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The Sega 32X (Japanese:スーパー32X)
was a
video game console by
SEGA.
In
Japan, the console was distributed under the name Sega Super
32X. In
North America, its name was the Sega
Genesis 32X. In
Europe,
Australia, and other countries that use
PAL, Sega
Mega 32X was its name.
With the release of the
Super Famicom in
Japan and the
Super NES in
North America, Sega needed to leapfrog
Nintendo in the technological department. The
Sega Mega-CD aka
Sega CD hadn't worked as well as they wanted it to. Sega had various
developments underway, named after planets. Some used
System 16 technology like the
Sega Megadrive and
Sega Genesis did, as well as other arcade games.
On
January 8,
1994,
Hayao Nakayama, then CEO of Sega, ordered his company to make a 32-bit
cartridge based console that would be in stores by
Christmas
1994. This would at first be named "Project Jupiter", but after Sega
found CD technology cheaper, they decided to modify it instead of dropping
the cartridge project.
Hideki Sato and some other
Sega of Japan engineers came over to collabarate about the project
with
Sega of America's
Joe Miller. The first idea was a new Sega Megadrive with more colors
and a 32-bit processor. Miller thought that an add-on to the Megadrive
would be a better idea, because he felt that gamers would not buy an
improved version of the Megadrive. And so, this project was codenamed
Project Mars, and Sega of America was going to shape the project.
At the same time, however,
Sega of Japan was working on the
Sega Saturn, a CD-based 32-bit videogame system.
Sega of America did not learn of this until Project Mars was already
in progress.
The video-gamer public first got a glimpse at the Summer
1994 CES in
Chicago, Illinois. Players were salivating over the system, because
that system plus the Genesis would be superior to the Super Famicom/SNES.
The console was unmasked as the 32X, with a price projection of $170, at a
gamers' day, held by Sega of America on
September
1994.
The 32X was released in mid-November
1994 in North America for $150, Japan in
December
1994, and Europe in
January
1995 for £150.
The system cannot work by itself. The Sega 32X can only be used in
conjunction with a
Sega Megadrive/Sega
Genesis system; it is plugged in where the cartridge bay is. Besides
playing its own cartridges, it also acted as a passthrough for Genesis
games so it would be a permanent attachment. The 32X came with 10 coupons
and several spacers, so it would work with all versions of the Genesis.
The versions of the 32X all have lockout chips, so 32X games cannot be
played on a different region than what region the console came from.
Almost all of the games released for the Japanese market had already
been released in the United States, albiet some had different names.
Only 500,000 consoles had been produced for North American consumption,
yet orders were in the millions. Games had been rushed for the system, and
they came with errors in programming. Many were complaining that their 32X
was not working with their Megadrive/Genesis or television. Sega was
forced to give away adapters. What kept the console alive
1994 to
1995 was
Star Wars Arcade. Otherwise, the console would have gotten even less
attention. The console allegedly had numerous mechanical problems.
Since this was an expensive add-on system, Sega decided to bundle in
some video game systems with the console in Europe. However, the offer
came in the form of money off vouchers that had to be sent as a rebate. It
was difficult to take advantage of this offer. Just like its North
American counterpart, this console was initially popular. Orders exceeded
1 Million, but not enough were produced, and shortage supply problems
came.
Two games,
Darxide, and
FIFA Soccer '96, were only released for the PAL 32X. The Darxide
videogame had been awarded "Best 32X Game".
By, mid-1995
the time the Sega executives realized their blunder, it was too late.
Developers and licensees had abandoned this console in favor of what they
percieved to be a true 32-bit console, the
Sega Saturn. Even though the 32X was a 32-bit system, the games
weren't taking the full advantages of 32 bits, being that they were 2D and
many were rushed. Also, customers percieved the
Sega Saturn and the
Sony Playstation as the true next-generation consoles, and they
abandoned the 32X despite Sega's promise to support it. They had felt
cheated because of the games that they felt as bad, and so they waited for
the Playstation and Saturn. Store shelves became littered with unwanted
Sega 32X systems, and prices for a new one dropped as low as $19.95. Sega
planned a console named the
Sega Neptune, which would have been a Genesis and 32X in one. However,
by the time a prototype was developed, the
Sega Saturn was going to be released, and Sega cancelled the Neptune.
The situation became so bad that the 32X was actually mocked on
Saturday Night Live. The Sega 32X fiasco is now considered one of the most
badly planned console releases ever.
The public in North America and Europe quickly grew disgusted with this
console, and when they got word of the
Sega Neptune, the public ran off. The Neptune never made it past the
drawing board.
The system ended production in
1996 worldwide. The last game made for the 32X was Spider-Man: Web of
Fire (1996). All it ever had been was a gap filler between the Genesis and
the Saturn. The 32X ruined Sega's reputation, which would ultimately kill
its console business.
Technical Specifications
- Processor: Twin
Hitachi (SH2) 32 bit RISC processorsclock speed of 23 MHZ 40 MIPS
- Co-processors: Overlay Megadrive
Motorola
M68000,
Zilog Z80, Genesis 32X VDP; Video processor 50,000 texture mapped
polygons/sec texture mapping hardware scaling and rotation.
- Video: 32,768 simultaneous colours on screen; Megadrive resolution
overlaying over existing Megadrive/Mega-CD video
- Memory: 512k (4 MBit) additional RAM to Megadrive/Sega Mega-CD
memory
- Audio: Stereo PCM chipaudio mixing with Megadrive sound; additional
2 channels (therefore 14 all together?)
- I/O: Same as Megadrive; 32X upgradable; can upgrade the 32X
- Storage: CD-ROM if you have a SegaMega-CD; speed same as Sega
Mega-CD compatible with audio CD, CD&G, SegaCD and JVC WonderMega
- Cartridge: compatible with all Megadrive models, JVC Wondermega can
store save game/score information.
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