The 32X debued in 1994 as an add-on for the Genesis, which connected
by plugging into the cartridge port. The 32x added better color depth, sound, and speedier
performance to the Genesis. The main advantage in owning a 32X was that it added the
features to the Genesis that it lacked, but were found in its chief competitor, the SNES -
like scaling, rotation, etc. - thanks largely to its onboard twin Hitachi SH2 RISC
processors. Even though the 32X module took over the Genesis unit (for the most part), it
would still allow you to play Genesis games by simply passing the data through from the
cartridge and not processing it.
The console was first released in the U.S. in November of 1994, with subsequent releases a
few months later in the European, Australian, and Japanese markets. A few also apparently
made their way north and south of the U.S. border to both Canada and Mexico. It was
discontinued in the late fall of 1995 due to sluggish sales and the successful debut of
the Sega Saturn earlier that summer.