Super Nintendo VS. Sega Genesis

[Terring 6,476]

This is probably one of the most epic battles ever made during our childhood back in the beginning of the 90's. The 2 greatest 16-bit game consoles ever made in a battle that keeps on even today. James Rolfe, the creator of Angry Video Game Nerd, is here to tell us his opinion about Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis.

 

What do you think?

[47ply 1,100]

cool videos thanks METROID rules

[Mr Saturn64 742]

Considering I've slathered myself in EarthBound stuff, I agree with the Nerd that SNES is better for better games.  EarthBound, Link to the Past, Mario World, Chrono Trigger, more, more, more!

 

But contrary to the Nerd's opinion, I actually like the Sega CD, no problem with the 32X.  

[Haljackey 17,398]

Genesis does what Nintendon't.

 

I have a SNES. All my friends in my grade had SNES. I think there was only one person in my class who had a Genesis.

[Duke87 1,070]

I have a SNES. All my friends in my grade had SNES. I think there was only one person in my class who had a Genesis.

 

This was basically my experience as well. Other kids I knew growing up had NESes and SNESes. Not too many people had a Genesis, and if they did, they also had a NES and/or SNES. It was the obvious second fiddle.

 

In terms of console hardware itself I can't firmly say one was superior to the other. But in terms of number of memorable games, Nintendo was clearly ahead by a long shot in those days, and always beat Sega in that regard. It was Sony that first successfully challenged Nintendo's dominance.

[slickbg56 778]

I too had a Sega Genesis.

 

My favorite game was Pirates! Gold. Aerobiz was quite awesome, 4 player pass the controller mode. I was also an All-American at NBA Jam. Yup, I'm boring...

[Jasoncw 11,949]

The SNES greatly benefited from being a few years after the Genesis. A million times better than the NES, but the SNES was technically better and I think most of the time it showed. Hard to believe the Genesis came out "in the 80s".

 

The SNES also just all around had better games.

 

I feel really bad about the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast. It's like they didn't even exist. In the early 2000s my brother had a saturn and had been getting games for it, probably because they were mega cheap, and I played some a little. And I swear the the Dreamcast, you heard about the cool and forward-looking things it could do and before anyone had the chance to actually play on one it was completely forgotten.

 

And tbh I think even the genesis is kind of forgotten. It seems like whenever people talk about how much they love games from then it's almost always SNES games. The Genesis seems to be remembered more for the console war than its games.

[Haljackey 17,398]

I hardly remember the Sega Saturn, and the Dreamcast was a great console but it did not come out at the right time. The Dreamcast was released too close to the PS2's release date, so people just saved their money for that one as it was a next-gen console.

 

Nintendo's sucessors to the SNES faired a little better but also had to compete with Sony. The N64 is my favorite console (they all essentially became computers after that) and while it was still cartridge-based, it held it's own against the Playstation.

 

Funny thing is it was Sega and Nintendo that got Sony into the console wars. Sega developed the CD addon for the Genisis, and in response Nintendo worked with Sony for a CD-based addon for the SNES. After plans for that were scrapped, Sony decided to continue with development and that became the Playstation.

[Terring 6,476]

Sega developed the CD addon for the Genisis, and in response Nintendo worked with Sony for a CD-based addon for the SNES. After plans for that were scrapped, Sony decided to continue with development and that became the Playstation.

Don't forget that Nintendo was also working in conjunction with Philips for the same reason. The result was the creation of the Phillips CD-i.

[Haljackey 17,398]

The CDI and 3DO were doomed from the start. Nintendo want's to forget the Mario and Zelda games made for the CDI exist.

-I bought a Zelda book and there there was no mention of the 3 Zelda CDI games anywhere in it.

 

Speaking of Zelda, A Link To The Past on SNES is my favorite game in the franchise.

 

 

My favorite SNES game is probably Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars. There's been talk of a sequel for a LONG time now, and its one of the most demanded sequels by gamers. Paper Mario's (N64 game) original name was Super Mario RPG 2 during early development.

 

My least favorite is Toys. It's so bad that it would make a great Angry Video Game Nerd episode.

 

Let's not forget SimCity SNES. For some reason I own two copies. The second just randomly appeared one day.

[GMT 389]

looks like my post didn't make it onto this page... well, let's try it again:

 

I'm one who wants to dive into a game, get lost in it for hours, days even, maybe for too long.

And that's why I am team SNES. Sega consoles always were too much on the arcade side of gaming imo.

Not that they didn't offer something to my liking - RPGs, simulations from business to sports - but the overall offer was the better one on the SNES, not to mention the names/franchises that settled here or even grew big on this somehwat iconic console.
 

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

I had both (after a fashion), and I gotta say, the more memorable, fun games were on SNES.  Sure, I liked the first three Sonic games and Virtua Racing, and my friend and I had fun playing some cheesy helicopter and side-scrolling shooting games on Sega, but there is no contest as to which system had the better games, the better hardware, and the most fun.  SimCity for SNES was my first real gaming experience, and hooked me to this genre forever.  I still play Super Mario World and ChronoTrigger on my Nintendo DS, and Star Fox, Final Fantasy III (actually VI), The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, Super Metroid, Ken Griffey Jr.'s Baseball where every roster is an easter egg, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time, Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage, there is just an unending list of awesome games that came out on the SNES.  There was even an Avengers game, and multiple X-Men games!  This is actually my favorite console of all time, and it's not even close.  PS1 and PS2 were cool, and I've gotten marginal enjoyment out of my PS3, but none of them hold a candle to how much fun I had playing ye olde Super Nintendo.  Now you're playing with power indeed.

[pressure 2]

Awesome video.  Can't say I can argue with really any of his points.  I did always think the Genesis was better hardware; guess I was the lil kid swallowing the marketing line that SNES was kiddie and Genesis was Resolutations n $%&^!.  RADASS.  That was the saying back then right?  But if you wanted adult you played PC and consoles came down to simple fun, as it still stands.

I was a little spoiled and always a contrarian.  Knew a kid that had a Robbie and later knew a kid that had a Virtua Boy. Never anybody 3D0.  Anyways I did have 32X and Sega CD and both were easily a big step up from either system hardware wise.  No killer games tho.  Saturn and Dreamcast had games.  32X and Sega CD no support.

I'm still the contrarian tho and still love Turbografx 16.  Inferior to SNES and Genesis but came way before both.  Anybody that had a Wii and fucked around in the virtual console shop knows how fun and insanely wacky some of their franchises were.  Jackie Chan 10 years before I or anybody in the US knew who Jackie Chan was.

Anyways, Link to the Past, FFIII(XI), Super Metroid.  Not even a competition.

[SkylarWeston 45]

I actually typed a huge essay about video gaming consoles. I'll put the part about the bit-wars here. I can post the whole essay if you want. Just ignore the last two sentences. It's very unbiased in my opinion. 

 

Now we're getting to the good stuff. Sega started the Bit-Wars off with the Sega Genesis, released in 1989 (1988 in Japan). This console featured 16-bit graphics, and was a pretty good console featuring Sonic in 7 new games. Nintendo was pretty angry with Sega, so they released the Super Famicom in 1990 (1991 as Super Nintendo Entertainment System), which featured Super Mario World, a fantastic game that came with the system. Sega didn't like this too well. However, they found the perfect thing to pick on them for. Sega Genesis had a little bit more processing power than the SNES, so they said they had "Blast Processing", and that spread like wildfire. However, the rest of specifications were actually lower than the SNES. Sega did try to fix this though with the Sega CD and Sega 32x add-ons. The Sega CD was highly criticized with having too little games and too high of a cost. The Sega 32x was also highly criticized for having not enough consoles to fulfill all the preorders. This made Sega a laughing stalk of the gaming community. The SNES and the Genesis were the main consoles of this generation, and unfortunately, Atari took a break, but they reappear next generation. Now I bet you're getting pretty impatient with finding Playstation and Xbox, but don't worry, the next paragraph finally mentions this.

[Xenocity 343]

Genesis advantages:

• 7.67MHz (SNES was 3.58MHz) CPU
• Co-processor could be used for games
• Ran aracade ports better than SNES
• Generally had better graphics
• Big and better library
• Had a more games
• Had more hardcore games
• Had full EA support
• Had blood in Mortal Kombat
• Had headphone jack
• No eject button

The cons:

• Control had less buttons
• CPU lacked Mode 7
• No dedicated sound chip
• Smaller color pallete for games
• No SFX chip set

 

SNES Pro:

• Had dedicated sound chip
• Had bigger color pallete
• Had better controller
• Had mode 7
• Had SFX chipset
• Had Square, Enix and Capcom

The cons:

• Hardware was overall weaker than Genesis
• The games were normally focused on kids and casuals
• Lack of hardcore games
• Had strict censorship
• Bad sales of most 3rd party games (only Capcom, Square and Enix saw good sales)
• Had a fall out with EA leading to a lack of support from them
• Had too many brightly colored games
• Had too many K-A games
• Had the blacksheep of Simcity 1
• No CD add-on

 

In the end Genesis/Mega Drive became the hardcore and core gaming system, while Nintendo heavily focused on kids and casuals.

Genesis/Mega Drive ending up selling ~9 million less than SNES due to the lack of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest which shifted Japan into Nintendo's arms.

Though Sega did manage to beat Nintendo in the NA and EU.

Strangely enough Genesis/Mega Drive was the only profitable console Sega ever had.

 

In the end I had both back in the day, so I got the best of both worlds.

[Terring 6,476]

can post the whole essay if you want.

I want

[SkylarWeston 45]

You want it, you got it! This was for English Class BTW.

 

 

It all started in May of 1972, with the Magnavox Odyssey. It was the dawn of a new industry. Everyone thought it would fade, but it did not. What is this Magnavox Odyssey you ask? Why, it’s the first widespread gaming system ever made! This console only had roughly half a dozen games. All of them had bad graphics, but for its time, this was mind-blowing. Fast-forward three years and you have the classic Pong console made by Atari. You know the guys who made Roller Coaster Tycoon? That's them. However, this game may be innovative, but it should be deemed the worst video game system in the world. That's because so many Pong consoles were made, they flooded the market, and caused the Video Game Industry Crash of 1977. This was ended with the classic arcade game "Space Invaders". Now, you may be asking, what about the Xbox One? What about PS4s? Well we'll be getting to that in paragraph 8, so hang tight.

Now, fast-forward another year (1978), and you have the release of the Atari 2600. This was probably the most innovative of all consoles, with classics like Pitfall, Space Invaders (Yes, the same one in paragraph 1), Pac-Man, and Kaboom. My dad actually had one of these. This is the most famous of the Atari consoles, and is most likely referenced when people say "Atari". Now 4 years later, Atari released the Atari 5200. This console was criticized for having bad controls and couldn't support Atari 2600 games and controllers. It was a major flop mostly. Also the Odyssey2 was released in this generation of consoles, but wasn't as good as Atari at the time, so it was a flop as well. Since the video gaming crash was now over, a lot of things could get done faster. But isn't there a company that was as famous as Atari that still is working today? Nin-something....

Oh yeah! Nintendo! This company became famous in 1983, when Nintendo released the Famicom in Japan, and it was really popular. It got so popular, that it was rebranded (and practically remade) in 1985 (1986 in Europe, and 1987 in Australia) into the Nintendo Entertainment System, here in the states (and everywhere else except Japan). This console featured the games Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Tetris, and Excite-Bike. The NES became a world famous gaming system with these games and more. Now, there's 2 other systems that were not as famous, but still known. The next system is the Atari 7800. Remember? From Paragraph 2, Atari? The Atari 7800 was officially released in 1986 (1987 in Australia). The console however had an unofficial release in 1984, which was a general release, with a small amount of stores allowed access to stock. This was one of the reasons this console wasn't as popular as the NES. The other reasons were that there was a lack of games and attachments, and really was just a nicer way to play Atari 2600 games, considering it was backwards compatible with the Atari 2600 controllers and games. The last system that was even remotely popular was the Sega Master System. This console was released in 1986 as well (1985 in Japan), and was famous for the company's mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. This game would be a really popular game, leading Sega and Nintendo, into the Bit-Wars (which will be explained in the next paragraph). Alright! So far we're at the 3rd generation of video games! Nearly halfway there! Onto the Bit-Wars.

Now we're getting to the good stuff. Sega started the Bit-Wars off with the Sega Genesis, released in 1989 (1988 in Japan). This console featured 16-bit graphics, and was a pretty good console featuring Sonic in 7 new games. Nintendo was pretty angry with Sega, so they released the Super Famicom in 1990 (1991 as Super Nintendo Entertainment System), which featured Super Mario World, a fantastic game that came with the system. Sega didn't like this too well. However, they found the perfect thing to pick on them for. Sega Genesis had a little bit more processing power than the SNES, so they said they had "Blast Processing", and that spread like wildfire. However, the rest of specifications were actually lower than the SNES. Sega did try to fix this though with the Sega CD and Sega 32x add-ons. The Sega CD was highly criticized with having too little games and too high of a cost. The Sega 32x was also highly criticized for having not enough consoles to fulfill all the preorders. This made Sega a laughing stalk of the gaming community. The SNES and the Genesis were the main consoles of this generation, and unfortunately, Atari took a break, but they reappear next generation. Now I bet you're getting pretty impatient with finding Playstation and Xbox, but don't worry, the next paragraph finally mentions this.

To kick off the next generation, let's start with Atari. Atari got back into the game and made the Atari Jaguar in 1994 (1993 in Japan). This console was very ahead of its time, with 64-bit graphics, but unfortunately was highly criticized for having too many buttons, not enough games, and bad graphics. However, Atari was very unwise by making an Atari Jaguar CD, which was released in 1995, and also criticized for having too little games, and 9/10 of the time the attachment would not even work. These too failed systems crippled the company, and eventually Atari stopped making gaming consoles. Nintendo got into the competition with the Nintendo 64, which was released in 1996 (1997 in Europe and everywhere else except Japan) also featured 64-bit graphics, and was extremely innovative with games like Animal Crossing, Super Mario 64, and the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The console got an expansion pak, which was used to give the system more ram to be able to play bigger games. One major accessory was made for the Nintendo 64, and that was the Nintendo 64DD, which had bad sales in Japan, so it was never released outside of Japan. This console was released in 1999, and only featured 11 games, 1 of which is not even a game, but rather an internet disk, which basically allowed you to go online using the system. However, there was a new company getting into the race, and that is the PlayStation, released in 1995 (1994 in Japan). The story goes like this: Sony was working with Nintendo to create a SNES Disk System, and eventually Sony got so frustrated with making it, they quit working with Nintendo to use the technology to make a 32-bit system known today as the PlayStation. The PlayStation had very good commercial success, bearing games like Final Fantasy VIII, Tomb Raider, and Crash Bandicoot. The PlayStation is commonly known as the PS1. Lastly, there is the Sega Saturn, which was released in 1995 as well (not to mention 1994 in Japan as well). The Sega Saturn was basically the standalone version of the Sega CD from the Sega Genesis. This console was also 32-bit. The console had commercial failure however, due to doubts from the sales of the Sega Genesis, 32x, and CD. Overall though, the console wasn't as bad as the public thought. Now, I bet you're asking, "Where's Xbox?” That's in the next paragraph, so stay tuned.

The first system of the fifth generation is the last system Sega ever made, and that is the Sega Dreamcast. The Dreamcast, released in 1999 (1998 in Japan) unfortunately, the first system that stopped being measured by bits. So I will use RAM specifications. The Dreamcast had a 16MB RAM and featured games like Sonic Adventure 2, Marvel vs. Capcam 2, and Soulcaliber. The Dreamcast also had commercial failure due to consumer doubt. The last system of Sega didn't mean the last Sega game however. New games would be ported to other consoles, and would continue Sega's legacy. Next, Nintendo released the GameCube in 2001, and the GameCube had a 24MB RAM. The GameCube is one of the first consoles that save data not to the cartridge, but rather a memory card, which the GameCube had 2 slots for. The GameCube featured games like Luigi's Mansion, Super Monkey Ball 2, Pikmin, and Super Mario Sunshine. The console was deemed the most innovative console, with games that broke the fourth wall of gaming. GameCube games are now usually played on the Nintendo Wii. Next up is the PlayStation 2. The PS2 was released in 2000, and has a 32MB RAM. The PlayStation 2 was a very sleek looking console, and featured games like Ratchet & Clank, Crash Bandicoot Warped, and Final Fantasy X. The console had extreme commercial success with selling over 1 billion consoles since launch. Lastly, a new console entered the race, a very well known console. That console is the Xbox. The Xbox, released in 2001 (2002 in Japan) was Microsoft's first gaming console, and it had 64 MB of RAM. The Xbox sold 24 million copies as of 2006, and it is mainly confused with the Xbox 360. The console also had an online store, called Xbox Live. This console and its company would eventually become a major competetitor in the video game industry. We're getting pretty close to today's consoles, only two paragraphs to go!

The sixth generation's most renowned console by Sony, with the PlayStation 3. The PS3 was released in 2006 (2007 in Europe) and has a 256 MB RAM. The PS3 also doubled as a Blu-Ray player, and is also still sold and used today in most stores. The PS3 is planned to be supported until 2015. Since late 2013, 80 million copies have been sold, and the PS3 has backwards compatibility with PS2 and PS1. Next is the Nintendo Wii (oh come on, you must've heard of this.), which was released in 2006. The Wii has a 512MB RAM and Wii Sports came with the system. Eventually however, Wii Sports Resort was included as a bonus. The console's mailing service, WiiConnect24, was unfortunately discontinued in late 2013, in spite of Nintendo's new system. Not to mention, on May 20, 2014, Nintendo (will be) shut (ting) down the Wii's multiplayer servers, meaning no more online multiplayer. The Wii sold 101 million copies as of March 2014. Lastly, Microsoft closed off the sixth generation with the Xbox 360 (if you don't know what that is, go into a corner for 10 minutes, then Google it). The Xbox 360 was released in 2005, and also has a 512MB RAM. The console sold 83 million consoles as of March 2014, and is still sold in most stores today. The console also used Xbox Live, expanding it from its older iteration. With the latest update on the Xbox 360, the console can run 478 different original Xbox games. Personally, this console has the best avatar creating software of its time. Ok, we are so close to being done, I can smell it. It smells like silicon.

The most recent generation, the seventh featured the same three companies I mentioned last time (Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo). Let's start with the PS4. The PS4 was released on November 15, 2014 (February 22, 2014 in Japan) and has sold 7 million copies since April 2014. The PS4 has an 8GB RAM, and has half a TB of storage. The PS4 is currently the most successful console of this generation, and not to mention, the controllers for the system are glow-in-the-dark. The console currently is $400.00. Next, we have the Wii U, released in 2012 (2013 in UK). The Wii U has been criticized however for its tablet controller's battery life, but overall, it’s a good system. 6 million systems have been sold since March 2014, and system has 3GB of RAM. The current cost of the system is $350.00, and there is backwards compatibility with the Wii. Finally, we have the Xbox One, released in November 22, 2013 (9/4/14 for Japan). The Xbox One has Blu-Ray compatibility, and also has 8GB of RAM. This console is also the first consoles to support 4K HD for games. The current price is $449.99. Hurray! We're done! Oh wait the conclusion...

Wouldn't you agree that video gaming has come a long way? I sure would! It's amazing how the industry has been around for 40 years! I hope there's more to come for this industry. I decided not to do the handheld consoles as well, considering they'd add another 3.5 hours to this writing. Yes, this took me 3.5 hours. I did this from 9 PM to 12:30 AM. Isn't this impressive for someone who wants to drink 15 espressos? Anyways, thanks for reading this and giving me another chance for my project. I really appreciate it. Also, I'd love to present this to the class. Thanks again for reading.

 

[Terring 6,476]

Thank you very much, your text is great

[SkylarWeston 45]

You're welcome! Happy to help!