32x and what was Sega thinking?

[retrosportsgamer]

I remember getting my Sega CD for $25 or $30 at KB Toys right around the holidays. They had a big stack of them right by the front. I still have that gigantic box sitting on top of one of my book cases in my game room. Came with Sewer Shark.

I paid $19.99 for a new 32x from Toys 'R Us when they were trying to give those away also. I miss those kind of hardware clearances.

[ExedExes]

My dad says "do you want me to bring you back on Monday so you can take your pick?" ...but I just couldn't wait that long. I got the Kris Kross one.

[Breetai]

That's probably because they were the only "decent games" available for awhile. I mean, you got "Tomcat Alley" and "Marky Mark: Make My Video" which one are ya gonna choose? lol

Damn man, stop the trolling. It's getting annoying. You just make up crap as you go along!

[greg]

And frankly, thank god. The Saturn is a love letter to Japanese gaming, a Wild Bunch-esque last stand before the gaming world began it's slow descent into FPSland.

Apparently a lot of people poo-poo'd this statement, but I'm behind you all the way. When polygonal 3D gaming came around, Westerners were far more ready to abandon 2D gaming. The Saturn was originally meant to be a 2D gaming powerhouse, and it really was. Unfortunately, Westerners didn't care for this so much.

If the Saturn was a love letter, then the Dreamcast was a bittersweet farewell letter, I guess.

Although I enjoy an occasional FPS, the way 3D gameplay buried 2D gaming, to the point where Sony of America pretty much put the kabash on 2D games, is maddening. Anyone on here who is a retro gamer should realize this for what it is.

And to be on topic, I wasn't aware that the 32X was developed by Sega of America. Interesting. It makes sense that they'd want to keep the Genesis going as much as they could, because the Megadrive in Japan was apparently not as popular as the Genesis was abroad. I've only really played the Star Wars game with my cousin back in the day, and I wasn't terribly impressed with the 32X.

[Gunstar Green]

Am I the only one getting tired of the "FPS is the devil" comments?

I feel like there's so much content out there for me as a retro gamer right now thanks to all these different download services. I think it's ridiculous that because FPS games are the big blockbuster titles that people act like gaming is dead. Let's just ignore the fact that games like Dust: An Elysian Tail, Mark of the Ninja, Retro City Rampage and many others were released this year to critical acclaim. If you can't find a new, high-quality 2D game to play then you're definitely not looking very hard.

We have to face the fact that many genres from back in the day are never going to be the huge AAA titles they once were, but most of them haven't disappeared and many have gotten even better.

As for the 32X it gets a lot of flack for its library which is undeserved. It had great ports of Mortal Kombat 2, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing, Space Harrier, Afterburner and other arcade classics as well as some original titles like Knuckles Chaotix and Shadow Squadron which are vastly overlooked. I don't know if it ever had a chance of being successful but it had a lot of potential. I often wonder what the canceled Castlevania game would have been like.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Am I the only one getting tired of the "FPS is the devil" comments?

I feel like there's so much content out there for me as a retro gamer right now thanks to all these different download services. I think it's ridiculous that because FPS games are the big blockbuster titles that people act like gaming is dead. Let's just ignore the fact that games like Dust: An Elysian Tail, Mark of the Ninja, Retro City Rampage and many others were released this year to critical acclaim. If you can't find a new, high-quality 2D game to play then you're definitely not looking very hard.

We have to face the fact that many genres from back in the day are never going to be the huge AAA titles they once were, but most of them haven't disappeared and many have gotten even better.

As for the 32X it gets a lot of flack for its library which is undeserved. It had great ports of Mortal Kombat 2, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing, Space Harrier, Afterburner and other arcade classics as well as some original titles like Knuckles Chaotix and Shadow Squadron which are vastly overlooked. I don't know if it ever had a chance of being successful but it had a lot of potential. I often wonder what the canceled Castlevania game would have been like.

Exactly. Yes, a lot of people buy CoD and FPS games and enjoy them. FPS is one of my favorite genres even. It's extremely foolish to think that they've somehow taken over the gaming world. Right now, there are so many amazing 2D AND 3D games. In fact, I'd argue right now gaming is doing as well in game variety as it ever has before. There are so many awesome games to pick from with tons coming out each month.

The 32X is awesome. It's too bad that it's library of unique exclusives is so small that I don't really consider it worth owning one. It has the power to play some very pixel-perfect arcade ports but all of them are readily available on the Saturn anyway.

I still wonder how it would have turned out had Sega released the 32x in the Neptune format, instead of the Saturn, for a lower price and perhaps a year earlier. Maybe even as a CD system. From the limited releases we saw, I think it's safe to say that it's about as powerful as a 3DO. Maybe a bit more even. Obviously more powerful than the Jaguar at the time. Maybe that's how Sega should have beaten Sony to the punch.

[isiolia]

Apparently a lot of people poo-poo'd this statement, but I'm behind you all the way. When polygonal 3D gaming came around, Westerners were far more ready to abandon 2D gaming. The Saturn was originally meant to be a 2D gaming powerhouse, and it really was. Unfortunately, Westerners didn't care for this so much.

If the Saturn was a love letter, then the Dreamcast was a bittersweet farewell letter, I guess.

To me it's a matter of intent, which I don't see. It'd be kind of like claiming that MS deliberately engineered the 360 to be a great SHMUP console because, in retrospect, it's gotten the lion's share of them this generation.

I'm sure Sega did what they did in hopes that the Saturn would succeed to a far greater level than it did. Given the option, they probably would have much rather seen it sell tens of millions more units based on successful western, 3D, or whatever other style of games. Nevermind that Sega was at the cutting edge of 3D in the arcade and used the Saturn to bring many of those games home. Nevermind that it was far from the last bastion of Japanese gaming. Heck, it's competition can largely be credited for vastly increasing the popularity of JRPGs and has a positively huge library containing all kinds of games, including 2D.

Looking back at it 15+ years later, it's easy to highlight things the system may have done right. Particularly with the more modern ability to easily import or at least see what the system had in Japan. Spinning that into what Sega intended all along just doesn't seem accurate to me.

[Breetai]

Let's just ignore the fact that games like Dust: An Elysian Tail, Mark of the Ninja, Retro City Rampage and many others were released this year to critical acclaim. If you can't find a new, high-quality 2D game to play then you're definitely not looking very hard.

Ummmm.... and, tell me, how many of those titles you mentioned can you buy in hard copy? Then tell me how many of those FPS titles you can find in hard copy.

I rest my case.

[dsheinem]

Let's just ignore the fact that games like Dust: An Elysian Tail, Mark of the Ninja, Retro City Rampage and many others were released this year to critical acclaim. If you can't find a new, high-quality 2D game to play then you're definitely not looking very hard.

Ummmm.... and, tell me, how many of those titles you mentioned can you buy in hard copy? Then tell me how many of those FPS titles you can find in hard copy.

I rest my case.

What is your case?

[ksloth]

I bought a 32X when it came out, because I was about 24 years old and had a lot of disposable income, and I bought pretty much everything without much thought about it. Not the sharpest tool in the shed back then... lotta impulse buys.

I did not have long to enjoy it though, before I bought a Saturn, which I had to take back a couple weeks later because I spent $400 in rent money on it.

See what I mean?