On January 30, 2026, Time Extension reported that the Sega 32X version of Virtua Racing has been decompiled. If you are reading this, there is a decent chance you may have questions such as “Sega 32what?” or “do you mean Virtual?” But for me, the headline represented a bit of nostalgia in my Miniflux feed reader. On December 6, 2024, I published an article on The New Leaf Journal titled Musing About Tesla Cybertruck at Brooklyn Bridge Park. The post was prompted by my photo of a Cybertruck parked in Brooklyn Bridge Park, and turned to a discussion on Cybertruck aesthetics. I offered my own specious take on the design of the Cybertruck, inspired by my own history with video games. I excerpt the pertinent part of my post below:
As I noted in an article about a classic Electronic Gaming Monthly April Fools joke, I owned a Sega 32X back in the mid-1990s. For those not in the know, the now-30 year old 32X was an ill-fated video game console which plugged into the far more successful Sega Genesis’ cartridge slot and protruded from the Genesis like a mushroom (despite plugging into the Genesis’ cartridge slot, it needed its own power brick without replacing the Genesis’ power brick) … I did not have a complete library of 32X games, but I distinctly remember that my first two cartridges were Virtua Racing Deluxe and and Star Wars Arcade. Both of which are very distinctly early 3D games of the 1990s – where the models are blocky and you can make out the rough edges of every polygon. At the risk of dating myself, the first thing I thought when I found myself face-to-face with the sheet metal of the Cybertruck was Virtua Racing.
I recall being terrible at Virtua Racing, but I definitely played around with it a bit back in the day. My most important take-away from it being decompiled is that I can feel special for being one of the relatively small number of people to have had a 32X and Virtua Racing back in the 90s (fortunately, I received mine when it was in the bargain bin, after the short period when it was selling at its launch price). Between this news and Nintendo deciding to acknowledge the existence of the Virtual Boy (I should work on refurbishing my Virtual Boy…), 2026 is shaping up to be a good year for failed mid-90s novelty consoles.