Those who know me well are probably aware of my slight obsession with SEGA and Saturn-related gaming magazines… I suppose I’m just a big history nerd, and these old rags contain so much information retaining that true and original context… I love pouring over old pages of interviews, reviews, letters and industry news, gleaning insight into things that I was much too young and disinterested in back in the day (not to mention it’s often a huge nostalgia trip).
And while it’s likely a well known “secret” among Saturn homebrew and development enthusiasts, DTS Developer News is perhaps something that much of the general public still may not be aware of… So, what exactly IS it, then..?
DTS was a Technical Support Newsletter distributed by Product Development at Sega of America exclusively for SEGA and Third-Party Developers. Formed around late 1993 and active through 1997, this almost? quarterly newsletter included a wide variety of information, such as a directory of technical support contacts, a list of available tools and documentation, tips and solutions to common problems, ads for upcoming events and software development solutions, a summary of recent events, and so on…
It typically opened up with a brief overview of what was happening in the Sega development scene and also covered common issues experienced during software creation. In April of 1996, the newsletter was rebranded as “DevelopMental: SEGA Developer Technical Support Newsletter.” These newsletters were SEGA’s way of keeping in touch with licensees, and were never intended to be seen by the general public.
DTS Developer News – PDF Issues:
Vol. 2 No. 2 – Oct 1994 – “Hardware Issue”
Focuses on 32x and Saturn development issues, with listings of 32x and Saturn tools and documentation. This issue was released about a month before the 32x and Saturn were released to consumers. Notably advertises that video tapes of the Saturn Developer’s Conference from May 1994 were made available to developers. The slides from this conference are provided in the system documentation section above.
Vol. 3 No. 1 – Jan 1995 – “Software Exchange”
Quickly reviews “32XPOSED”, a 32X Developer’s Conference that was held on November 10 1994, and advertises an upcoming Sega DevCon ‘95 conference, scheduled for March 14-17, which was apparently the first international multi-platform developer conference Sega held, and was intended to be an annual event going forward. This edition only lists Saturn tools and documentation at the end of the newsletter.
Vol. 3 No. 2 – Jun 1995 – “Devcon ‘95 Wrap-Up”
Recap of DevCon 95, and an assortment of information covering the Mega Drive (Genesis), 32x, and Saturn.
Vol. 3 No. 4 – Sep 1995 – “Creative Support Group”
A short issue with info split between the 32x and Saturn. Gives some info on the structure of the Sega DTS BBS.
Vol. 3 No. 6 – Apr 1996 – “DevCon ‘96 Wrap-Up: Now the Fun Begins”
This issue uses the new “Developmental” branding, and now describes itself as a “monthly” newsletter. Contains a recap of DevCon 96, which was focused on the Saturn. Also announced is a migration away from the BBS for sharing developer tools and information, in favour of a website and FTP instead. The Q&A section on page 3 indicates Sega had also transitioned away from providing physical paper documentation at this point in favour of digital files, although paper versions could still be provided on request for a fee. Absent from this newsletter is any reference to the 32x, with Sega having announced it was discontinuing the system around this time. The March 96 DTS CD is mentioned, which was distributed during DevCon 96.
Vol. 3 No. 7 – May 1996 – “Promised and Delivered: DTS WWW”
Update on Saturn tools and documentation, with advertising on a presense at the upcoming E3 convention. The May 96 DTS CD, and upcoming June 96 DTS CD are both mentioned here.
Vol. 3 No. 8 – Jun/July 1996 – “The DTS WWW Companion”
Contains a large listing of Saturn tools and software. Also advertises the upcoming November 96 DTS CD. Notably, now describes itself as a “bi-monthly” newsletter.
Vol. 3 No. 9 – Nov 1996 – “1996’s Best Known A-BUGS”
Advertises the DTS website, describing it as “less than four months old”, and mentioning that all (Saturn) tech bulletins are now available on the site (the list of which is given in the newsletter). Also mentions that faxes are a thing of the past and increasingly updates will be sent via email only.
Vol. 4 No. 1 – Jan/Feb 1997 – “Sega Tops Holiday, Yearly Sales Predictions”
Covers Yearly Sales Predictions, CodeScape: The powerful new debugging tool from Cross Products, Best Known A-BUGS – Part 2 and a Spotlight on EDTS. Based on the archive.org content of http://www.dts.sega.com, it appears this was the last issue of the DTS newsletter, with the website itself and email lists likely replacing it going forward.
DTS CD – Nov 1996
The November 1996 edition of the Sega DTS CD is a hybrid disc, meaning contains both a Windows-compatible ISO 9660 file system, as well as a Macintosh HFS filesystem, with some files only visible on the Macintosh one.
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