Sega 32X

A 32-bit mushroom that grew out of the Mega Drive — for one awkward year.

A bolt-on 32-bit upgrade to the Mega Drive, released ten months before the Saturn. Two SH-2s gave it real power but the library shipped fast and thin (40-ish games), and the value proposition collapsed the moment Saturn appeared. Today it's a cult curio — and an essential cautionary tale about market fragmentation.