They are generally 1:1 to the retail version of whatever game they are, but a few titles that never ended up being released in the UK (or even the west in general) have been found on such discs. This sadly means that they are (with VERY few exceptions, as noted a second ago) -NOT- considered to be Prototypes. As noted previously, such promotional disc were generally just given to retailers and reviewers, but there have been stories about them being given to staff at SEGA as gifts and even as giveaways in UK magazines. I’ve even seen an eBay seller who was selling a few before claiming they were given them at the end of their 2 week work experience they had at SEGA Europe in their teens.

Just how “rare” these are is up for debate. Most people don’t seem to know what they are (usually incorrectly assuming that they are bootlegs), and even those those that do don’t seem to care much about them (apart from a few keen collectors). Some of these discs appear to be less common that others (i.e they pop up far less often), or are for titles that already go for a lot, and as such, go for more than the regual retail versions of the same game. That said, most “Silvers” seem to go for less than their retail counterparts… it’s genuinely a hard one to pinpoint. There are some that have been on eBay for years not selling because a few sellers think they’re worth a fortune, when they just aren’t…
Well, at least not until Saturn collectors suddenly decide “Silvers” are the next big thing to collect and drive up prices!

So, what, if any Silvers do I have in my posession? Well, I just so happen to own 2 of them! Let’s take a look at them…

I bought this one at the tail-end of 2011 from a private seller on eBay. I believe the seller said they worked for SEGA in the UK at one point (perhaps as a tester, I can’t fully remember), although, that may have been another seller with another item. The text on the fabric CD case says “Clockwork Knight 2 Functional Test Sample”. Quite interesting text!

Sadly, from what I remember, like nearly every other Saturn PAL Silver/Promo CD, it was identical to the retail PAL release of the game. It’s currently away in storage, so I can’t check right now, and that is why I’ve used older pictures I have of the disc. Just a nice thing to have as a Clockwork Knight collector, regardless. A now, onto the second one…

I bought this one in early 2021 (10 years on!). I say bought, but this was actually a private trade between me and another user on the Facebook group “Sega Saturn Collectors & Gamers” (the actual discussion happened on their sister group “SEGA Saturn Buy, Sell and Trade”). I traded a PAL retail disc of Clockwork Knight 2 with it’s manual for it.

The story of this one is genuinely interesting, as the person I traded this from actually bought a whole folder FULL of silvers for all kinds of Saturn games from someone who “worked in finance at SEGA Europe in that era”. I did in fact rip this disc to redump standards on the day I received the item, but the data was sadly 1:1 to the PAL retail version of the game. Sadly, this means it was nothing new or special, but the history that comes with the disc is genuinely cool in itself!

As you can see, I’ve only shown off silvers for “Clockwork Knight 2”, but what about a silver for the first game? Well… I’ve never seen it anywhere! I’ve seen at least 6-7 different Clockwork Knight 2 silvers over the last decade, but I’ve never seen a silver for the first game. So, what does that mean? Does it just not exist? That is a really good question!

I’ve seen Silvers for “Daytona USA” and “Panzer Dragoon” which were released in the same period (the former being a launch title in the region, and the latter being released a a month later), so it makes me feel that there is hope for a “Clockwork Knight” silver, but then again, I’ve never seen a silver for “Virtua Fighter (But have for VF Remix)”, “Sega International Victory Goal”, “Pebble Beach Golf Links” or “Myst” either (again with the former 2 being launch titles in the region, and the latter 2 being released a a month later). I’ve never even heard anyone mention that one exists, so unless one turns up at some point, it’s probably just easier to think it doesn’t. Of course, if you own it, please contact me!

In the mean time, I guess I’ll just have to make do with the rare Japanese only “Clockwork Knight Sample” silver disc![1]

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