Editing 32X (section)

==History==
The [[Sega Genesis]] was released in 1988.<ref name="RetroinspectionG">{{cite magazine |author=Sczepaniak, John |date=August 2006 |title=Retroinspection: Mega Drive |url=https://www.sega-16.com/2006/09/retroinspection-mega-drive/ |access-date=April 17, 2024 |magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] |publisher=Imagine Publishing |pages=42–47 |via=Sega-16 |issue=27}}</ref> By early 1994, Sega had started to become concerned about competition from newer, more powerful [[History of video game consoles (fifth generation)|32-bit]] consoles, such as the [[Atari Jaguar]] and the [[3DO]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine|last=Thorpe|first=Nick|date=April 2016|title=Sega's Big Gamble|url=|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|issue=153|page=|pages=20–29|doi=|pmid=|access-date=}}</ref> The [[Sega CD]], a previous add-on for the Genesis, had not met commercial expectations, and the Genesis' successor, the [[Sega Saturn]], would not be fully rolled out worldwide until late 1995.<ref name="Retroinspection">{{cite magazine|last=McFerran|first=Damien|title=Retroinspection: Sega 32X|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]]|issue=77|pages=44–49|url=https://www.nintendolife.com/features/hardware-classics-unpacking-the-32x-segas-most-catastrophic-console-failure|via=[[NintendoLife]]|accessdate=April 18, 2024}}</ref><ref name="EurogamerRAF">{{cite web |last=McFerran |first=Damien |date=February 22, 2012 |title=The Rise and Fall of Sega Enterprises |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-22-the-rise-and-fall-of-sega-enterprises |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140216124431/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-22-the-rise-and-fall-of-sega-enterprises |archive-date=February 16, 2014 |access-date=May 1, 2014 |website=[[Eurogamer]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name=":1"/><ref name="32XIGN">{{cite web|author=Buchanan, Levi|title=32X Follies|website=[[IGN]]|date=October 24, 2008|access-date=May 25, 2013|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/10/24/32x-follies|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417080118/http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/10/24/32x-follies|archive-date=April 17, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref> This left a nearly two-year gap that Sega worried would allow its competitors to gain traction. According to former Sega of America CEO [[Tom Kalinske]], in regards to discussing about the longevity of the Genesis, "Initially, the argument was that we could get another year of life out of the Genesis before we had to introduce the Saturn. Japan disagreed with me on that, so as kind of a stopgap measure, the 32X came up."<ref name=":1"/>

===Development===
During the Winter [[Consumer Electronics Show]] in January 1994, Sega of America [[research and development]] head Joe Miller took a phone call in his Las Vegas hotel suite from Sega president [[Hayao Nakayama]], in which Nakayama stressed the importance of coming up with a quick response to the [[Atari Jaguar]]. Included on this call were Sega of America producer Scot Bayless, Sega hardware team head Hideki Sato, and Sega of America vice president of technology Marty Franz. One idea mooted by the Japanese team, referred to by former Sega of America producer Michael Latham as "Genesis 2",{{Sfn|Kent|2001|p=494}} was an entirely new independent console.<ref name="Retroinspection" /> This would have been a new Genesis model with an upgraded color palette and some limited [[3D computer graphics|3D]] capabilities thanks to integration of ideas from the development of the [[Sega Genesis#Sega Virtua Processor|Sega Virtua Processor]] chip.

According to Latham, Miller dismissed an upgraded Genesis as "just a horrible idea. If all you're going to do is enhance the system, you should make it an add-on. If it's a new system with legitimate new software, great. But if the only thing it does is double the colors...."{{Sfn|Kent|2001|p=494}} Miller said his idea was to leverage the existing Genesis as a way to keep from alienating Sega customers, who would otherwise be required to discard their Genesis systems entirely to play 32-bit games, and to control the cost of the new system in the form of an add-on.<ref name="Miller">{{cite web |author=Horowitz, Ken |date=February 7, 2013 |title=Interview: Joe Miller |url=http://www.sega-16.com/2013/02/interview-joe-miller/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202233248/http://www.sega-16.com/2013/02/interview-joe-miller/ |archive-date=December 2, 2013 |access-date=January 10, 2014 |website=Sega-16 |publisher= |df=mdy-all}}</ref> From these discussions, the new add-on, codenamed "Project Mars", was advanced.<ref name="Retroinspection"/>

With Miller pushing for his American team to create the system,<ref name="Retroinspection" /> the 32X was designed as a peripheral for the existing Genesis,{{Sfn|Kent|2001|p=494}} expanding its power with two 32-bit [[SuperH]]-2 [[Central processing unit|processors]], the same as those that would be used in the Saturn but with a lower [[Clock rate|clock speed]].<ref name=":1" /> The SH-2 had been developed in 1993 as a joint venture between Sega and Japanese electronics company [[Hitachi]].<ref name="NG February">{{cite magazine|date=February 1995|title=Sega Saturn|url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-002/page/n37/mode/2up|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|publisher=[[Future plc|Imagine Media]]|volume=1|issue=2|pages=36–43}}</ref> The original design for the 32X add-on, according to Bayless, was created on a cocktail napkin,<ref name="RetroinspectionCD">{{cite magazine|author=McFerran|first=Damien|date=February 2009|title=Retroinspection: Mega-CD|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|issue=61|pages=82–87}}</ref> but Miller denied this.<ref name="Miller" /> In another account, Bayless claimed that Franz began designing the 32X on a hotel notepad, drawing two SH-2 processors with separate [[Framebuffer|framebuffers]].<ref name="Retroinspection" /> 

Although the new unit was a stronger console than originally proposed, it was not compatible with Saturn games.{{Sfn|Kent|2001|p=494}} This was justified by Sega's statement that both platforms would run at the same time, and that the 32X would be aimed at players who could not afford the more expensive Saturn.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Semrad|first=Ed|date=December 1994|title=EGM Goes One-on-One with Sega's Chief – Tom Kalinske|url=https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_65/page/n215/mode/2up|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|publisher=Sendai Publishing|issue=65|pages=191}}</ref><ref name="Allgame32X" /> Bayless praised the potential of this system at this point, calling it "a coder's dream for the day" with its twin processors and 3D capabilities.<ref name="Retroinspection"/> Sega of America headed up the development of the 32X, with some assistance from Sato's team in Japan. Shortages of processors due to the same 32-bit chips being used in both the 32X and the Saturn hindered the development of the 32X, as did the language barrier between the teams in Japan and the United States.<ref name="Retroinspection"/>

Before the 32X was launched, the release date of the Saturn was announced for November 1994 in Japan, coinciding with the 32X's target launch date in North America. Sega of America was tasked with marketing the 32X with the Saturn's Japan release occurring simultaneously. Their answer was to describe the 32X a "transitional device" between the Genesis and the Saturn; Bayless said this "just made us look greedy and dumb to consumers".<ref name="Retroinspection"/>

===Promotion and release===
[[Image:Sega-Saturn-JP-Mk1-Console-Set.jpg|thumb|right|Japanese Sega Saturn, released in November 1994. The 32X was incompatible with Saturn software.]]
The unveiling of the 32X to the public came at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in June 1994 in Chicago. Promoted as the "poor man's entry into 'next generation' games", 32X was marketed for its [[United States dollar|US$]]159 price point as a less-expensive alternative to the Saturn. However, Sega would not answer as to whether or not a Genesis console equipped with a Sega CD and a 32X would be able to run Saturn software. [[Trip Hawkins]], founder of [[The 3DO Company]], was willing to point out that it would not, stating, "Everyone knows that 32X is a [[Band-Aid]]. It's not a 'next generation system.' It's fairly expensive. It's not particularly high-performance. It's hard to program for, and it's not compatible with the Saturn."<ref name="Kent_493_496" /> In response to these comments, Sega executive Richard Brudvik-Lindner pointed out that the 32X would play Genesis games, and had the same system architecture as the Saturn.{{Sfn|Kent|2001|p=494}}  

In August of that year, ''[[GamePro]]'' highlighted the advantages of the upcoming add-on in its 32-bit processors and significantly lower price, noting that "[n]o doubt gotta-get-it-now gamers will spend the big bucks to grab Saturn or [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] systems and games from Japan. For the rest of us, however, 32X may well be the system of choice in '94."<ref name="GP32X">{{cite magazine|author=The Whizz|date=August 1994|title=32X: On the Upgrade Path|url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_061_August_1994/page/n31/mode/2up|magazine=[[GamePro]]|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|issue=61|page=30}}</ref> ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' was more critical, questioning if the 32X was only there to fill in as a stopgap for the Christmas season in the US and Europe, and referred to the Japanese release as a "PR exercise and quick money maker [rather] than a serious bid to get the machine into every home". Responding to concerns over the 32X being a stopgap, Kalinske said, "Saturn will be at a price point that will not make it a massmarket item. In terms of volume and keeping the category exciting, it's Genesis and 32X."<ref name=":2" />

The 32X was released on November 21, 1994, in North America,<ref name=":0">{{Cite press release |title=Sega 32X upgrade sees a sold-out Yule |date=January 2, 1995 |publisher=[[Sega|Sega of America]] |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sega+32X+upgrade+sees+a+sold-out+Yule.-a016020605 |access-date=April 18, 2024 |via=[[Free Online Library]]}}</ref> in time for the [[Christmas holiday season|holiday season]] that year. As announced, it retailed for $159.99 without a [[pack-in game]].<ref name="Retroinspection" /><ref name=":2" /> Demand among retailers was high, and Sega could not keep up with orders for the new system.{{Sfn|Kent|2001|p=496}} Over 1,000,000 orders had been placed for 32X units, but Sega had only managed to ship 600,000 units by January 1995.<ref name="Allgame32X" /> In the United States, nearly 500,000 units were sold by Christmas 1994,<ref>{{Cite press release|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sega+threepeat+as+video+game+leader+for+Christmas+sales;+second...-a015997617|title=Sega threepeat as video game leader for Christmas sales; second annual victory; Sega takes No. 1 position for entire digital interactive entertainment industry.|publisher=[[Sega of America]]|date=January 6, 1995|via=[[Free Online Library]]|access-date=February 17, 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014174045/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sega+threepeat+as+video+game+leader+for+Christmas+sales;+second...-a015997617|archive-date=October 14, 2013}}</ref> exceeding Sega's initial sales projection.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Hot Off The Press: Sega Notes |magazine=RePlay |date=February 1995 |volume=20 |issue=5 |page=3 |url=https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-20-issue-no.-5-february-1995/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2020%2C%20Issue%20No.%205%20-%20February%201995/page/n2}}</ref> Launching at about the same price as a Genesis console, the price of the 32X was less than half of what the Saturn's price would be at launch.<ref name="32XIGN" /> The European release came in November 1994, at a price of £169.99, and also experienced initial high demand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=25 October 1994, 18 - The Daily Telegraph at |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/751803147 |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref>

Sega promised 12 games available at launch and 50 games due for release in 1995 from third-party developers.<ref name="GP32X" /> Despite Sega's initial promises, only six games were available at its North American launch, including ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]'', ''[[Star Wars Arcade]]'', ''[[Virtua Racing|Virtua Racing Deluxe]]'', and ''[[Cosmic Carnage]]''. Although ''Virtua Racing'' was considered strong, ''Cosmic Carnage'' "looked and played so poorly that reporters made jokes about it".{{Sfn|Kent|2001|p=496}}<ref name="wire">{{cite web |author=McConville, James A. |date=January 2, 1995 |title=Sega 32X upgrade sees a sold-out Yule |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sega+32X+upgrade+sees+a+sold-out+Yule.-a016020605 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117021257/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sega+32X+upgrade+sees+a+sold-out+Yule.-a016020605 |archive-date=November 17, 2015 |access-date=February 11, 2014 |website=[[Business Wire]] |publisher=}}</ref> Games were available at a retail price of $69.95.<ref name="GP32X" /> Advertising for the system included images of the 32X being connected to a Genesis console to create an "[[Arcade game|arcade]] system".<ref name="Retroinspection" />  Japan received the 32X on December 3, 1994,<ref name="jp">{{cite web|title=Super 32X|url=https://sega.jp/fb/segahard/32x/|publisher=[[Sega|Sega Corporation]]|access-date=February 23, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716105656/http://sega.jp/fb/segahard/32x/|archive-date=July 16, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref> two weeks after the launch of the Saturn in the region.<ref name=":2">{{Cite magazine |date=January 1995 |title=Sega fills next-gen hiatus with 32X |magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] |pages=10–11 |issue=16}}</ref> The 32X launched in Brazil in March 1995.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=December 1995 |title=Circuito Aberto |magazine=Super GamePower |pages=10–11 |language=pt |issue=21}}</ref>

===Decline===
Despite the lower price console's positioning as an inexpensive entry into 32-bit gaming, Sega had a difficult time convincing [[third-party developer]]s to create games for the new system. Top developers were already aware of the coming arrival of the Sega Saturn, [[Nintendo 64]], and PlayStation, and did not believe the 32X would be capable of competing with any of those systems.{{Sfn|Kent|2001|p=495}}  Not wanting to create games for an add-on that was "a technological dead-end", many developers decided not to make games for the system.<ref name="GamesRadar+" /> Problems plagued games developed in-house due to the 32X's quick development time. According to Bayless, "games in the queue were effectively jammed into a box as fast as possible, which meant massive cutting of corners in every conceivable way. Even from the outset, designs of those games were deliberately conservative because of the time crunch. By the time they shipped they were even more conservative; they did nothing to show off what the hardware was capable of."<ref name="Retroinspection"/> Kalinske has said that Sega of America did not receive enough support from Japan in game development. [[Software development kit|Development kits]] came out late, leaving little time for game development before the 32X release.<ref name=":1" /> According to one developer, the 32X's hardware was significantly slower than the Saturn and lacked the capability for [[texture mapping]].<ref name=":2" />

Journalists were similarly concerned about Sega's tactic of selling two similar consoles at different prices and attempting to support both, likening Sega's approach to that of [[General Motors]] and segmenting the market for its consoles.{{Sfn|Kent|2001|p=495}}<ref name="FinWorld">{{cite magazine|author=Morris, Kathleen|title=Nightmare in the Fun House|magazine=[[Financial World]]|date=February 21, 1995|volume=32}}</ref> In order to convince the press that the 32X was a worthwhile console, Sega flew in journalists from all around the country to [[San Francisco]] for a party at a local nightclub. The event featured a speech from Kalinske, live music with a local rapper, and 32X games on exhibition. However, the event turned out to be a bust, as journalists attempted to leave the party due to its loud music and unimpressive games on display, only to find that the buses that brought them to the nightclub had just left and would not return until the scheduled end of the party.{{Sfn|Kent|2001|pp=495-496}}

Though the system had a successful launch, demand soon disappeared. Over the first three months of 1995, several of the 32X's third party publishers, including [[Capcom]] and [[Konami]], cancelled their 32X projects so that they could focus on producing games for the Saturn and PlayStation.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=May 1995|title=32X Update|url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_070_May_1995/page/n139/mode/2up|magazine=[[GamePro]]|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|issue=70|page=138}}</ref> The 32X failed to catch on with the public, and is considered a [[List of commercial failures in video gaming|commercial failure]].{{Sfn|Kent|2001|p=496}} By 1995, the Genesis had still not proven successful in Japan, where it was known as Mega Drive, and the Saturn was beating the PlayStation, so Sega CEO Hayao Nakayama decided to force Sega of America to focus on the Saturn and cut support for Genesis products, executing a surprise early launch of the Saturn in the early summer of 1995. Sega was supporting five different consoles before this—Saturn, Genesis, [[Game Gear]], [[Sega Pico|Pico]], and the [[Master System]]—as well as the Sega CD and 32X add-ons.{{sfn|Kent|2001|pages=508, 531}} Sales estimates for the 32X stood at 665,000 units at the end of 1994.<ref name="Man!ac">{{cite news |author= |date=May 1995 |title=Videospiel-Algebra |magazine={{interlanguage link|MAN!AC|de}} |publisher=Cybermedia |pages=24–25 |language=de}}</ref> Despite assurances from Sega that many games would be developed for the system, in early 1996, Sega finally conceded that it had promised too much out of the add-on and decided to discontinue the 32X in order to focus on the Saturn.<ref name="Allgame32X" /> In September 1995, the retail price for the 32X dropped to $99,<ref>{{cite web|date=September 19, 1995|title=Sega Genesis 32X price comes down to $99|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sega+Genesis+32X+price+comes+down+to+$99.-a017442621|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315214058/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sega+Genesis+32X+price+comes+down+to+$99.-a017442621|archive-date=March 15, 2016|access-date=February 11, 2014|publisher=[[Business Wire]]}}</ref> and later the remaining inventory was cleared out of stores at $19.95,{{Sfn|Kent|2001|p=496}} with 800,000 units sold in total.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stuart |first=Keith |title=Sega Mega Drive Collected Works |year=2014 |quote=Finally with regards the launch of the 32X Shinobu Toyoda of Sega of America recalls, "We had an inventory problem. Behind the scenes, Nakayama wanted us to sell a million units in the US in the first year. Kalinske and I said we could only sell 600,000. We shook hands on a compromise – 800,000. At the end of the year we had managed to shift 600,000 as estimated, so ended up with 200,000 units in our warehouse, which we had to sell to retailers at a steep discount to get rid of the inventory." |publisher=Read-Only Memory |isbn=9780957576810}}</ref>

===Sega Neptune===
The Sega Neptune is an unproduced two-in-one Genesis and 32X console which Sega planned to release in fall 1995, with the retail price planned to be under $200.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite magazine|title=CES ProNews Flashes!|magazine=[[GamePro]]|issue=68 |publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|date=March 1995|page=156}}</ref> It was featured as early as March 1995, with ''[[Sega Magazine]]'' saying the console "shows [Sega's] commitment to the hardware",<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=March 1995|title=Introducing... The Megadrive 32X System!|magazine=[[Sega Magazine]]|publisher=[[EMAP]]|issue=15|page=8}}</ref> and that the system would be compatible with the [[Sega_CD|Mega-CD]].<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Mega Drive/Mega Drive 32X/Mega-CD Product Catalogue|url=https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:SEGAMegaDrive32XCDProductCatalogue.pdf&page=3|title=Mega Drive 32X}}</ref> Sega cancelled the Neptune in October 1995, citing fears that it would dilute their marketing for the Saturn while being priced too close to the Saturn to be a viable competitor.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=January 1996|title=1995: The Calm Before the Storm?|url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-013/page/n57/mode/2up|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|issue=13|page=56}}</ref> ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]'' used the Sega Neptune as an [[April Fools' Day]] prank in its April 2001 issue. The issue included a small article in which the writers announced that Sega had found a warehouse full of old Sega Neptunes, and were selling them on a website for $199.<ref name="EGM">{{cite magazine|title=Sega's Neptune Finally Surfaces|publisher=EGM Media, LLC.|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|date=April 2001|url= https://archive.org/details/electronic-gaming-monthly-issue-141-april-2001/page/n28/mode/1up|accessdate=April 19, 2024|page=30}}</ref>