Сега 32X: Сәтсіздікке ұшыраған қосымша және жобалардың тоқтатылуы

Video game console add on

Sega promised 12 games available at launch and 50 games due for release in 1995 from third party developers. Games were available at a retail price of $69.95. two weeks after the launch of the Saturn in the region. The 32X launched in Brazil in March 1995.

Despite the lower price console's positioning as an inexpensive entry into 32 bit gaming, Sega had a difficult time convincing third party developers 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. 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. 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. 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. The 32X failed to catch on with the public, and is considered a commercial failure. 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, Pico, and the Master System—as well as the Sega CD and 32X add ons. Sales estimates for the 32X stood at 665,000 units at the end of 1994. 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. and later the remaining inventory was cleared out of stores at $19.95, with 800,000 units sold in total.

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. It was featured as early as March 1995, with Sega Magazine saying the console "shows [Sega's] commitment to the hardware", and that the system would be compatible with the Mega CD. 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. 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.

The 32X can be used only in conjunction with a Genesis system. It is inserted into the system like a standard game cartridge. The add on requires its own separate power supply, a connection cable linking it to the Genesis, and an additional conversion cable for the original model of the Genesis. As well as playing its own library of cartridges, the 32X is backwards compatible with Genesis games, and can also be used in conjunction with the Sega CD to play games that use both add ons. The 32X also came with a spacer so it would fit properly with the second model of the Genesis; an optional spacer was offered for use with the Sega Genesis CDX system, but ultimately never shipped due to risks of electric shock when the 32X and CDX were connected. Installation of the 32X also requires the insertion of two included electromagnetic shield plates into the Genesis' cartridge slot. Seated on top of a Genesis, the 32X measures The 32X contains two Hitachi SH 2 32 bit RISC processors with a clock speed of 23 MHz, which Sega claimed would allow the system to work 40 times faster than a stand alone Genesis. In a retrospective review of the console, Star Wars Arcade was considered the best game for the 32X by IGN for its cooperative play, soundtrack, and faithful reproduction of the experiences of Star Wars. In a separate review, IGNs Levi Buchanan praised the 32X game Shadow Squadron as superior to Star Wars Arcade. Retro Gamer writer Damien McFerran, however, praised Virtua Fighter as "the jewel in the 32X's crown", and GamesRadar+ named Knuckles' Chaotix as the best game for the system. In response to fan inquiries, Sega stated that the 32X architecture was not powerful enough to handle a port of Virtua Fighter 2. Despite its 32 bit processing and potential for better graphics and sound than the Genesis, most games did not take advantage of the 32X hardware. but was later criticized as inferior to versions for the PC and the Atari Jaguar, with missing levels, poor graphics and audio, jerky movement, and windowed gameplay. Franz believes few developers were willing to invest in designing games to work with the 32X's improved audio abilities.

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. 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 freezes and overheating, but expressed confidence that the production models would perform well and gave the add on their overall approval. 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. 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. Game Players assessed it as so much less powerful than the Saturn and 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." 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." Retro Gamer'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." 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." 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." 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." 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." 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. 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. Miller remembered the 32X and his vision for the console positively, but conceded that the timing was wrong with the Saturn on the horizon.