The fate of 32x a quick look back

[sabre2922]

Aah...The ill-fated 32X. This is where it all started going wrong for Sega and was the start of its downfall in the hardware market. In 1994, as news of more powerful consoles started circulating, Sega had to jump on the bandwagon and develop its successor to the 16-bit Mega Drive. Atari had its 32-bit Jaguar, Nintendo had its combined cartridge and CD system (at first started with Sony, then with Phillips, then dropped completely) and Panasonic had its 3DO console.

The idea for the 32X originally came from Sega of Japan and was handed to Sega of America to work on. SOA decided that it was better for the unit to be an upgrade to the existing Mega Drive rather than a separate console. This move would have the advantage of making the 32X more appealing to users who would rather upgrade their current hardware then buy an all-new standalone console. SOA went with the SOJ design plan to have twin 32-bit processors and a separate graphics processor. In November 1994, the 32X was released in the US, a month later in Japan (where it was called the Super 32X) and in January 1995 in Europe.

At first, the 32X was a success. Sega was unable to ship the 1 million units it had promised and ended up shipping about half of that to retailers because of slow production. Nevertheless, the 32X sold out in many areas and Genesis owners were keen to get their hands on it in time for Christmas. With a non-existent library of games and none bundled with the unit, consumers who had bought the 32X had to be patient for a while.

Things then started going down hill. Complaints started coming in about the the unit not being compatible with some older TVs, which prompted Sega to release an adaptor to rectify the problem, at a price of course. Another issue was the metallic clips, which had to be placed on both sides of the cartridge slot to protect it from electromagnetic interference. Apparently, many parents found it difficult to clip them on around the cartridge covers. I can't seem to believe that this was a major problem, but then again what do I know except for what I read.

A third factor was news coming in from Sega of Japan about the Saturn, which left gamers confused. Was the 32X the thing to have, or was it the Saturn, or maybe the Sega CD! Unsatisfied customers took back their 32X hardware and software to their stores and the 32X seemed to be in big trouble. Upcoming games were slowly cancelled and both Sega and retailers across the US realized that the 32X didn't have long to live. By the Christmas of 1995, the 32-bit console was dead and buried, with DarXide being the last game ever to be released for it. I personally have no memories of the 32X because I didn't own it until recently, but reading about how it was ultimately the beginning of Sega's decline as a hardware console company really makes me sad (and for some reason angry at Sony! Don't ask why)

The 32X retailed for $159. 27 games were released for the European 32X, 18 for the Japanese Super 32X and 39 for the American Sega 32X.

Technical Specs:

CPU: Two Hitachi 32-bit RISC processors at 23MHz/40MIPS
Co-processors: Genesis 68000, Z80, VDP and 32X VDP
RAM: 4Mb plus the Mega Drive RAM
Colors: 32,768 simultaneous colors
Graphics: RISC processors and dual frame buffers with rotation and scaling hardware support
Polygons: Renders up to 50,000 polygons per second
Resolution: 320x224
Sound: 2-channel stereo digital PCM (+12 channels of the Mega Drive)
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/weblogs/upload/50/89760684142e3268e68d0d.jpg

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/weblogs/upload/50/116563454842e326a35a2bd.jpg



from CyberiaPC.com

[swlovinist]

First of all, awsome article! Just a little note only 36 games came to the US, as I have the complete set. I was one of the unlucky few who bought the dam thing when it came out. I wrote an article about it which was published in the DP advance book. After enjoying my Sega CD, gosh the 32X sucked. It still has some good games, but not enough for me to unbox it and connect it with my favorite systems. I will always remember it as the system that never saw the light of success

[sabre2922]

yeah I thought it was a good solid retrospective of what happened with the 32x.

I thought the game numbers were slightly off too thankx for the tip ;)

[suppafly]

It´d be HOT if someone came up with a modification for a genesis +32x inside one shell only. THat´d kick ass...

[Slimedog]

It´d be HOT if someone came up with a modification for a genesis +32x inside one shell only. THat´d kick ass...

You mean the Neptune? That was Sega's Genesis + Sega CD + 32X all in one system that never saw daylight. Anybody know if there is a prototype? It wouldn't have been hard to make since it was just repackaging existing components, but the failure of the 32x meant it would have been throwing good money after bad.

[suppafly]

It´d be HOT if someone came up with a modification for a genesis +32x inside one shell only. THat´d kick ass...

You mean the Neptune? That was Sega's Genesis + Sega CD + 32X all in one system that never saw daylight. Anybody know if there is a prototype? It wouldn't have been hard to make since it was just repackaging existing components, but the failure of the 32x meant it would have been throwing good money after bad.

Yeah I saw a pic of a neptune (I dont know if it was a working model). But It´d kickass if someone came up with the modification I mentioned. I´d buy it in a second!

[Blanka789]

For a little while, the Neptune went on sale in 1999 from Sega of Japan as they were cleaning out, but it was non-working models, I believe. Also, people tend to forget about the capabilities of the 32X when a Sega CD was present, allowing it to play a small selection of 32X CD Games(Interesting Note: One game, Farenheit, was marketed as a Sega CD game, but included a 32X CD as well). 32X CD games actually could duplicate some saturn games, but the cartridge alone couldn't. 32X, we hardly knew ye...

[Blackjax]

So far, the only ones found by collectors have been only empty plastic shells. However, I wouldn't doubt that working prototypes exist (or at least existed at one time). As was said earlier, it was mostly a marrage of two existing pieces of hardware. As for a homebrew version... i dunno... I don't think it would be that hard to merge the two systems together, especially seeing some of the stuff Kevin Horton has done, but I can't imagine how much power it would need - probably be the same as the huge honking wall wart the CDX comes with. Now putting a 32x inside a CDX would be the dream Genesis system.... mmmm... all in one 90s sega system... LOL

Something to compare the existance of a prototype to would be the Atari Cosmos system. For years, the only prototypes found were empty shells and some of the holograms. Eventually, some complete ones started popping up. I dunno the whole story behind them, but they probably have it up over at http://www.atari-history.com.

I also had the 32x early on, however I didn't get it brand new, I got it when Blockbuster cleared out its stock, I believe it was about six months after it was released. I still like it - the system had some definate potential, but the squabbling between Sega of America and Sega of Japan (who decided that the 32x wasn't the way to go and developed full throttle on the Saturn instead of the 32x) was the first real blow against the system and the release of the Saturn in the US early of course was the kill shot.

Its too bad too... they had some good games for the system. Some of my favorites include:

- Star Wars Arcade (This one is especially good two player, one pilot, one gunner)
- Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000
- Tempo (yeah, a lot of people hate it, but i still like my platformers)
- Virtua Racing (almost arcade perfect)
- Virtua Fighter (hell, this was better than the version first released on the Saturn)
- Knuckles Chaotix (another one a lot of people bash, but if you don't expect a Sonic game, its pretty good)
- Night Trap (I'm a sucker for the decent FMV games, and this looks a hell of a lot better than the Sega CD version)

There are more, but except for Spiderman, they're cheap and comparatively easy to get a hold of.

[Anthony1]

I bought a 32X the day it came out, at a Electronics Boutique, and it was $169.99.


I keep hearing it was $159, and I don't know what people are talking about. Mine cost $169.99.


As for the system, let's face it, the 32X was a dud. No if's, and's, or but's about it. Having spend some serious coin on it, on launch day, believe me, I tried to force myself to believe it was a good purchase.

But ultimately, it was the worst video game system that I've ever bought. I think the Jaguar sucks pretty bad as well, but I would actually put the Jag ahead of the 32X.


Now, does that mean that I don't have a 32X and I never play a 32X, and I'm not interested in the 32X?


NO.


I have a 32X, I play it on occasion, and there are still some 32X games that I would like to track down, and I enjoy reading about the 32X in old gaming mags from that era.

It's kinda like a morbid curiousity for me. Like when people stop and look at car wrecks. The 32X was a car wreck as far as I was concerned, but I still like to stop and look at it every so often.


The big problems for me, is that none of the games really look 32-bit. It's advertised as having all this great color, but to me, the 32X looks damn similar to the Genesis. I don't see any great improvement in color. Maybe an improvement in how many colors are available, but it doesn't really seem like tons of colors are onscreen at once. The Jaguar could put some damn color out. Remember Trevor McFurr? Most people can't stand that game, but damn was it colorful. I just never got the feeling of an improvement of color with the 32X. Also, the audio is horrible. That old scratchy Genesis audio rearing it's ugly head again.

The system was just bunk. No other way to put it. Still, I do occasionally whip that thing out and play a few carts. It does have a distinctive little flavor to it, and it will always have it's place in History as one of the more curious things that happened in 1994. The best single year in video game History.

[anagrama]

There's only 26 European games (including the 4 CD/32X titles) ;)

[hydr0x]

There's only 26 European games (including the 4 CD/32X titles) ;)

indeed, indeed

i still need Cosmic Carnage, Kolibri, Knuckles Chaotix, DarXide, Primal Rage, Slam City and Night Trap

anyone willing to part with these for free by any chance LOL

[Zadoc]

There's only 26 European games (including the 4 CD/32X titles) ;)

Ya, I was about to say. I'd love to know what the supposed 27th European 32X game was. :p

[anagrama]

There's only 26 European games (including the 4 CD/32X titles) ;)

Ya, I was about to say. I'd love to know what the supposed 27th European 32X game was. :p

Probably Fahrenheit. I've seen that mistakenly included in some lists.

[digitalpress]

+200 meseta for the effort put into the initial post in this thread. Nice job.

[Elusive]

To all those mentioning the Neptune: The model everyone has seen was a case prototype only. No working models were ever produced, due to both Sega of Japan and America's incompetence (I mean seriously, throwing away a milions-strong user base?) and the end of the 16-bit era.

I reckon if the Saturn was backwards-compatible with the 32X through the cart slot on top of the machine, then the unit may have achieved a wider range of success. The unit was only supposed to be a cheaper 32-bit alternative to the CD-based Saturn - or so the unit was marketed in Japan, where both were released within months of each other.

[anagrama]

No working models were ever produced


A guy in this recent NTSC-UK thread (http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showthread.php?t=44442) mentions one functional proto that is supposed to exist, albiet with compatibility issues.

[Zexmaix]

I think the 32x could have had some awesome potential had there not been the whole SOA/SOJ argument. Developers barely had the time needed to tap into the systems deeper resources. While not as powerful as a Saturn, if programmers only took the time to try and get the most out of the system, Gen/CD/32x combo, there is a lot to be had.

[PDorr3]

I really enjoyed my 32x when I first purchased it. Back then I was only a kid, and I really had no interest in the sega saturn or sega cd, it was just me and my genesis, and eventualy the 32x.

I played it often, and believe it or not didnt even think cosmic carnage was a bad game, infact I liked it!
I liked many of its games, and found stuff like blackthorne and kolibri to really taking advantage of the hardware.

I lived on the genesis and 32x until I eventualy got my snes, n64, playstation, and eventualy fell in love with the dreamcast.