How Close Was the Sega 32X to the Saturn? Find Out! (Real* Console Hardware 60fps HD)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- Did Sega’s 32X really come close to the power of the Saturn? In this video, we dive into a side-by-side comparison of games released on both platforms, showcasing how they stack up in graphics, sound, and performance. See if Sega's "stopgap" add-on could truly hold its own against the next-gen powerhouse. Watch this comparison of real* hardware footage** in 60FPS HD to discover how much difference a few months of tech innovation made!
*32x software is running off of a megadrive cart and Saturn software is running of a saroo cart.
**note that both virtua fighter and virtua racing were captured on FPGA due to saroo issues.
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I am quite impressed with how well the 32X was able to hold up in comparison.
It's not a very fair comparison. All those games use only one VDP processor on Saturn, even though it had two. It just runs like a 32X. Doom on Saturn is crippled thanks to the intervention of John Carmack himself, because for some strange reason he didn't want the engine run with help of 3D hardware. He wanted it to run in the software engine like on PC.
Cool comparison! VF on 32X is amazing! It's obvious, that SEGA had way more time to made it. Saturn port is OK but unfortunately it's a rushed port because of the Saturn launch date.
Lmao did you know the 32x only had 6 months development before going into production you think the saturn port was "rushed" ha the entire 32x lineup was rushed including the addon itself.
floor looked very ugly on saturn. x32 looked much better here. but there is a remix version of the original game that is much cleaner on Saturn how its should have looked.
@@SpaceFractal-g2o OMG! The poorly texture mapped floor of the 32X version had better draw distance. That's the only thing going for that version. The player models, frame-rate and the sound was far superior to the 32X game.
Thank You for that comparison ❤ I‘ve owned a 32X back in the 90s and i was stunned what my Mega Drive was capable of. And as we see - in some Games the 32X and the Saturn weren‘t far apart.
You’re welcome. I enjoyed making the comparison
I really think they should have given the 32x a couple years more on its own. It looked great with the right devs working with it.
Agreed
Vf glitches less on 32x
@ConsoleCombat 9:14 is nfl 96 not virtua racing (has vr as title)
That was the problem and why Sega scrapped it. $150 for system on the left. $399 for system on the right. People picked the $150 system in the US and they panicked due to how much money they were losing. It took the Saturn awhile to surpass the sales the 32x had in the US the few months it was supported.
Saturn should have just been kept in Japan.
Thank you. I’ll blur it out.
The 32x was a breath of fresh air for the aging megadrive. Had it lived longer I think there would have been many great games produced for it
Let's be real. It was life support for the aging megadrive/genesis and the add-on was too cost prohibitive for most and the Saturn was already known to be coming which is why there is only 40 games for the system.
@@kiwisoup that didn't stop me I bought the unit for a super low price thanks to the saturn the store I worked at for my first job as a bagger discounted teh 32x addon all the way down to 29.99 and marked its games with reduced stickers tossing them into bargain bins where people could sift through and collect the titles they wanted that ranged from 3 bucks 5 bucks and 10 bucks pending the title. At the end of my work shift I grabbed the 32x and 20 games I was pretty pleased with Virtual Fighter, Virtua Racing Deluxe, Shadow Squadron, Starwars 32x, Mortal Combat 2, Space Harrier, Afterburner, BlackThorne, Pitfall, Knuckles Chaotix, Tempo, and even liked the Doom port as I didn't have a pc I taken what I could get and I loved that addon though it had some shitty games too like Metal Head (I don't care if some liked it to me that game was garbage more than Doom ever was) BC racers, Cosmic Carnage, Motocross championship, as well as some lack luster ports of Primal Rage WWF Raw and T-mek.
@@kiwisoup lets be real.. it was a breath of fresh air. It was less cost prohibitive than buying a new system, and controllers. There was only 40 games because it was canceled by Sega themselves after only a year despite good sales. 40 games in a year was alot, especially with most being fun.
@@Lightblue2222 It had an ok launch, but it pretty much stopped selling after the initial hype was over, because it became clear that there would be few if any major titles coming out for it. You could find it for only a fraction of the price just months after launch. The only real system seller Sega had was Virtual Fighter, which was very obviously also being ported to the Saturn. Sega cancelled the 32X because the writing was on the wall. Even the absurdly expensive 3DO sold about as much.
@@RomantiqueTp 32X hit US Retailers about 2 Weeks after Sonic & Knuckles was released: Tuesday November 1,1994.
Thanks for the video. The 32X had some pretty impressive specs for its time. Right now I am enjoying a reproduction cart and CD Doom Fusion for the 32X / Sega CD combo. It is amazing. If indie developers released physical carts and CDs pushing the system I would buy them. They could even release digital versions on modern platforms to make up some of the development costs. Thanks again for the video.
@@malcolmar yes cd 32x doom fusion really showcases where things could have been and it would have been incredible. Thanks for watching
@@ConsoleCombat Agreed!
I love the 32X, but I honestly think it should never have existed.
The games released for it should have been developed for the Saturn, and the console should have come out in 1994 in the US, a year before the PS1.
That way Virtua Racing Deluxe would have been a Saturn game, Knuckles Chaotix could have been Sonic 4, etc...
Just having Sonic, Virtua Racing and Virtua Fighter at launch would have put the Saturn in a good position, even more so a year before its competitor hit the market.
Agreed. 32X should have never been created.
and SEGA should've stayed focused on bringing the arcade experience home, as well as continuing series like Streets of Rage and Gunstar Heroes.
Sega management always shot it self in the foot.
What competitor?. Nintendo had nothing immediate. Sony’s console attempt was likely laughed at, again, what competition?
@@pa-ikollo1851 Sega added an extra CPU to Saturn specially to compete with the Playstation, so they were a bit afraid
Sony could aford selling it a $100 less that the Saturn, so relesing one year prior would help it a lot
i played every version of virtua fighter and when i played the 32x version i instantly saw the hands. but its kinda cool to see how much they were able to do
immediately got yourself a sub for recording it in real hardware. I wish more gaming channels realized this: if you're looking at legacy games, it must be played on legacy hardware. Your modern pc while a good emulator, is not a 32X, n64, Jaguar, neo geo, snes, and will never be. Real hardware is the real deal.
Oh wow. Thank you so much. I feel the exact same as you. It’s a lot of wires and work but totally worth it.
@@ConsoleCombat This is a HUGE deal for me. I have spent a fair deal of money on an ultimate console and CRT setup, original hardware on a PVM crt. I love playing the most premium experience, which often means playing very specific ports. Sometimes not what you expect. Something being ported to newer hardware does not mean it is better than the original
Me too, I play on a low resolution CRT with bad audio and go through tons of hoops to get things connected, insert the cartridges, remove the cartridges, clean the cartridges, reinsert the cartridges, hope that it works etc and constantly try to convince myself that the restrictions of old technology were somehow an advantage in an effort to justify all the money that I spent on original hardware instead of just emulating.
@ yes. It can be a nuisance. these devices won’t last forever so if we can document how they really played, then perhaps we can save the experience virtually for posterity
@@ConsoleCombat I don't usually count likes, but this time it matters, as it provides an indication that people are very interested in real hardware, which is great! It's for sure a bigger hassle, but I think it's totally worth it, and in fact the only way to play legacy games IMO. For example: a Neo Geo has a 12 MHz CPU, which I'm sure nowadays a kitchen freezer has more horsepower than that. Back in the 90s, it was cutting edge tech, you'd need to get a Sharp X68000 or Capcom CPS2 to get anything similar.
The Nintendo64 had a 93 MHz CPU, for a reference, in 1995 I had access to a PowerMac graphics workstation, costing thousands of dollars back then, and it proudly had a 60 Mhz CPU. The N64 gave you more than that for 250 USD as a kids toy.
The logic here is that real hardware is not just for accurate graphics, but it's also a celebration of what was pinnacle technology at some point in time. It's a form of honoring what came before, and how proud we were of having such amazing tech at home, as kids, for our entertainment.
When someone emulates with modern hardware, that act of celebrating those once powerful and proud hardwares of the past, completely loses point.
A modern PC is so light years ahead of a Neo Geo or N64, that it simply loses the point of enjoying old hardware via emulation. It just doesn't blend. What was once a powerful 93 MHz CPU becomes meaningless if you emulate with hardware thousands of times faster.
In order to feel how these videogames were impressive, and cutting edge tech back in the day, one must use the original technology, only then one will be amazed at the SNES scaling FX, or SuperFX chip, or Neo Geo sprite handling power, or n64 3d capabilities, etc.
We need more 32x scene and honebrew.
I agree but wished therewas more homebrew for my personal favorite console the Turbografx-16 I still dream that someday someone may actually make a port of Mortal Kombat for it. Street Fighter 2 CE I bought through Turbo Zone Direct along with the game convertor back in 1994 gave me proof that the TG-16 could do the fighting game genre justice.
@lunarvvolf9606 Yes, it's a great machine. It deserve more new content. I hope the homebrew increase too for Turbografx.
Plus, more 32x cd homebrews. I agree the turbo/pc engine need homebrew games especially cd-add on arcade card which has a lot of ram.
I had the 32x with VF as a teenager, and I thought it was amazing. Even more so, MK 2, really an excellent arcade conversion.
Virtua Racing for Saturn was very good, but had the main problem with a bad control and extremly bad collision query, because of this the game was almost unplayable. The worst of all, the amazing Virtua Racing Musictracks and these are the best arangements with Live band until today, was in the game complete in MONO! Because many Saturns games had this Mono Soundbug. The CDA Tracks was in full excellent Stereo and playable in the Saturn CD player in normal quality, but in the game only in Mono.This problem has not been solved to date
A lot of people slated Virtua Fighter on the Saturn for being as rough as a bear's arse, but it actually ran with a high horizontal resolution. It just needed some extra time to polish out the issues, which sadly never happened (though there's no way it'd have been arcade perfect - theoretical specs aside, the Model 1 was a better polygon pusher than the Saturn).
I think you are confusing it with Virtua Fighter 2. The first one ran on 320x224 i think
@@litjellyfish If you pause and look at any of the actual bout footage (shadows, diagonal lines, that sort of thing), you'll see the horizontal resolution is a lot higher on the Saturn version than the 32X version. VF1 ran in progressive hi-res whereas VF2 ran in interlaced hi-res.
not correct. there is a Virtua Fighter Remix...... with proper texture and not wanky polygons. May look generic, but still looks and plays better if you ask me.
@@stephandolby Ah yes you are right. still I think the Y resolution seems to be 320. So like not progressive hires in that sense. Or how to explain. VF1 seems to run in 320x240p and VF2 I think was then 640x480i again I can be wrong. I just have clear memory that VF1 was not full 640x480
@litjellyfish Correct, the Saturn cannot handle 480p, and as its VDP1 output at 448i/480i/504i is 8-bit, lighting is impractical... hence why VF2 used "baked-in" lighting on its texturing to give some sort of depth (I believe Remix does the same thing). Virtua Fighter uses a standard vertical resolution, but I'm not sure whether it's 224p or 240p (and the PAL version would just muddy the waters further). I may have inadvertently confused matters earlier by mentioning progressive hi-res; the horizontal resolution was high but the vertical wasn't.
I had VF1 for Sega Saturn when it was launched, it came as a gift with the American Saturns. The game is much better than 32X, beyond the polygons that disappear.
No one was worried that the polygons would disappear, it even seemed funny and fun, it was a newly moving technology and yet it was shocking.
A colorful fact: the Saturn version of VF1 moves more polygons than VF2. The characters in VF1 have more polygons than those in VF2 and the floor in VF1 is made of polygons and that is why they disappear, while those in VF2 are made with VDP2, meaning that they are not polygons but rather a perspective sprite.
All polygons on the Saturn are perspective sprites. You probably mean it's a rotation/perspective background layer (akin to SNES' Mode 7).
@@Liam3072 Alpha Bend. Which is a Common Quad Render Geometry Method used mostly in the Early 90s.
In many 2D titles, the 32x backgrounds have the old, poor Genesis/Megadrive color palette, whereas the Saturn versions didn't have that legacy limitation. I once read that the 32x didn't have a tile-based framebuffer, which made drawing 2D backgrounds quite slow, so most 32x games used the Genesis/Megadrive tile VDP for that purpose.
It can compete with it on early games, but for later more demanding games it just couldnt hold up, first it didnt have graphics accelerated hardware inside and second it was limited by the cartridge size. Ofcourse if it was in japanese hands it could produce many games but you wouldnt see a proper Sega Rally port, never.
When it comes to nearly all the 2D styles features present on both 32X and Saturn, the Saturn could easily handle them at 60fps; while the 32X would generally be lucky with 30fps.
3D though was a much trickier prospect, but the right handling has resulted in strong 3D arcade conversions. Though unfortunately the first attempt with Virtua Fighter on Saturn was a rush job. Remix was basically created to make up for that. Virtua Racing was put into hands not familiar with the intricacies of the game. As for the PC original known as Doom, it could've been better if not for interference. As pointless as CD 32X was as a format, the unofficial attempt is way better.
The doom comparison is very good. Rumour has it the dev has a h/w accelerated Saturn version but John carmack insisted on a s/w only. Hence performance is very similar. Actually the 32x might be better 😂
The software code for doom saturn was copied from the ps1 version. Had they coded using software from scratch. Doom hardware would've been better than the ps1. Also, near pc perfect using the hardware code from scratch.
@@maroon9273 Correct.
32x was way better then people remember. Sega's devtools were again lacking and most developers didn't even come close to the true potential.
It makes me think that if the Sega 32X had been developed by Sega Japan (and not Sega US), it would likely have been much more powerful and that if the Saturn had been designed from the start with 3D in mind, it might have been closer to the Sega Model 2 arcade hardware.
Yeah, why did Sega invest in a whole other chip which only helps with games with a float floor and ceiling? With a whole second chip even a noob could implement a naïve method to correct perspective on textures on polygons and hence the need for quads. I think hitachi just imported their DIV circuitry from a macro library kinda like Sinclair built his ULA.
@@ArneChristianRosenfeldt
Regarding the Saturn, it's just that Sega thought 3D was only relevant for arcades, and they were by far the best in 3D at the time. They didn’t see the Saturn as a 3D console and developed it as a 2D system until they changed their mind at the last minute after seeing Sony focus on 3D with the PlayStation, ( inspired from arcade ) . In the end, Sega rushed to add components to make the Saturn capable of 3D, but since it was done in haste, tapping into its full potential became very complicated. As a result, most multi-platform games generally turned out better on the PlayStation. However, the Saturn's maximum potential could actually go beyond what the PlayStation could achieve. That said, if the Saturn had been designed for 3D from the start, it would have far surpassed the PlayStation and even the Nintendo 64. Sega, in terms of 3D, was years ahead of everyone else worldwide during the 1990s.
Their talent in arcade 3D made every other arcade and even PCs look cute and insignificant next to them.
@ I read that they made their own arcade ASICS. Still weird that they work similar to one of the simulators for US air force. No patents? The arcade games also have this flat floor everywhere.
Sega genesis is great for 2d. Just add some colors. SH2 is fast enough to prevent slow downs in Sonic. So I really wonder how they thought to make a mark beyond SNES or NeoGeo CD in the 2d world. Translucency?
Superscaler was already in SegaCD. Mode-7 is actually a clipped polygon width four vertices.
@@kimitachi22 You are repeating the Tired, Debunked and Annoying old Myth. Its erroneous sir. Saturn IS a 3D console and was designed to be 3D from the Get go. Its the APPROACH SEGA took for its Pipeline. SEGA took a different approach to 3D then everyone else relying on Aerospace 3D and Mapping as SEGA and CSK Holdings had partnered up with Lockheed Martin and NASA in 1990-1991 to implement Aerospace 3D technology that's WHY SEGA named these projects after Planets. Originally prior to Saturn, SEGA had TWO different separate 5th Gen Projects in development, MARS was 2D only but JUPITER was indeed 3D based. Just used very basic and simplistic Texturing.
Sir, please don't post debunked misinformation.
@@ArneChristianRosenfeldt SEGA CD/Mega CD was codenamed "SEGA EARTH". Regarding, Genesis/Mega Drive or "MARK IV/Mega Tech", its initial planned successor in 1990-1991 was Giga Drive aka MARS, which was a 2D Only System 32 based solution. SEGA of Japan Scrapped it when they saw Starfox Demos during 1992.
32x is actually pretty impressive
Based on just these examples, 2D and sprite-scaling's pretty close between the two. Saturn certainly has an advantage for polygon processing, FMV playback, and FPS games. I really like Space Harrier on the 32X. That's what I was expecting for the Genesis version (and was pretty disappointed when I bought that cartridge).
And then people say that quads help especially with sprites and super-scaling. Saturn is a 2d powerhouse.
@@ArneChristianRosenfeldt It was a 3D powerhouse too. At least on paper.
Also resolution and frame rate. 32x version of Afterburner is 30fps.
@@ArneChristianRosenfeldt Saturn was a MAPPED Rich 3D console.
@@maxxdahl6062 Saturn's 3D lay almost entirely in Mapping,Texturing and Layering.
Had potential, but hampered by a complicated hardware scheme and even by the host Genesis system. The Open Lara project really shows what the 32X could do.
I wish we had included it in this video. It slipped my mind.
@@ConsoleCombat It's not worth it yet, anyway. Give the developer some time... currently it's running on a single SH-2.
32X wasn't Complicated, it was a Half Baked Solution for MARS/Giga Drive.
@@segaunited3855 Fully utilizing the 32X *IS* complicated. Only a few developers have pulled it off. You need to write efficient code for both SH-2's for rendering (since there's no acceleration, just a couple of framebuffers), while also feeding the PWM audio chip. Whether 2D or 3D, everything from polygons to sprites and special effects (scaling, zoom, etc) are done entirely in software on the SH2's.
Plus, you still have to simultaneously wrangle the Genesis hardware, attempting to make decent use of the 68K and Z80 for gamecode and additional audio. Honestly Doom Resurrection is the best example of what is possible, but it took quite a while to get to that stage.
@@AlexvrbX even doom resurrection is not fully using the 32x but the most today yet ,i hope to see even a better framerate in the future.
The answer is not so close. Throw up titles with a lot of textures polyhons like Burning Rangers and Sonic R and we will see it. That said of course a lot more juice could have been squeezed out of 32x
If the 32X did not bypassed the genesis hardware with it’s own video out.
Then the graphics and and sound on the 32X would,ve been worse.
The Hardware itself was awful. Completely underdeveloped,rushed and shoddy.
very dependent on the genesis hardware @@segaunited3855
The 32x version was the better playing version. Solid 30fps
Tomb Raider also runs on the 32x
I missed that fan made port yes. Thanks for your feedback.
Exactly. So it shows that 32x power was quite far from Saturn. It runs lower fps. do not have lighting on the main character and using a highly optimized open source reverse engineered port of tomb rainder that mosty likely if porten properly to Saturn would be able to run 60fps on Saturn. But it shows that 32x could handle texure polygon games a lot better than the commercial games releasef for it back then. But it also shows that Saturn in quite a lot more powerful.
@@litjellyfishI added the doom cd 32x fusion to show what could have been if devs used all of the hardware. But the costs for the Sega cd genesis and 32x was well beyond the Saturn.
@@ConsoleCombat Yeah then also the game is a special case in the way it rendered stuff that actually fits pure CPU based software rendering. And the display window is still smaller. Push it up higher and the framerate would had dropped. And as you said it used more hardware so... well.. then lets throw in some more CPU power in say put a DSP in a game cart for saturn and it would had run DOOM better.
@@litjellyfish i believe that tombraider on 32 x only runs on 1 cpu at the moment or badly on 2cpu s not sure if that makes fully use of 2 cpu s.
You can see small improvements in certain games but it's not a dealbreaker. Maybe Sega should have gone with the 32x while preparing the release of the nextgen "Dreamcast". But obviously Sega Japan and USA weren't really working well together.
Dreamcast didn't start development until 1996-1997. The Specs weren't available in 1994, YET. SEGA of Japan should have just booted Isao Okawa off the Chairboard.
Then they'll have to wait until 1998 which the dreamcast will be a 6th gen console.
@@maroon9273 But wasn't the Saturn that more competitive than the 32x ? I rely on the small improvements you can see on the review. Maybe SEGA should have sold the add-on 32x for a lower price to show their customers that for a reasonable update their Genesis would be on par with other new consoles.
Compare 32X with Saturn is not fair, because 99% of the games were released on cartridges (32X) instead of CD's, so graphics and sound is limited to 4MB and not to 650MB. I still believe SEGA could've made 32X greater to the limit using both, CD's and cartridges and compete against PS and 3DO all the way without Saturn!. Genesis was established and could have been extended a few more years with the 32X.
I wish more devs would have used the CD 32x
Most likely japan will have the sega saturn and america/europe will have the 32x cd.
What does "fair" have to do with anything?
Both the official Saturn and 32X ports of Doom were pretty bad, but the 32X Doom Resurrection (and the related Doom CD32X Fusion version) puts them both to shame so badly that I want to see that version brought to the Saturn even if it is still entirely running on the SH-2's. You can change the resolution on Resurrection and CD32X Fusion at some FPS cost. Try it out.
Edit: I hope some day when the 32X port of Tomb Raider is finished (it's still preliminary) we can compare those versions!
I'm wondering if they will move the tomb raider homebrew project to the 32x cd. Since doom fusion made it possible for a real 32x cd game.
@@maroon9273 That wouldn't give them a performance boost but there are certain benefits. It would allow them to fit everything, including the FMVs. It could also enable better music and sound effects vs using the Genesis alone, without leaning on the SH-2's. If there's enough disc space you could stream uncompressed, if there's not the 68K in the SCD can decode ADPCM.
It would still be preferable to use a ROM cart to store the main program and as much "hot" data as you can cram in 4MB.
32bit
magical word
Saturn Doom still pisses me off. Carmak ruined that port.
The 32X is extremely underrated in my opinion, and Sega never made ANYTHING bad, not ever. I have both versions, and though the Saturn is my favorite system of all time. The 32X deserved better, and should have had more support from developers
vendo por essa perspectiva, o 32x fazia um trabalho bastante competente....
Agreed
Sega should have really pushed the unique features of the Sega CD and the 32x. The Sega CD could also do Super Scalers and they really should have leaned more heavily into that! Games like Final Fight CD show it could have done amazing home ports of whatever Capcom was doing in the arcades and I wish they would have leaned into that more. Between the CD and the 32x they could have delayed the Saturn and fine tuned it more for 3D games really give Sony a run for their money. It is so said how these two consoles were misused back then and the in fighting between Sega of Japan and Sega of America.
Then why can't the sega cd get delayed and replace its hardware with the 32x. Or cancel it and have the 32x cart add-on in place of the sega cd. Releasing late 1992 or 1993.
World Series Baseball is the only one significantly more impressive on Saturn.
Sega should have absorbed some of the cost for the 32X, absorbed some of the cost for higher memory allocation, and give the developers time to figure out how to program for it. Those three factors at a minimum would have given 32X a chance.
Obviously Sega Saturn was powerful then 32X..
But I prefer Virtua Racing, Virtua Fighter and Doom on 32X!!!
If was released Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo or Street Fighter Alpha on 32X would be a great challenge betwee n 32X and Saturn...🤷
Can someone please tell me what makes this game so great?? Real question. I want to get into it. Whats different between this and Tekken or Toshinden?
As far as this specific game, virtua fighter, it was the first street fighter like game in 3D in the arcades. At the time, it was such a sight to behold since 3d was very new
i would say - 32X is 3/5 in 3D , and 4/5 in 2D abilitys compare to saturn...
Wow 32x had a lot of potential
It sure did
@@ConsoleCombat Not Really. It had more MIPS power than PS1, but in the End, it was just a Weak Variation of MARS using Genesis' Bus and DMA. It pretty much did really Suck.
Vr was wayyy better on 32x than saturn
Yeah, the Saturn Version was it´s own thing, made by Warner Brothers. It may have better Graphics and more Cars, but lacks in Gameplay, driving Physics and Sound Effects.
I recommend the Video that "Jenovi" made about what the best Port would be ("The 2.5D Gamer" and "Sega Lord X" also did, but imo "Jenovi" nailed it.).
@wolfxx7297 yeah 32x for life for new doom, vf, vr etc
Nice Video ! Sub & Big Like ! And Love Sega Games !
@@almeidachannel7121 thank you so much!
"Captured on real hardware using RGB"
That's the way it should be, unlike others, who are too cheap to buy the games & hardware & instead use fraudulent emulation.
I try my best to do so. I don’t have every piece of hardware and I try to be transparent when I don’t
Yeah Sega CD 32X Doom!!
As other commenters said: surprised 32x holds up as well as it does. Sega missed a trick in not making the 32x its neageo equivalent. Arcade perfect conversions of Revenge of Death Adder, Spiderman etc. I would have bought that for a dollar!
That would have been amazing
GENESIS 32X has my most interesting infatuation yet, I never rest in peace until SEGA OF AMERICA RESURRECTED THIS SYSTEM... They owe it to us!!!!
There are definitely similarities but more than a few differences. Both run the twin SH2's which matched the 040'a and i486's in integer but far outclassed them in raw FPU. Even Pentiums of that era had trouble crunching 10K polys by brute forcing it with CPU power. The 32X didn't have hardware triangle setup or T&L so it relied on the SH2's excellent FPU to dish out anywhere from 20-40K polygons hence you had great versions of VF, VR Racing and Star Wars Arcade. The 15-bit color palette wasnt anything to sneeze at either. The main problem with the 32X/Genesis combo was bandwidth and the way it combined visuals without hardware acceleration resulted in 30fps max output.
Saturn also based on twin SH2's were clocked 30% higher but the real kicker was the full 32-bit system bus and VDP's 1&2. SH2's already strong floating point combined with VDP1's hardware geometry prowess along with a DSP for additional floating point meant that there was no way 32X was ever going to come close to Saturn in overall performance. Having VDP2 was nice too along with all that high speed VRAM. No console before the PS3 era could sling sprites like the Saturn. If you were a developer that was skilled in assembly and coded to the metal some nice results were surely within reach. Stuff that couldnt be replicated on even N64
@@nng1979 what great info. Thank you.
Saturn uses SH-2. Not SH2s. In fact, the SAME 32X Lead Register Processor is embedded in Saturn's CD-ROM drivers. That's PURE fact. Saturn's VDP 1 and VDP2 are 32-bit, much like N64's RGI SCP Graphics Unit which is 32-bit as well. Saturn used Bit-Mapping and Alpha Bend for Polygon rendering. Which was its MAIN Advantage over N64 which relied too much on XY Tessellation and Multi Bending.
Regarding VDP2, it uses Multi Planes, BGs, Environments and Variable Maps as well as T&L and Dual Layering(As Opposed to Nintendo 64's Quad Layering).
Both VDP1 and N64's SGI RCP use Float Points. These give Saturn and N64 HUGE advantages over PS1. Mainly because both can Texture Filter and Fix Warps and Affines. They can also remap and Recalculate Textures and Sprites.
@@ConsoleCombat Saturn uses Bit Mapping. Nintendo 64 uses Multi Bend. Bit Mapping can do a Better Job at Rendering Environments and Backgrounds.
Uma pena um periférico tão poderoso ter sido tão mau aproveitado no quesito hardware
o 32x quebra o super nintendo em todos os quesitos já q foi projetado para isso.
32x wins in gameplay and draw distance. But everything else the saturn wins
O 32x fazia a primeira geração de jogos igual o sega saturno incrível muito show não vi diferença
VF used 20% of the Saturn's power, while the 32X was on the verge of collapse, yet the differences are still remarkable
Bullshit
I like to imagine an alternate reality in which the communication from Sega of Japan and Sega of America was better to make it such that a 32X + Sega CD effectively converted a Mega Drive to a Sega Saturn, and that the Saturn's cartridge port could run Mega Drive games, that could have been enough to boost interest enough since developers already familiar with the Mega Drive would have an easier time with the console
It was not close at all as rhere were several limitations precenting it from its potential
I regret to inform you that Virtua Fighter runs at 30FPS.
So you're saying you captured this at 30FPS then interpolated to get 60?
No. The video is at 60fps. Any output below that from the console is then discernible between those that can do 60fps and those that can’t.
Both 32X and Saturn suck compared to PS1
They all have their pros and cons.
@ No, it's not. PS1 is just more powerful, that's all. Despite the fact that they are in the same class as Saturn.
@@yebatkolotit I’m making a video as we speak comparing the PSx to the Neo Geo and you can compare it to the video I made comparing the sega Saturn and the neo geo and let me know what you think afterwards. :)
Wow. 32X is not bad at all
If Sega had marketed the 32x as a "budget option" for 32-bit play, I think it would have been more successful. SOJ was clueless when it came to the American market and should have let SOA drive.
Umm..No. Not Really. 32X had no reason to exist. Sega of America only developed it during '93 because they were Terrified that Genesis would have a huge dropoff in Sales in 1994.
@@segaunited3855 you are entitled to your opinion. I will happily disagree. Have a great one.
32x wasnt really a new console in terms of new Cpu and Gpu but it tried.
Instead of releasing the Saturn, would it have been cheaper for sega to release mega driver/genesis consoles with the 32x hardware already built in and for existing mega drive/genesis customers to buy the 32x add on at a discounted price and they just focus on making 32x games? Would that have been better for them?
Originally Sega Japan wanted the 32x to be a upgraded genesis that double colors in the holiday of 1994. SOA canned it in place for a add-on. Concept remerge as the sega neptune a duo console of the genesis/32x. Slated to be release in December 1995 after the saturn original September launch date.
@@maroon9273 Yes and No. SEGA of Japan originally sent the MARS/Giga Drive System 32 Based Prototype to Sega of America in Early 1993. With specific instructions to "Upgrade the Genesis and Sega CD hardware using System 32 Chips" You see, SOJ wanted SOA to simply design a Hybrid Vaporware solution in the form of a NEW SKU, one in the form of a CD Drive using MARS hardware "SEGA CD32" and the other as a Stand Alone, aka Neptune or "SEGA Mars Mark 2".
Sega of America ignored SOJ's Orders and Instructions because they were afraid that Genesis was going to suffer a Huge Dropoff for 1994. SOA Feared it would start tanking, so Joe Miller suggested the "32X" idea to Tom Kalinske and Michael Katz, Kalinske NEVER told Hayao Nakayama that Sega Amusements USA/Skunkworks were going to design their own solution.
The 32X hardware itself is a complete, convoluted, half baked, under developed Mess. That's because although Development started in the Early Summer of 1993, SOA failed to get a Working Prototype in advance. 32X's working Prototypes first Appeared in February 1994. The SH2s were provided by CSK engineers, which use SH-1 Instructions and Latency.
SATURN's working Prototypes were ALREADY running during October 1993. The reason why it uses a Split SH-2(Dash) CPU on two Wafers is because Hitachi and SEGA had plans for a 64-bit Pipeline. Saturn's Beta Stage design was rushed into production in December 1993 by CSK owner Isao Okawa, which prematurely cut off the 4 Full months of taping it needed. SATURN's Design was scheduled to be completed in March 1994.
Apart from Doom, the 32X version of the games are inferior to Saturn ones but not bad at all
😃My goodness, the difference between 'Primal Rage' (09:33).
32x looked horrible
Saturn version is light years better than the 32X version
The 32x, Saturn, and Sega CD are what caused people to lose faith in sega
Wish sega had made 32x into its own console and used it instead of saturn. It seems like its easier to program for, and it plays arcade titles like a pro.
32X hardware was terrible. SATURN had BETTER hardware that was even TWICE the Power of PSX. It was just never fully ironed out.
@segaunited3855 well, if you talk to the people who actually programed for the saturn they will tell you it was a nightmare. But maybe you knows better than the guys who were actually there?🤭 And there is nothing that indicate that the sega saturn was twice as powerful as the playstation. Neither in software or hardware. Where did you even get that idea?😵💫
@@THEMARTIALARTSCHANNEL-bb4fx I work with Homebrewers. Programming the Saturn is FAR less complex than programming PS2 and PS3 as UNIX is a pretty easy language to learn. You should look up some Saturn Homebrew Projects.
The 32x project should've turned into a suped up neptune project or alternative hardware for the saturn. Which is a 5th gen level console based on the Sega cd, genesis and bits of the sega saturn hardware.
@@THEMARTIALARTSCHANNEL-bb4fx Not Really. You need to look up Multiple Homebrew projects.
The 32x was nothing compared to the saturn. End of story.
Nowhere Near close as 32X was just System 32 Hardware with VERY Weak Model 1 Chips. It also used the Main bus of the Motorola 68000 in the Genesis.
You're Welcome OP. Saturn was 3X times more powerful and actually 64-bits.
Sega Saturn wins most games, 32x cair compare fair was Atari jaguar and 3Do,
my god... what a shit console was the saturn
Best console ever.