The Sega 32X Mars Frequently Asked Questions Version X.01 - January 1998 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This F.A.Q. is based on the Saturn/32x made by Gordon Craick. Since it wasn't updated since December 1994, i said to myself "Crap ! It's been more than 3 years since the last update ! It's time to do a real update and how !!!" Don't you agree ?? This F.A.Q. as two copyrights, one to Gordon Craick and the other to Sylvain De Chantal. All rights reserved. This document may be copied, in whole or in part, by any means provided the copyright and sections remain intact and no fee is charged for the information. Contributors retain the copyright to their individual contributions. The data contained here in is provided for informational purposes only. No warranty is made with regards to the accuracy of some informations. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Additional contributions IS welcome! Please mail additional information, opinions, and comments to : mailto --> "slydc@hotmail.com" or --> "slydc@videotron.ca" Where to get this F.A.Q.: You can get it at the »FAQ-tory« at: "http://pages.infinit.net/slydc/Faqtory.htm" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Welcome to the Sega 32x Mars F.A.Q. TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------- 1.0) The 32x Mars 2.0) 32x specs 3.0) The 32x in other Countrys 3.5) CARTRIDGES & CD'S LIST 4.0) Never Released Games List 4.5) More Inputs 5.0) Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.0) So what is the 32X? ------------------------ The 32X was released in late November 1994 in the United States, with releases in other countries following in the coming months. What the 32X is an addon for existing Genesis/Megadrive owners, which, when plugged into the cartridge port of the machine, provides extra proces- sing power, graphical enhancement and other improvements over your old machine. The 32X is a cartridge and CD's based system, and is not be upgradeable to the Saturn(which was first planned with the Jupiter). The 32X also include less of the specially designed processors than the Saturn, allowing it to be released at a very much cheaper price. For those who own a SegaCD the 32X will take advantage of this to provide 32X CD games. If you have a SegaCD it will use the extra capa- bilities of the machine, in addition to that of the Genesis and itself. The reason for this seems to be so that Sega can boost sales of the SegaCD, while also cutting prices on the 32X by not having to include a CD-drive. How did this come about? Most believe that Sega initially was at work on a cartridge only machine, however due to the market pressure of CD becoming standard, Sega was persuaded to integrate CD storage into their machine. Rather than waste this technology, they opted to use some of the technology in a cheaper, less powerful console that could remain competitive for several years, well at least for three years... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2.0) The 32x Specifications: ----------------------------- PROCESSOR: Twin Hitachi (SH2) 32 bit RISC processors - clock speed of 23 MHZ - 40 MIPS CO-PROCESSOR(s): Genesis 68000, Z80, Genesis 32X VDP Video processor - 50,000 texture-mapped polygons/sec - texture mapping - hardware scaling and rotation VIDEO: - 32,768 simultaneous colours on screen - Genesis resolution - Overlaying over existing Genesis/SegaCD video MEMORY: 512k (4 MBit) additional RAM to Genesis/SegaCD memory AUDIO: Stereo PCM chip - audio mixing with Genesis sound - additional 2 channels (therefore 14 all together?) I/O: Same as Genesis - 32X upgradable; can upgrade the 32X STORAGE: CD-ROM if you have a SegaCD - speed same as SegaCD - compatible with audio CD, CD&G, SegaCD and JVC X'eye Cartridge - compatible with Genesis model 1 & 2, JVC X'eye - can store save game/score information (as with many Genesis games) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.0) The 32x in other Countrys: ------------------------------- The 32X was released in Japan in a low key launch, even despite the Genesis relative lack of popularity in that country. The 32X is also available in Europe (aka Mega 32X), Australia, and Canada in limited numbers. It was also released in Japan (called the Super 32X) with very few games due to lack of popularity of the Megadrive console. Any more info anyone ??? The lockout chips/compatability for the European, North American, and Asian machines remains incompatible with each other respectively. These machines will a combination of hardware 'lock-key' mechanisms to prevent uncontrolled importing. These may eventually be circumnavigated through the use of converters, as used in the past by some companies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.5) The CARTRIDGES & CD'S LIST : --------------------------------- Name MemSize Manufacturer Type ======================================================================== After Burner 16Meg Sega Shooter B.C. Racers 24Meg Core Design Racing Blackthorne Meg Sega Adventure Brutal:Unleached Meg Gametek Fighting Corpse Killer CD ----- Digital Picture Shooter Cosmic Carnage 24Meg Sega Fighting Doom 24Meg ID Software Shooter Farenheight CD (+ Sega CD) ----- Sega Action Golf Magazine:36 Great Holes 24Meg Sega Sports Kolibri Meg Sega Shooter Knuckle Chaotix 24Meg Sega Action Metal Head Meg Sega Action Mortal Kombat 2 Meg Acclaim Fighting Motocross Championship 16Meg Sega Racing NBA Jam TE Meg Acclaim Sports NFL Quaterback Club Meg Acclaim Sports Night Trap CD ----- Digital Picture Adventure Pitfall:the Mayan Adventure 32Meg Activision Action Primal Rage 32Meg Sega Fighting RBI Baseball '95 16Meg Time Warner Sports Shadow Squadron 16Meg Sega Shooter Slam City CD ----- Digital Picture Sports Space Harrier 24Meg Sega Shooter Spiderman: Web of Fire Meg Sega Action Star Trek:Starfleet Academy Meg Sega Simulation Star Wars Arcade 24Meg Sega Shooter Supreme Warrior CD ----- Digital Picture Shooter T-Mek Meg Sega Fighting Tempo 24Meg Sega Action Toughman Contest Boxing 32Meg Electronic Arts Sports Virtua Fighter 32Meg Sega Fighting Virtua Racing Deluxe 24Meg Sega Racing World Series Baseball '95 Meg Sega Sports WWF Raw Meg Acclaim Sports WWF Wrestlemania Arcade Meg Acclaim Sports Zaxxon Motherbase 2000 16Meg Sega Shooter ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.0) The Never Released Games List: ----------------------------------- Never Released (???) Manufacturer Type ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 32Xtreme Sega Sports Alien Trilogy Acclaim Shooter Alien vs. Predator Alone in the Darkness Apache Domark Action Batman Forever Action Bios Fear C2:Judgement Clay Interplay Fighting Casper Action Castlevania Konami Action College Basketball Sega Sports Comix Zone Sega Action Converve City Ball Tour Sports Converse Hoops Virgin Sports Cyber Brawl Sega Fighting Darx Side Sega Action Descent Dracula X Konami Ecco the Dolphin Sega Adventure FIFA Soccer '96 Electronic Arts Sports Flying Aces Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball Sports Golf Magazine:36 Great Holes CD Sega(released as cart instead) Heads on Soccer Heavy Machinery Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings Sports Judge Dreed Action Kingdom of the Far Reaches Loadstar Midnight Raiders CD Sega NBA Action '96 Sega Sports Nautilus Outpost Power Rangers Action Primal Rage CD Sega(released as cart instead) Prime Time NFL Sports Race Drivin' Atari Racing Rachet & Bolt Rayman Ubi Soft Action Revolution X Acclaim Shooter Sangokushi 4 [jap] Sega ??? ??? Scottish Open Core Design Sports Shadow of Atlantis Sega Shell Shock Sonic 4 Sega Action Soulstar X Core Design Shooter Spider-Man & Venom:Seperation Anxiety Acclaim Fighting Spot Goes To Hollywood Virgin Action Stellar Assault Sega Shooter Street Fighter the Movie Capcom Fighting Street Racer Super After Burner Sega(renamed After Burner) Super MotoCross (renamed Motocross Champ.) Super Space Harrier Sega(renamed Space Harrier) Surgical Strike CD Sega Shooter Tee Off Sports Thunderhawk 2 Vara's Code Virtua Hamster Sega Action Virtual Golf Sega Sports Wirehead CD Sega X-Men: Mojo-World Sega Action ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.5) More Inputs: ----------------- The 32X was released in the United States in late November, 1994 and finally had been dicountinued late 1995 due to the early arrival of the Sega Saturn in the summer of 1995. Sega was trying to provide some type of upgrade path to the Saturn so that it can play existing 32X games, however there is a definite technological difference that makes this difficult. When implemented, this will be through an optional plug-in cartridge that will allow you to play not only 32X games, but also Genesis, and SegaCD games on your Saturn. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.0) Credits: ------------- Not much for now... * Gordon Craick (Of Course !!!) * Eric Hamel Thanks and see you in the next version !!! ---------------------------------------------------------- Copyright(c)1998, Sylvain De Chantal, "slydc@hotmail.com" or come visit my homepage at "http://www.chez.com/slydc/"