alternatehistory.com

32Xed-Out
Hayao Nakayama wanted something to compete with the Atari Jaguar but this just wasn't it. Upon seeing the demos for it, he was unsatisfied - a. it was just an add-on to Genesis and b. SEGA was now going to be outpaced by Sony's PlayStation and this wasn't going to help. Nakayama had a sinking feeling following his decision to end negotiations with Sony and now it bit back hard. It was going to be a waste of time and resources, resources that could be spent on fully fleshing out the Saturn. So, on one fateful summer day in 1994 - Nakayama made a decision, a decision that ended up paying out in the end. He called up Tom Kalinske and gave an order. What was the order? The order was to cancel it.

And what was it?

It was the 32X.

New York Times said:
September 1, 1994

SEGA to cancel 32X​
SEGA revealed the 32X, a hardware add-on to the popular SEGA Genesis, this June at the Consumer Electronic Show. But, it has since been cancelled. When asked on the reasoning, head of SEGA of America's research and development team Joe Miller gave this to offer, "Well, I don't know the exact reason on why the 32X was x-ed out as one day, Tom just came in and told me that we were to end production of the 32X. But, if I were to make a guess it would be that it is to divert more resources to the upcoming Saturn." SEGA of Japan has yet to give incite on the situation. Regardless of what the Saturn is using those resources for, its going to have to be big. With Sony's PlayStation seeking the first 3D game console experience, current market leaders Nintendo and SEGA will have to step up their game.
Click to expand...
Top