 From 1993 to early 1996 , although Sega 's revenue declined as part of an industry @-@ wide slowdown , the company retained control of 38 % of the U.S. video game market ( compared to Nintendo 's 30 % and Sony 's 24 % ) . 800 @,@ 000 PlayStation units were sold in the U.S. by the end of 1995 , compared to 400 @,@ 000 Saturn units . In part due to an aggressive price war , the PlayStation outsold the Saturn by two @-@ to @-@ one in 1996 , while Sega 's 16 @-@ bit sales declined markedly . By the end of 1996 , the PlayStation had sold 2 @.@ 9 million units in the U.S. , more than twice the 1 @.@ 2 million units sold by the Saturn . After the launch of the Nintendo 64 in 1996 , sales of the Saturn and Sega 's 32 @-@ bit software were sharply reduced , while the PlayStation outsold the Saturn by three @-@ to @-@ one in the U.S. market in 1997 . The 1997 release of Final Fantasy VII significantly increased the PlayStation 's popularity in Japan . As of August 1997 , Sony controlled 47 % of the console market , Nintendo controlled 40 % , and Sega controlled only 12 % . Neither price cuts nor high @-@ profile game releases were proving helpful to the Saturn 's success . 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 the fall of 1997 . 
