Why would Sega release an add-on when their next console was right around the corner?
In 1994, Hayao Nakayama, president of Sega of Japan at the time, had ordered that a 32-bit cartridge-based console be made and released by Christmas, with the intention that the new system’s technology would outclass that of the SNES. Donkey Kong Country and Star Fox had won great acclaim for the system with their previously-unseen graphical and technological quality, and Sega’s attempt to cash in on their success with Virtua Racing (utilizing an in-cart chip similar to Star Fox’s Super FX chip) would ultimately prove unprofitable. The order was brought to Joe Miller of Sega of America, with the suggested idea of an enhanced Sega Genesis system. In theory, this system would extend the lifespan of the Sega Genesis platform, giving them the edge over Nintendo’s SNES until the next generation of consoles was ready to debut. Believing that an enhanced version of an existing system wouldn’t sell, Miller worked out a compromise in the form of an add-on unit that would enhance the Genesis’ ca
