However, later reviews, both contemporary and retrospective, were mostly negative because of its shallow game library, poor market timing and its market fragmentation of the Genesis. ==History== Sega released the Mega Drive, a 16-bit video game console, in 1988.
It was released in North America as the Genesis in 1989, with releases in other regions a year later.
In 1991, Sega released an add-on for the Genesis, the Sega CD, which did not meet commercial expectations.
The SH-2 had been developed in 1993 as a joint venture between Sega and Japanese electronics company Hitachi.
It was distributed under the name in Japan, Genesis 32X in North America, Mega Drive 32X in the PAL region, and Mega 32X in Brazil. Unveiled by Sega at June 1994's Consumer Electronics Show, the 32X was presented as a low-cost option for consumers looking to play 32-bit games.
It was developed in response to the Atari Jaguar and concerns that the Saturn would not make it to market by the end of 1994.
Sega produced 800,000 32X units and sold an estimated 665,000 by the end of 1994, selling the rest at steep discounts until it was discontinued in 1996 as Sega turned its focus to the Saturn. The 32X is considered a commercial failure.
Sega was determined to release the new add-on before the end of 1994.
Japan disagreed with me on that, so as kind of a stopgap measure, the 32X came up." ===Development=== During the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in January 1994, Sega of America research and development head Joe Miller took a phone call in his Las Vegas hotel suite from Sega president Hayao Nakayama, in which Nakayama stressed the importance of coming up with a quick response to the Atari Jaguar.
Shortages of processors due to the same 32-bit chips being used in both the 32X and the Saturn hindered the development of the 32X, as did the language barrier between the teams in Japan and the United States. Before the 32X was launched, the release date of the Saturn was announced for November 1994 in Japan, coinciding with the 32X's target launch date in North America.
Their answer was to describe the 32X a "transitional device" between the Genesis and the Saturn; Bayless said this "just made us look greedy and dumb to consumers". ===Promotion and release=== The unveiling of the 32X to the public came at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in June 1994 in Chicago.
For the rest of us, however, 32X may well be the system of choice in '94." In promotion for the new system, Sega promised 12 games available at launch and 50 games due for release in 1995 from third-party developers. The 32X was released on November 21, 1994, in North America, in time for the holiday season that year.
Japan received the 32X on December 3, 1994.
Sales estimates for the 32X stood at 665,000 units at the end of 1994.
For the rest of us, however, 32X may well be the system of choice in '94." In promotion for the new system, Sega promised 12 games available at launch and 50 games due for release in 1995 from third-party developers. The 32X was released on November 21, 1994, in North America, in time for the holiday season that year.
Over 1,000,000 orders had been placed for 32X units, but Sega had only managed to ship 600,000 units by January 1995.
The system's PAL release came in January 1995, at a price of GB£169.99, and also experienced initial high demand. ===Decline=== 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.
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.
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.
In September 1995, the retail price for the 32X dropped to $99, and later the remaining inventory was cleared out of stores at $19.95, with 800,000 units sold in total. ===Sega Neptune=== 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 something less than US$200.
It was featured as early as March 1995, with Sega Magazine saying the console "shows [Sega's] commitment to the hardware." 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.
Sega produced 800,000 32X units and sold an estimated 665,000 by the end of 1994, selling the rest at steep discounts until it was discontinued in 1996 as Sega turned its focus to the Saturn. The 32X is considered a commercial failure.
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.
Electronic Gaming Monthly used the Sega Neptune as an April Fools' Day prank in its April 2001 issue.
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