Sega Enterprises Ltd’s 32-bit Saturn video games machine has taken such a beating from the Sony Corp PlayStation in the market that the company has been forced to try to retrieve the situation by slashing the price. From March 22 it will offer a new version in Japan with a suggested retail price equivalent to $200 – compared with about $350 for the current version. The machine will have the same functions as existing Saturns, but is effectively a re-engineered version with hardware design changes to cut the cost of manufacturing. The company is also donning the figleaf of manufacturing efficiencies to justify the new price, which will no doubt irk anyone just bought one. Sega plans to introduce the new model in the US but has not decided the price there.
