Another 32X Appreciation Thread

[Christuserloeser]

I can really see the 32X and Saturn coexisting in the US at the least.

I really, really wonder how people come to this conclusion ? As things were 32X didn't sell at all, the 16-bit market collapsed over night, 32-bit sales were slow. Sega lost all of their market in less than one year, while Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft (Windows 95) came out as the laughing winner of a battle that didn't take place because Sega shot themselves in the foot the evening before the race.

[sheath]

For starters, what you say of the market loss is exaggerated, at least in the US. There were strong 16bit sales here at least until the end of 1996. Secondly, numerous sources cited in this forum show the 32X hitting anywhere from 665,000 to a million units worldwide in 1995. 32X did not sell poorly by any stretch, it was canned too early.

Conceptually, if I were going to market the 32X and Saturn at once I would have done it like this. One, the 32X would get solid first and second party support from 1994-1996. If sales kept dropping, then new releases would drop too, but not stop until at least summer of 1996. Secondly, 32X games would be ported as budget titles on the Saturn, that way Saturn owners could enjoy the top 32X titles, and 32X owners could play a "suped up" version of their favorite games.

That's pretty much it, plus have a couple dozen 32X CD games that really show the system's abilities off and for george's sake get Saturn development kits out that were on par with PS1 kits by summer of 1996.

It seems like a simple recipe to me, but if "unbiased" magazines like Edge were out there every issue trashing the 32X none of it would have worked no matter what.

[Christuserloeser]

If Microsoft were to release Xbox 720 and an incompatible add-on for 360 called 540, and which plugged into the 360's DVD drive - and still required its own video and power connections AND cost more than a deluxe PS3 Slim bundle - why would anyone buy this ?

By 1994 Sega had turned into the evil corporate giant they once were thought to be an alternative to. - Why shouldn't magazines warn people not to waste their money ?

Genesis sales were such from 1994-1996 that 32X sales, especially once the add-on was dropped to $100, could have remained respectable for about two years pretty easily, potentially better than Saturn and PS1 games were selling during that time frame

32X was released during the holiday season of 1994. We got numbers for 16-bit sales that definitely show how the market crumbled down. 1994 was still okay but there was a slump of roughly 1/5th of the sales in comparison to 1993. In 1995 however they sold only half of what they sold in 1994, while in 1996 they sold only half of what they sold in 1995: 1 million Genesis. They were back to the level of the pre-Sonic days.

And even if these sales don't seem that bad: If you expect a better performance but end up with a result like this, you can throw your entire financial planning through the window. You simply got nothing to work with anymore.

[sheath]

Okay, I see where you are coming from. On the add-on mentality, we are talking early-mid 90s here. This was the old Video Game market. Obviously nothing that actually expanded the graphics of an existing game console and required unique games could be released today. We are back in the times of Turbo CDs, DUOs, Sega CDs, vapor ware SNES CDs, Jaguar CDs and 3DO M2 add-ons still. That aside, I agree that the 32X's physical design should have been improved upon, and the Neptune (or whatever) should have launched in 1995. Also note, I am not talking about the Saturn or 32X becoming the biggest thing ever, I don't think that was possible even if they both produced better than Model 3 quality graphics and sound at the same prices.

Now, the market slump was market wide. Nintendo dropped, Sega dropped much more, and Sony's PS1 launch suffered as a result of the slump. It has been widely reported that the Genesis and SNES outsold the PS1 individually into 1996, that is where I was coming from. What the 32X did in 1994 was keep Sega's revenue above Nintendo's, which meant that revenue would be there for the Saturn's western launches, or for software development, or marketing, or hiring, whatever they needed it for. If they lost that revenue, they would have been forced to work with less or find more venture capital. At this critical stage the 32X played its roll of keeping Sega one of the biggest players in the industry.

We know how it turned out, we don't entirely know why it turned out that way. I consider it no different than if Sega had some sort of financial crisis in 1992 and just stopped making games on the scale they had been and stopped marketing the Genesis on the scale they had before.

[TVC 15]

the 32x has a video jumper inside. if its pal, and plays a ntsc game, it actually outputs pal60. with rgb you dont notice this.

however, my ntsc 32x refuses to play pal 32x games.

reason for this is because, pal models are wired up for a 240 line display, and ntsc models are wired up for a 224 line display..

an ntsc console can be rewired to do pal games, but itll output ntsc50, or rgb if you use that.

Wow?! I own a pal asian megadrive, (which I need to get round to modding for 60hz output) and I'm actually currently looking at a pal asian spec 32x to possibly buy. Now if I then bought the 32x with say a Ntsc-J copy of Virtua Racing would would it thus run at PAL60 full speed with no borders, due to the internal video jumper?

The mind boggles! I hope so!

[Christuserloeser]

What the 32X did in 1994 was keep Sega's revenue above Nintendo's, which meant that revenue would be there for the Saturn's western launches, or for software development, or marketing, or hiring, whatever they needed it for. If they lost that revenue, they would have been forced to work with less or find more venture capital. At this critical stage the 32X played its roll of keeping Sega one of the biggest players in the industry.

I doubt that. 32X was a real black hole for SOA's money. The 32X launch was huuuge, but Saturn's ? Not so much...

[sheath]

Keep in mind, we aren't talking about profitability for each unit sold or anything like that, just revenue. That is, pour money out, and get it back again, then count the cost. That's the way an aggressive organization like Sega used to be did things, that's the way they took over 50% of the US market from Nintendo. All of the reports I have seen say that the 32X helped propel Sega to greater revenue than Nintendo for 1994, whereas all of their Genesis games that year combined would have failed to achieve that on their own.

[Chilly Willy]

The 32X did GREAT at the end of 94, and did okay in 95 (given the first half of any year is slow for any computer or console, you always do better at the start of summer and after Thanksgiving) right up to the moment SOJ forced SOA to bring out the Saturn early. There's simply no way to argue against that. Even given the short period the 32X was available, it's not nearly the worst selling console by far.

[Christuserloeser]

But SOJ did not force SOA to bring out Saturn early - unless you consider almost a year after 32X launched early.

[sheath]

I thought the jury was still out on how the mash of quotes can make sense. SoJ ordered the Saturn to be launched earlier than September, Kalinkse decided that the surprise launch at E3 was the best way to handle that. At least that is where I've seen the speculation end so far.

[Christuserloeser]

Let's look at what we got:

1. Several quotes hinting at SOJ demanding a launch for autumn '95.
2. A software developer at SOA claiming SOJ ordered SOA to release "early" (or something like that).
3. Kalinske himself saying that the surprise launch was his idea.

hm...

[sheath]

All I see is a clear lack of homework on the interviewers' parts, coupled with a mix match of biases and selective memory. After multiple interviews of the same people we should have a more clear story by now. Instead we have to try to make the square pegs of these primary comments fit in the round whole of our expectations.

[Mr Smith]

I don't normally wander on the 32X board, but I am dismayed for the following reasons:

1) This topic is entitled 'Another 32X appreciation thread' this implied there have been at least two threads showing appreciation for the 32X.

In fact that's the only reason why I'm dismayed, so it probably wasn't the smartest idea in the world to number them/it.

[sheath]

There's a 32X music appreciation thread too. I actually need to follow up on what has yet to be recorded so far actually.

[Cornholio857]

There's a 32X music appreciation thread too. I actually need to follow up on what has yet to be recorded so far actually.

I still need to record Star Wars: Arcade, MK2 and Metal Head IIRC. I actually do have SW:A recorded, I just didn't like how it turned out. The last game I recorded was Virtua Racing Deluxe.

Completed ones are:

• Knuckles' Chaotix
• Kolibri
• Virtua Racing

EDIT: I may make an extended version of the Chaotix OST as I have had requests to extend them a minute or two while still looping properly as before.