Thanks to the wonders of technology most systems can be emulated and run on anything from a PC to a Raspberry Pie or a Mobile Phone.
However one system that has always been a struggle to get running this way is the Sega Saturn with its complicated architecture and collection of dedicated processors hindering decent frame rates on emulators the only way to play was with original hardware and the original and sometimes very expensive games.
Enter Mode
Thankfully a new piece of hardware called ‘Mode’ (Multi Optical Disc Emulator) will soon be available that will address this issue.
Mode will let you play Saturn Images on your original hardware via a FPGA board that plugs directly into the Saturn or Dreamcast and can connect a Sata or a SSD hard drive up to it and play any Saturn game directly on the console just like it was reading a disc on the CD drive.
The hardware can take SD Cards, USB and even lets you connect a huge hard drive up that could hold the Saturn’s entire library of games.
The hardware also display the games via a simple list or a cover art style just like you may have seen on a RetroPie and also allows multi-region compatibility too.
Here’s more about it and how it works.
The new hardware is not cheap with the pre-order price being €182. However if like many, your Saturn or Dreamcast disc drive is struggling to read discs and generally playing up than this solution.
There are also others coming like the ‘Satiator’ and ones already on the market like ‘Rhea’.
Plug & Play
The great thing about this is the plug and play aspect. All you need is a screwdriver and some bravery to open up the console which is far better to do than worry about faffing about with wires and soldering.
Mode also knows what system its in too so no messing about with software required either.
Mode will be available from June/July 2020 and pre-orders are available from Andorra based Terraonion.
