I wasn't saying the 32X was more American because it sold better here; I was simply pointing out just how strange it was that SOA, a branch that was allegedly so against the add-on's very existence, would market the fuck out of it. Forgive me for not clarifying.
Also, I don't see how turning the Jupiter into an add-on was the better option, considering how poorly the Sega CD performed in America. One of the detractors of the 32X was how cumbersome it was to set up. If it had been an independent console, they could have avoided that whole mess and not confuse the crap out of their consumers....as much.
Don't get me wrong; I love my 32X. I really do. Still, it had some inherent flaws.
I don't understand your point. Why wouldn't they market it? They're businessmen, not philosophers. You expect them to consciencously object or something? Sabotage the console? And I clarified my statement. It might behoove you to read next time. I was saying they didnt object to the machine's existence, they objected to the way it was handled. Just like Kalinske didn't quit because of the Saturn, just the way the Japanese handled it.
The Sega CD sold 6 and a half million against 40 million or so MegaDrives. Not a dynamo, but certainly not poor. That's something like one in seven picking one up. Also recall that it was only on the market for four years, while the MegaDrive could be picked up for near a decade. I doubt Sega was selling the system at a loss, and there were certainly games that sold quite well.
The problem with the 32X wasn't set-up, it was that it cannibalized Saturn's market, had about four good games and was dropped in a bit over a year for another overpriced, overly complicated machine that also suffers an acute drought of quality games. Making it a stand alone would have changed none of that because Sega Japan stopped giving a fuck about the MD around Fall of 94 and never looked back, because they were obsessed with Saturn and got big heads because they were finally making money in Japan.
I didn't say it made more sense to make it an add on, I said what Saito demoed as Jupiter was shit and needed improvement. The Japanese obviously conceded the point, or they wouldn't have changed course.
