What if 32X was a cartridge based Saturn?

[Anonymous No.11384391]

Instead of being it's own thing. The Sega 32X would have been an add on that would have made the Genesis a cartridge based Sega Saturn. (Saturn and 32X even shared some hardware in our time) The cartridge slot on the Saturn would also be able to play these games.

And if you added a Sega CD, you would get a full on Saturn. (with a few drawbacks, such as a lower CD read speed and less battery memory) Think it could have had any success if it had been that?

[Anonymous No.11384403]

>what if sega thread

[Anonymous No.11384405]

>>11384391
unless it was significantly cheaper than the real saturn I doubt it would have success

[Anonymous No.11384408]

>>11384391
What if mods enforced the age requirement?

[Anonymous No.11384448]

>>11384405
Depends on how much the CD drive added to the cost. Probably would have cost something like $250. (which is what N64 would have cost had they not done a last minute price cut before the launch) Then once Saturn's price gets dropped from $400 to $300 I think it would start costing something like $160-180.

[Anonymous No.11384892]

>>11384391
What if Sega made good games worth getting their fucking add-ons?

[Anonymous No.11384895]

>>11384403
You can tell they're made by Nintendo fans who don't know any Sega games.

[Anonymous No.11384917]

>>11384403
should be banned here to improve the overall state of the board

[Anonymous No.11385004]

>>11384403
Who is this mattress actress

[Anonymous No.11385035]

>>11384391
You are incredibly retarded. If you had an entire Saturn you might as well just make it standalone, grafting on an entire genesis is pointless, since the Saturn hardware can do everything the genesis can do but better.

[Anonymous No.11385078]

>>11384391
That doesn't solve the corporate infighting at Sega that killed the console business or the fact you've just made the Sega Saturn $250 more expensive than the PlayStation and added an additional $30 to the games.
Sega of America did not want the Saturn period, they were talks with people who would eventually make the N64.

[Anonymous No.11385083]

>>11384391
I called you retarded yesterday and yet you remade the thread here. You have to be trolling.

[Anonymous No.11385245]

>>11384403
I prefer "what if" threads over people shouting "not retro".

[Anonymous No.11385257]

>>11384391
Not everything revolves around Saturn, pun not intended

[Anonymous No.11385286]

>>11384403
It's on topic

[Anonymous No.11385634]

>>11384391
What the fuck are you suggesting? Do you think that they could just put saturn games on a cartridge and stick it in whatever machine and the game would work? Or that they make a version of the saturn that was identical to the actual saturn except it didn't have a CD drive?

[Anonymous No.11385647]

>>11384391
I don't think you understand the costs of cartridge gaming
Making a CD drive for the console back then was like a hundred bucks per unit, that's pure manufacturing cost without any profit margins. That's how much you're saving at most per console if it doesn't ship with a CD drive.
Making a CD game cost pennies per unit. In comparison even the cheapest carts cost upwards of 10 bucks just to manufacture the bare boards alone, with the price increasing exponentially for bigger carts.
So not only does going with carts not end up saving the consumer any money, but it also decreases profit margins significantly per game, and it greatly increases the risk of publishing due to overstock of carts being insanely expensive which was a problem that Sega was already struggling with.

[Anonymous No.11385649]

>>11384403
>to improve the overall state of the board
would only happen in they reverse the 6th gen bs and enforce the age requirement like the anon at >>11384408 says

>>11385245
I'd prefer quality "what if" threads with anons actually discussing what could've been, and it's not like there is a lot of actual retro discussion going on either, just the other day there was a retro cartoons related thread, only the OP wanted to discuss late 00s slop, so if the board had more actual retro threads, that would improve the quality of the board too, but just go look at the main page, just look at it.

[Anonymous No.11385872]

>>11385634
Genesis with a 32X= Able to play Saturn Cartridge games
Real Saturn = Able to player Saturn Cartridge and Saturn CD games
Genesis with a Sega CD and 32X= Also able to play Saturn Cartridge and Saturn CD Games
Publishers can decide if they release the games on Cartridge or on CD. Carts being more expensive and having less storage, but also would have a bigger potential playerbase.

[Anonymous No.11386035]

>>11385872
What you're suggesting would require developers to make 3 different versions of the same game. It does not work the way you think it does.

[Anonymous No.11386040]

>>11384892
This. Sega pushed technology and it's interesting and compelling and the drama surrounding releases is more interesting than any game on 32X.

[Anonymous No.11387269]

>>11386035
Why would they be required to make 3 different versions of the game, when what I'm suggesting is that 32X would have identical hardware to the Saturn?

[Anonymous No.11387429]

>>11387269
>identical hardware to the Saturn?
What the fuck is the point if it's exactly like the saturn? Why would you not just buy a saturn instead?

[Anonymous No.11387441]

>>11384391
>>11385872
>>11387269
The console you are describing is called the Neptune.

[Anonymous No.11387448]

SEGA already covered both add-ons with the CDX and the Neptune. Saturn came after that, like how PC-FX came after TurboDuo.

[Anonymous No.11387454]

>>11387429
Because Saturn would be around 150 dollars more expensive to buy.

[Anonymous No.11387464]

>>11387454
that's a number you pulled out of your ass

[Anonymous No.11387482]

>>11387454
More than that actually. 32X was $159 at launch, Saturn was $399. So about $240 more

[Anonymous No.11387484]

Why is this garbage thread allowed but my thread about “What if the Sega Saturn was cake?” gets deleted instantly?

[Anonymous No.11387487]

>>11387484
Post it on /ck/ anon

[Anonymous No.11387505]

>>11387482
Yeah but 32X uses the same CPU's as Saturn. But has less ram, worse sound chip and cheaper video display processor. These would need to be changed to match the Saturn. Which is 250 would probably be a realistic launch price. But probably when Saturn's price gets dropped to 300 dollars, the 32X would drop to 160 dollars.

[Anonymous No.11387509]

>>11387505
>>11387441

[Anonymous No.11387517]

>>11387441
Sega Neptune was just a 32X and Genesis 2in1. While here I'm suggesting that 32X would be a Sega Saturn cartridge add on for the Genesis. Two different things.

[Anonymous No.11387520]

>>11387517
Hardware doesn't work this way

There's no N64 slot for the SNES or GBA slot for the GBC

[Anonymous No.11387576]

>>11387505
>ok just replace the 32x's hardware with the saturn's hardware
>it would somehow be $150 cheaper than the saturn despite being the exact same thing but with no cd drive

[Anonymous No.11387580]

>>11384391
I'm so happy shit like Sega 32x exists. It shows how a company slowly killed itself by making obviously, even at the time, bad decisions and releasing tons of hardware add-ons.

[Anonymous No.11387598]

>>11387580
even before it was released people were arguing about it not being real because of how stupid it was

[Anonymous No.11387615]

>>11387580
Two is not "tons"

FDS happened, 64DD happened

[Anonymous No.11387914]

Guise. What if iinstead SEGA released the saturns CPU on cartridges and made a VHS add on for the Genesis? I mean Playstation cant even play Beta tapes LMAO

[Anonymous No.11387950]

>>11387914
Why didn't they just give the 32x a dvd player? They could've also made a blu-ray addon for the 32x afterwards.

[Anonymous No.11387968]

>>11387576
CD drives cost a lot in 1994. $250 is a realistic price for a cartridge based system of that era. (Jaguar was $250 and N64 was supposed to be $250 but got dropped to $200 last minute)

[Anonymous No.11388028]

>>11387615
Ah yes, the Sega FDS and the Sega 64DD. The voices in my head have told me all about these.

[Anonymous No.11388193]

>>11387968
Apparently the Neptune would've only been $149

>>11388028
In fact Nintendo released even more wacky add-ons than those such as Game Boy Camera and Game Boy Printer. Makes CD and 32X look tame imho

[Anonymous No.11388327]

>>11384391
>what if we crammed a sega saturn into a cartridge in the 90s?
why stop there?
cram a fucking dreamcast in there too
and a 2025 gaming desktop pc

[Anonymous No.11388390]

>>11384391
this might be the most retarded thing I've heard this week

[Anonymous No.11389049]

>>11388193
Again Neptune uses cheaper 32X hardware. While my proposal would be, that the 32X uses more expensive Saturn hardware.

[Anonymous No.11389691]

>>11388193
They wanted the Neptune to be cheap but the thing was actually very expensive to produce, more than the usual loss on consoles, which is why it never came out combined with the lack of enthusiasm for 32X to begin with.
>>11389049
It wouldn't work because there's no cart in 1994 that can match a CD in storage capacity. Just look at N64 multiplats and the sacrifices they had to make. Right off the bat you're changing the design philosophy of how every Saturn game is made to now work with cart limitations or you're going to split your audience between cart and CD. The power or lack of isn't the reason the 32X failed.

[Anonymous No.11389859]

>>11389691
The lack of power is why 32X failed. In US 32X sold 3 times more in 1994 than Saturn did in 1995. Yet it quickly flopped in 1995. Because consumers realized 32X was not a true next gen console.

Also most early Saturn games could have fit onto a cart just fine if you removed the CD soundtrack and FMV's.

[Anonymous No.11389906]

>>11389859
The extra effort and money required to fit cd games on a cartridge is significant enough that most developers would tell sega to fuck off and ignore the 32x entirely which is exactly what happened to the n64, it's why the n64 library is significantly smaller than the saturn. Sega themselves would be stretched thin trying to support 2 consoles at once and we'd get less first party games. Most people would just rather wait for the saturn anyway because why would you not just buy the console that's the exact same thing but better AND has cheaper games? There's no way to make the 32x work. Releasing 2 consoles at the same time is fucking stupid and there is no scenario in which people buy a 32x despite already knowing that the saturn is on the way.

[Anonymous No.11389929]

>>11389859
32x failed because everyone knew Saturn was about to release.

If Sega said "Nope. There is no Saturn. 32x is our main next Gen system. We are supporting it 100%", then people would have stuck with 32x. They would have been confident 32x was here to stay.

[Anonymous No.11389936]

>>11389929
The problem with that scenario is that they would have been completely curb stomped by Sony, Nintendo, and possibly even 3DO. There's no amount of revisionist history you can do to make the 32X make any sense and be successful. For you to accomplish that you also have to make Sony and Nintendo make even more retarded decisions than Sega did.

[Anonymous No.11389985]

>>11389929
nobody would have stuck with the 32x because it was a piece of shit that required you to already own a genesis. why would I not just buy a playstation or n64 instead? if i was too poor to buy a ps1 or n64 then why would I buy an addon that has $70 games instead of just sticking with my genesis? the market of "people who already have a genesis and want new hardware but also want the new hardware to be cheap but also don't mind that the games are significantly more expensive" is so specific.

>>11389859
the early launch of the saturn caused supply shortages and retailer boycotts, actually finding a saturn to buy at launch was harder than finding a 32x at launch.

[Anonymous No.11389995]

>>11385035
>the Saturn hardware can do everything the genesis can do but better.

It can't do 256px resolution and it can't do the sprite highlight effect when using palette mode sprites (it can only do the shadow effect).

[Anonymous No.11390009]

What if the saturn could play 32x cartridges.

[Anonymous No.11390129]

>>11390009
>>11387441

[Anonymous No.11390445]

>>11389929
32X failed because it didn't offer an exclusive experience you needed a 32X for. Why do you need Mortal Kombat or NBA jam for 32x over genesis? You literally have a genesis already, so why get an add-on and a more expensive version of the game? It had nothing to do with saturn.

[Anonymous No.11390618]

>>11385245
eh, it's either Sega fags coping, like the *best* Sega youtuber, or anti Sega fags trying to shit on Sega.
>They're the same picture

[Anonymous No.11390835]

>>11389936
>There's no amount of revisionist history you can do to make the 32X make any sense and be successful.

Saturn didn't make any sense either. Underpowered Japanese chips, complicated to make games for, developers disliked it, Sega's own internal teams complained about how complicated it was, and Sega of Japan burned so many bridges that they lost hundreds of millions of dollars pushing the Saturn and many stores and retailers swore to never work with Sega again. All that...just for a few months of outselling the PS1 in Japan. Lmao.

[Anonymous No.11390863]

>>11390009
Saturn plays no 32x it drives cars

[Anonymous No.11390865]

32X should of never been. But if they 100% had no other choice, it should of been the Neptune instead of an add-on

[Anonymous No.11390943]

>>11390865
The very essence of the 32x is that of an add-on. A standalone machine would be nothing like the 32x.

[Anonymous No.11391412]

>>11390863
>GPS drives cars

[Anonymous No.11391610]

>>11390445
>You literally have a genesis already, so why get an add-on and a more expensive version of the game? It had nothing to do with saturn.

Because back in the early 90s, people hoped to get "arcade accurate" video games. Everything was compared to arcades. The arcades were the benchmark between the 1970s to 1990s. But consoles couldnt do it because of weaker hardware. Their versions were inferior. Consoles couldn't do arcade accurate ports until the Dreamcast came out in late 1999.

[Anonymous No.11392091]

>>11389859
You have a misunderstanding of how the 32X worked. It's an add-on. The Genesis still provides a significant part of the overall game experience, including hud graphics, background graphics, and music while 32X offered higher quality audio samples for sound fx, character sprites and polygons. The more polygons the 32X had to push the more it had to rely on the Genesis to provide for the rest of the game.

[Anonymous No.11392387]

>>11391610
The minority cared, the majority didn't. NBA Jam and Mortal Kombat 2 are some of the best selling genesis games of all time. You're right, they are technically better, but so was laserdisc vs VHS. The general public didn't see a need for paying that much more. Slight better versions of same games is a terrible selling point. A better selling point is unique games, and don't tell me Chaotix is an E ticket.

[Anonymous No.11392850]

>>11392387
there is literally no way to sell a product that you've released the replacement for. you are not going to convince 10 million people that they should invest in a platform that's going to be replaced next year.

[Anonymous No.11392898]

>>11392387
>NBA Jam and Mortal Kombat 2 are some of the best selling genesis games of all time.
The arcade cabinet sales of those games made much more money.

>The general public didn't see a need for paying that much more.
Except they did since the Arcade industry was booming until the late 1990s. People were going to arcades all the time. Unlike today, they were making tens of billions of dollars.


>Slight better versions of same games is a terrible selling point.
You have it backwards. The arcade games came out first. The interior console ports came out after the arcade version was released.

[Anonymous No.11392945]

>>11391610
>Consoles couldn't do arcade accurate ports until the Dreamcast came out in late 1999.
Blatantly untrue when you consider that Namco System 11 was basically just a PSX with very few inprovements.

[Anonymous No.11393012]

>>11392945
Nope.

Your "gotcha" isnt even a gotcha.

The Playstation was made first. Namco System 11 isn't arcade hardware. It just a Playstation in an arcade cabinet with a few minor tweaks. Namco had discussions with Sony and Sony allowed Namco access to Playstation console. Namco struck a deal and adapted the Playstation for arcades.

The reason Namco did this was because they were LOSING the arcade war against Sega's Model 2 arcade hardware - which ran Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter. This was high end arcade hardware that cost tens of millions to create. Every arcade was buying Sega Model 2 arcade machines. Daytona USA was everywhere. Namco was losing and couldn't compete against Sega in arcades anymore.

So Namco decided to go with "quantity over quality" and spammed the arcade market with cheap Playstations in arcade cabinets (Namco System 11) running Tekken and Tekken 2. They sold these cabinets for a really, really low price to appeal to arcade owners.

This price was really attractive, and Namco's strategy paid off. Arcades everywhere bought these Super cheap arcade cabinets. Of course Sony was happy because they made money too, and advertised the Playstation hardware.

[Anonymous No.11393142]

>>11392850
Yea, this is exactly why HD TV sales dropped off ahead of 3D TV's being released. I really don't get why people think the 32X was appealing, but the saturn being around the corner made it unappealing. There was no draw to buy the 32x. Consoles don't sell on their own, games sell consoles.

>>11392898
Cabinet sales?! That's not the general public. You're comparing arcade sales to game sales?
>You have it backwards. The arcade games came out first. The interior console ports came out after the arcade version was released.
You don't know what backwards means. You understand the genesis version of the games cam out BEFORE the 32x versions? And again, the general public doesn't care about the differences between genesis and 32x. I understand fully it went Arcade > Genesis > 32X, you don't seem to get that though. It was like a movie, see it in the theater, then get on VHS. OR wait even longer and get it on laserdisc. You seem to think arcade cabinet sales factor into the general public. Sure, it makes sense someone drops 20 quarters into an arcade, they like the game and want to own it, why are they going to buy genesis and then 32x and then the more expensive MK2? Just get the genesis and MK2. They're not going to get both, that's for damn sure. By the 32X version being around, MK3 was out in arcades. So, would MK3 in arcades push sales of MK2 on 32x? Wouldn't people want MK3 to own at home instead? You can sit here and talk like you understand people and the general public, but it's obvious you don't. The general public is what keeps these things going by buying them. Arcades are an interesting factor but they were accessible and non-committal, like a rental.

And top that all off, MK3 was never released on 32x or saturn, but it did see a genesis release.

[Anonymous No.11393254]

>>11393142
>You don't know what backwards means. You understand the genesis version of the games cam out BEFORE the 32x versions?

The original arcade versions were the FIRST versions to come out. These arcade versions are the BENCHMARK that every game port is compared to. They arcade versions are the standard that everything is measured against. Get it right.

If something is inferior, then it's inferior when compared to the ARCADE VERSION .

-Atari 2600 was inferior
-Atari 5200 was inferior
-NES was inferior
-Master System was inferior
-Genesis was inferior.
-SNES was inferior.
-32x was a step closer but still inferior.
-Saturn was inferior. Loading times sucked too.
-Playstation was another step closer but inferior to arcade ports (for example ridge racer).
-N64 was inferior because of the limited cartridge space.
-In 1998, Dreamcast was the first system to achieve rough equality with arcades. The games were nearly the same.

And coincidentally 1998 is right around the time when the arcade market started to collapse.

[Anonymous No.11393259]

>>11392091
That is because of 32X's VDP was shit. If 32X had VDP 1 and 2 like Saturn it wouldn't need the Genesis.

[Anonymous No.11393292]

>>11393142
>Cabinet sales?!
You don't seem to understand arcades at all. A Midway cabinet costs $4000 to $5000 dollars per unit to buy. Anyone could buy it if they wanted to. Just the arcade cabinet sales alone generated about $600 Million dollars in worldwide sales for Midway. Just the cabinets only. That's early 1990s money (not accounting for inflation).

The quarters each machine earned were far more than that. And they went straight arcade owners that bought. Each business could earn tens of thousands of dollars a year per machine. Top hits like NBA Jam and Mortal Kombat were so popular that coin slots would get jammed full of quarters on a daily basis. People absolutely cared about Arcades and arcade cabinets.

[Anonymous No.11393458]

>>11392850
>there is literally no way to sell a product that you've released the replacement for.
It literally happens all the time, You're not going to convince anyone that your schizo save sega shit is better than their schizo save sega shit by saying retarded things.

[Anonymous No.11393562]

>>11393142
> I really don't get why people think the 32X was appealing, but the saturn being around the corner made it unappealing.
Because the Sega 32x was new technology and people were interested in trying it out.

Unfortunately Sega had a horrible reputation in Japan for constantly releasing hardware and then dropping support shortly afterwards. Like the Sega Karaoke or Sega PC or the 15 different Sega Genesis items. Sega wasnt quite as bad in America, but it was getting there. Retailers were annoyed with the tons of Sega Genesis plastic accessories taking up shelf space that didn't sell (cough Sega Activator cough).

But overall people still had hope the Sega would deliver with the 32x. Game studios were signed up for it. Hype was real.

Then Sega announced the Saturn in Japan. Poof! All the magic hype was gone.

[Anonymous No.11393574]

>>11393562
>Because the Sega 32x was new technology and people were interested in trying it out.
Every new thing that comes out is new technology, that doesn't mean anything.

[Anonymous No.11393932]

>>11393254
>The original arcade versions were the FIRST versions to come out. These arcade versions are the BENCHMARK that every game port is compared to. They arcade versions are the standard that everything is measured against. Get it right.
You know, I don't get it! I don't see the difference, I just don't get it. Explain it to me another way? Cause otherwise me dumb fuck consumer, is just gonna buy genesis games and not bother with 32x. You can keep telling me I don't understand, that's really not the point Im making. Im saying the general consumer also wouldn't understand or give a shit.
>>11393292
Cabinet sales then, what, hurt the 32x chances of success? Helped it? Why bring it up unless there's something to go along with it. The topic is about 32x being a failure, cabinet sales yet again tells use nothing about general public's demand for a 32x. Connect the information some how. I would stand by and theorize that arcades success would push home console success, but people want it to be affordable, SNES and genesis were. Arguing the majority of people cared enough to get the 32x versions of games? The sales clearly show, they did not.

[Anonymous No.11395048]

>>11393932
>Im saying the general consumer also wouldn't understand
Of course the general consumers cared. These arcade games were being ported to 32x because they were POPULAR arcade games. People went to arcades to play them. In this era, Game magazines literally covered how every arcade port compared to original arcade version. And how "arcade accurate" was the port. That includes Sega Genesis and Sega 32x and other systems like SNES. People demanded to know the differences.

>or give a shit.
The problem here is that YOU don't give a shit (maybe because you didn't grow up in the 1990s). You think because you don't care, then the rest of the world didn't care in the 1990s. Newsflash anon. That's not how it works. You are in a tiny minority.


>Cabinet sales then, what, hurt the 32x chances of success? Helped it? Why bring it up unless there's something to go along with it.

Are you forgetful? This whole thing started because you >>11390445 ran your mouth not understanding why someone would buy a Sega 32x when they have a fine Sega Genesis port.

One big answer is because people wanted arcade accurate games at home. In this era, Technology hadn't caught up yet to arcades. So every console release or add-on was always compared to arcades. People wanted arcade accurate games at home.

[Anonymous No.11395090]

>the only addon that has ever succeeded was a japanese one that was released at the absolute peak of their economic prosperity that only succeeded in japan and failed everywhere else
>every other addon since then was a huge disaster
>eventually the industry gave up on addons because of constant failures proving that it doesn't work
>decades later some fags on the internet insist that they totally could have made it work if only they changed some things around
People would rather buy a new console than buy an addon for the one that they already have. The video game industry spent hundreds millions of dollars over the course of a decade to come up with that same conclusion. No amount of "but what if they just..." will change that.

[Anonymous No.11395129]

>>11395090
The problem is that add-ons always seem to be an after thought in the design process. They consoles are never made with expansion in mind.

The closest we got was the Nintendo 64 DD. But that failed because of political decisions. Sony bribed and bought all the studios interested in the 64DD to exclusive contracts with Playstation. So Nintendo saw little need to use the 64DD anymore.

[Anonymous No.11395213]

>>11395129
>actually addons could have worked but they failed because [schizo shit i made up]

[Anonymous No.11395221]

>>11395213
I'm saying a console has to be designed from the ground up to have expandability for add ons. Sort of like how people can swap PC parts with new ones. It had to be modular.

The Sega 32x and Sega CD were messy attachments with too many cables everywhere. Clearly it was an afterthought.

[Anonymous No.11395248]

>>11395221
reducing the amount of cables is not going to convince people to buy an addon instead of a new console

[Anonymous No.11395347]

>>11395248
It helps. It also depends on price. And game selection.

[Anonymous No.11395516]

>>11395048
And the 32X was a big success, cementing this argument

[Anonymous No.11395519]

>>11395129
64DD had literally ten games, that's less than basically every other add-on, even the e-Reader. Come on

>>11395221
Too many AVGN videos I think, play the games and see for yourself. They're not bad

We are not in the 90's anymore, we can enjoy these games without the add-ons themselves

[Anonymous No.11395529]

>>11395519
>64DD had literally ten games
You didn't read the post. Try again.

[Anonymous No.11395542]

>>11395529
your schizo story about sony sabotaging the n64's floppy disc addon isn't real

[Anonymous No.11395742]

The Saturn having a cartridge slot that doesn't play any games is so fucking weird. I know what it's really for, the RAM expansions and all that, but it's crazy how it doesn't play anything directly.

[Anonymous No.11396497]

>>11395742
This. If you could play something directly from the cartridge port people would have made cartridges you could plug in and play pirated games off of. And that totally never happened, right?

[Anonymous No.11396579]

>>11395742
At bare minimum, It's a marketing blunder. If they didn't want people to confuse the memory slot for a game cartridge slot, then they should have made it look different. Like Nintendo 64 changed the memory slot to be clearly different.

[Anonymous No.11396754]

>>11384403
Cope

[Anonymous No.11396758]

>>11384408
You haven't learn after meme IDs, mandatory flags, and the new post wait times, have you?
None of this shit works.

[Anonymous No.11396780]

>>11384391
>Sonic 3D 2: Episode Chaos
>Sonic 3D 3: Project Shadow
>SegaSonic Heroes

[Anonymous No.11396841]

>>11384917
thats like spitting on a fish

>>11395129
>The problem is that add-ons always seem to be an after thought in the design process.

no its that add-ons for a console, if you think about whats said in >>11395221 , any console is always limited by 2 things. Bandwidth to the addon, and power needs of the addon.

Moving data between the add-on and the base device fast enough to be useful or make a difference compared to what the base can do on its own is basically a non-starter in terms of console design. Its part of the reason why the 32x use its own video out, but for the segaCD being slower than a cart in terms of fetching the data in the first place(before doing any computation on it)it didn't matter.

And then designing a console with the components necessary to power a potential external device on the order of an expansion that won't be used by everyone is a cost to market that drives up the console price.

[Anonymous No.11396849]

>>11396780
It would've saved the Game Gear

[Anonymous No.11396880]

>>11396758
>You haven't learn after unrelated other stuff, have you?
What a great example of why age requirements need to be enforced.

[Anonymous No.11397193]

>>11395742
>I know what it's really for, the RAM expansions and all that,

Sega also sold save cartridges for the machine. The save carts worked just like PS1 memory cards for saving game data externally without using the internal storage. Also, the Sega NetLink adapter plugged into the memory cartridge.

[Anonymous No.11397470]

>>11397193
Why did Sega make their memory cards so huge and look like game cartridges?

[Anonymous No.11397519]

>>11397470
Because they knew that while mental stable children at the time would like it children decades later would be triggered by it. That is the sole reason anyone ever did anything in the past.

[Anonymous No.11398204]

>>11395742
The Sega CD had a super rare memory cart using the Genesis cartridge slot. The Saturn was probably just copying it's overall design.

[Anonymous No.11398442]

>>11398204
>super rare
Only on ebay. There was also a Japanese version that was quite common. It's also not weird or only used for X, or whatever other diarrhea has been pouring into this place from youtube/reddit recently. Sega wanted a versatile easy to use expansion slot and that fit the bill. Simple as.

[Anonymous No.11399736]

>>11398204
I bought an everdrive just for this functionality. And just around same time my Sega CD's battery died. So I guess I was lucky I did get that.

[Anonymous No.11399941]

>>11395742
If the cart slot would have played Genesis/32X games, I wonder if it would have improved sales. I doubt it would have outright saved the system, or anything, but I wonder what difference it would have made.

[Anonymous No.11400058]

>>11395742
>>11399941
Sega of America pushed for the Saturn Cart slot to be Genesis backwards compatible. (I think it would have worked with 90% of Genesis games) However Sega of Japan shot that down because they didn't see any value for that. (Keep in mind the Mega Drive flopped in Japan so that is probably part of the reason why Japan dismissed the idea)

[Anonymous No.11400070]

>>11400058
I will never understand how Sega could be so dysfunctional. It's like Sega of Japan doesn't want to be a global success. Who cares if it Sega Genesis isn't popular in Japan when it sells 40 MILLION units in other countries? Japan is small potatoes in comparison.

[Anonymous No.11400085]

>>11400070
Sega of Japan got what they wanted. They got a console that was succesful in Japan. (Saturn beat the N64 there and was most succesful Sega console in Japan) It only cost them all the other markets and the whole console market.

[Anonymous No.11400093]

>>11400070
But both America and Japan branches were dysfunctional. For example Sega of America was so paranoid about the 1mb and 4mb ram carts being compared to the 32X, that they didn't allow them to be sold outside of Japan.

When RE2 was being ported to the Saturn they were having difficulties getting it running for the Saturn. Eventually the devs basically begged Sega to allow them to use the 4mb ram cart for the game everywhere to get it running. Sega still said no about allowing them to use the ram cart outside of Japan. And Capcom wasn't going to make RE2 for Saturn a Japan exclusive title so they just axed the port and made the studio focus on making Code Veronica instead. And that's how Saturn lost a small indie game known as Resident Evil 2.

[Anonymous No.11400106]

>>11400093
Yes they are both weird.

BUT

Sega of America has EARNED the right to be weird and make demands. The Sega Genesis sold aroubd 25 million consoles in America. So yeah.... They've earned the right to be a little choosey.

Same with Sega of Europe which sold like 10 to 15 million Sega Genesis.

Sega of Japan sold like 1 million Genesis. It was pathetic. They have no right to tell the other branches how to sell consoles when they can't even sell consoles in their own homeland.

[Anonymous No.11400156]

>>11395742
>>11399941
>>11387441

[Anonymous No.11400163]

>>11395742
>>11399941
CDX already did this

This is like "if only the N64 played SNES games". Just play SNES instead

[Anonymous No.11400680]

>>11400070

this is true of most Japanese business and corporations over the years, including entertainment.

Why do you think K-pop catches on where j-pop barely leaves the island?

[Anonymous No.11400702]

>>11400093
SOA was paranoid about all carts for some reason. There was some RPG that was unplayable without it, but Sega refused to sell or market the carts, so the games developer imported carts from japan and sold it themselves, and then Sega threatened them to boot them from the platform completely.

[Anonymous No.11400703]

>>11400680
Why can Toyota and Honda be a global brand but Sega can't?

[Anonymous No.11400710]

>>11396841
>Bandwidth to the addon,
Saturn had digital video input provided for both ports, so bandwidth to the addon only mattered when loading games, same as for the base console. You could in fact make the Saturn compatible with the Dreamcast that way, or even the Xbox, hell you could put Steam on it.

[Anonymous No.11400712]

>>11396841
>Its part of the reason why the 32x use its own video out

The only reason it does that is because they wanted it to display more colors, and there was no way to upload extra colors to the Genesis. The 32x acts basically as a giant video overlay to the Genesis, complete with analog video mixer.

[Anonymous No.11400749]

>>11400703
because sega is a failure

[Anonymous No.11400856]

>>11400703
Nintendo too

[Anonymous No.11401881]

>>11400702
The reason was like I said they were paranoid that people would compare these carts to the 32X.

I wonder if they would have loosened up about that once the N64 expansion pak was released. But that was released in holiday season 1998. While last Saturn game in EU was released in July of 1998 and last Saturn game in US was released in December 1998 (and the second last game released in US before that was in July of 1998) So Saturn was completely dead outside of Japan by the time expansion pak was released.

[Anonymous No.11403810]

>>11384391
32X launched in 1994, that was too late for something weaker than the Saturn.
The only way the 32X would have made some sense by using the beta design for a Game Gear Advance so it was a better portable Megadrive with an installed better SVP chip and try to beat Nintendo with it.

[Anonymous No.11403826]

>>11403810
Which is why I'm suggesting that 32X would have used the exact same hardware as Saturn.

[Anonymous No.11403851]

>>11403826
Such a redundant idea. The whole point of the 32x is its a cheap addon to add functionality to the genesis. A Saturn based 32x would not be cheap. Also, the Saturn hardware does not need Genesis hardware, so having it grafted onto the genesis is dumb, just make it a stand alone machine.

[Anonymous No.11403854]

>>11384391
This was better than sega cd to me

[Anonymous No.11403893]

>>11384391
32x failed because the Sega of Japan weren't willing to wait until 1996 to launch the Saturn (like Nintendo did with N64). SoJ was OBSESSED with being "first" and beating Sony to the market with their new console. Sega thought being first would make them win the war. They were wrong.


If Sega did wait, then it would have given the 32x two FULL years to sell on the market. That would have given game studios and consumers confidence that Sega wouldn't abandon the 32x. In addition, it would have given Sega time to fix the problems with the Saturn like the weak CPU, weird design, lack of games, and poor Saturn game development kits.

[Anonymous No.11403914]

I wonder if they could have released a cheaper CD add-on that plugs in the cartridge port rather than the expansion port.

[Anonymous No.11403919]

>>11403893
>instead of becoming obsolete after one year it would become obsolete after two years
The 32x dies the moment that the saturn is announced. Console addons do not work, no amount of marketing or saturn delays will change this. I have no idea why people are so obsessed with the concept of saving the 32x, if somebody wants a new console then they're gonna buy a playstation/n64 instead, if somebody is too poor for a new console then they're gonna stick with the console they already have instead of buying a $150 addon for it.

[Anonymous No.11403924]

>>11384403
FPBP

[Anonymous No.11403932]

>>11403919
>if somebody wants a new console then they're gonna buy a playstation/n64 instead
Those weren't out yet. There was a time gap between the SNES and the N64. A one to two year period filled with emptiness.

[Anonymous No.11403939]

>>11403919
Sega CD sold decently. So you are wrong there.

[Anonymous No.11403964]

>>11403932
>>11403893
Saturn came out literally the next day, PS1 two weeks later. SOJ wanted nothing to do with the 32X and could care less about SOA.
>>11403914
They already did that was the Sega CD model 2 with the manual disc tray, it was about $80 cheaper than the model 1 and came with Sewer Shark and another game.

[Anonymous No.11403980]

>>11403932
so fucking what? the playstation and ultra 64 have already been announced. by this logic the 3do and jaguar should've succeeded because they released in 1993 and the 32x was an entire year behind

[Anonymous No.11403991]

>>11403980
>jaguar
Didnt know your know? Jaguar failed because they couldn't sign on most game studios to work on the system. Didn't you hear about the infamous Atari VS Nintendo lawsuit? Atari should have won. It was clear Nintendo was breaking the law and monopolizing the market. A slamdunk case. But Atari the absolute worst lawyers ever and lost the lawsuit. They even teach about it in law school.

[Anonymous No.11403994]

>>11403991
Jaguar failed because Americans are stupid and can't DO THE MATH.

[Anonymous No.11404000]

>>11385649
>retro cartoons related thread, only the OP wanted to discuss late 00s slop,
Which thread?

[Anonymous No.11404002]

>>11403991
>Didn't you hear about the infamous Atari VS Nintendo lawsuit?
that was about the lockout chip, wtf are you talking about? that has nothing to do with the 32x or the jaguar.

>they couldn't sign on most game studios to work on the system
because it was a piece of shit just like the the 32x. nobody wanted to spend their time making an exclusive for an addon that already had its replacement announced.

[Anonymous No.11404058]

>>11403980
If the 32x was cheap enough and the brand was good enough, then they would give it a try. History is filled with people buying stuff just because of brand loyalty. Look at Apple

[Anonymous No.11404189]

>>11384403
Anon, he's autistic

[Anonymous No.11404267]

>>11389691
I hate these gay what if Sega threads, but nec did it with the turbo duo and there were a handful of 32x CD games

[Anonymous No.11404494]

>>11400710
>Saturn had digital video input

you mean the connection for the optional mpeg accelerator?

>>11400712
>The only reason

its part, but not the only reason. The genesis cartridge bandwith is only 10-15 mbs theoretical, effectively half that in most cases. the 32x's framebuffer is 36 mbs. If the 32x didn't use its own dedicated video output, and just tried to send its grpahics system data down the cartridge, it would be a major bottleneck.

[Anonymous No.11404497]

>>11400703

thats why it said 'most.' certain forward thinking multinational brands figured out how to manage.

its built into the culture in other fields in Japan too. Many baseball players could play in the MLB but its not uncommon to hear stories of many players electing to stay because their status in Japan stays high or higher without having played MLB.

[Anonymous No.11404578]

>>11403893
> weak cpu
The SH2 is not the issue, its a ok cpu
> weird design
The main issues with the Saturn are fundamental, can't be fixed, would need to be scrapped and redone from scratch.

[Anonymous No.11404602]

>>11404578
>The SH2 is not the issue, its a ok cpu
There were better options

>The main issues with the Saturn are fundamental, can't be fixed, would need to be scrapped and redone from scratch.
Sega can design and produce brand new arcade boards in 2 years. They can redesign Saturn in that same timeframe.

[Anonymous No.11404612]

>>11384403
/thread

[Anonymous No.11404679]

>>11403932
in japan 32x and ps1 came out the same day.