FORGIVE IT! 🙏 Why Did The Sega 32X Fail !?
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- Опубліковано 6 лис 2024
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In today's video we look at the story of the Sega 32X and I present a case as to why you should perhaps forgive this hardware for it's many shortcomings. Let's look at this infamous add-on for the Sega Megadrive / Sega Genesis.
#sega #32x #gaming
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I love my 32x. I bought it day one for full price and now own the entire cartridge collection (accumulated on eBay over the years at steeply discounted prices). In the right developer hands, the 32x has so much potential for closely replicating the arcade gaming of the time.
If you have a 32x and a Mega Everdrive, check out the DOOM Resurrection rom. It's a complete rebuild of DOOM on the 32x and is a massive improvement over the retail release.
Its awesome, full screen, proper music, all levels! gamechanger
funny how the 32X used to sell for dirt cheap in the 2000s(with AVGN mentioning he got his from a flea market for only $2.50) and stores used to refuse to take them because of how obsolete they became and now they've essentially gone back to their original 150 dollar value, pretty impressive.
Earnestly, I think the concept behind the 32X was great. The issue for it was that markets in most regions couldn't support it, as simply buying a new console was more cost effective and a better experience than purchasing a weaker upgrade to an already existing console that was never planned for such.
For it to be successful they would've had to come out with it about 18 months earlier. It would've given it a fighting chance. I'm sure tech being 18 months newer, they would've taken losses on the systems, or broke even, but at least they could've avoided that crippling mistake.
@@hw5091 It also didn't help that many companies ported games from the genesis to the 32x with little to no improvement in graphics.
I have the Sega Genesis / 32X, Sega Saturn, and Dreamcast all hooked up next to each other. Tons of great games and lots of fun! A lot of the games are very expensive now!
Sega exeprimented....can't fault them for that. Now should the civil war between SoA and SoJ be forgiven? Eh...no. that civil war was one of the reasons they eventually went third party.
The experiment became detriment to the company economically. Also, shorten the lifespand of the saturn and dreamcast.
And lack of support for the $300 Sega CD addon. There were only a dozen 3D superscalers, and none of those ended up in commercials. Instead, SEGA spent tens of millions on yet another addon that was no more capable and actually had a fee of their worst games and downgrades.
I begged and pleaded for that 32x for Christmas that year and I loved it. It was funny-- having to plug the adapters into wall outlets on opposite sides of my room, but it was fun blasting White Zombie while playing Doom. No regrets here. Couldn't care less about the Saturn coming out
If you have a Mega Everdrive, check out the DOOM Resurrection rom. It's a complete rebuild of DOOM on the 32x and is a massive improvement over the retail release.
Definition of needing instant gratification. Kind of sad actually.
@@themonsterunderyourbed9408 haha! So me wanting a thing, getting the thing, and enjoying it-- at age 13-- is.... Problematic to you? You must be a lot of fun at parties lol
@@Chrismw81 it's sad if you haven't changed.
@@themonsterunderyourbed9408 lol that's quite a presumption on your part. Are you saying I was wrong for wanting a specific gift for Christmas, or sad that I didn't care to wait for the Saturn?
Knuckles Chaotix alone justifies the 32x's existence for me, personally. That soundtrack tho.
As a genesis kid and a huge sonic fan just the one game made me insanely jealous of my 32x-having friend
The only reason to purchase a 32x is if the homebrew scene picks it up and starts to develop for it.
Great video THGM
That's right.
I have the Sega Genesis, CD and 32x. Sega actually sold a long surge protector with sockets spaced out, so you can plug all these accessory bricks in. I own the surge protector and it's a must with all this hardware.
I had the Tower of Power, but picked up the 32X from the bargain bin for $19.95.
I bought my 32X for $20 on clearance at Toys 'R Us. Remember them? I didn't know that the pin connector inserts are unneeded. They are a pain in the rear. While every gaming platform under the sun has homebrew/aftermarket releases, I've never seen any for the 32X.
I actually had a Sega 32X at it's launch in the US. It really wasn't that bad for me as I had an old Mac that couldn't play anything. I picked up Doom which was impossible to play on my ancient Mac LC (16mhz 68020 CPU) and enjoyed it. Star Wars was pretty fun. Virtua Racing was great! Metal Head wasn't great but looked cool for the time. The last game I picked up was Virtua Fighter which looked pretty rough, but played really well. I eventually got a Playstation so the 32X didn't last too long, but it really was a good experience for me.
68020? Do you happen to know if the code for that is online?
@@MaxAbramson3 Code? I'm not sure what you are referring to.
I loved my 32X as a kid. Knuckles Chaotix, Virtua Racing Deluxe, even Virtua Fighter were all solid titles. I even had Primal Rage and one of my friends had Mortal Kombat 2.It would have been smarter to have the 32X be able to work WITH the Saturn (32X itself would have to be reworked to fit the Saturn) so that way when you do get a Saturn you can still use your 32X and possibly be able to have the 32X handle some of the workload or something.
🤔32x as a backward adaptor for Saturn to play Genesis⁉️
Insanity mate.
I kind of agree with you, but I think it would have been better if Sega would've invent the Saturn to have a drive port for Genesis/MS games. I can't say if it would've been more successful, but the Saturn would have a longer shelf life if it had backward capabilities.
@@carlosrodgers2474 In hindsight yes it should have had a cartridge port for older stuff. I was merely saying that if they were going to take the time to make two separate devices with similar goals then why not allow them to work off of each other? Although I'm really wanting a proper Knuckles Chaotix port/remaster. Not only did I finish the game but also beat it with every character with and without the chaos rings. That was a lot of effort all things considered.
@@carlosrodgers2474 nothing was backwards compatible back then. Obviously the ability to play the Genesis library would have been a massive boon, but they could’ve achieved almost the same results with cheap compilation ports to the Saturn. You can cram like 5-10 Genesis games on a Saturn disc.
Of course it should be forgiven... it's just a product that existed alongside consumer choice. I had fun with it! Christmas 94 was great!
No bias. Eh, Sega Boy?🤣👍
Virtua Racing Deluxe, Doom by Viktor Luchitz, Mortal Kombat II, Space Harrier, NBA Jam, Virtua Fighter, you absolutely should get a 32X.
Tempo and Star Wars
outside of Virtua Racing, all of those have better versions elsewhere.
@@MarsofAritia The codename for the 32X.
Had they delayed the Saturn to work on making it a better 3D machine, the 32X would have made sense (and making the Genesis+32X combo code named Neptune available immediately). I'll admit I was interested in it because I loved Space Harrier and Afterburner, but the Genesis ports were severely lacking. But the 32X and Saturn were launched way too close together.
In short the 32X was developed by Sega of America.
The Sega CD was developed by Sega of Japan.
The utter downfall of both and the Saturn was the direct result of Sega of Japan and Sega of America both fighting with each other.
The fighting between the two was so bad that Sega of Japan would to just spite Sega of America contract with an inferior chipset for the Sega Saturn and sabotage them at every turn like Sega of America intended the 32X to be standalone system but Sega of Japan ordered it to be an add on for the Genesis instead of a standalone system.
got mine on clearance for 20 bucks back in 95, had to exchange/return it two times before I got a functional unit, but I was bound and determined to see what it could offer.
Chaotix and VR Deluxe were literally reason enough for me to justify my purchase. I was eternally hopeful that it would be a stop-gap solution to the Saturn, and I was also genuinely disappointed that the Saturn couldn't play Genesis/32x carts or Sega CD games... Sega (OA) could have ceased Genesis production, manufactured the 32x for a year while simultaneously pumping out Neptune units, then switched over to Neptune and Saturn production and satisfied both hungry next-gen fans and reluctant Genesis stalwarts.
Sega of America loved their hardware, Sega of Japan loved their ego.
All of us suffered their separate efforts.
Back in the day, while I thought it was expensive and ugly, I also thought it was quite a cool upgrade. It's sad that it didn't get as much support cuz I really digged how the system was pushing the genesis hardware. The Star Wars Arcade, Shadow Squadron and Tempo looked great.
If you’re interested in Sega, some really good books I’ve read are Console Wars by Blake Harris and Service Games The Rise and Fall of Sega by Sam Pettus…I grew up back in that era so I’ve read a bunch of books on Nintendo and Sega.
I had the 32X, and I thought it was the greatest thing ever. I remember being so upset seeing no new games being advertised month after month after month. Doom, MK2, and Virtua Fighter were awesome.
I was like 12-13 when the 32X was released. Didn't get one back then for obvious reasons.
I did get a broken one (found in computer recycle box while working at Staples) back in 2010 that I've kept/stole. lol. I find the 32X to be a nice little addition to one's Sega Genesis Library. I only have three games for it and that's After Burner, DOOM, and Virtual Fighter. It gives a consistent composite video feed to an old television, and really does dazzle my old eyes with some extra colours. I forgive its existence. I hope that some of these project modern games for it come through someday. I'd love to potentially buy a "new" Sega 32X or a CD/32X game.
Nice to see how many people in this comment section actually had a 32X and loved it.
I had no idea you were a wrestler!!! Dude that’s awesome!!!
I have ZERO ill will towards the 32X. It was given such a raw deal from Sega of Japan that it was setup to fail. Publishers had little to no time to get games out for it, and then to suddenly hear the Saturn was coming, left the 32X out in the cold.
It just show how sega was in terrible state during the end of the early 90s. They were bleeding so much money and stunted the saturn and dreamcast lifespand.
people knew about the Saturn before the 32x was even announced. pretty much every gaming mag mentioned it.
Let’s just say that Sega abandoning it so quickly after release resulted in me abandoning Sega when the Saturn was released. I was back for the Dreamcast though
I remember looking at the 32x and not really having a reason to buy it, because I was an Amiga user at the time. It was also confusing as there was the Sega CD as well, and the mega drive system was looking a bit of a mess. My fondest memory of Sega is the Dreamcast, and they managed to mess that up by not making it backwards compatible with the Saturn.
The only way I can imagine Sega being able to salvage the 32X concept would be if they went with Project Neptune and focused on making a new, backwards compatible console. Maybe they could've even added Sega CD support and possibly ports of Saturn games, but that would've entirely depended on Sega of Japan actually communicating and cooperating with Sega of America...
I remember being at a game store in my local mall the day the 32X came out. I ran into a classmate who I knew to be a big Sega fanboy. I commented “Looks like that 32X thing is out. That’s going to be a disaster. Another add-on to the Genesis? They should just focus on their next console. I feel sorry for anyone who gets tricked into buying it.” And then he sheepishly said “I’m actually here to pick it up.” For some reason I never expected he was there for it, it just seemed like such a weird device. Although I meant what I said, I felt like a jerk. I think I’m the one asking for forgiveness.
Got it from a bonus from work. Wanted to play a 3d game like doom. Didn't regret at the time. Sega let us down lost support.
I asked for cash from everyone on Christmas so I could save up and buy one of these brand new when I was a kid. Huge waste of money. Fortunately I was able to do the same the following year and got the much superior PSX.
Around 1996 there was a KMart closing by my work and they had 9 32x Systems behind the counter marked $10 each. I already had one so wasn't really interested. Since i worked across the street I would wander in from time to time to see what other sales there were. I passed by those 32x systems multiple times over 2 weeks and they weren't selling. At $10! (The allure of what's considered "Retro" today just didn't exist then) so I bought all 9 of them. They came with Star Wars and I think a couple had Doom. I took 1 and switched out my previously obtained used set. I gave a couple away, and used some for trades. It helped me get a bunch of games for it. Sadly since the behaviors of gamers with "old" games and systems wasn't the same as they are now. I wish I kept them around but at the time it seriously wasn't predictable that one day "Retro Gaming" would be a thing. No one cared then, why would they now? Oh well
I remember when Toys R Us had so many 32X on shelves for $19.99.
I just can’t get my head around the sega of Japan vs sega of America mentality they didn’t realise that by making one weaker they were hurting themselves ?
I was Traumatized by the 32x. I had the option to wait for a Sega Saturn, or get the 32x now. Later when I finally saved the money, i skipped the Saturn and went straight to the PlayStation, all because of my 32x experience.
Owned a 32x in the UK back in 95 purely for Mortal Kombat II which at the time was claimed in most magazines to be "arcade perfect" to be let down was an understatement.. Doom and Virtua racing were awesome tho. I also remember seeing consoles for sale for as little as £20 after it was cancelled. Considering what they sale for today (silly money)
I can't help but wonder how better things would have gone for Sega had they made the 32X cross compatible with the Saturn. What they should have done was made the Saturn's cartridge port compatible with 32X and Mega Drive games and the disc drive compatible with Mega CD games. Likewise, they should have made it such that if you have a Mega CD and a 32X, you could play Saturn games. It would have given consumers the best of both worlds. Already have a Mega Drive? Just get these add-ons and your console is future proofed. Late to the Mega Drive party? No worries, get a Saturn and enjoy the back catalog of 32X, Mega Drive and Mega CD games plus whatever new games come out on Saturn.
At least Sega can say they tried.
Dreamcast is awesome and so is the Sega CD.
I miss the old days 😭
Love your channel Mr top 🎩
Really great content.
The sad thing is the Doom Resurrection rom hack shows that the 32x could have been a contender
I knew about the 32X way before I got to know the AVGN, partially due to the poor me using emulators to play games my poor mom never could get me and partially due to research.
In all honesty, I believe the idea of making an aging console nextgen like that is still pretty cool and a thing for computer enthusiasts for decades now.
The worst thing about the 32X really was the need for an additional power socket compared to just delivering a Y adapter and the steep price that pretty much justified the purchase of an incompatible Saturn right from the get go.
Were Sega of Japan high or something? I just don’t understand how any good business person would undercut their own company like they did with this? Did they actually think people wouldn’t be pissed off and not buy both so close to each other? I don’t know I just find it so weird to think they’d scree themselves over on purpose
SoA were the ones pushing for it though.
I loved me magic mushroom, there were some fine games on it including the excellent Star Wars Arcade never released for anything else. Admittidly I got mine from the local market second hand but it was still recent at the time, shame Sega US was battling Sega Japan with it so it lost to the Saturn, still I had fun with it & still do from time to time albeit under emulation these days as I cant be bothered to go in the attic to get it back out. 13:10 bad joke (or should that be dad joke). Loved Metal Head I always thought it was a nice touch that you could set the in game breifings to be done by the standard US general guy or an anime girl, very fitting for a mech shooter
I was a big fan of my 32X, and bought one for Christmas ‘94. Doom and Star Wars Arcade were purchased with the system pre-order. Soon, I also acquired Mortal Kombat II, Afterburner, and Shadow Squadron. Metal Head and Cosmic Carnage were huge let-downs. However, Shadow Squadron was HUGE for me. The music and 3D graphics were incredible, and the game was challenging. The Sega six-button controllers were used to full effect by this game, along with Mortal Kombat II. The 32X was a great upgrade to extend the life of the Sega Genesis. It brought us 32-bit gaming without disk-based load times. And, as I understand it, 32X was 90% of a Sega Saturn in power.
As we all know, Sega blew it! They had an installed user base of 1/2 million, and left us “orphaned” by mid-year. There was no reason for that! Sega could have continued to support the platform indefinitely, and they would have made a ton of money. Remember, gamers still loved their Sega Genesis consoles, and had huge game libraries. And 32X had the power for great games IF the industry support would have been there. I, personally, was hoping for a 32X Dark Stalkers. Imagine how great that would have been with zero load times!!!
Great vid, Top Hat. 32X deserves positive press. It really was a great accessory for the Sega Genesis. With proper support, the all-in-one unit could have been made instead of the Saturn - with a 500K installed user base.
Imagine if original Megadrive release featured an integrated 32X. It would be impressive bit of kit.
Hey imagine if we had landed on the moon in 1940. That'd be cool.
@@mercster I'm not imagining deleting my comment.
No mention of Blackthorne?? Probably my favorite 32X game.
While I was alive during the time of the SEGA Genesis as well as all it's addons, I sadly lived in a middle to low income family as a kid so these were out of my budget at the time when they were sold at retail.
Those who were alive and could afford these retro games despite their flaws are the lucky ones and the gamers I respect the most.
He makes the Top Hat push his ears down as part of his schtick! Hilarious!
I can never be mad at Sega. They dared to be great and innovative. Long live Sega.
I had one in the early days. Me and my friend had a lot of fun playing shadow squadron 2 player. One controls the craft and one controls the gun, it's pretty sweet!
The 32x is ok, it would've been great if developers had fully utilized the potential of the add-on...imagine a CD32x JRPG. Blackthorne is good, Doom and BC Racers are hilarious and Virtua Racing is the best version of that game
I've never seen anything conceptually wrong with the 32x. It was just the fact that technology was just moving too fast for its existence to have been justified. if we could go back in time and push back the release of the PS1/Saturn/N64 to say 1998, I am fairly certain the 32x would have sold like hotcakes in 96 and 97 and it would have received a fantastic library of some 200 games, if not 300. Imagine a (scaled down) Killer Instinct on the good old Genesis, among so many others I can think of. That would have made the Genesis even more of a gaming icon than it already is, but alas...
no way they could push it back that far. After virua fighter came out, it was clear 3d was the future.
@@MarsofAritia You're the codename right?
Oh yeah 32x became an amazing purchase when it went bargain bin….. surprised more people didn’t have it.
Anyone else blown away by TopHats wrestling career !
My Sega 32X collection is 2 and 1/2 games deep: Knuckles' Chaotix, Tempo, and the Sega CD 32X version of Night Trap...only ones really worth having, imo.
If the Sega Genesis Mini (3rd version) decides to be made, it would be cool if Sega (or whoever) would go with the 32X Neptune model look and have 32X games installed as well.
I bought the 32x at launch and loved the heck out of it. The 32x version of the Sega CD FMV games were stunning (at the time) and star wars arcade wowed everyone who played it. Knuckles was a lot of fun and kolibri was great! No regrets, it was a great upgrade if you were already well invested in the Genesis/sega cd ecosystem. You know, the kind of person who had a powerbase converter.
The system that was REALLY a failure here in Canada was the Saturn. Truly, I didn't know a soul who bought one.
On this side of the pond, no one cared about the Saturn. Genesis was everywhere. If they hadn't launched the Saturn but instead an all-in-one unit with 32x/gen/sega CD hardware in one case, they would have done well! Sega of American knew their market well and they were correct that the Saturn wouldn't do well here. A Genesis 2 was the way to go (with the 32x as an upgrade for existing genesis owners) but sadly the saturn just destroyed things for Sega here. SHame.
I picked mine 32X at a K.B. Toys for $25, and I pick up alot of the Game in the Bargen Bin, I love the little thing, I see why it failed, but I enjoy playing it.
32x is legitimately amazing and even has a few great games which is a big contrast from similar failed devices like Virtual Boy or Playstation 5.
Seriously..?
The 32X might have been unnecessary and not so good but it can still be enjoyed.
I have a 32X on my non-TMSS Model 1 Genesis these days. Had one back in the day I bought on release night. Only game I had for it then was Star Wars, but overall I enjoyed the heck out of it.
Sega's release trickery might have worked if this had been released in the 1980's, but by 1994 gaming magazines were ubiquitous enough that most American Sega fans already knew about the Saturn before the 32X even got released, so it never really had a chance.
I kinda thought there would have been a homebrew scene for the 32x but nope. I mean it would be cool to see some homebrew that took advantage of the hardware.
The way that I look at it, I paid about $200 to play Doom on a console way back in 1994. It was the only game I ever had for it though.
I’m more in the gray area of the Sega 32x it was basically Segas attempt at making a budgeted version of a 32 bit system and the shocking part is it was launched the same day as the Sega Saturn in Japan. Not much of their game libraries are bangers however the most well known has to be Knuckles Chaotix which is the sole reason it’s the most sought after Sonic game due to its crazy high price. But other than that most of their good games are budgeted inferior ports of arcade games (Virtua Racing)
Blackthorne??? It has better graphics than the SNES/DOS version and It has an exclusive new snow world with several levels not present on any other version.
I can see Top Hat Gaming man and Lady Decade in some gaming centric wholesome Family Sitcom.
I got one of these for Christmas back in the day. My Star Wars arcade never worked properly on it. Ended up trading it for Virtua Racing. That was as far as I got with it because of Playstation.
old gamer here. Even today after so many years have passed I cannot believe Sega completely bombed their console business. I was one of the people that bought a 32X day 1 and I remember playing Star Wars Arcade and Doom. My friends had old PCs that couldn't play Doom so even though it was not the best version I was playing it at least. When Sega killed the 32X one year after release I got burned bad and never bought a Saturn or a Dreamcast. lot of people did that and that is why the Saturn only sold 1.9 million in America
my friend had it, there was actually some space fighter game that was decent that you were able to play 2 player. I remember flying the ship while he was the gunner. Was actually pretty cool.
That sounds like Shadow Squadron, but the Star Wars Arcade game also supported two player mode like that.
Knuckles Chaotix is a game you either Love or Hate. It does take some time getting used to the controls if you have the patients. For me having Sonic and Knuckles tethered together and having to control two characters is what made it frustrating to play.
i really like hearing other old school youtubers giving talk about AVGN
Yea I had fun with the 32x while I waited for the PlayStation and Saturn
I never had a 32x so I don't have any nostalgia for it. The only game that could have made me want it at the time was Virtua Racing Deluxe because I loved to play the Mega Drive version, but the Saturn version is now the definitive one to play. Maybe if an Everdrive ever comes out with emulation for both 32x and Mega CD I might try a few games, otherwise buying the 32x and Mega CD add-ons is out of the question (and pocket).
This was a great summary of why hardly anyone chose a Sega Saturn over newcomer Sony
I miss 90's commercials... def the peak of advertising.
That Star Wars game looks great.
I’m lucky to own a 32X. I’m glad that there are fans out there who support it. I got mine immediately after getting a Sega Mega Drive from a charity shop here in Australia. The Mega Drive only cost $5AU, while I also got the 32X and a Model 1 Mega CD attachment online. And let me tell you, it is a criminally underrated system. It was meant to out do the Super FX chip, and it succeeds, and then some!
I owned all three, and looking back I am surprised that O.S.H.A did not ban this corded nightmare as a possible fire hazard!
I have to know how much of developing for the 32x was also a response to the 'failure' of the Sega CD. Like I'm sure developers were talking to the console manufacturers and using CDs was an exciting endeavor to them. If I remember correctly though the Genesis didn't catch fire in the U.S. until maybe mid '92 so I guess maximizing the Genesis was very important to the SoA. I mean it didn't sell but you have to see the capabilities of CDs and the 3do. Didn't Sony speak with Sega after the Nintendo deal fell though? Was SoA not privy to any information developers, Sony and publishers had with SoJ? How long did SoA think the 32x was going to be a mainstay? So confused.
It's basically a cartridge-based Sega Saturn mounted on a Sega Genesis. As far as hardware goes, for the time the 32X was competitive....The specs were decent.
man I loved my 32x! the Star Wars game was GREAT!!! and Shadow Squadron! ...
I'll always feel nostalgic for the 32X. I loved playing _Knuckles' Chaotix_ and it also introduced me to _Doom._
…but the only other games I could find were _Star Wars Arcade_ and _Cyber Brawl / Cosmic Carnage._ 😏 I don't think any of the Genesis games I owned made use of it; plus having to deal with those little metal plates became such a pain.
Hey, Top Hat Gaming Man. In a future "Fighting Game Thursday" video, can you please cover Fighting Vipers?
Was that Lou Rawls in the 32X marketing video?
What about Darxide? I know it was a PAL exclusive since it never saw release here! And it really had potential to be an awesome game for the Mega 32X in the long run had it been given more time in the oven(at least from what I've heard anyway). What are your thoughts on that game?
Dude! I had no idea you were a wrestler! Much respect
Let's be honest. Everything Sega put out except for the Genesis was a failure. From the Sega CD to the 32X to the Dreamcast and Saturn. Sega really only had one moment in the sun 🌞 and that was the Genesis.
I do have a 32X now and can't really see a problem with it technically. It's 3D games are really quite good. It's games compare really well to Atari Jaguar games but it would start to look horribly dated compared to Saturn, Playstation and N64 games in only a year or two after it's release.
Sure the 32X bombed but I had a GREAT time owning one. Honestly I MORE than got my money's worth just with the 32X version of Mortal Kombat II alone. I put an INSANE amount of hours into it. It also had great arcade ports of Space Harrier, After Burner (which was really After Burner II Complete) & Virtua Racing. Star Wars Arcade was another solid game on it (pretty difficult though), and I absolutely LOVE Knuckles Chaotix for it. I also own the holy grail for it, The Amazing Spider-Man: Web Of Fire. Not a great game but still very cool to have.
I couldn't justify buying it or the SEGA CD even when the price dropped drastically on both because it was obvious they were not going to be supported with games anymore and the existing library, especially for 32X, was not that great. Game mags were already covering Saturn too so I was just going to wait and see if that was worth getting. I got a Saturn a few months after it came out with VF Remix with no regrets because the import game library appealed to me a lot more than what Playstation had to offer at first. I did get a PS eventually though because they had a lot great import and US games that I wanted.
It's sad that the in-fighting between SOA and SOJ pretty much started the downfall of SEGA. Had they cooperated, I think they would still be making consoles or partnered up with MicroSoft to make them and there wouldn't have been profound bad decisions that tainted SEGA's reputation with gamers.
The 32x was not hard to program for it just didn't have any dedicated 3d hardware(anything 3d was done in software) and like the Sega CD it relied on the Genesis as a co-processor usually using the Genesis for backgrounds or HUD overlays and the 32x for the rest. that's why in Mortal Kombat 2 the backgrounds look crap because they are rendered by the Genesis with only a 64 simultaneous color pallet while the fighters look better with a 32k color pallet which is similar but better than the Super Nintendo's. Instead of these 2 Genesis add ons Sega would have been way better off releasing a next gen console that was backwards compatible with the Genesis based off a stronger version of the 32x hardware in late 1993 whether it was CD based, cartridge based, or both. I need to go back in time, get control of Sega, and release the Sega Giga Edge like we all deserve!!! pack in game is Virtua Racing 2.
Why it failed? it was competing with its own sibling who was better qualified in every way and acted as a way for an aging Sega Genesis to stay relevant ...Buyers saw it as a stop gap before the Saturn, it had assembly involved to get it properly working in some cases and with added power supply demands.... to quote James Rolfe as the AVGN, "It's like the Sega Genesis is on life support!"
If given a 32x, given what little I knew before this video, I'd be looking for a Genesis to plop it onto.
I had a 32X and many ports of MK2. The SNES version was still much better than the 32X version. I didn't see much difference with 32X and the Genesis versions. I thought they were basically the same. I didn't care much for those versions. The Saturn/PlayStation 1 versions were basically the same as each other. They were leaps beyond the 32X. Still wasn't a perfect arcade conversion by a long shot, but there is no comparison between Saturn and 32X versions.
Yeahhh boiii! The USA LOVES TOP HAT MAN !
The Sega 32X got lots of problems.
Tower of power with three AC adaptors⁉️
I've emulated a few of these games on my Raspberry Pi. The 32X was capable of putting out some quality games. It just had no real reason to exist since the Saturn was only months away.
I got the 32X, and I love it! Just wish this system addon had more games. I bought before the collection boom twenty years, or more ago in box for cheap like twenty, or forty bucks. Meow it's kind of hard to buy games for it since they're so jacked up in prices where I'm at. I think I got like four games for it. FX racing, MKII, and somethign else I don't really know cuz it's in the drawer somewhere, or my son is keeping it to play it. He loves retro gaming like I do. I love the Sega tower of power.
Oh, it was so complicated to connect one.... So many cables oh The humanity
If Sega could have chosen either the 32X or the Saturn, either one could have been amazing.
Sadly they divided their resources and lost out to the PlayStation.
Even more sadly they would fail to learn from this lesson and history would repeat itself with Sonic '06...
13:09 I see what you did there 😆