COLUMN: 'Parallax Memories' - 32X
['Parallax Memories' is a regular weekly column by Matthew Williamson, profiling classic '16-bit' games from the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, and other seminal '90s systems. This week's column profiles Sega's accessory: The 32X]
The 32-bit Promise
The 32X is the reason that I lost faith in Sega. As a kid, I was jealous of my friend's Master System and its superior graphics. A little older and able to make my own purchasing decisions, I was an early adopter of the Genesis and Game Gear, which I proudly tauted as the best possible systems in their respective fields (even though I had to carry around an adapter for the Game Gear). The Sega CD was a little too much for me, and after playing a few games of Sewer Shark at a friend's house, my desire to own one waned. The 32X, on the other hand, got me excited.
The 32X was the first console add-on that fundamentally changed a console into something else. Unlike the CD add-on, which only expanded the current possibilities of the system, the 32X actually altered what the Genesis was capable of. The original system was only capable of 64 colors on screen (although a few games had some programming trickery which gave the appearance of more), yet the 32X promised over 32,000. The processor was also truly 32-bit with onboard scaling, rotation, and 3-D capabilities that were previously impossible.
What Went Wrong?
Sega CEO Hayao Nakayama started the cartridge-based 32X project (originally titled Project Jupiter) . But Sega found that a CD-based system was more viable, and the production of the 32X was moved to the United States along with some of Sega of Japan’s engineers. SOJ continued independently with Project Saturn, the CD-based 32-bit system that would become the Playstation’s main competition.
In order to meet the promised release date of Christmas 1994, the 32X was released with the hardware availability well below initial demand (much as the PS2 and X360 would be in later years). Games were cut down and scaled back to get them out on time. Levels were cut and game-crashing bugs were left unresolved. On top of that, many systems had compatibility problems or were just plain faulty. Though initially popular and surrounded with hype, the console proved to be a major failure.
A Quick Death
Unlike NEC’s console, the 32X did not thrive in any environment. There was only one region-exclusive game for the console in Japan (Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV). And the Saturn—which had superior hardware and software—had already been released in Japan by the time the 32X was available. In the United States, it debuted only six months after the United States release of the 32X.
Sega promised to support the 32X despite the release of the Saturn. But it was a lie. In less than two years, the final game for the 32X was released; the system never even had a “killer app” to justify its price. The system quietly died after being lampooned time and time again by the major gaming news outlets. All the goodwill that Sega had built up with me on the Genesis was in ruin after the 32X. I like to think that the Saturn's steady decline was a direct result of the 32X’s antics. I know it’s why I never purchased a Saturn until just two years ago.
[Matthew Williamson is the creator of The Gamer’s Quarter, an independent videogame magazine focusing on first person writing. His work has been featured on MTV.com, 1up.com, Chatterbox Radio, and the Fatpixels Radio Podcast.]
Comments
I bought a 32X the week they came out, having read all the pre-release information I could get my hands on. I was also quite heavily addicted to Sega's 3D titles of the moment too; primarily Virtua Fighter and especially Virtua Racing. I got Virtua Racing along with the 32X at purchase, and, although it was a great game in its own right, I never bought another game for the system after that.
I can still remember all the stunning-looking screenshots on the back of the 32X's packaging quite vividly, but I can't actually recall more than 3-4 making it to retail.
I never had a GameGear, but, along with the release of the 32X, that's what killed my enthusiasm for Sega consoles. I couldn't ever see the merit in a portable Master System with virtually no battery life to speak of. And I'd already committed myself to Nintendo's Game Boy several years beforehand.
I did toy with the idea of buying a Saturn at launch initially--in fact I'd worked all summer so I'd have plenty of money to spend on the console and a respectable starter-library of games. (Ironically enough, all those people bitching about how expensive PS3 is going to be might be interested to learn that, in places throughout the UK at time of launch, the Saturn was *only* available as a "special" £399 bundle pack with three release games--perhaps evidence that the retail sector had lost faith in Sega too, as shops would seemingly only sell consoles as long as software sales were guaranteed also.)
Sega did revitalise my interest with the Dreamcast, but not enough to make a purchase when it was a then-contemporary console. I since picked one up off eBay at the start of this year for £30, and it's a brilliant piece of kit.
I really think Sega could have made things right again with the Dreamcast, but the damage had already been done--and the rot within the company was evident. What adds insult to injury - regarding manny fans faith and commitment to Sega - is the rapid and steady decline of product quality coming from the former Japanese powerhouse. Sega are forcing fans to do some deep soul-searching in light of still-born products like Shadow the Hedgehog, and it just shouldn't be this way.
Tragically, things don't appear to be improving with the emergence of next-gen; Sega's reimagining of Sonic the Hedgehog on Xbox 360 being foremost in my mind. "Oh how the mighty fall," as the saying goes...
Posted by: Pete Fairhurst | July 25, 2006 6:46 AM
Voices tell me this thing did have quite a few good games...
Posted by: gnome | July 25, 2006 9:03 AM
I bought a 32X with Doom and Star Wars; it all cost CA$450 - aka a giant ripoff. Both games were incredibly buggy. At one point in Doom the whole system crashes to a 'C:\' prompt, so you can never get to the later levels and never complete the game. A 'C:\' prompt?! After 3 or 4 months my 32X just stopped working altogether and never came back to life.
When I saw the Saturn, I didn't even consider buying it.
Seeing how the Game Gear, 32X, and the Saturn turned out, how could anybody trust Sega enough to buy a Dreamcast? Their miserable failure at consoles didn't suprise me at all by the time it happened. I still get angry when I see a 32X, so I was pretty happy to see them go.
It's still weird seeing Sonic on a Nintendo though...
Posted by: Calculoid | July 25, 2006 6:21 PM
I don't see how the company allowed development to continue with the knowledge they were about to replace it. It was an add on, which they already knew from experence wouldn't sell anywhere near the numbers of the system they plug into. I don't see how they couldn't see the ill will this would generate. They wanted to continue to capitalize on the genesis' success here in the states, but they could have just as easily kept making regular genesis software and acheve far better results.
While all this didn't bode well for the saturn, I think sega's desire to keep the saturn's MSRP well above the compitition is what truely killed saturn. They simply refused to attempt to stay compeditive.
Posted by: d | July 25, 2006 10:28 PM