The 32X was an add-on device for the Sega Genesis video game console. It was given the code name "Project Mars" and was created to increase the Genesis's power and help it move into the 32-bit era until the Sega Saturn was released. The 32X used its own special game cartridges and had its own collection of games. It was called Super 32X in Japan and South Korea, Genesis 32X in North America, Mega 32X in Brazil, and Mega Drive 32X in all other regions.
Sega introduced the 32X at the Consumer Electronics Show in June 1994. It was presented as an affordable way to play 32-bit games. The idea came after Sega saw the Atari Jaguar and worried that the Saturn might not be ready by the end of 1994. Even though the 32X was first planned as a separate console, Sega of America’s executive Joe Miller and his team suggested making it an add-on for the Genesis instead. This change made the Genesis more powerful. The final design included two 32-bit central processing units and a visual display processor.
The 32X struggled to attract game developers and buyers because the Sega Saturn was announced to be released at the same time in Japan. Sega’s rush to bring the 32X to market left little time for game development, leading to a small collection of only 40 games. Many of these games were not fully compatible with the 32X’s hardware and were versions of older Genesis games. Sega made 800,000 units of the 32X and sold about 665,000 by the end of 1994. The remaining units were sold at big discounts until the 32X was stopped in 1996, as Sega focused on the Saturn.
The 32X is seen as a commercial failure. At first, people liked its low cost and the way it improved the Genesis’s power. However, later reviews, both from when it was released and in later years, were mostly negative. This was because of the small number of games, poor timing in the market, and the confusion caused by different versions of the Genesis.
History
The Sega Genesis was released in 1988. By early 1994, Sega became worried about competition from newer, more powerful 32-bit consoles, such as the Atari Jaguar and the 3DO. The Sega CD, an earlier add-on for the Genesis, did not meet sales goals. The Genesis’ successor, the Sega Saturn, would not be available worldwide until late 1995. This created a nearly two-year gap that Sega feared would let competitors gain an advantage. Tom Kalinske, a former Sega of America CEO, said, “Initially, the argument was that we could get another year of life out of the Genesis before introducing the Saturn. Japan disagreed with me, so the 32X was created as a temporary solution.”
At the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in January 1994, Joe Miller, Sega of America’s research and development head, received a phone call from Hayao Nakayama, Sega’s president. Nakayama emphasized the need for a quick response to the Atari Jaguar. On the call were Sega of America producer Scot Bayless, Sega hardware team head Hideki Sato, and Sega of America vice president of technology Marty Franz. A Japanese team suggested creating a new console, called “Genesis 2,” with improved features like a better color palette and limited 3D capabilities using ideas from the Sega Virtua Processor chip. Miller, however, argued that upgrading the Genesis was not a good idea. He believed that making the Genesis better would confuse customers and cost too much. Instead, he wanted to use the existing Genesis to keep customers happy and control costs. This led to the creation of the 32X, codenamed “Project Mars.”
Miller pushed his American team to develop the 32X as a peripheral for the Genesis. It used two 32-bit SuperH-2 processors, the same as those in the Saturn, but with a slower speed. The SH-2 chip was developed in 1993 by Sega and Hitachi. Some sources say the 32X was designed on a cocktail napkin, but Miller denied this. Others claimed Marty Franz sketched the design on a hotel notepad. The 32X was not compatible with Saturn games, but Sega said both systems would coexist. The 32X was aimed at players who could not afford the Saturn. Bayless called the system “a coder’s dream” because of its twin processors and 3D features. Sega of America led the 32X’s development with help from Sato’s team in Japan. However, delays occurred because the same processors were used in both the 32X and the Saturn, and communication between teams was difficult.
The Saturn was scheduled to launch in Japan in November 1994, the same time the 32X was set to launch in North America. Sega of America promoted the 32X as a “transitional device” between the Genesis and Saturn. However, some critics, like Scot Bayless, said this made Sega seem greedy and unwise. The 32X was officially announced at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in June 1994 in Chicago. It was marketed as an affordable way to access “next generation” games, priced at $159. Sega did not confirm if a Genesis with a Sega CD and 32X could run Saturn games. Trip Hawkins, founder of The 3DO Company, called the 32X a “Band-Aid” and said it was not a true next-generation system. Sega responded by saying the 32X could play Genesis games and had the same architecture as the Saturn.
In August 1994, GamePro praised the 32X’s 32-bit processors and lower price, saying it might be the best choice for many players. Edge magazine was more critical, suggesting the 32X was only a temporary solution for the holiday season. Kalinske said the Saturn would be priced to avoid mass-market sales, so the Genesis and 32X would remain the main options.
The 32X launched in North America on November 21, 1994, just in time for the holiday season. It sold for $159.99 without a game. Demand was high, with over 1 million orders placed, but Sega only shipped 600,000 units by January 1995. Nearly 500,000 units were sold in the U.S. by Christmas 1994, exceeding sales goals. The 32X was priced less than half of the Saturn’s expected launch price. It launched in Europe in November 1994 for £169.99 and also had strong initial demand.
Sega promised 12 games at launch and 50 more by 1995. Only six games were available at launch, including Doom, Star Wars Arcade, Virtua Racing Deluxe, and Cosmic Carnage. While Virtua Racing was well-received, Cosmic Carnage was poorly made, leading to jokes among reporters. Games cost $69.95. Advertising showed the 32X connected to a Genesis to create an “arcade system.” Japan received the 32X in December 1994, two weeks after the Saturn’s launch. Brazil got the 32X in March 1995.
Despite its lower price, Sega struggled to convince third-party developers to make games for the 32X. Many developers focused on the upcoming Saturn, Nintendo 64, and PlayStation, believing the 32X could not compete. In-house games faced issues due to the system’s rushed development. Bayless said games were “jammed into a box as fast as possible,” leading to poor quality.
Technical aspects and specifications
The 32X can only be used with a Genesis system. It is inserted into the system like a standard game cartridge. The add-on needs its own power supply, a cable to connect it to the Genesis, and an extra cable for the original Genesis model. The 32X can play its own games and is also compatible with Genesis games. It can work with the Sega CD to play games that use both add-ons. The 32X included a spacer to fit properly with the second model of the Genesis. An optional spacer for the Sega Genesis CDX system was planned but never released because of electrical risks when connecting the 32X and CDX. Installing the 32X requires placing two electromagnetic shield plates into the Genesis’ cartridge slot.
Placed on top of a Genesis, the 32X measures 115 mm × 210 mm × 100 mm (4.5 in × 8.3 in × 3.9 in). The 32X has two Hitachi SH-2 32-bit RISC processors running at 23 MHz, which Sega claimed would make the system 40 times faster than a stand-alone Genesis. Its graphics processor can display 32,768 colors and render 50,000 polygons per second, improving on the Genesis’ polygon rendering. The 32X includes 256 kilobytes of RAM and 256 kilobytes of video RAM. Sound is produced using a pulse-width modulation sound source. The system connects to a television through an A/V cable for composite video and stereo audio or an RF modulator. Stereo audio can also be played through headphones using a headphone jack on the Genesis.
Game library
The 32X library includes 40 games, six of which needed both the 32X and Sega CD to play. These games include versions of arcade titles such as After Burner, Space Harrier, and Star Wars Arcade, a side-scrolling game featuring a hummingbird as the main character called Kolibri, and a 32X-exclusive Sonic the Hedgehog game named Knuckles' Chaotix. Some games for the 32X were improved versions of games originally released for the Genesis, such as NFL Quarterback Club and World Series Baseball '95. In a later review, Star Wars Arcade was called the best game for the 32X by IGN because of its teamwork features, music, and accurate recreation of the original arcade experience. In another review, IGN’s Levi Buchanan said Shadow Squadron was better than Star Wars Arcade. However, Retro Gamer writer Damien McFerran called Virtua Fighter "the jewel in the 32X's crown," and GamesRadar+ named Knuckles' Chaotix the best game for the system. Next Generation described Virtua Fighter as "the colorful wreath on 32X's coffin," showing that while it was considered one of the best games for the 32X, it also signaled the console’s decline. This was because the 32X version of Virtua Fighter was less advanced than the already-released Saturn version of Virtua Fighter Remix and the upcoming Saturn version of Virtua Fighter 2. In response to fan questions, Sega said the 32X hardware was not powerful enough to run Virtua Fighter 2.
Although the 32X had 32-bit processing and could potentially offer better graphics and sound than the Genesis, most games did not use these features. Doom for the 32X received very high reviews at first but was later criticized for being worse than versions on the PC and Atari Jaguar. These versions had more levels, better graphics and sound, smoother movement, and full-screen gameplay. Franz said few developers were willing to create games that used the 32X’s improved audio features. One reason was the rush to release games for the 32X’s launch. A former Sega of America executive producer, Michael Latham, said it was hard to convince developers to release Cosmic Carnage as the 32X’s launch game. For Doom, programmer John Carmack had to remove a third of the game’s levels to meet the 32X’s launch date. Time limits also led developers to create simpler games that did not fully use the 32X’s capabilities. Another issue was the 32X’s hardware, which had two processors and a graphics processor that struggled to access memory, causing developers to use only one processor for most games. In an interview at the end of 1995, Sega’s vice president of marketing, Mike Ribero, said Sega was not giving up on the 32X but admitted that support from Sega itself had been weak: "I won’t lie to you, we screwed up with 32X. We overpromised and underdelivered."
Reception and legacy
Initial reception to the 32X and its games when it was first released was positive. Four reviewers from Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the 32X high scores in their 1995 Buyer's Guide, noting that it improved the Genesis but questioned how long the system would be supported. One reviewer said the 32X had a "bright future," while another believed it was only meant to last until the Saturn was released. A GamePro reviewer noted that the 32X required many cords and was complicated to set up, like a VCR, and mentioned some problems with the early models, such as freezing and overheating. However, the reviewer still approved of the 32X and believed the final models would work well.
By late 1995, opinions about the 32X became more negative. In their 1996 Buyer's Guide, Electronic Gaming Monthly reviewers gave the 32X low scores (3, 3, 3, and 2 out of 10), criticizing the limited number of games and Sega’s focus on the Saturn instead of supporting the 32X. A Next Generation review criticized the 32X for weak 3D graphics, games that used bright, flashy colors to show off its features, and its role as a way to gain market share before the Saturn was released. The review gave it one star out of five. Game Players said the 32X was less powerful than the Saturn and PlayStation, and its low price was not enough to attract buyers because most of its games could have been made on the Super NES. They also said that both Sega and third-party companies did not support the 32X well, concluding that it was a system that "never was."
Looking back, the 32X is widely criticized for having few games, weak support, and being a poor idea after the Saturn was released in Japan. 1UP.com’s Jeremy Parish said the 32X "tainted just about everything it touched." GamesRadar+ ranked the 32X as their ninth-worst console, with reviewer Mikel Reparaz calling it a temporary solution that was abandoned when the Saturn was released six months later. Retro Gamer’s Damien McFerran praised the 32X for improving the power of the Genesis and allowing accurate versions of games like Space Harrier and Virtua Fighter, but said it sold poorly despite its potential. IGN’s Levi Buchanan thought the 32X was a better idea than the SEGA CD but criticized its weak library and performance.
The 32X’s status as an add-on and its timing after the Saturn’s announcement are seen as major reasons for its failure. Allgame’s Scott Alan Marriott said that add-ons made it harder for people to buy the system and discouraged game companies from creating games for it. GamePro criticized the cost of buying the 32X and its accessories, with a reviewer saying that someone who bought all the add-ons might spend $650 for something as light as a small dog. GamesRadar+’s Reparaz said developers stopped making games for the 32X because it was not a good long-term investment, and gamers followed suit. He also said Sega’s decision to release the 32X was a mistake because it made the company compete with itself when the Saturn was released. IGN’s Buchanan said the 32X ended the idea of using add-ons to improve consoles, and that was a good thing because add-ons can divide the audience.
Former Sega executives had mixed views on the 32X. One believed it showed the video game industry the dangers of creating add-ons that split the market, and criticized later products like the Kinect and PlayStation Move for doing the same. Another said the 32X failed because it needed a Genesis to work and did not have a CD drive, even though it was compatible with the Sega CD. A third remembered the 32X positively but said its timing was bad because the Saturn was coming soon.