Welcome to the first of a monthly series about my favorite bad system.  I thought we would take a look at the name.  Why would you name a system "32X"?

First, there was 8-bit (Not really, but for the purposes of this discussion just go with it).  What is 8-bit, what does it mean?  In the case of the NES, the term 8-bit is referring to the 8-bit microprocessor that the NES used as a CPU.  That means that, at most, the CPU can handle data units that are 8 bits (one octet) wide.  The Nintendo Entertainment System and the Atari 2600, or VCS if you prefer, weren't heavily marketed as "8-bit machines".  Probably because there was not another apples to apples comparison.  There were no 4-bit machines.  When the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis came along, they were both heavily marketed as 16-bit machines.  And why not?  16 is twice as much as 8, it must be twice as good!  The 16 bit marketing worked well for both machines as it clearly demonstrated, in familiar terms, just how much better this product was supposed to be.  Towards the end of the 16 bit era, whispers of a 32 bit monster could be heard all across the X-Band waves...




(Skip to the end of the 16 bit era)

In June of 1994, Sega unveiled the 32X.  Not only was it a 32 bit video game machine, two thirds of the name of the new machine was 32.  There was no question that Sega thought they could ride this "number marketing" strategy for one more (half of a) generation.  They were wrong.  Oh were they ever wrong.

As we all know, the 32X was a complete flop.  Less than 40 games were released for the 32X, most of them ports of games available on other systems.  How much of it had to do with the name?  Probably not a ton, but the name didn't help.  What did the 32X have going against it? Confusion.

The Name  
Technically, the name of the add on is the Sega Genesis 32X.  This is confusing for a number of reasons.  Is is the new Genesis?  Oh, it just plugs into the old one?  But I need to maybe use a spacer depending on which Genesis?  It plays old Genesis games, right?  Does it make them look better? I can play my Genesis copy of Virtua Racing, right? Then again, What could it have been called that wouldn't have been equally confusing?

If it had a word other than Genesis in the title, people would assume it was a new stand alone system.


The Saturn
Before the 32X launched in the US, the Sega Saturn was announced.  Remember the confusion we were talking about?  So can the 32X play Saturn games?  Can the Saturn play Genesis games?  There is a cart slot on the Saturn, will the 32X work in the Saturn?

Developer Support
Why would any developer put their resources into a system that was widely viewed in the industry as a Band-Aid?  The answer is: they didn't.  No third party developer made a single piece of quality exclusive software for the 32X.  No must-have titles is a system killer.

That being said, I still love the 32X and I'm not really sure why.

A lot of it probably has to do with being a Sega and Genesis fanboy during the 16-bit era.  I was a big fan of Doom, Mortal Kombat, Star Wars Arcade, and Virtua Fighter.  I still think the 32X ports of those games are among the best available on a console.  As is the case with most collectors, there is a good deal of nostalgia in the mix.  Those yellow boxes with the red 32X stand out nicely on the shelf.  There isn't really a huge homebrew scene on the 32X but there are some oddballs that get reproduced like the extremely expensive Darxide:



or this little beauty:



The Future of the 32X
There is still enough buzz about the system to keep me excited to see what comes next.  There is a fairly extensive list of 32X games that were announced, started development, and were ultimately never released.  Is it possible that we may see other 32X repros pop up as some prototype carts see the light of day? Is a homebrew upgraded version of NHL 95 for the 32X too much to hope for?  Probably, but a guy can dream.

Permalink | Comments [26] | Digg This Article | Tweet