In March 1995, Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske announced that the Saturn would be released in the U.S. on "Saturnday" [sic] (Saturday) September 2, 1995. However, responding to Sega of Japan's determination to beat the PlayStation to the market, Kalinske secretly devised an early launch to generate excitement for the console. At the first Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles on May 11, 1995, Kalinske gave a keynote presentation for the upcoming Saturn in which he revealed the release price at US$399, and described the features of the console. Kalinske also revealed that, due to "high consumer demand", Sega had already shipped 30,000 Saturns to Toys "R" Us, Babbage's, Electronics Boutique, and Software Etc. for immediate release. This announcement upset retailers who were not informed of the surprise release; KB Toys responded by dropping Sega from its lineup. Sony subsequently unveiled the retail price for the PlayStation, with speaker Steve Race taking the stage, saying "$299", and walking away to applause. The Saturn's release in Europe also came before the previously announced North American date, on July 8, 1995, at a price of GB₤399.99.
Because of the early launch, the Saturn had only six games (all published by Sega) available to start as most third-party games were slated to be released around the original launch date. Virtua Fighter's relative lack of popularity in the West, combined with a release schedule of only two games between the surprise launch and September 1995, prevented Sega from capitalizing on the Saturn's early timing. Within two days of its September 9, 1995 launch in North America, the PlayStation had sold more units than the Saturn had in the five months following its surprise launch. A high-quality port of the Namco arcade game Ridge Racer contributed to the PlayStation's early success and subsequently garnered favorable comparisons in the media to the Saturn version of Sega's Daytona USA. By the end of the year, retailers were reporting that a Saturn price reduction to $299 (which resulted in significant financial losses for Sega) and high-quality Saturn ports of the Sega Model 2 arcade hits Sega Rally Championship, Virtua Cop, and Virtua Fighter 2 had increased demand for the system but ultimately failed to reverse the PlayStation's decisive lead. By 1996, the PlayStation had a considerably larger library than the Saturn, although Sega hoped to generate increased interest in the Saturn with upcoming exclusives such as Nights into Dreams....
