10 Amazing Sega 32X Facts

[@FatNorthernBigot]

This was a time of great innovation... The Jaguar, Saturn, 3D0, 32X and an obscure machine called the "Playstation" all came out within a year. They were all very different from each other, too, unlike the "two cheeks on the same arse" that are the PS5 and XBox.

[@chloemarietaylor4036]

The last true consoles were probably the 360/ps3/wii u generation. They are basically locked down pcs now, except for the switch which is a lockdown arm tablet 😂

[@hw5091]

I'd go further n say n64/PS1/Saturn. Borderline for the PS2/Xbox, however I'd put the GameCube n dreamcast in that last true console bracket.

[@FatNorthernBigot]

@@hw5091Yep, The DC was a design classic

[@ut4321]

DreamCast was amazing. A true 2-D powerhouse. In retrospect, Sega of America was too early on the online portion with the included 56k modem, but we could also be saying “if only they had included online” if they hadn’t. It was a crazy time of actual innovation and competition. I feel like Microsoft and Sony probably sit down and make their three year plan together now… “You stay in your lane, we’ll stay in ours.”

[@Luke_Stoltenberg]

There was a lot of rolling of the proverbial dice. It was an interesting time to be a young video game fan, I wish my parents were rich though

[@stevennutz1109]

the latest Doom Resurrection for 32X is amazing

[@Sinn0100]

Castlevania Symphony of The Night was also planned for the 32X. Development was scraped and brought over to the 5th generation machines.

[@DancesRainyStreets]

The project was called Castlevania: The Bloodletting i believe. Also, Alien vs. Predator by capcom was rumored to be planned from what i've heard.

[@carlosaugustodinizgarcia3526]

I think they were developing a different game,Castlevania Bloodtelling.

[@malcolmar]

I still say the 32X was an amazing piece of hardware that offered 32 bit power without the drawbacks of slow CD drives of the time. If Sega got their act together it could have been the place of home ports to many of their other 32 bit arcade games like Super Monaco GP, Out Runners, Rad Mobile and Golden Axe the Revenge of Death Adder. The recent 32X Doom Resurrection is outstanding and is another shining example of what the system is capable of.

[@Nor-tc8vz]

Around this time Sega was a house divided.

[@ut4321]

Totally agree. In the book Console Wars, the division between Sega Japan and Sega of America is made clear. It was a very strange internal battle that resulted in the 32X.

[@BuzzsawGaming]

Love this time in gaming. Risks were taken and the 32X was an amazing concept. Cartridge based gaming forever! 🎉

[@aaronking9332]

Agreed, star wars arcade and virtual racing were enough to get me to buy a Genesis and a 32x...then doom was amazing on 32x for a console gamer who never would have experienced it otherwise. Everyone always acts like it was so obvious that it would fail but really the biggest failure point was that developers couldn't realistically support so many systems. The 32x was amazing for a brief flash in time and a brilliant idea and not terribly executed even. Sometimes the very best ideas just have too many external obstacles against them. These were great days when Sega was at the forefront of taking big swings

[@GreyMatterShades]

@@aaronking9332 Have you seen the Doom 32X Resurrection project? It's basically a dramatically superior port of Doom to the 32X. It even works with the Sega CD for a higher quality soundtrack. That project and the recent port of Tomb Raider really show that developers back in the day didn't push the 32X anywhere near the maximum of its capabilities.

[@Issicra]

Electronic stores like Circuit City and Best Buy were basically giving these away by 1996. My housemate had a Genesis, so I figured I'd "upgrade" it for him. Well, we enjoyed playing the truncated Doom, but all the other cheap games I bought for it were pretty lame.

[@AlexvrbX]

I can't wait to see the 32X Tomb Raider once he splits rendering across both SH-2's! Doom 32X Resurrection is also super amazing. VASTLY better than the quick and dirty port it got officially... faster, higher resolution, larger display, lots of bugfixes, restored missing levels, multiplayer, optional Sega CD support, etc. Did I mention faster?

[@thehumbleone1983]

Love the 32x back then I always wanted it for my Mega Drive console but my mum couldn’t afford to get it for me. It’s A shame a lot of games got cancelled for the 32x as it was a very capable look at the 32x Doom hack and that Lara Tomb Raider , wow very talented people from the community. Thanks for the video 👍

[@swy334]

Just had to wait a few months and it became dirt cheap

[@retrojoe85]

I never understood the hate for the 32X, it brings massive additional power to the Mega Drive and some games look exactly like firts era PS1 games! I've always had a preference for Metalhead, for example.

[@MaxAbramson3]

It was more the abandonment of the $300 Sega CD and changing, uncertain roadmap.

[@bubbythebear6891]

An add on that doesn't really add much doesn't really resonate well with consumers. The Sega CD gave extra horsepower and allowed for FMV and redbook audio. 32x didn't have a clear advantage beyond some better 3D graphics, which Virtua Racing proved could be done on a standard Genesis.

[@AFourEyedGeek]

Enjoyable video, thank you. Mega CD was in response to fears of the PC Engine CD. 32X was in response to fears of the Atari Jaguar. Saturn released early in NA and Europe due to fears of the PlayStation. Imagine what they could have done if they had confidence in themselves. I wonder if they could have done something more with the Sega CD / CDX.

[@TheLairdsLair]

Great way of putting it!

[@ALM1GHTY.PEANUT]

Unless something changed, I think tomb raider on 32x was only using a single SH2. I loved the old systems like the tower of power, Jaguar and 3DO.

[@CinePhil101]

17:06 I loled at the Frankenstein 32X😂😂😂❤❤❤

[@vitaliydubkov4008]

I think we can all agree that Genesis needed more colors (at least 12 bit pallete instead of 9 bit), scaling and rotation (so games like doom or batman returns racing become possible and dithering is mostly gone) . Now, if all of this was in a form of a cartrige and was released at least 1 year earlier, or initially in Sega CD and by a reasonable price, than all Sega story could be very different. And if Sega actually released a CD+32x standalone console and had the right games lineup, you basically got yourself Playstation 1 one year earlier, then, again you don't need a Saturn and can go straight to Dreamcast or better console, something along PS2 level. Was endless addons idea that good in retrospect?

[@MaxAbramson3]

Genesis could use the 320x448i mode and draw 256 out of 3,375 colors (in Shadow/Highlight Mode) because it's 61 colors per line. The Sega CD+SVP already had Daytona USA, Virtua Racing & Fighter, and Star Wars Arcade ready for March of 1994. And SEGA needed to keep those retail sales going.

[@ElectronStarCollapse]

I didn't realize it could play on a Nomad with some tinkering. Makes me wonder if they could get it to boot on a LaserActive, despite the position issues with the cartridge port as well as the controller ports being potentially blocked by the add-on.

[@TheLairdsLair]

Hmmm, yeah, I didn't think of the LaserActive - I bet somebody has tried!

[@f.k.b.16]

It would made a while lot more sense to make the Saturn backwards compatible... It had a freegin cartridge slot nearly identical to the Genesis anyway! 🤦

[@graalcloud]

I had a 32X in the 90's and despite being disappointed there weren't more games available, I really appreciated being able to come home from school and play something like Virtua Fighter or Star Wars Arcade on my Genesis. Personally I had fun with it.

[@wadmodderschalton5763]

Now that we had someone 3D print the Sega Neptune, perhaps we can see the same treatment with the other unreleased consoles. (11:05)

[@G.L.999]

And let's not forget, Donkey Kong Country 1, 2, & 3 played a part in annihilating the 32X as well. The DKC Trilogy games were among the most captivating to customers back in the mid 90's and alot of consumers chose to focus on just getting the DKC games without having to invest in another add-on just to "upgrade" their 16-bit console's graphical fidelities and capabilities! Also, OpenLara has also been in the works of the N64 too! Though it's in a pretty primative state of development atm!

[@graalcloud]

DKC 2 was the first big AAA game I remember getting for Christmas and being completely blown away by, completely meeting or overshadowing my already high expectations. I think at the end of the day it's the audio that brought it all home, and that's where SEGA struggled competing with Nintendo.

[@dad7275]

Im really hoping the homebrew community goes to pushing some games out for the ole mushroom. I really like the idea of the 32x (I bought one at launch with Virtra Racing Deluxe). Doom Resurrection was amazing and really got my curiosity going of what else could be hacked and made from ground up on it. Some people even put Doom Resurrection on par with Doom on the Playstation. Quite a feat.

[@hw5091]

The 32x should've came out 1 year earlier. Not that it could've considering the particulars, but if it did, it would've been fairly successful, and could've seen a 3 year lifespan. Which isn't bad for an add-on. That could've changed a lot for Sega. Maybe even gave the 32x 4 years, with the last year being a limp along w sports titles and some lower end games.

[@Sitharii]

07:50: As a proud(back then) owner of a SEGA MegaDrive , and while I was expecting for the real next-level of gaming(SATURN) ,all I’ll say about the 32X is that as a customer , I’ll confirm Scot Bayless statement that “”the 32X just made us look greedy and dumb to consumers”” . My feelings exactly , and this was the 1st time that I start having doubts/second thoughts about SEGA as a company. --P.S. Nowadays though …. I think I could give an excuse for SEGA making such a decision : I recently saw videos that SEGA had signed contracts with U.S. retailers which were forcing SEGA to have huge supplies for those retailers available all time ,and if those supplies weren’t sold , SEGA would have to buy them back from those retailers. So the only excuse I could give for 32X ‘s creation was for SEGA to try to prolong the life of the MegaDrive in order to reduce the cost for being forced to buy-back hundreds of thousands unsold MegaDrive units.

[@MaxAbramson3]

But the 32X only capitalized the Sega CD and the 200+ titles for it. Many of the best versions of games are on the Sega CD, and there wasn't much that the 32X was actually doing that /couldn't/ be done on their existing CD addon.

[@Sitharii]

Well , I’m speaking about my own perspective/experience as a (back then) teenager MegaDrive owner. Seeing SEGA advertising 2 different 32-bit systems made me having doubts about their motives and ultimately completely destroyed my hype about the SATURN and the upcoming 32bit-era. I was seeing many 32X games that were almost identical to what I was currently playing with my MegaDrive , nothing that could excite me about the new generation of consoles. This inability of the 32X to produce Playstation-like(or SATURN) next-level games ,made me not only destroy my hype/expectations for this upcoming 32bit-era ,but also to lose my interest not only for the 32X but for the SATURN as well ,since I was starting to think that all this 32bit promotion was simply marketing ,due to 32X’s inability to produce true next-level gaming(*something that later SONY managed to do very easily with the Playstation) 32X’s release sadly …. destroyed not only itself but also SEGA’s fanbase excitement for the upcoming SATURN and that’s the most tragic(*well I don’t want to generalise but it destroyed my own huge-excitement for sure ) @@MaxAbramson3

[@blueskies792]

Doom 32x Resurrection is very good.

[@mr.y.mysterious.video1]

Megadrive was my first console but subsequently switched to the snes. That meant i missed out on all the add on business. Add ons almost always fail right up to the present day

[@paultheretrogamer]

I have heard this story b4 however its nice to hear a different point of view

[@mattschehr163]

Virtua Racing Virtua Fighter and Knuckles Chaotix where pretty good games on the 32X

[@Tolbat]

What they should have done if possible was release a SVP cart and use that in expansion with the Sega CD to support the add on they already had, To be sure with the added scaling and 3D it would have been better than the Jaguar which is another paragraph I wont type lol...

[@TheLairdsLair]

That was basically the original plan, I talked about it near the beginning of the video, except they wanted to a put SVP chip inside the Mega Drive, rather than it being an add-on.

[@Tolbat]

@@TheLairdsLair right but a cart add on just to beef up the sega CD would have been smarter and way more cost effective.

[@Tolbat]

@@TheLairdsLair they already had these machines in stores and could have offered specials with the new cart

[@TheLairdsLair]

Yeah I totally agree, an SVP passthrough cart would have been a much better plan, something the Sonic and Knuckles cart. And to encourage people to buy it they could have bundled it with a big name game, like a port of Doom for example.

[@lazarushernandez5827]

@@Tolbat Looking back the strategy is always crystal clear. Back then though, they thought the cost effective measure was the 32X. Virtua Racing with the SVP chip was nearly $100 iirc. While no other SVP enhanced games were released, they likely would have been similar in price to Virtua Racing. The 32X was $60 more at $159. It was a one time purchase. 32X titles were only $10 more than the Genesis version ($50-60 vs $40-50). Virtua Racing Deluxe was so much better than the SVP version. Honestly the best strategy would have been no 32x and make sure the Saturn had backwards compatibility with the Genesis (be it a converter).

[@Mauri5io]

It could be a dream that SEGA releases finally Neptune and finish those unreleased games and plus add new ports... at least a Neptune Mini could be perfectly done ❤

[@bunnybreaker]

In an alternate time line we all still have Mega Drives with 23 add on Blast Processors attached in a giant Sega branded totem pole.

[@TheLairdsLair]

That would be pretty apt given Sega wanted to call the Genesis the Tomahawk!

[@TheMamaluigi300]

23??? Geez, there were only like 5 generations at most since the 32X!

[@srvuk]

Very informative and interesting.

[@GreyMatterShades]

Seems to me like the 32X was overbuilt for what it was. Developers didn't have the time or resources to learn the hardware properly and fully utilize its power. I think a better plan would be for Sega to upgrade the SVP chip and release it as a Sonic and Knuckles style lock-on cart (with maybe a bit of RAM in there as well). That way they could have 3D enhanced games without having to pay the extra costs of including the chip in every cart like Nintendo did with the Super FX chip. It could've been far cheaper than the 32X, and if the Genesis version of Virtua Racing is any indication, it probably could've handled a stripped down version of Virtua Fighter and some other basic 3D games. At very least, Sega should have committed to making the Saturn backward compatible with the 32X. That way consumers would know that the 32X games they bought wouldn't be tied to a dead system, and developers could bring out 32X games knowing that if they made something good maybe even Saturn owners would buy them. I think the Saturn wasn't backward compatible because of the feuds between Sega USA and Sega Japan. They really were their own worst enemy in that era.

[@TheLairdsLair]

Pretty much what I said in reply to another post!

[@GreyMatterShades]

@@TheLairdsLair I saw that after I'd commented. Good to know we're in agreement!

[@SerpentAndTheRainbow1134]

Awesome some good stuff on the 32x

[@aaronsnowden6311]

Sega was really dumb with all that add on crap, but also ahead of their time with the online part of the Dreamcast.

[@lazarushernandez5827]

A lot of that was uncharted waters. Consoles weren't really known for having major add-ons. Micro computers, sure, a disk drive, CD Rom drive, those added to the functionality to a platform that did more than just games. On the console side it divided the user base into those with the base system, and those with the (expensive) add-ons. The developers were always going to target the larger base first. In Sega's case the 32x further split that user base. They at least learned for the Dreamcast, if they had sold the modem/ethernet adapter separately, they would have split the user base, devs would have supported the main user base.

[@pferreira1983]

I quite like the Mega CD.

[@moot6794]

Michael Katz, in an interview with Time Extension, stated he was fired by Hayao Nakayama because he did not sell 1 million units within the first year, a goal he felt was unrealistic. He goes on to say Nakayama knew Kalinske from Mattel. That said, it's incorrect to suggest one of the reasons Katz was fired was because Sega Japan was "jealous" of SOA's success.

[@TheLairdsLair]

I've interviewed Katz on two separate occasions for different publications and he told me that he believed Sega Japan was "jealous of his success", I wouldn't have said it otherwise. He also talked about the "1 million" thing and explained that in detail too. Really fascinating guy with some great stories.

[@martinh4982]

To this day I have only one gaming regret. It must have been 1997 or 1998 and my local Cash Converters had a complete in box 32X with 6 games going for £40. I passed it up :(

[@TheLairdsLair]

Wow, I had something similar to that - back in 2005 I saw a Sega Nomad in Game Station for £50 and passed on it. Then I soon realised how foolish that was, went back and it was gone :-(

[@martinh4982]

@@TheLairdsLair If we ever meet I'll buy you a beer and we can commiserate together on the lost opportunities!

[@RandomHajile-j7z]

I saved up my paper route money and bought a 32X new. I got Virtua Racing and Metal Head with it. I mainly bought Metal Head because it said it had a 2 player mode on the box, which was actually an error. I was so bummed. $50 was a lot harder to come by back then. I later got Virtua Fighters, WWF Wrestlemania and Blackthorne though. Greatly enjoyed my time with the system despite it being a disappointment in some ways. I had a Sega CD and was hoping for more Sega 32X CD games like RPGs.

[@caeserromero3013]

By 1994 I'd sold my megadrive and bought a PC with CD-ROM. With that I could play almost all those Sega games such as Virtua Fighter etc plus the huge library of DOS and emerging Windows games AND do my homework. I remember being blown away by the sound and graphics of Star Wars Rebel Assault with the CD-ROM and Soundblaster sound card. And within another few years, the first Megadrive emulators arrived on PC (though downloading ROMS over a 33.6kb modem line tested your patience...especially if you got cut off halfway through because somebody called) so you could have the best of both worlds....

[@joesshows6793]

SEGA arcade super scaler games were the definition of rad

[@acem7749]

As for home don't forget about the enhanced 32x doom port. Soo much better than the og. Hands down the best doom version for the hardware at the time.

[@TheLairdsLair]

Yeah it's a lot better, but certainly not better than Jaguar Doom, especially the many new versions of that port with music and the missing enemies etc.

[@acem7749]

@@TheLairdsLair I'll have to check on jag improvements, to me all the new options and improvements in the 32x it's wins for now. The spit screen was really impressive. If I saw this back in the day it would been my absolute fav game of the time. I bought my jag back then for doom and would play Metallica as bgm. In the day a good / great port of doom sold systems.

[@acem7749]

@@TheLairdsLair is there a good source for a list of all the improvements or a KZbin video?

[@TheLairdsLair]

No idea sorry, but there must be some out there surely.

[@ViciousAlienKlown]

Sega of America should've been over ruled by Japan. Knowing the Saturn would come out in 1995 meant that a stop gap system didn't make sense. This and it gave a big middle finger to 32X owners. I think it's funny that Sega thought Atari's Jaguar was an actual threat and made a console as bad as the Jag.

[@MaxAbramson3]

SoJ demanded the addon or a new Genesis 2. The Kalinske team wanted to just add the $49.95 SVP LockOn cart and to go in halfsies with SONY.

[@MaxAbramson3]

The best version of so many games were on the Sega CD. The 32X had so many technical problems, that games only synched at 30fps and often looked worse. The Genesis/MD could already draw graphics at 320x448i and 256 out of 3,375 colors in Shadow/Highlight Mode. CORE had Soulstar and AH3 which looked better than the 32X for 3D. The confusion and changing roadmap angered gamers, developers, and retailers, resulting in millions avoiding the barely supported $400 Saturn.

[@robintst]

While the 32X did get a handful of genuinely good games, they really should have just rode out the Genesis until the Saturn was ready. A final year of Genesis games pushing the hardware to it's limits probably would have netted us many more beloved classics to look back on, instead we have 32X Doom with it's muddy color palette and fart music.

[@TheLairdsLair]

I totally agree!

[@MaxAbramson3]

Nah, the Sega CD. Soulstar, Batman, Cliffhanger, Batman, and AH3 pushed that machine hard, but it was clearly capable of taking on PS1 launch titles, albeit at a lower frame rate and with color cutbacks.

[@johnnada6855]

I remember that the Sega CD felt like something premium, like cutting edge and the 3DO too, i mean i didn´t have any of those but the feel by just looking at the magazines, but the 32x felt very weird cause was something that came on a system that in that time felt way OLD and out of fashion, in the 90s when something was old it meant you TRASH it, we all felt like anything that was old you should just replace it with something new, there was no preservation feeling or looking for old stuff, and the 32x was like, "oh something new for the genesis" but totally out of time cause everybody was hyping for the Saturn, at least at lauch the SATURN was the biggest and most waited system, a year or two later the Saturn was totally forgotten and then was when SEGA really died, so that is what my experience was with the 32x, it felt just like when the magazines told you there was a new genesis game in 1997 or something, nobody cared

[@yearight5303]

The Tower Of POWER!!

[@joesshows6793]

We all wanted the 32x to be good. It was just so clunky in a best case scenario.

[@Aevilbeast]

Anyone else catch the "Sefeld" game @8:38..? When I first saw it, I immediately had to double take lol! That was awesome little "addition" he put there heh. Bet most people didn't even noticed it! And if anyone tv show deserves a geneis game, it'd be Seinfeld since he does own and play one in a bunch of episodes Seriously, though...I wonder a Seinfeld game would even play like? Although knowing what he know about licensed games of that era, there would be 90% chance it'd suck big time and have little to do with the series it's based on, like "Wayne's World" one of many examples...

[@lap456]

I cound never figer out how the SEGA CD worked with Sega 32X. After all if the SNES CD happened if they whated Super FX games all they needed was an new ram cart.

[@robertarnold9815]

I had a Genesis with the CD add on and a C128D. The computer was used for productivity and the occasional game when the TV was in use for, you know TV things. The Sega Mega was great, the CD was somewhat useless, and really hated the look/complexity of the 32X so I didn't buy. Now using an emulator, I'm a fan of that software. Anyway, just a matter of look and price.

[@HeroJournalism]

Great vid, Laird. Hey do you know what game Kalinski is playing at 7:20? That dual joystick game?

[@TheLairdsLair]

I always assumed it was Virtual On for some reason, can't think of anything else that fits.

[@ElectronStarCollapse]

From what I can tell, it's actually Sega's 1993 Star Wars Arcade machine. I thought Virtual On, but I then noticed the throttle near Kalinske's right hand, which I know was absent on the Saturn port of Virtual On. The Star Wars Arcade had separate controls for Gunner and Pilot.

[@TheLairdsLair]

Ah yeah! Good shout!!!

[@timm_3r]

One thing that stood out to me beack then was sega's struggles to have a decent home version the mortal kombat games. They even ported MK to the Master System. lol

[@TheLairdsLair]

Well, Acclaim did all the MK ports to be fair, not Sega.

[@timm_3r]

Yeah but Sega's hardware wasn't all that impressive with colors or sound.

[@jasonlane01]

"The equally game-starved Jaguar [was less game-starved]" 😜

[@josephwj7199]

I tried replying to your comment with the errors in the Contra book, but I think it was removed automatically by the spam filter. Check your video dashboard's spam filter if they're there. I had 2 comments. If they're not there, basically the list is very long. I addressed them to the main author back when I bought the first print and he said he'd update the text in the reprint, but evidently not. I was also disappointed that he could have consulted me to QA the content, especially since I was very actively maintaining my Contra fan site at the time and he knew of my site, but he did not. The people that edited/fact checked the text clearly do not know the games well.

[@jbanks979]

What sega should have done ultimately was pick “one” machine, make it backwards compatible with the Genesis/mega drive, and focus exclusively on building one growing supply chain there. The $159 you’d have to have spent to buy this just as an add on was over $300 in todays dollars. Thats not to count the base system and the cd if you wanted CD games. AND, it was only Sega’s primary system for less than 6 months. It wasn’t that easy to get video game news, as the internet was very much in its infancy in 1995, so it’s entirely possible you’ve spent over 500 bucks just on Sega hardware only to realize it’s all obsolete by the end of 1995, and none of it was compatible with its real next gen system. It’s just sad the implosion of Sega, as it was an entirely preventable series of self inflicted moves

[@TheLairdsLair]

Very true, especially that last line.

[@MaxAbramson3]

$700 including the power strip and 6-button controller, over $1600 in 2024 dollars! Why not just push the Sega CD to its limits like CORE Designs was with AH3 and Soulstar? 20fps scaling and 3,000 textured polygons was considered eye watering, in those days before PS1.

[@Nathan-rb3qp]

8:37 Does anyone know anything about that Seinfeld game? I need to know if it was canceled.

[@TheLairdsLair]

It was cancelled.

[@Nathan-rb3qp]

@@TheLairdsLairWe NEED to find a prototype or at least a screenshot.

[@kristianTV1974]

​@Nathan-rb3qp it'll cost you.. three-fiddy.

[@wagnerpaivafernandes]

08:37 What's the deal with Seinfeld for Sega Genesis?

[@TheLairdsLair]

It was never released.

[@pferreira1983]

It's a joke.

[@gelzamangitzaman1482]

thx klove this stuff.

[@garytallowin6623]

Dreamcast was in no way a 'failure'. Sega did everything right for that particular product.. the issues where that by then they were already a dead man walking from previous mistakes.

[@TheLairdsLair]

I love the Dreamcast but it was a failure in many ways, not selling enough units was the main one and not doing a better job of stopping piracy was another.

[@carlosaugustodinizgarcia3526]

The lack of rpgs in Japan and soccer games in Europe was beyond stupid.

[@MaxAbramson3]

SEGA had developed or had others develop 5-6 3D addons for the Saturn, some of which could rival the Dreamcast while reusing the CD-ROM, RAM, VDP, controls, etc. The cost? Ranging from$35-60, and ready as early as 1996!

[@chriswillis4960]

I both love and hate the 32X, it was clearly a bad idea from the get-go but I have to say it has some amazing games on it. I feel it is a very undervalued system when it comes to what it was capable of and clearly has alot of underutilized potential due to the poor circumstances in which it was created. However if Sega of America got behind the Saturn effort rather then focusing on this addon and keeping the Genesis afloat I think we would have seen a much more successful Sega in the long run. What Sega needed was to accept the Genesis as a budget entry level option as it was late in its life and basically do what they eventually had Majesco do, make a cost reduced version, while focusing on making Saturn the first next gen System to market with actual advanced notice to devs and stores, along with making launch titles themselves.

[@stefanomazzarello4771]

Sega shall invest more on 32X and wait couple of more years for Sega Saturn release, and make a console more able to compete with PsX ... I owned 32X at the time, and i can clearly say, that never in the history of gaming, one console has so many good games as 32X had at his launch, and almost all of them, were excellent optimized. In my point of view, the mistake of Sega wasn't the release of 32X , but all the way around, the release of Sega Saturn in end of 1994, 32X, had the serious potential of give couple of excellent years of new life to Sega Genesis, without any kind of opposition from Nintendo, but they missed the opportunity and that mistake cost to Sega their future failure... Probably if Sega was going to follow that path, so releasing Sega Saturn let's Say in 1996/7 instead of 1994, they had the possibility to make a better console and more probability to be good rival of Sony and indeed to beat N64 in selling unity.

[@osgeld]

I bought a 32x when it was on clearance, but my sega was hardly the main source of gaming at that point as I had "gone pc" well before then. I did look at the saturn and the PS1, decided to skip that gen mostly playing on friends machines, but not being impressed with the 32x and lack of genesis compatibility (despite having a nearly identical cart slot) on the saturn and its absolutely meh launch titles I kind of gave up until the PS2, and only then after GTA3 launched (cause GTA3 the first time you saw it, OMG)

[@johneygd]

So it was america to come up with a 32X addon and not japan?? If so i wouldn’t be surprised since americans are known to want more power in everything,i personally found it good that sega eventually dropped the 32X,am mean just imagine if the 32X became a huge success,maybe the saturn would,ve only sold 5 million units.

[@lazarushernandez5827]

Don't lay this just at Sega of America's doorstep, if Nakayama had not been worried about the Atari Jaguar, none of this would have happened. The 32X was conceptualized and brought to market in less than a year. The Saturn was launched that same year in Japan. If Sega was really worried, they could have just shown a japanese Saturn at the American video game conference.

[@MaxAbramson3]

Saga already had the $49.95 SVP LockOn and four games developed and ready to ship. Those $70 games for 32X could've been $45 Sega CD+SVP wonders and come out in March 1994.

[@lordw9609]

Why do Brits say "SegGER" half the time, and "SegA" the other half? "Segger of America"...."Sega President" 🤔😕🤷‍♂️ 4:05 - 4:35

[@TheLairdsLair]

I don't hear what you're hearing.

[@mrt.7146]

Lovely - thanks 🤩

[@AIexanderthefake]

9:27 what game was that

[@TheLairdsLair]

Kolibri

[@robbyandrews223]

8:39 there's a Seinfeld Sega Genesis game?

[@TheLairdsLair]

It was announced and advertised but never released.

[@robbyandrews223]

​@@TheLairdsLair Definitely was completely fake, look at 10:02 you have the same ad, with Toy Story instead of Seinfeld haha.

[@donkeystyle3200]

8:38 Seinfeld on Sega Genesis?

[@TheLairdsLair]

Yes, it was advertised but never released. It's amazing how many people have left this same comment in the last 24 hours!

[@pferreira1983]

@@TheLairdsLair It was a joke someone photoshopped.

[@irasimpson1465]

UMM i was a videogame playing 10 year old kid at that time.....in 1993 atari was absolutely NOT a big name in the industry. At least in the biggest market for consoles, USA.nintendo completely erased them from the public's memory back in the 80s.when the jaguar was advertised ,shown, and played it was immediately rejected. A blind man could see ALL of its in your face flaws.

[@TheLairdsLair]

In the late 80s in North America the Atari 7800 was the second most popular 8-bit console behind the NES and in 1989 the Lync arrived, which was also fairly successful and was covered by all the major American magazines like EGM and GamePro and sold in stores like EB, Toys R Us and Babbages. So to say Atari had been erased in America is complete nonsense. Of course over in Europe, Sega's most important region for sales, Atari had been a big player. To give context, according to a 1990 Mintel report, Atari held over 50% of the UK console market. And you have to remember they had the Atari ST computer at this stage too, which was the leading home micro for quite a while.

[@maxhammer4067]

So many failures 3do atari jaguar 32x neogeo cd mega cd

[@TheLairdsLair]

You can add CD32, PCFX and CD-i, but I wouldn't call the Neo Geo a failure, it did very well as an arcade machine.

[@maxhammer4067]

@@TheLairdsLair I dont think neogeo cd had much success, I was wracking my brain what the other console was the bloody Philips cdi, that time period was a minefield 🤣

[@kingsavageson4879]

The 32x was abandoned by sega & thats the only reason for its failure

[@Derecuda]

Second

[@xflossx]

I got mine which I still have for 3 games virtua fighter and racing and doom just like the gamecube for rogue squadron and the resident evil remake