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Thread: SEGA Pluto prototype found

  1. #41
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    Quote Originally Posted by 8-Bit Archeology View Post
    Why would both units not have controllers? Watch the unit will sell and a week later.....Hey I found the cables and controllers. Who wants em? Followed by another auction.
    Because it would have used stock Saturn controllers. Sega, like a lot of video game companies, had a sloppy way of handling their prototypes in the old days. This probably just got plucked out of R&D and stuck in a box or cabinet somewhere and the cables and controllers were lost or stuck somewhere else. It's not like they designed custom controllers just for this thing.

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    Quote Originally Posted by 8-Bit Archeology View Post
    Why would both units not have controllers? Watch the unit will sell and a week later.....Hey I found the cables and controllers. Who wants em? Followed by another auction.
    They're prototypes, but they likely used actual Saturn controllers. Obviously the purpose was to prototype/test the Netlink modem somehow.

    Quote Originally Posted by PreZZ View Post
    its a little bit strange that no one has heard of the pluto or even knew it existed for over 15 years and know 2 of them showup in auctions... could it be a very well made scam?? It looks legit, but hey if you can make 2 professionally looking prototypes and sell them for over 10,000$ each, thats a nice profit for sure.
    The first Pluto revealed was by the former Sega employee, who had it obviously for a decade and a half. He's now living in Japan. The fact that he didn't reveal it until now is completely unsurprising. This happens all the time, because the guys who have them and worked in the industry often no longer follow gaming and don't think about what the worth or historical value might be.

    The second one revealed, by the kidvid666 guy, (real name Roger Vega) is the one that was on game gavel and for which he appeared on YouTube in, and such, and is being auctioned. The unit is legit, it's not a fake, and he says he's had it for 5 or 6 years after getting it at a flea market in Stockton, CA. That's in the Bay Area, where Sega of America resided. Prototype games and systems are often found in that region at flea markets and garage sales. Here's what he told about it. http://patrickscottpatterson.com/CulturePluto

    "It was about six years ago, and all I remember is getting it from a flea market in Stockton, California," he said. "I remember asking the seller how much he wanted for it and that he responded he wanted $5. He thought it was a VCR. I offered him a dollar for it because the lid would not stay closed and he accepted."

    Since the Pluto prototypes came with a Sega Saturn logo on the case, Vega said he had no idea what he'd actually purchased at the time.

    "My thoughts about it at the time were that I just thought it was cool looking, with no idea of what it was, and went about the rest of my day," Vega recalled. "It was later told by someone that they thought it was a knock-off and I never really gave it a second thought since, but I still thought it was very cool and held on to it."
    I think his story is very believable, he thought it was a knock off of some kind. I do find it odd that he wouldn't have posted pictures on a Sega forum by now, but again, you'd be surprised how many game collectors rarely go onto game forums.
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    Never had a saturn so the controller port wasnt obvious to me. But if they work and that power cord is a dime a dozen. Than why are people saying its a paperweight. It would work right?

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    Quote Originally Posted by 8-Bit Archeology View Post
    Never had a saturn so the controller port wasnt obvious to me. But if they work and that power cord is a dime a dozen. Than why are people saying its a paperweight. It would work right?
    "People" aren't saying it's a paperweight. Needler who is a troll said that, but he believes collecting is stupid and still continues to post here despite the fact that he contributes nothing and is against everything this forum and community was founded to support.

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    Even IF it didn't work at all, it would still carry a decent monetary value. It's very rare, only two known, and from Sega, a major and very popular console maker. Some people hate on the folks who find these things, but in reality it's great that they do, because otherwise you'd never see them. Also why projects like the Video Game History Museum are so important, because you can physically lay eyes on pieces like this, which otherwise sit in some old dude's collection never to see the light of day.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Greg2600 View Post
    Even IF it didn't work at all, it would still carry a decent monetary value. It's very rare, only two known, and from Sega, a major and very popular console maker. Some people hate on the folks who find these things, but in reality it's great that they do, because otherwise you'd never see them. Also why projects like the Video Game History Museum are so important, because you can physically lay eyes on pieces like this, which otherwise sit in some old dude's collection never to see the light of day.
    I like seeing all the retro stuff that has been hidden. And yes a museum needs to happen. I wanted to turn my family's old furniture store into one. 65,000sqft of games....ugh would have been amazing. The first time i saw a pic of a powerfest 94snes cart i freaked. That was the day i realized there are treasures to be found. And i started my collection hunt then. I still dont have any crazy finds or anything like the pluto. But the searching is so fun. The day I got a Turbo Express was a day to remember.

  7. #47
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    That thing looks pretty ugly. More like an answering machine (remember those?) than a video game.

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    Time for a blast from the past. First, SEGA nerd Adam Koralik reviews one of the two known Sega Pluto prototypes....



    Then Ben Heck goes ahead and attempts to fix it for the owner, similar to his work on the SNES Playstation!

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    Pretty cool video of Adam at the NVGM with their Neptune, Pluto, and the one he's been carrying around. A reunion (black Pluto and Neptune) that has never been together before.



    Ben Heck fixed the disc lid so it closes and the finnicky controller port. The HDD is a Seagate ST9546A "Marathon 541" 2.5" 540MB IDE commonly used laptop hard drive, released in 1995. He tried reading it on Linux or Windows but no dice. Ben also did not feel like the HDD was even being powered in the prototype and suggested not even putting it back in. He then suggested my old trick, which is to buy a working HDD (same model) and swap the electronics.

    Then later were able to access the drive, but it was EMPTY! Futhermore, they discovered the installed NetLink modem doesn't work either, at least with retail games. So at the end of the day, seems like the prototype is barely more than a physical demo like the others, which have less or zero hardware inside.

    Last edited by Greg2600; 11-25-2021 at 01:06 AM.
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    So in other words it IS a paperweight. Think they owe needler an apology?

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    username cracks me up

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