Editing 32X (section)

==Reception and legacy==
[[Image:Sega-Genesis-Model-2-Monster-Bare.jpg|thumb|right|Sega Genesis with both the 32X and CD add-ons]]
Initial reception to the 32X and its games upon the launch of the add-on was positive. Four reviewers from ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]'' graded the 32X well in their 1995 Buyer's Guide, highlighting the add-on's enhancements to the Genesis but questioning how long the system would be supported: one reviewer suggested the add-on had a "bright future" while another believed it was only meant to last until the release of the Saturn.<ref name="egmbuyersguide1995">{{cite magazine |last1=Ed |last2=Danyon |last3=Al |last4=Sushi-X |date=January 1995 |title=EGM Rates the Systems of 1995! |url=https://archive.org/details/electronic-gaming-monthly-1995-video-game-buyers-guide/page/n31/mode/2up |access-date=April 19, 2024 |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]'s Buyer's Guide |publisher=EGM Media, LLC |page=33}}</ref> A reviewer for ''[[GamePro]]'' commented that the 32X's multiple input and power cords make it "as complicated as setting up your [[VCR]]" and noted some performance glitches with the prototype such as [[Freeze (computing)|freezes]] and overheating, but expressed confidence that the production models would perform well and gave the add-on their overall approval.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Return of the X|magazine=[[GamePro]]|issue=66|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|date=January 1995|page=188}}</ref> 

By late 1995, feedback to the add-on had soured. In its 1996 Buyer's Guide, ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'''s four reviewers scored the add-on 3, 3, 3, and 2 out of 10, criticizing the game library and Sega's abandonment of the system in favor of the Saturn.<ref name="egmbuyersguide1996">{{cite magazine |date=January 1996  |title=Electronic Gaming Monthly's Buyer's Guide |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |publisher=EGM Media, LLC}}</ref> A review in ''Next Generation'' panned the 32X for its weak polygon processing, the tendency of developers to show off its capabilities with garishly colored games, and its apparent function as "simply a way of grabbing extra 1994 mind and market share while waiting for Saturn". The review gave it one out of five stars.<ref name="NGen12">{{cite magazine|date=December 1995|title=Which Game System is the Best!?|url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-012/page/n73/mode/2up|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|issue=12|page=73}}</ref> ''[[Game Players]]'' assessed it as so much less powerful than the Saturn and [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] that its lower price could not be considered an enticement, and said that the vast majority of its games could have been done just as well on the [[Super NES]]. Additionally commenting that both first party and third party software support had been weak, they concluded, "The lack of support [and] good games, and the release of Saturn make the 32X a system that never was."<ref name=GPl79/>

Retrospectively, the 32X is widely criticized as having a shallow library with a lack of support and a poor idea in the wake of the release of the Sega Saturn in Japan. ''[[1UP.com]]'''s Jeremy Parish stated that the 32X "tainted just about everything it touched."<ref name="1UP">{{cite web|url=http://www.1up.com/features/sega-cd-anniversary |title=20 Years Ago, Sega Gave Us the Sega CD |access-date=December 11, 2016 |author=Parish, Jeremy |website=[[1UP.com]] |date=October 16, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130615202428/http://www.1up.com/features/sega-cd-anniversary |archive-date=June 15, 2013 }}</ref> ''GamesRadar+'' also panned the system, placing it as their ninth-worst console with reviewer Mikel Reparaz criticizing that "it was a stopgap system that would be thrown under the bus when the Sega Saturn came out six months later, and everyone seemed to know it except for die-hard Sega fans and the company itself."<ref name="GamesRadar+">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamesradar.com/the-10-worst-consoles-ever/2/ |title=The 10 worst consoles ever |access-date=June 7, 2013 |author=Reparaz, Mikel |website=[[GamesRadar+]] |date=February 23, 2008 |page=2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211144809/http://www.gamesradar.com/the-10-worst-consoles-ever/2/ |archive-date=February 11, 2017 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> ''<nowiki>Retro Gamer'</nowiki>''s Damien McFerran offered some praise for the power increase of the 32X to offer ports of ''Space Harrier'', ''After Burner'', and ''Virtua Fighter'' that were accurate to the original arcade versions, as well as the add-on's price point, stating, "If you didn't have deep enough pockets to afford a Saturn, then the 32X was a viable option; it's just a shame that it sold so poorly because the potential was there for true greatness."<ref name="Retroinspection"/> Levi Buchanan, writing for ''IGN'', saw some sense in the move for Sega to create the 32X but criticized its implementation. According to Buchanan, "I actually thought the 32X was a better idea than the SEGA CD... The 32X, while underpowered, at least advanced the ball. Maybe it only gained a few inches in no small part due to a weak library, but at least the idea was the right one."<ref name="32XIGN" />

In particular, the console's status as an add-on and poor timing after the announcement of the Saturn has been identified by reviewers as being responsible factors for fracturing the audience for Sega's video game consoles in terms of both developers and consumers. ''[[Allgame]]''<nowiki/>'s Scott Alan Marriott states that "[e]very add-on whittled away at the number of potential buyers and discouraged third-party companies from making the games necessary to boost sales."<ref name="AllgameCD32X">{{cite web |author=Marriott, Scott Alan |title=Sega Genesis CD 32X&nbsp;— Overview |url=http://allgame.com/platform.php?id=43 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210111102/http://www.allgame.com/platform.php?id=43 |archive-date=December 10, 2014 |access-date=June 7, 2013 |website=[[AllGame]] |publisher=}}</ref> ''GamePro'' criticized the concept of the add-on, noting the expenses involved in purchasing the system. According to reviewer Blake Snow, "Just how many 16-bit attachments did one need? All in all, if you were one of the unlucky souls who completely bought into Sega's add-on frenzy, you would have spent a whopping $650 for something that weighed about as much as a small dog."<ref name="gamepro">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.gamepro.com/gamepro/domestic/games/features/111823.shtml |title=The 10 Worst-Selling Consoles of All Time |access-date=November 25, 2007 |author=Snow, Blake |magazine=[[GamePro]] |date=May 4, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070508035815/http://www.gamepro.com/gamepro/domestic/games/features/111823.shtml|archive-date=May 8, 2007}}</ref> Writing for ''GamesRadar+'', Reparaz noted that "developers—not wanting to waste time on a technological dead-end—abandoned the 32X in droves. Gamers quickly followed suit, turning what was once a promising idea into an embarrassing footnote in console history, as well as an object lesson in why console makers shouldn't split their user base with pricey add-ons."<ref name="GamesRadar+" /> Reparaz went on to criticize Sega's decision to release the 32X, noting that "(u)ltimately, the 32X was the product of boneheaded short-sightedness: its existence put Sega into competition with itself once the Saturn rolled out."<ref name="GamesRadar+" /> Writing for ''IGN'', Buchanan points out, "Notice that we haven't seen many add-ons like the 32X since 1994? I think the 32X killed the idea of an add-on like this—a power booster—permanently. And that's a good thing. Because add-ons, if not implemented properly, just splinter an audience."<ref name="32XIGN" />

Former executives at Sega have mixed opinions of the 32X. Bayless believed firmly that the 32X served as a warning to the video game industry not to risk splintering the market for consoles by creating add-ons, and was critical of the [[Kinect]] and [[PlayStation Move]] for doing so.<ref name="Retroinspection"/> Franz placed the 32X's commercial failure on its inability to function without an attached Genesis and lack of a CD drive, despite its compatibility with the Sega CD.<ref name="Retroinspection"/> Miller remembered the 32X and his vision for the console positively, but conceded that the timing was wrong with the Saturn on the horizon.<ref name="Miller"/>