3.  Sega Neptune

Back when Sega thought they had hit a home run with the 32X, there were plans to release a Genesis/32X hybrid known as the Sega Neptune.  The launch was tentatively planned for the holiday season of 1995 with a $200 price tag, and later pushed back into 1996.  However, with the embarrassing failure of the 32X add-on and the impending arrival of the Sega Saturn, the Neptune was officially cancelled.

Had the Neptune come into being, it would’ve provided gamers with another 32-bit Sega console in addition to the Saturn which was released mid-1995.  It seems strange that Sega would’ve put any time or effort into this project at all, because they essentially would’ve added another competitor – themselves – in an already busy market at the time.  However strange it may be, a prototype of the Neptune was apparently produced, and while many assert that the widely circulated picture above is nothing but an empty shell, there remain persistent rumors of a few fully functional versions floating around out there… Hell, I’d be sure to buy one if it meant a less temperamental experience of playing the 32X.

Written by The Cubist

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