Sega 32X

The Sega 32X (Japanese: スーパー32X) is a video game console by Sega.

Related Topics:
Japanese - Video game console - Sega

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In Japan, the console was distributed under the name Sega Super 32X.

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In North America, its name was the Sega Genesis 32X.

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In Europe, Australia, and other countries that use PAL, it was called the Sega Mega Drive 32X. Some gamers, for simplicity's sake, simply refer to it as the "32X".

Related Topics:
Europe - Australia - PAL

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With the release of the Super Famicom in Japan and the Super NES in North America, Sega needed to leapfrog Nintendo in the technological department. The Sega Mega-CD aka Sega CD hadn't worked as well as they wanted it to. Sega had various developments underway, named after planets. Some used System 16 technology like the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis did, as well as other arcade games.

Related Topics:
Super Famicom - Japan - Super NES - North America - Nintendo - Sega Mega-CD - Sega CD - System 16 - Sega Mega Drive - Sega Genesis

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The 32X was released in mid-November 1994 in North America for $150, Japan in December 1994, and Europe in January 1995 for £150.

Related Topics:
November - 1994 - December - January - 1995

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The system cannot work by itself. The Sega 32X can only be used in conjunction with a Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis system; it is plugged in where the cartridge bay is. Besides playing its own cartridges, it also acted as a passthrough for Genesis games so it would be a permanent attachment. The 32X came with 10 coupons and several spacers, so it would work with all versions of the Genesis.

Related Topics:
Sega Mega Drive - Sega Genesis

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Most 32X games cannot be played on a different region than the one the console came from. A few games are not locked and can be played in any region (e.g. Fifa 96). Two games, Darxide and FIFA Soccer '96, were only released for the PAL 32X. The Darxide videogame had been awarded "Best 32X Game".

Related Topics:
Darxide - FIFA Soccer '96

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All but one of the games released for the Japanese market were released in the United States, albeit some had different names. The sole exception was "Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV".

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In addition to regular cartridge-based 32X games, there were also a very small number 32X CD games. As the name suggests, these required both the 32X and Mega CD/Sega CD addons. The lack of a significant userbase due to the high cost of purchasing all three necessary components saw only five games released, only one of those developed by Sega, The most notable of these was a new version of the infamous Night Trap with 32,768 onscreen colours instead of the 64 found on the regular Mega CD/Sega CD version.

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