Professor Abrasive has placed the Satiator ODE on sale for $60 off it’s normal price, equaling $200 plus shipping. This ODE plugs into the rear MPEG slot of your Sega Saturn, allowing you to retain full disc drive functionality, as well as even run it in a “modchip mode” to boot original discs from different regions on your console. While there’s other good options out there, none are plug-and-play, with the same amount of compatibility. For more info, check out the video above the Shiro! crew posted a few years ago; It doesn’t cover any firmware update since, but it’s a great overview of what to expect:
Purchase Here: https://www.satiator.net/satiator.html
The Saturn ODE market has certainly gotten interesting! If your goal is to retain your original optical drive, this and the Saroo are the way to go. The Saroo is interesting, as it’s cheaper, can boot games faster and plugs into the top cartridge slot, but isn’t compatible with nearly as many games as the Satiator. If your Saturn’s optical drive is dead, or if you don’t mind loosing that functionality, you can get a Fenrir or MODE to replace it.
If you’d like to hear more from Professor Abrasive, I did an interview with him way back in 2017. Also, the Shiro! crew just caught up with him again for a written interview, which you can read here: https://www.segasaturnshiro.com/2025/01/10/dr-abrasive-reflects-on-satiator-ode-four-years-after-its-release/
