The Idea for 32X

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.

32X History - 32X games and History

The Sega 32X (Japanese: スーパー32X) is an add-on for the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis video game console by Sega.
In Japan, it 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, it was called the Sega Mega Drive 32X. Most gamers, for simplicity's sake, refer to it as just the "32X".

Market history
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, known as Sega CD in North America, had not worked as well, in a business sense, as Sega had wanted it to. Sega had various developments underway, named after planets. Some used System 16 technology, as the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, as well as other arcade games, did.
The 32X was released in mid-November 1994 in North America for $150, Japan on December 3rd 1994 for ¥16,800, and Europe in January 1995 for £170 / DM 400.

Technical aspects
The Sega 32X can only be used in conjunction with a Mega Drive/Genesis system; it is plugged in where the cartridge bay is. Besides playing its own cartridges, it also acts as a passthrough for Mega Drive games so it can be a permanent attachment. (The SVP based Virtua Racing was the only exception.) The 32X came with several spacers so it would work with all (then current) versions of the Mega Drive. (The Genesis 3, which lacks circuitry needed, and appropriate plugs, to work with the 32X, was introduced later.) It could be used with the Sega Multi-Mega/Sega CDX system, but the spacers would not accommodate the CDX, which created a number of user-unfriendly conditions in the unit. Without the use of the spacers, some of the 32X hardware was left exposed and vulnerable. The combined unit was also very prone to tipping over, risking damage to the unit and games. In addition to the physical problems, there was also an issue with FCC approval.
Most 32X games cannot be played unless the distribution region of the game matches the region of the console. A few games are not locked and can be played on a console from any region (e.g. Fifa 96). Two games, Darxide and FIFA Soccer '96, were only released for the PAL 32X.
All but one of the games released for the Japanese market were released in the United States, albeit some had different names. The one Japanese-only game was Sangokushi IV (known as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV").
In addition to regular cartridge-based 32X games, there were also a very small number 32X CD games. As the name suggests, these required both the 32X and Mega-CD/Sega CD addons. The lack of a significant userbase due to the high cost of purchasing all three necessary components saw only five games released, only one of those developed by Sega. The most notable of these was a new version of the infamous Night Trap with 32,768 onscreen colors instead of the 64 found on the regular Mega-CD/Sega CD version.

Technical specifications
Processor: Twin SH2 32 bit RISC processors with a clock speed of 23 MHz, 40 MIPS each
Video RAM: Two linear framebuffers with support for RLE compression and an overdraw mode to simplify compositing objects with transparency. All scaling, rotation, and 3D operations are performed in software on the SH2 processors.
Color depth: 32,768 simultaneous colors on screen at standard Mega Drive/Genesis resolution. Video output can overlay Mega Drive/Genesis graphics or vice versa. Mega Drive/Genesis video effects such as shadow or hilight do not affect 32X video.
Memory: 256KB (2 MBit) program RAM and two 128KB (1 MBit) framebuffers.
Audio: Stereo 10-bit PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) mixing with Mega Drive/Genesis sound for a total of 12 audio channels of varying capability, 22 with the addition of a Mega-CD/Sega CD.
I/O: Same as Mega Drive/Genesis.
Storage: 32X cartridges are fundamentally the same as Mega Drive/Genesis cartridges with some small differences in the plastic casing. A few CD-ROM games were developed that also required a Mega-CD/Sega CD.
Compatibility: Compatible with Mega Drive/Genesis models 1 and 2, JVC Wondermega/X'Eye and the Multi-Mega/CDX. The 32X does not work with the Genesis 3 which lacks some of the necessary interface logic.

History

Development
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 (that would be called "Project Saturn"). Hideki Sato and some other Sega of Japan engineers came over to collaborate about the project with Sega of America's Joe Miller. The first idea was a new Mega Drive/Genesis with more colors and a 32-bit processor. Miller thought that an add-on to the Mega Drive/Genesis would be a better idea, because he felt that gamers would not buy an improved version of the Mega Drive/Genesis. 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.

Launch
The video-gaming public first got a glimpse at the Summer 1994 CES in Chicago, Illinois. Players highly anticipated the system, because it would make the Genesis superior to the Super Famicom/SNES. The console was unmasked as the 32X, with a price projection of $170 (USD), at a gamers' day, held by Sega of America in September 1994.
The 32X hit the market in North America in November 1994, during the same month the Sega Saturn was released in Japan. Many industry insiders speculated that the 32X was doomed from the beginning as the Sega Saturn hardware was widely regarded as more powerful than the 32X and had the support of many Japanese third party software developers (a necessary resource required for any gaming platform's long term success) which the 32X was sorely lacking.
Only 500,000 consoles had been produced for North American consumption, yet orders were in the millions. The console allegedly had numerous mechanical problems. Games had been rushed for the system in the run up to Christmas 1994. Some early games came with errors in programming, causing crashes and glitches on certain titles. Other games required leaving out parts in order to make the Christmas deadline; Doom 32X is missing almost half the levels present on the PC. Many complained that their 32X was not working with their Mega Drive/Genesis or television. Sega was forced to give away adapters.
Since this was an expensive add-on system, Sega decided to offer a £50 discount on games with the console in Europe. However, the offer came in the form of rebate vouchers, which were difficult to take advantage of. Just like its North American counterpart, this console was initially popular. Orders exceeded one million, but not enough were produced, and supply shortage problems arose.

Decline
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 perceived to be a true 32-bit console, the Sega Saturn. Even though the 32X was a 32-bit system, the games did not appear to take full advantage of 32 bit processing; many games were rushed and produced in 2D. Many were just slightly-enhanced ports of Genesis or old arcade games such as Mortal Kombat II and Space Harrier.
Due to successful marketing, customers perceived the Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation as the true next-generation consoles, due to their rich launch titles and 3D graphics. Also, customers perceived that Sega abandoned the 32X despite promises to the contrary, due to the launch of the Saturn.
Console makers, prior to the launch of PlayStation 2, would often abandon platforms and offer no backwards compatibility with older systems. For this reason Sega's 32X customers felt cheated because of the apparent lower quality of the game, and the inevitability of obsolescence.
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, as well as in the gaming magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly, which likened the 32X to a 'waffle maker' and the games as 'batter'. The Sega 32X fiasco is now considered one of the most poorly planned console releases ever.
The last game made for the 32X in the US was Spider-Man: Web of Fire (1996). The last ever 32X game was Darxide, which had been intended by Frontier Developments to be a launch title for the ill-fated Neptune. Both these games now command a high value from collectors — but especially Darxide (up to $1000) due to its scarcity, reputation and auspicious creator (David Braben, co-writer of the groundbreaking game Elite). Nevertheless, it is exceeded in rarity by the European PAL versions of the games Primal Rage and T-Mek. For obscure reasons a mere handful of copies of these games are known to be in circulation - with T-Mek being so scarce that until a copy surfaced on eBay in late 2005, it was widely held that the PAL release was only a rumour. The appearance of a copy has fuelled speculation that other rumoured but unconfirmed PAL games may also exist, in particular BC Racers.
For many years prior, console makers promised devices like the 32X (for consoles such as the Colecovision, Intellivision II, and some Atari systems) that would extend and enhance the original system. The 32X was the first product released that fundamentally altered the original console's abilities. However, deficient in software titles and lacking the 3D capabilities the gaming community demanded, the add-on represented a technological dead end, ultimately punishing early adopters. Ignorant of the idea that console systems' primary strength is in standardization, Sega had created three different platforms (the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, and the Mega-CD/Sega CD and the 32X add-ons) all under the same banner, stealing valuable shelf space from itself and confusing both vendors and consumers in the process. The entire episode demonstrated that producing such add-ons is likely to have detrimental effects on a system's brand marketing strategy.
The system ended production worldwide in 1996.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.Subject to disclaimers.

Sega 32X - Quick History and Specs List

The 32x debuted in 1994. It was an add-on for the Genesis. It connects to the Genesis by plugging-in the unit into the Genesis's cartage port. It is said that the 32x increase the speed of the unit by 19x! This increase in performance is possible thanks to its 2 RISC based processors.
The 32X
The Sega 32X added better color (finally), faster performance, and 3D graphics to the Genesis and Sega CD. The whole idea is sort of strange considering that when you get the Genesis and attach a Sega CD and the 32X you now have a huge chunk of hardware worth well over $400 with massive parallel processing power that still pales in comparison to say a Saturn. Still, the whole thing wasn't too bad with some great translations like Virtua Racing Deluxe and Virtua Fighter. The system had a few notable titles released before it's quick demise at the release of the Saturn and Playstation.
The idea of emulating every aspect of the 32X is quite a challenge. You'd have to emulate both the Genesis and the Sega CD first, and then write up your SH-2 core and God knows how the 32X sound processor works. The 32X is another case of someone reverse-engineering the hardware to gain the knowledge to emulate the machine. Even though the 32X, (for the most part) takes over the Genesis unit, it still allows you to play Genesis games by passing through the data from the 32x to the Genesis unit.


Quick Specs List:

Released: 1994

Processor: Dual Hitachi SH2 RISC Processors (one master and one slave)
operating at 23Mhz each

Co-Processor: 68000, Z80, VDP (Genesis) 68000 (Sega CD)

Data Path width: 32-bits within 32X

Color Palette: 32,768

On screen: 32,768

3D Capabilities: 50,000 Texture Mapped Polygons per second

Sound: Stereo PCM plus an extra 2 channels to the Genesis and Sega CD

Ram: extra 512 Kilbytes for the Genesis and Sega CD

Cart Size: 16 - 32 Megabit

US 32X Game List

US 32X Game List


Afterburner - 32X Version of the Sega Arcade Classic

Blackthorne - Enhanced version of the Rough-Tough Interplay Sidescroller.

Cosmic Carnage - Stupid Futuristic Boxing Game 32X Style!

Doom - 32X Version the PC Shooter (32X version doesn't even run full screen tho..)

Evander Hollyfield 'Real Deal' Boxing - Beatdown by Hollyfield

Knuckles Chaotix - 32X's Sonic title

Kolibri - It's got a hummingbird on the cover.

Mortal Kombat 2 - Better graphics than the SNES version, but terrible sound.

Motocross Championship - Dirt bikin' fun, just like ESPN2!

NBA Jam: Tournament Edition - Coo B-bal game, this version second only to Jaguar and PSX.

NFL Quarterback Club - Football Game

Night Trap (32XCD) - Cheezy FMV and a whip-cream bikini, woohoo!

Pitfall: the Mayan Adventure - Sidescroll Adventure, the Jaguar version is better =)

Primal Rage - Dino-Fighting!, by Atari, Jag CD version is also good.

R.B.I. Baseball '95 - Sega Sports Baseball Game

Slam City With Scotty Pippin (32XCD) - All FMV B-Ball game over 4CD's Yeehaw!

Space Harrier - 32X Version of the Sega Arcade Classic

Spider-Man: Web of Fire - THE Spidey Game, my spider sense is tingling!

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy - Star Trek bridge sim, snooze-fest.

Star Wars Arcade - 32X Version of the Atari Arcade Classic

T-Mek - 32X Version of the Atari Arcade Semi-Classic

Tempo - Happy, kiddy sidescroll adventure.

Toughman Contest - Cool 32X boxing Game

Virtua Fighter - Best Home Version of the Sega Arcade Classic

Virtua Racing Deluxe - 32X Version of the Sega Arcade Classic

WWF Raw - Idiotic wrestling game.

WWF WrestleMania - See above.

32X Games Reviews Part 1

AFTERBURNER (1 PLAYER) 60%

Afterburner is based on a late 80's arcade jet fighter game of the same name, you view the action from behind your plane, which is equipped with machine guns and lock-on missiles. Gameplay is strictly arcade and the graphics and sound are much better than the Megadrive version, (due to faster scaling and more colors) but gameplay is where it fails ... miserably, there is no skill or technique required for playing, the action is so fast and frantic that if you think\look at what your shooting, you'll be dead! and you wont know what hit you. The only way to make any progress in the game is to, turn the difficulty right down, put your guns on auto fire, and wobble the D-pad around like a nutter! WHERE'S THE FUN IN THAT! This coupled with an over responsive cross hair, and hit or miss controls, seals the games fate.


B

BC RACERS (2 PLAYERS) 40%

BC Racers is a Mario Kart style game set in the stone age, the characters are funny, colorful and well drawn, each have their own strengths and weaknesses. So the graphics are o.k, what about gameplay and sound? Well the sound is rubbish, and it's practically unplayable because it skips and stutters and jumps about so much, that you cant gage punches properly at other players or tell wether your turbo is on or not. This problem is greatly magnified in the split screen 2 player mode. In the end this is a poor port of an average game, and if you really have to own it, get the Mega CD or SNES versions instead.

BLACKTHORNE (1 PLAYER) 90%

Wow! a great 32X game! (rub your eyes) Blackthorne is a 2D platform adventure game in the same vein as Flashback and Abe's Odessy, only cooler. In the game you have to rescue slaves from an army of evil Ork type monsters by strategic gunning and puzzle solving. The graphics and sound are very good , with sharp digitized sprites, nicely drawn backdrops and silky smooth animation. Gameplay and control is intuitive and easy to use, your character can run, jump, roll, shoot, throw bombs and hide in the shadows to take cover from incoming fire. Enemy AI is spot on, and hapless slaves often get shot up in a gunfight. Blackthorne was released on other consoles too, (GBA being the most recent) but 32X owners will be happy to know that this is the best console version out there.

BRUTAL UNLEASHED (2 PLAYERS) 50%

Brutal is a 2D fighting game. You main characters are martial arts animals, dogs, rabbits and the like. There is nothing drastically wrong with the game except it's so stale and boring ... that and the fact that it doesn't offer anything new over the Megadrive, Mega CD and SNES versions. The graphics are nice, colorful and well animated, but gameplay is hampered by you having to choose a character and EARN your attack moves by competing in a series of one on one fights ... big mistake, fighters of this type should be fun and fast paced, (like Street Fighter) not drawn out and tedious like this one.

COSMIC CARNAGE (2 PLAYERS)45%

Cosmic Carnage is a 2D one on one fighter in which alien fighters battle choose different body armour before each round to increase their fighting potential, the characters are large and colorful and there is a lot of sprite scaling going on, as you punch, kick, grapple and rip limbs off each other ... and this is where it goes wrong. I'm pretty sure that this game was designed to show off what the 32X could do, because the extra color pallete and mode 7 style scaling is gratuitously over used, to the extent that the game looks silly, the colors are gaudy and the sprite scaling simply scales too much, bringing large, ugly pixels right up to the screen. To make matters worse the fighters are restricted to only a handful of stiff, awkward attacks, the gameplay has all but been forgotten, in a quest to showcase the 32X extra capabilities over the Megadrive ... could this have been done on the Megadive? ... No ... And who cares.

D

DARXIDE (1 PLAYER) 60%

Darxide is a 3D polygonal space shooter viewed from behind your ship. The ship is equipped with the usual lasers and rockets needed to blast all those alien ships and asteroids that cross your path. The graphics are some of the nicest you'll see on the 32X, it's done in proper 3D textured polygons and they all animate and scale very smoothly (probably achieved by not having to do much background ... space is black y'see) and the draw distance isn't an issue because objects fade nicely into view from the dark void, adding to the feeling of being in deep space. The sound is o.k, with minimal sound effects and a passable trippy-techno sound track playing in the background. But poor gameplay and bad controls spoil all of this. Targeting enemies is a tricky affair , due to an over responsive cross hair and a rubbish radar that is just a load of colored dots at the top of the screen do nothing to convey a sense of distance. Could have been a great game ... but is just mediocre.

DOOM (1 PLAYER) 88%

Needs no introduction really. Doom is THE original first person shooter, now other reviews have given the 32X version a hard time for not having full screen (there is a border around the edge of the screen) I on the other hand think this is a pretty good conversion for loads of reasons. The game features levels from both Doom 1 and 2, the graphics are sharp, smooth and colorful, the controls are tight and easy to use, and the sound is exactly the same as it was in the original PC Doom. Nothing has been lost from the gameplay, it's still fast, frantic, fraggin' fun, and you'll forget the smaller screen size after about 5 minutes play anyway.

K

KNUCKLES CHAOTIX (1 PLAYER) 79%

This is yet another 32X title to recieve unfair criticism by reviewers. I suppose that Sonic 1,2 & 3 fans might be a little dissapointed because Chaotix doesn't really play like a classic sonic title. You play as Knuckles over Sonic style stages, and you are always attached to various buddies by an invisible bungee type force who helps (hinders) your progress through the game, so team work is the order of the day here. The graphics are lush and colorful, with sprite scaling effects (albeit a bit blocky on the knuckles sprite) and a 3D polygon sub level where you must collect blue orbs (Tempest stylee). Not being a huge sonic fan I judged the game with an unbiased view, I'm not saying this is a great game, but the 32X is short on decent titles, and this is one of the better ones.

K

KOLIBRI (1 PLAYER) 20%

Strange game Kolibri, it's a shoot 'em up that see's you take control of a humming bird. So what's wrong with it then? Well first of all the gameplay, it's hard to know what you're supposed to do, and when you do complete a mission, you still don't know. The control of your humming bird while being quite authentic is annoying, like swimming against a strong tide, the graphics are pretty, but boring (flowers, plants, trees and the like) and it slows down qite a bit when there are too many sprites on screen, most noticeable when you are rescuing your humming bird brethren from the evil insects, in which case you cant tell which one is your bird because they look exactly like you do, and they follow you around the place, leading to you getting killed. Kolibri sucks ... nuff said!

Sega 32X - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Sega 32X (Japanese: スーパー32X) is an add-on for the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis video game console by Sega.
In Japan, it 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, it was called the Sega Mega Drive 32X. Most gamers, for simplicity's sake, refer to it as just the "32X".

Market history
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, known as Sega CD in North America, had not worked as well, in a business sense, as Sega had wanted it to. Sega had various developments underway, named after planets. Some used System 16 technology, as the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, as well as other arcade games, did.
The 32X was released in mid-November 1994 in North America for $150, Japan on December 3rd 1994 for ¥16,800, and Europe in January 1995 for £170 / DM 400.

Technical aspects
The Sega 32X can only be used in conjunction with a Mega Drive/Genesis system; it is plugged in where the cartridge bay is. Besides playing its own cartridges, it also acts as a passthrough for Mega Drive games so it can be a permanent attachment. (The SVP based Virtua Racing was the only exception.) The 32X came with several spacers so it would work with all (then current) versions of the Mega Drive. (The Genesis 3, which lacks circuitry needed, and appropriate plugs, to work with the 32X, was introduced later.) It could be used with the Sega Multi-Mega/Sega CDX system, but the spacers would not accommodate the CDX, which created a number of user-unfriendly conditions in the unit. Without the use of the spacers, some of the 32X hardware was left exposed and vulnerable. The combined unit was also very prone to tipping over, risking damage to the unit and games. In addition to the physical problems, there was also an issue with FCC approval.
Most 32X games cannot be played unless the distribution region of the game matches the region of the console. A few games are not locked and can be played on a console from any region (e.g. Fifa 96). Two games, Darxide and FIFA Soccer '96, were only released for the PAL 32X.
All but one of the games released for the Japanese market were released in the United States, albeit some had different names. The one Japanese-only game was Sangokushi IV (known as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV").
In addition to regular cartridge-based 32X games, there were also a very small number 32X CD games. As the name suggests, these required both the 32X and Mega-CD/Sega CD addons. The lack of a significant userbase due to the high cost of purchasing all three necessary components saw only five games released, only one of those developed by Sega. The most notable of these was a new version of the infamous Night Trap with 32,768 onscreen colors instead of the 64 found on the regular Mega-CD/Sega CD version.

History


Development
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 (that would be called "Project Saturn"). Hideki Sato and some other Sega of Japan engineers came over to collaborate about the project with Sega of America's Joe Miller. The first idea was a new Mega Drive/Genesis with more colors and a 32-bit processor. Miller thought that an add-on to the Mega Drive/Genesis would be a better idea, because he felt that gamers would not buy an improved version of the Mega Drive/Genesis. 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.


Launch
The video-gaming public first got a glimpse at the Summer 1994 CES in Chicago. Players highly anticipated the system, because it would make the Genesis superior to the Super Famicom/SNES. The console was unmasked as the 32X, with a price projection of $170 (USD), at a gamers' day, held by Sega of America in September 1994.
The 32X hit the market in North America in November 1994, during the same month the Sega Saturn was released in Japan. Many industry insiders speculated that the 32X was doomed from the beginning as the Sega Saturn hardware was widely regarded as more powerful than the 32X and had the support of many Japanese third party software developers (a necessary resource required for any gaming platform's long term success) which the 32X was sorely lacking.
Only 500,000 consoles had been produced for North American consumption, yet orders were in the millions. The console allegedly had numerous mechanical problems. Games had been rushed for the system in the run up to Christmas 1994. Some early games came with errors in programming, causing crashes and glitches on certain titles. Other games required leaving out parts in order to make the Christmas deadline; Doom 32X is missing almost half the levels present on the PC. Many complained that their 32X was not working with their Mega Drive/Genesis or television. Sega was forced to give away adapters.
Since this was an expensive add-on system, Sega decided to offer a £50 discount on games with the console in Europe. However, the offer came in the form of rebate vouchers, which were difficult to take advantage of. Just like its North American counterpart, this console was initially popular. Orders exceeded one million, but not enough were produced, and supply shortage problems arose.


Decline
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 perceived to be a true 32-bit console, the Sega Saturn. Even though the 32X was a 32-bit system, the games did not appear to take full advantage of 32 bit processing; many games were rushed and produced in 2D. Many were just slightly-enhanced ports of Genesis or old arcade games such as Mortal Kombat II and Space Harrier.
Due to successful marketing, customers perceived the Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation as the true next-generation consoles, due to their rich launch titles and 3D graphics. Also, customers perceived that Sega abandoned the 32X despite promises to the contrary, due to the launch of the Saturn.
Console makers, prior to the launch of PlayStation 2, would often abandon platforms and offer no backwards compatibility with older systems. For this reason Sega's 32X customers felt cheated because of the apparent lower quality of the game, and the inevitability of obsolescence.
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, as well as in the gaming magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly, which likened the 32X to a 'waffle maker' and the games as 'batter'. The Sega 32X fiasco is now considered one of the most poorly planned console releases ever.
The last game made for the 32X in the US was Spider-Man: Web of Fire (1996). The last ever 32X game was Darxide, which had been intended by Frontier Developments to be a launch title for the ill-fated Neptune. Both these games now command a high value from collectors — but especially Darxide (up to $1000) due to its scarcity, reputation and auspicious creator (David Braben, co-writer of the groundbreaking game Elite). Nevertheless, it is exceeded in rarity by the European PAL versions of the games Primal Rage and T-Mek. For obscure reasons a mere handful of copies of these games are known to be in circulation - with T-Mek being so scarce that until a copy surfaced on eBay in late 2005, it was widely held that the PAL release was only a rumour. The appearance of a copy has fuelled speculation that other rumoured but unconfirmed PAL games may also exist, in particular BC Racers.
For many years prior, console makers promised devices like the 32X (for consoles such as the Colecovision, Intellivision II, and some Atari systems) that would extend and enhance the original system. The 32X was the first product released that fundamentally altered the original console's abilities. However, deficient in software titles and lacking the 3D capabilities the gaming community demanded, the add-on represented a technological dead end, ultimately punishing early adopters. Ignorant of the idea that console systems' primary strength is in standardization, Sega had created three different platforms (the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, and the Mega-CD/Sega CD and the 32X add-ons) all under the same banner, stealing valuable shelf space from itself and confusing both vendors and consumers in the process. The entire episode demonstrated that producing such add-ons is likely to have detrimental effects on a system's brand marketing strategy.
The system ended production worldwide in 1996.

All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

Sega 32X - History - Technical Aspects

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/40MIPSCo-processors: Genesis 68000, Z80, VDP and 32X VDPRAM: 4Mb plus the Mega Drive RAMColors: 32,768 simultaneous colorsGraphics: RISC processors and dual frame buffers with rotation and scaling hardware supportPolygons: Renders up to 50,000 polygons per secondResolution: 320x224Sound: 2-channel stereo digital PCM (+12 channels of the Mega Drive)