2, and Virtua Cop, drove sales dramatically and ensured the Saturn remained a competitor into 1997. However, the Saturn failed to take the lead. After the launch of the Nintendo 64 in 1996, sales of the Saturn and its games were sharply reduced, while the PlayStation outsold the Saturn by three-to-one in the U.S. in 1997. The 1997 release of Final Fantasy VII significantly increased the PlayStation's popularity in Japan. The game helped push PlayStation sales ahead of the Saturn in Japan, after the PlayStation and Saturn had been very close in Japan prior to the game's release. As of August 1997, Sony controlled 47% of the console market, Nintendo 40%, and Sega only 12%. Neither price cuts nor high-profile game releases proved helpful. Reflecting decreased demand for the system, worldwide Saturn shipments during March to September 1997 declined from 2.35 million to 600,000 versus the same period in 1996; shipments in North America declined from 800,000 to 50,000. Due to the Saturn's poor performance in North America, 60 of Sega of America's 200 employees were laid off in late 1997. As a result of Sega's deteriorating financial situation, Nakayama resigned as president in January 1998 in favor of Irimajiri. Stolar subsequently acceded to president of Sega of America. Following five years of generally declining profits, in the fiscal year ending March 31, 1998 Sega suffered its first parent and consolidated financial losses since its 1988 listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Due to a 54.8% decline in consumer product sales (including a 75.4% decline overseas), the company reported a net loss of ¥43.3 billion () and a consolidated net loss of ¥35.6 billion (). Shortly before announcing its financial losses, Sega announced that it was discontinuing the Saturn in North America to prepare for the launch of its successor. Only 7 Saturn games were released in North America in 1998 (Magic Knight Rayearth was the final official release), compared to 119 in 1996. The Saturn would last longer in Japan, with Irimajiri announcing in early 1998 that Sega would continue supporting the Saturn in Japan after its successor was released. Between June 1996 and August 1998, the Saturn sold a further 1,103,468 consoles and 29,685,781 games in Japan, giving the Saturn a Japanese attach rate of 16.71 games per console, the highest of that generation. Rumors about the upcoming Dreamcast—spread mainly by Sega itself—were leaked to the public before