64XX - The 64-Bit add-on for the 32X!

[Guntz]

Since alternate gaming history is a staple around here, I thought we should make a thread that embodies that kind of hopeless hindsight that Sega-16 is known for.

1995, in an alternate universe

It's late 1995, 32X sales are slumping. Sega is unsure what to do now that it's backup plan for it's backup plan is failing too. The Saturn was considered as a successor, but Sega deemed it too unfitting of succeeding the 32X. It was decided that the Genesis needed another add-on to make the 32X not feel like such a crappy investment to gamers.

Your mission is to help design this new add-on for an add-on for an add-on for a home console. Are you a bad enough dude to save Sega?

Here's my design for the 64XX:

- Some kind of co-processor useful for polygons or math. Maybe a DSP like the SuperFX or SVP chips? Something that could work well with the 32X's SH-2s.
- 6 Megabits of RAM. That ought to satisfy all the whiners complaining about the lack of RAM in the 32X.
- If the above is hard to implement, add a custom mapper to make the 6 Megs of RAM transparent to the 32X and/or Genesis.
- Lastly, to justify the console being called "64XX", the co-processor should have a 64-bit bus attached to the RAM, for direct software rendering.

But of course, one design isn't enough to get Sega up in the morning. If history has proven anything, Sega wants multiple teams to develop their next console so they can needlessly piss people off when their design is turned down, after being approved multiple times.

(Idea for 64XX probably came from Zebbe)

[villahed94]

6 megabits of RAM in 1995?????????. That would have made it cost no less than $400.

[Guntz]

In Sega's eyes, seeing how well the 32X first sold upon release at it's high price, $400 for a new add-on probably wouldn't have seemed unreasonable.

Also, I was intending my design to be serious if anyone wanted to make the 64XX right now. 6 Megabits of RAM today would be real cheap.

[eddiespruce]

6 megabits of RAM in 1995?????????. That would have made it cost no less than $400.

True, but the Saturn retailed for $399.99 also, so while not cheap, it would possibly sell with "Proper Advertising".

[ApolloBoy]

6 megabits of RAM in 1995?????????. That would have made it cost no less than $400.

Erm, 6 megabits of RAM is 768 KB, which would've been cheap in 1995. Computers back then typically had about 8-16 megabytes of RAM, which is 64 to 128 megabits.

[villahed94]

Whoops, I read megabytes. In that case i´d put at least 16 megabit RAM

[Guntz]

See? Even a seemingly small number like that would have been much appreciated. With that you could have roughly 1 Megabyte of RAM to work with.

[Zebbe]

As the inventor of the 64XX, I think it should be CD-ROM based and have its own VDP.

[Guntz]

I dunno about that, seems kind of wasteful. The Sega CD works great as it is. A new VDP isn't necessary if you just provide a DSP for graphics enhancement. What the 32X really needs is RAM, not ROM space. That's what made the Sega CD sort of suck too, lack of RAM.

[Chilly Willy]

It should have a VDP with frame buffer virtually the same as the 32X. Anything less isn't worth it as the SCD showed. Faster processing on top of the slow, limited MD VDP is almost useless. The SVP + 128KB as a lock-on cart would be fine for that.

A 64XX should be more like the most important parts of the Saturn: two SH2s with 32-bit bus to 1MB of SDRAM, and the equivalent of the VDP1 with another 512KB or 1MB of frame buffer ram. The rest being like the 32X would be okay.

[omp]

Can't you just plug 2 32x's in?

[Guntz]

Yes, but Sega wouldn't want anyone to know about that. That's why they'd want to just sell people a new add-on. It's the same situation with the CDX.

[omp]

Ta-da!

160XXXXX!

160XXXXX.JPG

[profholt82]

^so much awesomeness

[xelement5x]

Ta-da!

160XXXXX!

160XXXXX.JPG

That is amazing, I like the Mega32X topping the rest of the regular 32xs. Repped!