Before the Dreamcast, there was supposed to be a SEGA Black Belt console, also known as “Saturn 2”, being developed by 3Dfx, leaders in the PC video card market at the time, in the US. The company also hired Tatsuo Yamamoto, a former IBM engineer, to work on the Black Belt project, and his group opted to use 3Dfx’s Voodoo 2 and Voodoo Banshee graphics technology, initially trying RISC processors from IBM and Motorola.
From a software perspective, SEGA was actively trying to seek partnerships in 1997, although uncertainty in the air regarding the details. Talks started with Microsoft for undisclosed reasons, while SEGASoft found themselves on-board with Black Belt development. At one point the Black Belt was demonstrated to a limited number of developers and apparently very well received. What stood out most about Black Belt design was its operating system, designed specially to make the machine easy to develop for.
- WiFi LIVE online play, for the first time in an ARCADE1UP Capcom Legacy game machine. No monthly subscription required!
- Exclusive Side panel art
- Custom Riser, Light-Up Marquee
