Genre: Racing / Light Gun / Fighting CDs: 3 (Megs Varies Per Game) Players: Varies Per Game ESRB: Kids to Adult, Teen
Mild Violence
Mild Animated Violence
Publisher: Sega Retail Barcode: None (Pack-In) Memory: Varies Per Game
Developer: Sega / AM Teams Sega ID: 81606 (The Whole Pack) Accessories: Varies Per Game
Released: November 27, 1996 On PlayStation? No


Box Copy
Virtua Fighter 2 - The Superior Arcade Fighting Game
Virtua Cop - You're a Cop. Putting your life on the line is your Job.
Daytona USA - Explosive 3D Racing second to none!

Discussion
This was essentially Sega’s plea to grab as much attention as they could during the 1996 holiday season. All three of the pack-in games were some of Sega’s biggest hitters in arcades, and they were banking on that ‘in-home’ arcade feel fueling consumer demands for which game system to buy.

Ironically, in showing the best their arcade division had to offer, Sega was unintentionally showing just how far behind the system’s 3D abilities were compared to the PlayStation. Daytona USA had very obvious draw distance issues, allowing the player to see more of the static background sky then they cared to see. Virtua Cop, while an amazing game, did not include the needed Stunner gun accessory with it, causing a brilliant shooting game to be reduced to a point and shoot adventure. Virtua Fighter 2, which carried the most weight, proved to have the biggest hurdles. While it’s true that its resolution was amazing (even today in S-Video, it’s sharp as hell), it clearly showed the Saturn could not handle the arcade game’s environments. Rather than have true 3D arenas to move in, the game got reduced to Tekken’s ‘infinite floors’. That is, even with ring outs, the backgrounds simply moved back and forth on a track, completely separate from the stage. This was most apparent in Shun Di’s raft stage. Rather than being on the raft flowing down river, you were now stationary watching the river flow by.

That isn’t to say the games or the package was a complete loss – despite the missing gun for VC, the games were a hell of a starting point for beginners. Even more important, this was the best that Sega could offer. Other system bundles included Sega Rally (a niche racing genre at the time), or the NetLink web-browsing bundle. This was the only true gamer-defined package where it showcased Sega’s home console and arcade abilities.

Once the holidays were over, most leftover bundles were sold off separately or removed from retailers. You can usually find these factory sealed new for relatively cheap.
 

Trivia
  • Obviously this is a full set of variants. See below for the original releases.
     
  • This 3 pack was released just over a year after the PlayStation's system launch. The catch is that Daytona USA was a launch game for Saturn, and it did not age well. Take into account that Virtua Fighter 2 was going up against Tekken 2, and Virtua Cop needed an accessory not included in the box; It did not help the Saturn's case.
     
  • These packs were to be given away with Saturn purchases, though there were many left over after the promotion. What happened to them varied by company.
     
  • It's relatively common knowledge that the Saturn was a beast to program for. In an online article (which I sadly lost the link to), it was described how programmers got around working with the multiple processors. One mentioned that Virtua Fighter has each processor handling a character, essentially meaning the system really did play itself!
     
  • Because of the cardboard sleeves, the individual games often are mistaken for demo discs in game lots.
 
Enclosures
The 3 Pack is pretty full when you first open the box.

Each of the three games came with the disc, a black and white manual, and the cardboard sleeve. The only change to the disc artwork was the addition of a "Not for Resale" text and ID where needed.

Besides all that, there was a catalog, survey card and coupon card in the bundle. I've included a photo of everything laid out below, so you can see what a truly 'complete' bundle looks like.

 

The survey card included a chance to win a Virtua Fighter arcade machine.


Variants / Misprints:
Okay, let's get those other released versions out of the way.

Virtua Cop ID Numbers
Regular Release: 81015
Stunner Bundles: 81026
3 Pack Bundle: 81206

There is some confusion as to the Stunner bundle's variant. The real original release on the left included a jewel case version with the a jewel case manual. Problems arise with a possible variant.

Several eBay auctions have shown a generic jewel case with a long box manual. Others have claimed to have seen the 3 Pack's black and white manual included instead. Any help that shed some light on the 2nd possible bundle variant would be greatly appreciated. Contact me here.

Daytona USA ID Numbers
Regular Release: 81200
3 Games Pack In: 81200

Virtua Fighter 2
Regular Release: 81014
3 Games Pack: 81014

Virtua Cop Regular Release:

Virtua Cop - Stunner Bundle:

Daytona USA - Regular Release:

Virtua Fighter 2 - Regular Release
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