Editing 32X (section)

===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>