

I really can't mod, I never played with electronics I just buy.

If I get a modded one, will I still need action replay to play imports?
How much should I pay for a white Sega Saturn? I believe it Japanese, will it play NTSC games?

Let me put it this way, trying to buy a pre-modded anything in a US retail shop is like selling cocaine with a megaphone in times square, not gonna happen.

That having been said you'll probably be able to get a console fairly easy and there's plenty of people on here who would be willing to chip it for you.

If you're going to Vegas & NY pawn shops, flea markets and street sales are your best friend. and be sure to check out Video Games New York:

http://www.videogamesnewyork.com/

These guys have an AMAZING retail storefront in NY and while they can have a slightly higher price than most places they make up for it in sheer selection. Check out Racket's video tour of their shop here:
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/game-sto ... -york.html

EDIT!: Also if there's one place you have to go it's Nintendo World, this is THE Nintendo Mecca and houses some truly amazing sights:
http://www.nintendoworldstore.com/

[RCBH928]

I can't let some one chip it for me, because shipping it forth and back will take a long time

crap!
Maybe I can find a pre-modded one on ebay?

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

I can't let some one chip it for me, because shipping it forth and back will take a long time

crap!
Maybe I can find a pre-modded one on ebay?

I did a search for chip saturn, chip sega, chip sega saturn. mod saturn, mod sega and mod sega saturn.

The biggest problem is that eBay will pull and delete any auctions about modding or modchips on their US site. Over here modding and making the system play "backups" is very much illegal (or at other times in a legal gray area which is pretty much the same as illegal for all intents and purposes) so aside from forums and online it's rarely seen in person or in shops as they can be both arrested and shut down respectively.

EDIT!: Like for example, selling the chips is risky, but usually ignored. Installing them and making them work though is typically pursued and is very much a punishable offense.