United States	Europe	Japan	South America

The packaging design for 32x software released in the United States is bold and interesting, with bright colors and generally beautiful artwork. Standardization of software packaging has been around since the Atari 2600, but there have usually been a few software producers who decided to go against the norm and produce their own style of packaging, with varying degrees of success. Regrettably, the 32x didn't last long enough in the marketplace to inspire much creativity, and all game packaging follows the standard 32x format. This is not a bad thing, as there is something to be said for standard packaging if it's done right and the artwork for the individual games is attractive. The 32x box design was successful in presenting a bold, exciting statement that set it apart from its 16-bit cousins, yet still identified it as being part of the Sega Genesis family. When browsing through a stack of boxed Genesis games, you should be able to immediately spot the 32x games that will often be hidden in the pile.
 
 

Games for the 32x are packaged in two different sized boxes. The standard cartridge games come in a box measuring 7 inches long, 5 inches wide, and 1 inch deep. The larger box for the CD games measures 8 1/4 inches long, 5 3/4 inches wide, and 1 inch deep.  The basic package color/pattern on all domestic 32x boxes is a bright yellow-orange striped design, with a thick stripe of the same alternating colors running down the left front side and a large "32X" logo displayed prominently. The box design is very similar to the later Sega Genesis games, except that the Genesis games are colored deep red rather than yellow-orange. The basic yellow-orange color has a wide range of hues depending on the game, ranging from plain yellow to orange-yellow.
 
 

Genesis Red

32x Yellow

Unfortunately, most of the 32x games come packaged in flimsy, cheaply produced cardboard boxes that have a tendency to fall apart if not treated and stored with great care, similar to the boxes for the Nintendo and Atari systems. The cartridge boxes employ a "sleeve" design, with the outer cover being open on both ends. The inner "liner" fits the sleeve snugly and has an indention in the middle where the cartridge sits. This indention for the cartridge is made by cutting a portion of the liner into a star pattern and folding the cuts downward to form the indention. The liner has fold-in tabs on both ends, and the instruction booklet and promotional materials are stored inside the liner. This is a very poor design in my opinion, as the cutouts tend to bend and tear whenever the instruction book in pushed back into the box. The tips and sides of the boxes bend and fray easily, and the whole affair just screams "cheap!" It's a real shame Sega didn't stick with the plastic clamshell boxes that came with most of the early Genesis games and all of the Sega Master System games- the plastic boxes hold up quite well and encourage gamers (and future collectors) to actually keep the boxes and instructions intact. Surprisingly enough, behemoth game publisher Acclaim decided to take the high road and released some of their 32x games (NBA Jam, NFL Quarterback Club, and the two WWF games) in the sturdier plastic clamshells. (Acclaim is best known for publishing the Mortal Kombat games, as well as a slew of dreadful games based on movie licenses and well known characters.) If you serious collectors out there do happen to run across some extra 32x game boxes at a cheap price, you would be wise to pick them up and keep the inserts as extras.
 
 

Outer Box with Open Ends

Insert with Cut-Out

Box construction for the CD games is a bit better and sturdier, similar to the packaging for European Sega Saturn games. The boxes are made of heavy grade cardboard and employ a folding box-with-top design that opens easily and stores the CD, instructions, and promotional materials safely and conveniently. The box does have a bit too much room, and the contents of the box tend to shake around a bit. The CD itself is packaged inside a CD-sized envelope made of a paper/fabric hybrid, while the box features a cardboard partition to hold the CDs. Unfortunately, the boxes tend to warp with time and the edges are prone to tearing and separation, occasionally making the boxes difficult to close correctly.
 
 

Folding Cardboard CD Case	Open Case with Spacer & CD Envelopes

The only 32x CD game that does not use the cardboard box is Fahrenheit, which uses the hard plastic folding cases normally reserved for domestic Sega CD and Saturn games. Oddly enough, Fahrenheit comes with 2 Cd's- the regular version for the Sega CD, and the "enhanced" version for the 32x. The Sega Cd "Disk 1 Key Disk" must be inserted before the 2nd 32x-specific Cd will boot up. The package design combines elements of both the Sega CD (blue) and the 32x (yellow-orange.) Evidently, Sega found it more cost-effective to release the game for both systems packaged in one case, rather than sell the games separately. Those of you familiar with the larger plastic CD cases know that they can be great for the collector since they allow for bigger and better box art and larger instruction manuals. Too bad they crack and break so easily.
 
 

Plastic CD Case	Open Case with Dual Plastic CD Holders

European Boxes look completely different from their American counterparts, with black replacing yellow-orange as the predominant color theme. Games destined for the European market have a more modern, “techno” design with a green gridwork over a black background.  Like the domestic boxes, European boxes are made of cardboard and tend to wear and tear very easily. They employ a slightly sturdier insert design that comes out an open end from one side of the outer box, rather than at both ends. The insert features a star-like cut-out indention for the cartridge, just like the American versions. Instruction manuals for the European markets tend to be very thick as heavy since they must make room for several different languages in one book, making the entire package slightly heavier than the American games.
 
 

Outer Box with Open End

Insert with Cut-Out

Back in the early 90's, game makers weren't quite sure how to package the new CD format. Sega went with bulky plastic cases for the Sega CD and Saturn, while 3DO and early Playstation games appeared in oversized cardboard cases. European 32x CD games bucked Sega's curse of the grossly oversized box, instead appearing in standard-sized plastic cases.
 
 

Japanese boxes are an even flimsier variation of their American counterparts, composed of light cardboard box that folds at either end, much like a Super Nintendo or Nintendo 64 game box. The insert is a bit different (and nicer) than its American cousin, with a shallow "bathtub" design.
 
 

Outer Box with Folding Ends	Tub Insert

South America (Brazil in particular) got the best deal when it came to sturdy packaging. Mega Drive 32x games are packaged in tough plastic clamshell boxes that feature a snap-in mechanism to hold the cart firmly in place. South American 32x boxes are similar to the ones used in most Sega Genesis releases, as well as the 4 Acclaim titles mentioned above. Sega switched to the cheap plastic boxes for the last Genesis releases, and used them for all the American 32x games as well. Tec Toy (The Brazilian toy company that liscenced many of its games from Sega) used plastic clamshell boxes for most of their Mega Drive (and Master System) games.
 
 

Clam Shell Box with Hang Tag	Open Box with Cartridge Snap-In Holder

Even though the entire 32x library was released over the course of only one year, the box art that appears on the game's packaging reflects a wide range of graphical styles. Like the Genesis (which saw a wide range of box art over its nearly 8 year life span), the 32x has a respectable number of beautiful boxes, plus a few duds as well.

Blackthorne	Kolibri	Spiderman

Pitfall	Toughman Contest	Star Trek

The majority of the 32x box art was generally the same for all markets, though there are some variations. The rare U.K. release of Primal Rage features a rather silly cover, while the box art for the U.K. port of Virtual Fighter is much cooler than its American counterpart.
 

Game companies often sent early versions of box art to gaming publications and retailers in an attempt to generate enthusiasm for their upcoming releases. Oftentimes, early promotional material is far different from the released versions.
 

The artwork for a box cover will generally go through several evolutionary changes before its final approval. The two box covers for X-Men: Mind Games shown below illustrate the changes that that occur during a game's design. The image on the left depicts an early stage in the artwork's design; the image on the right is an obvious variation of the first, only enhanced and refined. The second image is probably close to what would have appeared on store shelves had the game been released.
 

Early Art Work	Final Release Art Work?

Judging by the original box art, it seems that the tepid Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000 began its life simply as Motherbase. Sega probably realized late in development     that the game was terrible and added the classic "Zaxxon" moniker in a attempt give the game some panache and otherwise fool the game buying public. Sega didn't even bother to add change the artwork... they just added some text and sent it out the door.
 

Occasionally, a game will discard not only its box design but its name as well. Stellar Assault would be released in Japan and Europe, but it would change its name to Shadow Squadron for the American market. Japan's Cyber Brawl would change into Cosmic Carnage for its American and U.K. release (the American version of Cosmic Carnage has the Japanese Cyber Brawl hidden inside it, accessible through a code. The hidden game contains several different characters not present in Cosmic Carnage.)
 

Packaging for the actual 32x hardware is similar for all markets, featuring large pictures of the console itself. Sega made sure to include the original Genesis console on the packaging, most likely in an attempt to alert consumers that the 32x was not a stand-alone system.
 

United States	United Kingdom	Japan