Most underdeveloped hardware? [Archive]

markusman64ds

03-10-2012, 06:21 PM

Which console do you think did not reach it's full potential during it's lifespan, in terms of software pushing the hardware to it's limits? For example, if a system with hardware comparable to the Wii had a library only containing NES remakes.

My choice would be the Genesis/Mega Drive, particularly with the add-ons. A Genesis with the 32X and Sega CD could have done so much, but the combined system only had 6 games. This small library consisted only of FMV games that were already available for the Sega CD alone. They could have had games with CD quality audio, while also having graphics like Virtua Racing. Of course, the Saturn was just around the corner, and everyone was waiting for that instead of buying a 32X. Understandable, but Sega really could have put out better games for the Genesis CD 32X combo.

In Japan, it was even worse! They got a karaoke add-on and a dial-up modem. If that had reached it's full potential, we would have been able to use the Genesis as a chat device! Quite possibly, there could have been a Doom for 32X CD with online multiplayer AND a chat feature, not to mention CD quality audio.

http://segaretro.org/images/3/34/MDAdd-ons.jpg

Super Nintendo, there's a new king in town!

EDIT: Just thinking. How about Doom 32X CD with the Menacer? Hey Sega!

kedawa

03-10-2012, 07:36 PM

You make a pretty good case for the Segazord, but I think the NeoGeo CD got shafted far worse. There were hardly any exclusive games, and the rest of its library is made up of cut-down MVS games with CD audio.

Satoshi_Matrix

03-10-2012, 07:49 PM

The goddamn Neo-Geo Pocket Color.

SO much potential.

Shulamana

03-10-2012, 07:56 PM

What is that thing on the left side of the Segazord? I've never seen it before.

Edit:

karaoke add-on

Nevermind.

markusman64ds

03-10-2012, 08:03 PM

Tupin

03-10-2012, 08:25 PM

Neo Geo Pocket Color, though it is probably the only system in existence that doesn't have a single bad game on it.

Had 3DO not fallen into the FMV trap, the M2 would have become an amazing system that really could have competed with the PS1.

If the Famicom Disk System and N64DD had gotten out of Japan faster, they would have done well. By the time they were considering releasing in other regions, the NES could handle bigger cartridges and the 64 was dying.

Oldskool

03-10-2012, 09:07 PM

Yeah, the karaoke add-on was only released in Japan. It is very rare. Basically, it would allow you to plug in a microphone or two into your Mega CD. The JPN Mega CD could use CDG's! I think it worked like the second controller on a Famicom.

The US Sega CD could do CD+G also.

What about the Jaguar CD? Had they had enough time to go through and fully figure it out, they could have had some good titles and some epic RPGS.

markusman64ds

03-10-2012, 09:13 PM

The US Sega CD could do CD+G also.

What about the Jaguar CD? Had they had enough time to go through and fully figure it out, they could have had some good titles and some epic RPGS.

Unfortunately, everyone's Jaguar CD would be broken by the time a good game came out for it.

Tupin

03-10-2012, 09:16 PM

The US Sega CD could do CD+G also.

What about the Jaguar CD? Had they had enough time to go through and fully figure it out, they could have had some good titles and some epic RPGS.
I don't know if that would have happened. Most companies, especially American ones, seemed like they had no idea what to do with CD's until the PlayStation came out. Plus, it was completely missing out on Japanese development, it can't of had much an impact there.

djshok

03-10-2012, 09:56 PM

I'm definitely going with 32X on this. That thing had so much potential, and they released, what 33 games for the thing? Such a shame :(

sloan

03-10-2012, 09:59 PM

Probably a tie between Sega 32X and Atari 5200. Both systems were never developed to their full potential. So sad.

NE146

03-11-2012, 12:25 AM

Probably a tie between Sega 32X and Atari 5200. Both systems were never developed to their full potential. So sad.

Although really with all that has been done to this day on the Atari 8-bits, you can pretty much see what could have been on the 5200 since of course it is one and the same family. Still lots of enthusiasts out there. :)

I think the Bally Astrocade.. even though it did have a homebrew scene, seemed like it had a lot more potential than we ever saw. Just looking at it's titles today like it's version of Wizard of Wor, etc. It just blows your mind how advanced they were than the typical home game of the time considering it came out in 1977. I think the first console that really could match it was the Colecovision, and that didn't come out until years later.

kupomogli

03-11-2012, 01:09 AM

The Sega CD. The 32X's development is what really killed the Sega CD. Instead of putting development into yet another add on, why couldn't they have supported an already great add on? They could have foregone the 32X and just went straight to developing the Saturn. Then not only could Sega have put more effort into the Sega CD, but the Saturn as well.

The Genesis could do pretty much everything the SNES could do. The SNES consistently had better quality music though. The fact that the 32X wasn't that much more powerful than the Sega CD just made it even more worthless to release it as an add on. If only Sega had tried to take advantage of the CD format, they would have had much higher quality music on all games that were multiconsole between that system and the SNES, as well as much more space for titles, especially if RPGs took off on the Sega CD. The CD format would have also generated more revenue for Sega, as they could have undercut Nintendo in pricing and still made a big profit. If the Sega CD sold well enough with good marketing and support from Sega, who knows if other developers that were under Nintendo's rule would have jumped over and said screw you to Nintendo's bullshit business practices.

FoxNtd

03-11-2012, 01:28 AM

If the Famicom Disk System and N64DD had gotten out of Japan faster, they would have done well. By the time they were considering releasing in other regions, the NES could handle bigger cartridges and the 64 was dying.

NES cartridge capacity is not what caused the end of FDS. From what I hear it was the ease of piracy since those disks are easy as cake to duplicate. Also the belt breaking problem didn't help give the system a good reputation. At least Nintendo had those Disk Writer kiosks, a clever way to take advantage of the rewriteability of disks and it was probably their best attempt to give people a reason to stay legit. Apparently FDS saw releases for only about 3 years or so. I actually considered posting FDS to this thread because its library is not even 200 licensed titles if I recall?

The Sega CD. The 32X's development is what really killed the Sega CD. Instead of putting development into yet another add on, why couldn't they have supported an already great add on? They could have foregone the 32X and just went straight to developing the Saturn. Then not only could Sega have put more effort into the Sega CD, but the Saturn as well.

The Genesis could do pretty much everything the SNES could do. The SNES consistently had better quality music though. The fact that the 32X wasn't that much more powerful than the Sega CD just made it even more worthless to release it as an add on. If only Sega had tried to take advantage of the CD format, they would have had much higher quality music on all games that were multiconsole between that system and the SNES.

Don't have a citation for this but here's what I gathered before about 32X. It was the "brilliant" idea from Sega's US station. Japan's Sega's response was most likely, "what the fuck are you guys thinking, we're about to launch the Saturn soon" and I guess since 32X happened anyway they released it in Japan too. If I'm wrong, someone correct me. For the aforementioned reasons from others, I also think 32X just should not have happened. Focusing on making quality titles correctly on Mega CD would've been a hell of a lot more appealing... Look at the CD-ROM drive for PC Engine. That's how you do an add-on. If only devs looked at Mega CD and thought, ok it's the same as Mega Drive but now we can put high quality audio and there is much more space to use... :puppydogeyes: The edited port of Snatcher from PCE and Shining Force CD are two good examples of what should be done with the Mega CD hardware. :)

As a side note, I play PC Engine CD games on the Duo-R and also FDS games, but I never decided yet if I want to bother getting a Mega CD for my Mega Drive. :roll:

klausien

03-11-2012, 03:21 AM

OP, that picture you posted in your first post is just f'ing beautiful to this retro enthusiast. I think the lack of US development on the NEC TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine was criminal. I would love to see Mortal Kombat. Street Fighter II was beautiful on HuCard.

32X is probably the best call though. So much wasted potential. The library that exists is actually pretty good considering the fate of the machine. Virtua Racing Deluxe justifies the system for me.

theclaw

03-11-2012, 04:03 AM

Game Boy Advance. Instead of much hand crafted 2D masterwork... We got flooded with ports/remakes, shovelware, and pre-rendered-esque styles. Even then many titles often looked washed out by having to compensate for its dark screen. Portable Neo Geo really wouldn't have been far off in the hands of wizards. Its 32MB cart size barrier was broken maybe 3 times tops, by GBA Video movies no one wanted.

Aussie2B

03-11-2012, 04:24 AM

I'd go with the 64DD, Virtual Boy, and PC-FX - systems that got in the neighborhood of 10, 20, and 60 titles, respectively. Even though it got the most releases of those, I think I'd go with PC-FX as most underdeveloped. For all that it did have, there are some huge gaps in its library. It didn't get a single platformer, for example, and I think Zenki shows that it could've pulled off a magnificent one. We're talking, with the right developer, stuff that could be as impressive as Rondo of Blood, maybe even more so. And since developers knew that the expected sales were relatively low, most of the PC-FX's games are pretty low-budget, so I think they barely scraped the surface of the system's capabilities. It's still got some good games, of course, but I'd love to witness an alternate reality in which the system took off. I think releasing Tengai Makyou III could've tipped the scales. That game itself could've been quite impressive, since the PC Engine games were groundbreaking in their own ways, but even if wasn't a technological marvel, I think it could've generated a lot of system sales and allowed for many additional interesting games to be created.

homerhomer

03-11-2012, 04:53 AM

Sega cd and 32x both got the shaft.

Genesis CD add-on, Sega gambled that FMV and lost. It was going to be the future. I could see why they though it was going to be big though. I can remember seeing large crowds of non-gamers REALLY liking mad dog macree. I'm sure the Sega though bringing this home would be HUGE success.

Genesis 32x, This should have been Sega 1 to 1 arcade gaming machine for all those awesome AM2 games, it's like they started down that road with After Burner and Space Harrier but then gave up. I can remember going to Incredible Universe and being blown away by the 32x but at the same time there was all this talk about the Saturn and some crazy Playstation thing. Polygons were in and super scalar were out. My heart is still with the sega super scalar though.

Sega please come back in 2013. We need your help.

:(

wingzrow

03-11-2012, 09:39 AM

The goddamn Neo-Geo Pocket Color.

SO much potential.

I still use mine to give me horoscopes. I really wish it had a backlight.

swlovinist

03-11-2012, 10:30 AM

The SuperGrafx for me. Five titles? Man that is a small library. Would have been nice to see what the company could have done with the system if it would have kept going.

Greg2600

03-11-2012, 11:38 AM

32X, SegaCD? Nah. The OP's criteria was pushing the hardware limits, and those systems were pushed to their limits IMO. As was the 5200, Astrocade, etc. Sure they didn't get the # of releases, but they used the hardware up.

I would have liked to have seen the N64 with a medium to do FMV, because it was more than capable. I always hear about the 7800, but it was used up, that's why they're working on the XM now. I think the Colecovision had some room to grow, as seen by some of the recent releases on updated cartridge hardware.

Gunstar Hero

03-11-2012, 12:50 PM

This may be breaking the rules a bit because this is a peripheral not a system, but the SNES Super Scope. It was an AWESOME light gun with really great accuracy, and combined with the SNES graphics and speed it was the best 2-D home console shooting could offer. If Nintendo stuck with it and used some of their other popular franchises other than the one Mario game (Yoshi's Safari) they could have had a bad-ass bazooka with cool games to match. Think of it; DOOM-esque style game with Metroid characters, Star Fox style atmosphere where you shoot Star Fox baddies in space!, Donkey Kong Country style graphics with Yoshi's Safari scrolling atmosphere shooting kremlings... the list could go on and on and on... man I love that hunky gray bazooka!

Kevincal

03-11-2012, 01:41 PM

under developed hardware:

32x
jaguar
jaguar cd
nuon
m2
n64 (because it was cart could have done so much more with cd / stupid nintendo)
64dd (should have been cd)
virtual boy (if only it put out more colors...)

squirrel_king

03-11-2012, 01:45 PM

I'd say the Super A'can for sure. Way more powerful than either the SNES or Mega Drive - AFAIK it was about Neo-Geo level - but it was released about five years too late for a 16-bit console and cost way too much money, so it totally flopped and only had 12 mostly rushed games released for it, none of which did anything with the hardware that couldn't have been achieved on a SNES.

Miss Boris Yeltsin

03-11-2012, 03:17 PM

Mattie Larson, Kohei Uchimura, or Alexandra Raisman, take your pick.

Peonpiate

03-11-2012, 05:05 PM

Overall I would say the Jaguar was under developed, it had far more power than what we seen but was hampered by Atari and bad developers. 32x comes close but seeing as it was a abortion of a add-on to begin with...I dont see it ranking as high as the Jag.

N64 we saw plenty of. CDs would have helped sure, but not immensely so if you ask me.
N64 DD - same as 32x.
Sega CD - could of been utilized better but still, it was for the most JUST a CD drive add on with scaling and rotation tacked on [plus a faster CPU]. A higher color pallete should have been mandatory from the start...That would have made all the difference.
Sega Saturn - Close to the Jaguar. It had 7 or more processors in it...It died to early, a great dev team could have done wonders with it though Virtua Fighter 2 showed it off.

thegamezmaster

03-12-2012, 06:58 PM

All of the above mentioned. Pitiful just pitiful!:(

markusman64ds

06-20-2012, 05:52 PM

Just thinking of this, the Pioneer LaserActive. Despite the price, there are some things that they could have done that never happened. How about a 3D rail shooter that you could use one of the Genesis light guns with? Kind of like the Action Max.

BrryRndll

06-21-2012, 05:02 AM

The 32x was caught in the mellon collie stage between the modernization of disks on one plain and the familiar juxtaposition of cartridges equalling excellence on the other. The push for a more powerful cartridge was evident, only disks were taking hold of the present and making their place in history. If the theme of disks had been a more travelled mode before the turn of Saturn, perhaps Sega would have washed the 32x completely. Where there is improvement ways of thinking are consequently wiped out and often replaced. I'd have liked to see more expansion on the CD port of the Genesis.

wiggyx

06-21-2012, 09:10 AM

Personally, I think that the CD add-on for the Genesis was fine, but the 32X was just stupid IMO. I don't think there was any "potential" for it to live up to. It was a lame attempt at extending the life of the console, and I don't think it was necessary at all.

The Dreamcast gets my vote. SO much potential in that box.

Orion Pimpdaddy

06-21-2012, 09:13 AM

Nintendo DS --I have a feeling the games for it don't even reach the halfway point of the system's capabilities. For developers, it's more about making the quick buck.

ifkz

06-21-2012, 11:09 AM

sheath

06-21-2012, 01:18 PM

In regard to what I most wanted to see developed to its full potential, I would definitely pick the Sega CD and 32X. I'd like to see Virtua Racing and Doom running on the Sega CD to the fullest potential both 68000s and the Graphics Co-Processor could handle. For the 32X, Capcom and NEO GEO fighters, more 2D Arcade ports from Sega especially all of the super scalers and down ports of Saturn 3D games would have made it live up to my every expectation. The 32X was always going to need RAM expansions to handle perfect Arcade ports from the same time, but it could easily handle most of the Arcade games from years past. Then, Virtua Racing Deluxe is a launch game, imagine that type of engine with second and third generation of software understanding.

I also think the 3DO and Jaguar could have competed with the Playstation and Saturn in sofware, especially through 1997, and who knows what tools would have been available after that. Similarly, the Dreamcast seriously only got two or three generations of software. When Resident Evil 4 on PS2 only runs at 900k polys per second with seriously toned down textures and effects from the original I know the Dreamcast could have remained competitive had Sega not had to give up on it.

More than that I would like to have seen the Saturn library expanded with advanced engines like Sonic R, Burning Rangers and Panzer Dragoon Saga used, it is silly how much untapped potential that system has especially when considering the 4MB RAM expansion.

substantial_snake

06-21-2012, 02:03 PM

I'm going to side with the 32x too. What might have helped it survive was to release it as the Neptune (the all-in-on Genesis and 32X system) and make that the standard core Genesis system from there on out and sold it at $150. I think everyone agrees that Sega missed out on a lot of cash by pulling Genesis support so early in the game in 1996 instead of waiting until 1998 at the earliest. I also think keeping Sega Visions around would have helped the company keep in touch with their customers during the 32-bit years.

Was the plan that the 32x was going to be its own add-on first or its own genesis line first? It seems to conflict pending whatever source I find online.

Whatever the case I agree, making another oddly shaped add-on to the genesis was a poor move on Sega's part and a combination system would probably have fared better. That and it might of cut down on all the variations of the genesis hardware that was floating on the market. I can't really blame retailers for being wary of the Sega name where at one time they could of be trying to sell 3 or more different variations of the original Genesis and none of the selling too well.

mailman187666

06-21-2012, 02:10 PM

wiggyx

06-21-2012, 02:33 PM

it seems like this thread is the "why we wish Sega had made better choices" thread. I also agree with Sega CD all the way up to the dreamcast. I bought every one of those system either day 1 or within the first year being available. I played and enjoyed all the systems but was more sad than pissed off whenever they pulled the plug. Dreamcast should have run alongside PS2 for a little longer than it actually did.

What's so crazy is that the DC has found new life with homebrew and whatnot. Just goes to show how awesome it could have been. The damn thing lives on in spite of an early demise. All those awesome CPS2/3 ports...

sheath

06-21-2012, 02:42 PM

Was the plan that the 32x was going to be its own add-on first or its own genesis line first? It seems to conflict pending whatever source I find online.

Whatever the case I agree, making another oddly shaped add-on to the genesis was a poor move on Sega's part and a combination system would probably have fared better. That and it might of cut down on all the variations of the genesis hardware that was floating on the market. I can't really blame retailers for being wary of the Sega name where at one time they could of be trying to sell 3 or more different variations of the original Genesis and none of the selling too well.

The plan with the 32X was to create a significantly upgraded Genesis that could be the lower end of 32-bit 3D gaming while the high end 32-bit machines took several years to get off the ground. The Neptune was supposed to be released within a year of the 32X add-on so new consumers could choose between a Genesis 32X for around $150 versus a Saturn and Playstation for $300.

The market slump that started in 1993 and lasted into 1996, along with the quick death of Arcades, changed all of those plans for Sega. The bottom line is the 32X is no different than the Kinect or Playstation Move, it was an add-on peripheral that provided games that Genesis owners otherwise would not have had access to. The problem with the 32X is its early cancellation and resulting small library.

jammajup

07-03-2012, 11:02 AM

Atari Jaguar

Kiddo

07-03-2012, 08:46 PM

Tossing a few ideas around that may not be ones people would normally expect:

1) The Sega Pico. Imagine what this system could've been like if it didn't limit it's target audience to todders. Give it a design that removes the Fisher-Price appearance and looks more like... a Nintendo DS, maybe? And toss in a JRPG-style game a Storybook-inspired gimmick. Having a game that could legitimately last for hours would be nice, as well. Maybe it could've even fully embraced it's Mega Drive/Genesis hardware and got CD/32X support...

2) The Satellaview. Simply put, we have a broadcast/quasi-streaming download service type which is well known for distributing games in episodic chunks, yet the only series that went beyond four "episodes" were mini-games and Mahjong DLC? Imagine if Nintendo and St.GIGA did a grand, TV-season-length (13, 26, 52 episodes?) game line with a complex narrative. Or a a "game" that goes across a multitude of game genres in each "episode". Of course, on the other end of this, there's yet to be a real "fulfilment" of either of those sorts of things in general, except maybe Telltale Games.
This could probably also apply well to the Sega Channel and Sega Meganet.

3) CPS3 arcade hardware. The few games that were released on it looked great, well, there so few, and they don't explore too many different genres, it's obvious it wasn't pushed all that much. It's kinda ironic considering the CPS3 was probably the inspiration that pushed the Neo-Geo MVS hardware to it's limits to have games like Garou: Mark of the Wolves.

Ryudo

07-04-2012, 03:46 AM

Nuon
Jaguar CD
Gizmondo

WelcomeToTheNextLevel

07-22-2012, 10:55 PM

I'm going with RDI Halcyon. (No, I don't have a Halcyon, but I am hoping to get one by May 4, 2022). Only two games. They could have done so much more with that.

Wraith Storm

07-23-2012, 12:26 AM

Not including old obscure game systems, I too would have to go with the Sega Saturn and Atari Jaguar.

Both systems had only a handful of titles that really showed what they were capable of and the potential that was locked away under the hood. The Saturn was a curious beast. Ridiculously difficult to program for but in the right hands it always proved it could do what the competition said it couldn't. I would have loved to have seen some of the Saturn programming tricks (Like Audio to Video Rendering) refined and used in more games. "Hey! The Saturn has a bad @$$ sound chip! Why not use it to draw additional polygons and transparencies?" There really is no telling how far the Saturn could have been pushed.

I am not terribly familiar with the inner workings and programming tricks of the Jaguar. But taking a look at some of the top tier games shows what the system was capable of in the right hands.

A.C. Sativa

07-23-2012, 02:52 AM

I honestly have to go with the Wii here. Had they simply packed the system with some sort of regular controller (in addition to the motion-sensor remote), a lot of the good games for the 360/PS3 would have been ported over to the Wii, and the companies that made these games would have worked on games based around Wii hardware. But because of the stupid motion-sensor gimmick, most companies didn't even bother. The Wii might be the best selling console of all time, but it's game lineup is total shit. This system, to me, has the worst 3rd party support ever. Most Wii owners got their system, played Wii Sports (and maybe Wii Play) for a while, and now their console sits somewhere collecting dust because there's no other good games for it that don't involve Mario or Link. Tragic, and when the Wii U bombs they'll have themselves to thank for it. Non-gamers won't buy it, because they're bored with their brief flirt/passing fad with video games. Real gamers and kids won't buy it, because they want the systems they know will have good games. In about 2016 or so we'll see "Even Newer Super Mario Bros." on the PS4 and the XBox 720. It's a goddamned shame...

Steve W

07-23-2012, 04:50 AM

Nuon
Jaguar CD
Gizmondo

I was going to list those. The Nuon had interesting potential for sneaking in "better than N64 but not as good as Dreamcast" quality gaming into people's homes, but it just didn't work out. Take a look at Hover Strike on cartridge and then on CD, and you can see how much better the games could have looked without the Tramiel's desperate need to keep cartridges as memory deprived as possible. And the Gizmondo... built-in GPS, rear camera for augmented reality games, and a SIM card slot for connecting online and texting. All in 2004. They were really ahead of their time, but unfortunately some mafia types ruined it for everybody.

I'd also have to say the Atari 7800 was badly underdeveloped. Only by the end of its lifespan were we getting games like Midnight Mutants, whereas other consoles had adventure style games like that pretty early. It comes down to the Tramiels again, being too cheap to pay for good development.

Collector_Gaming

07-23-2012, 07:57 AM

I think atari jaguar personally

This was probably the most advanced game the console pushed out
http://www.oocities.org/thirwell/jaguar.jpg

when really it should have been pumping out stuff atleast on this calibur
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kiJpICB40M0/TpbKq05jeZI/AAAAAAAAAb0/Foi3q11XCgg/s640/tony-hawk.jpg

j_factor

07-23-2012, 12:20 PM

I disagree with Sega CD. I think games like Soul Star put it to good use. That may not be the Sega CD's absolute limit, but the hardware was at least being taken advantage of.

Saturn, too. It definitely had a ways to go. But look at later Playstation games like WipEout 3 or Vagrant Story (or whatever). Realistically, that's the best Saturn could ever hope to do. Now compare those to the better-looking Saturn games like Sonic R and PDS. The difference is significant, but it's not astronomical. Same thing with Dreamcast -- late-gen games like RE4, while beyond anything Dreamcast did, are not a gigantic leap.

My vote goes to the Atari Falcon.

BlastProcessing402

07-23-2012, 06:53 PM

Ryudo

07-23-2012, 06:58 PM

Nintendo DS --I have a feeling the games for it don't even reach the halfway point of the system's capabilities. For developers, it's more about making the quick buck.

SolatoRobo pushed the DS maybe as far as it could go

goatdan

07-24-2012, 12:12 AM

Oh man, it's hard to say for sure...

The Jaguar was too convoluted and under-documented to know what the heck was going on with it, and with few exceptions the hardware was barely taken advantage of and the system died far too soon. To me, the Jaguar CD is just part of that, and it counts too.

The Neo Geo Pocket Color was surprisingly awesome, but never had the critical mass of games to make people really considering buying it. I wanted one, and bought it the day they were discontinued not because I expected it would appreciate in value, but because a few games had looked awesome to me. I think a couple dozen more, and it could have been a contender. It was far better than people knew.

The Virtual Boy had a lot of potential, but it also confused developers a lot. If they had more time to really think about what to do with the 3D instead of just making red and black 2D games in 3D, I think it could've done a lot more.

The Lynx was an amazing piece of hardware but the combination of bad marketing and few big titles doomed it. I'm a little unsure of if it is fair to put this on the list as it does have a decent amount of things that show off the hardware, but it just could've been so much more.

And finally, the Nuon. As someone else pointed out, it could have been a sneaky system for getting into people's living rooms and then actually having games on it. In fact, my parents ended up with one without me even telling them about it. But with only five or six games published, and basically no promotion of them, it was all potential and no actual meat. If it had focused on some cheap, casual games like Ballistic and packed in a controller with it, I think that it could have had huge success.

Drixxel

07-24-2012, 03:28 AM

I don't know about the 32x. I don't think it gave Genesis nearly as much extra power as it was supposed to. Sure it was an upgrade to what the Genesis could do, but it was no SNES killer.

Take WWF Raw. While the 32x version looks and sounds a lot better than the Genesis version, the SNES version looks (slightly) and sounds (a lot) better still. And it came out long before the 32x version.

I'm sure for games like arcade ports and whatnot it was more impressive than on a multiplatform game like Raw, but still. If it was really all that, the Raw port should've at least been as good as the SNES one.

One thing to bear in mind with games as we know them on the 32X is that development conditions couldn't have been ideal, I can only imagine developers were working with extreme deadlines which would naturally lead to many of the seemingly lazy efforts that characterize the 32X library. Ports that offer only faintly incremental improvement over their Genesis counterparts, games that are buggy and poorly optimized -- these sound more like concessions and compromises due to rushed development than evidence of hardware inadequacy.

That being said, I'm not sure what sort of upper limit of graphical potential we could reasonably expect out of a 32X title from a developer given infinite resources to play with. Stuff like Afterburner Complete, Space Harrier, Kolibri, Cosmic Carnage and Knuckles Chaotix demonstrate real ability with 2D (loads of colour, large/plentiful sprites, awesome scaling), but I suspect that it would always be a struggle to get the add-on performing respectably against the competition in 3D graphics.