The Neptune Project: ► Project Github: https://github.com/Board-Folk/Neptune ► Follow COSAM: https://x.com/cosam_the_great?lang=en
The Sega Neptune, the Bigfoot of gaming consoles—some say it existed in prototype form, others claim it was just a fever dream brought on by Sega’s caffeine-fueled brainstorming sessions in the ‘90s. Either way, this mythical beast was supposed to be a Sega Genesis and 32X hybrid, combining two things that Sega fans already had separately into one convenient package…
Why Was It Special?
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It would have saved gamers the hassle of duct-taping their Genesis and 32X together like a Frankenstein creation.
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No need for extra cables! (A big deal in the era where Sega consoles needed more wires than a ‘90s home office.)
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It had a cool name! Seriously, “Neptune” made it sound like it could survive in deep space… unlike the Saturn, which actually launched and promptly sank like a gas giant in quicksand.
Why Did It Never Come Out?
By the time Sega was maybe, possibly, sort of ready to release it, the Sega Saturn was already on the horizon. Sega realized that selling a console that was technically two years outdated was probably not the best strategy—although, let’s be honest, that never stopped them before.
Thus, the Neptune was unceremoniously abandoned, joining the ranks of lost Sega hardware like the Sega Pluto and the Dreamcast’s dignity post-2001. Today, it remains a legend, whispered about in retro gaming circles—the console that could have been, but probably would have been a bad idea anyway.
