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The best ENGINEERED console of each generation

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
3. most neogeo games are shit. :messenger_open_mouth:
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Romulus

Member
Every time there is a long chain combo followed up by a juggle combo the game slowdowns or drops frames. 7:13 and 7:20 are good examples. It gets worse when you fight Motaro or Shao Kahn


If that's the best example you can find in that whole video than that's going against what your point was "all the time." I watched that clip from 713-730 five times and barely saw anything and I'm hyper sensitive to frame drops.
Now I'm really doubting any other claims made.
 
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01011001

Banned
Games with prerendered elements are going to look better on a system with improved color depth.

The Genesis can run Mortal Kombat 3/Ultimate without slowdowns, unlike the SNES port where it keeps dropping frames all the time

that is also true for most pixel art games tho. not only prerenderd/photographed sprites have lots of colours.

dropped frames vs. multiple missing parallax layers + worse music and overall sound in general + missing animation frames + missing sounds + less colours + awful controller (in order to play MK3 properly you will A: need a 6 button pad and B: use that pad like an arcade stick because you will constantly need to hold the run and block buttons while having your attack buttons easily available while doing so)

so imma say that is a clear SNES win...

the MegaDrive had a better CPU, that is all it has over the SNES that really affects games in any meaningful manner. and often it doesn't even do that. we have seen how well the SNES can run Sonic for example thanks to that fan made port, meaning Sonic could actually run the same and look better on SNES than on MegaDrive, which is kinda ironic considering their marketing back then
 
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Romulus

Member
I kinda agree that the early-mid 90s neo geo stuff isn't that appealing to me personally. It has it appeal but I never really got into it.
Doesnt mean its shit.
 

Romulus

Member
that is also true for most pixel art games tho. not only prerenderd/photographed sprites have lots of colours.

dropped frames vs. multiple missing parallax layers + worse music and overall sound in general + missing animation frames + missing sounds + less colours + awful controller (in order to play MK3 properly you will A: need a 6 button pad and B: use that pad like an arcade stick because you will constantly need to hold the run and block buttons while having your attack buttons easily available while doing so)

so imma say that is a clear SNES win...

the MegaDrive had a better CPU, that is all it has over the SNES that really affects games in any meaningful manner. and often it doesn't even do that. we have seen how well the SNES can run Sonic for example thanks to that fan made port, meaning Sonic could actually run the same and look better on SNES than on MegaDrive, which is kinda ironic considering their marketing back then


And that's considering if it actually is dropping more frames than Genesis. The videos of it are way better than he makes them out to be. And I think it's just some sly way of clinging on to a visual advantage because otherwise snes wins everywhere else. We can't really prove which is better in performance so just overemphasize something that can't be proven.
 

Nocturno999

Member
1st: The original Playstation was amazing. Everyone loved it when it was released.

Runner up: SNK's Neo Geo. That system had a 10+ year lifespan and its games still look beautiful today.
 

Futaleufu

Member
1st: The original Playstation was amazing. Everyone loved it when it was released.

Runner up: SNK's Neo Geo. That system had a 10+ year lifespan and its games still look beautiful today.

The Neo Geo is what casual people thought the SNES looked like back in the day, until they bought a SNES mini.
 

RetroAV

Member
that is also true for most pixel art games tho. not only prerenderd/photographed sprites have lots of colours.

dropped frames vs. multiple missing parallax layers + worse music and overall sound in general + missing animation frames + missing sounds + less colours + awful controller (in order to play MK3 properly you will A: need a 6 button pad and B: use that pad like an arcade stick because you will constantly need to hold the run and block buttons while having your attack buttons easily available while doing so)

so imma say that is a clear SNES win...
There were instances where those were the case for SNES releases as well. As far as the SNES controller being better for MK3, I agree. However, SF plays better with the Sega 6-button layout.
the MegaDrive had a better CPU, that is all it has over the SNES that really affects games in any meaningful manner. and often it doesn't even do that. we have seen how well the SNES can run Sonic for example thanks to that fan made port, meaning Sonic could actually run the same and look better on SNES than on MegaDrive, which is kinda ironic considering their marketing back then
Maybe I'm just not looking at the right games but...I have yet to see SNES games where they have as much stuff happening on-screen (and at the pace) of games like the Adventures of Batman & Robin, Gunstar Heroes, or Contra Hard Corps just off the top of my head. I would say those show a CPU advantage in a "meaningful manner". And Sonic running on a SNES is no different than Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, F-Zero, or Star Fox running on a Genesis (without the need for extra chips btw).

I'm just saying, all things considered...I just find myself more impressed with Genesis. Especially since it was released 2 years earlier.
 

Romulus

Member
There were instances where those were the case for SNES releases as well. As far as the SNES controller being better for MK3, I agree. However, SF plays better with the Sega 6-button layout.

Maybe I'm just not looking at the right games but...I have yet to see SNES games where they have as much stuff happening on-screen (and at the pace) of games like the Adventures of Batman & Robin, Gunstar Heroes, or Contra Hard Corps just off the top of my head. I would say those show a CPU advantage in a "meaningful manner". And Sonic running on a SNES is no different than Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, F-Zero, or Star Fox running on a Genesis (without the need for extra chips btw).

I'm just saying, all things considered...I just find myself more impressed with Genesis. Especially since it was released 2 years earlier.


Pretty big difference here.

The footage I've seen of Donkey Kong looked really bad, and Star Fox was incomplete and extremely limited in terms of onscreen objects you could shoot and actually kill, and even then the framerate was tanking. Of course, neither version would ever run it well.

Meanwhile something like sonic looks complete in terms of AI and actually looks identical or even better than the Genesis version done by some indie dev

 
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RetroAV

Member
Pretty big difference here.

The footage I've seen of Donkey Kong looked really bad, and Star Fox was incomplete and extremely limited in terms of onscreen objects you could shoot and actually kill, and even then the framerate was tanking. Of course, neither version would ever run it well.

Meanwhile something like sonic looks complete in terms of AI and actually looks identical or even better than the Genesis version done by some indie dev




We have no way of knowing the time/effort/skill level of those involved so, who's to say really? Still doesn't make the Genesis any less impressive in my eyes.
 

Romulus

Member


We have no way of knowing the time/effort/skill level of those involved so, who's to say really? Still doesn't make the Genesis any less impressive in my eyes.



Yeah I didn't mention Mario for that reason. Never imagined the Genesis wld struggle with it. Donkey kong looks as imagined though.
And I guess some of these ports we have no way of knowing if they're using coprocessors or everdrive.
 
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RetroAV

Member
Yeah I didn't mention Mario for that reason. Never imagined the Genesis wld struggle with it. Donkey kong looks as imagined though.
And I guess some of these ports we have no way of knowing if they're using coprocessors or everdrive.
You mean the programmer struggled. :messenger_smiling:
 

Portugeezer

Gold Member
360 was my main console 2 gen ago, but it was a fucking mess and the only console to ever break down on me and it did for 2 of them.

PS3 was a beast with its printer support.
 
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PS4 over XBone for sure but Idk how anyone could possibly say PS5 over Series X without making it obvious they are just being a fanboy. Series X is the same price but...more powerful, SIGNIFICANTLY smaller and STILL quieter AND cooler. I still don't know how the hell they pulled that off and idk what don't was thinking with that giant console. They say they made it big to keep it cool but the Xbox is cooler, smaller, quieter, and stronger... so Sony was clearly, objectively, out engineered this round.
 

Romulus

Member
PS4 over XBone for sure but Idk how anyone could possibly say PS5 over Series X without making it obvious they are just being a fanboy. Series X is the same price but...more powerful, SIGNIFICANTLY smaller and STILL quieter AND cooler. I still don't know how the hell they pulled that off and idk what don't was thinking with that giant console. They say they made it big to keep it cool but the Xbox is cooler, smaller, quieter, and stronger... so Sony was clearly, objectively, out engineered this round.


All that bragging they did about power and it basically lost in 400% zoom lenses. Not saying PS5 is better engineered though but the power differences are almost impossible to spot, and even the PS5 wins the majority of comparisons.

But BC engineering for Xbox is outstanding.
 
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RetroAV

Member
PS4 over XBone for sure but Idk how anyone could possibly say PS5 over Series X without making it obvious they are just being a fanboy. Series X is the same price but...more powerful, SIGNIFICANTLY smaller and STILL quieter AND cooler. I still don't know how the hell they pulled that off and idk what don't was thinking with that giant console. They say they made it big to keep it cool but the Xbox is cooler, smaller, quieter, and stronger... so Sony was clearly, objectively, out engineered this round.
First of all, the PS5 is $100 cheaper (digital PS5 still has the same specs). Second, PS5 has won most comparisons thus far (though that can change). Third...where are the Series X games that prove the PS5 is less powerful? Because I have yet to see Series X games on the level of Sony's 1st party output until just recently with FH5! I understand the Series X games are coming, but so is the next wave of PS5 titles. So, I can see perfectly why someone would choose the PS5 so far (me being one of them) over the Series X.
 
This is funny, the ultimate “all time console war” post.

i would say it like this and I think there is more to consider than just the console architecture I think controller should be a factor which is why I think N64 beats out PS. Analogue Sticks. but it’s a close one the ps was a great little beast.

NES
SNES
N64 (analogue sticks)
Xbox (but I want to say Dreamcast) because - online play !
Xbox 360 (PS3 was over complex and I won’t start on the Wii...)
PS4
Xbox One X
PS5 (ssd life but the Series X is a really nice piece of industrial design honestly I feel this gen is much of a muchness if Sony releases all their games day one on pc I’d be PC exclusive)

I feel dirty for participating in this.
 
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This is funny, the ultimate “all time console war” post.

i would say it like this and I think there is more to consider than just the console architecture I think controller should be a factor which is why I think N64 beats out PS. Analogue Sticks. but it’s a close one the ps was a great little beast.

NES
SNES
N64 (analogue sticks)
Xbox (but I want to say Dreamcast) because - online play !
Xbox 360 (PS3 was over complex and I won’t start on the Wii...)
PS4
Xbox One X
PS5 (ssd life but the Series X is a really nice piece of industrial design honestly I feel this gen is much of a muchness if Sony releases all their games day one on pc I’d be PC exclusive)

I feel dirty for participating in this.
Sorry for making you feel dirty. I just love hardware. It's really not about the best overall console in sales or games. It's just about the hardware. It's gotten less interesting as time's gone on, particularly this generation, the hardware is very similar now. But there are still differences and obviously the switch is a different beast altogether nowadays. Every generation is really its own thing as far as the hardware is concerned based on the purpose of it. Responses really show that the 16-bit generation was the most interesting when it came to hardware comparisons. I will say though, I'd like to see more discussion on the earlier consoles.

I never get tired of this type of discussion to be honest. It's why I love video games, not just the fun that they bring but the community and the innovation and hardware.
 
Sorry for making you feel dirty. I just love hardware. It's really not about the best overall console in sales or games. It's just about the hardware. It's gotten less interesting as time's gone on, particularly this generation, the hardware is very similar now. But there are still differences and obviously the switch is a different beast altogether nowadays. Every generation is really its own thing as far as the hardware is concerned based on the purpose of it. Responses really show that the 16-bit generation was the most interesting when it came to hardware comparisons. I will say though, I'd like to see more discussion on the earlier consoles.

I never get tired of this type of discussion to be honest. It's why I love video games, not just the fun that they bring but the community and the innovation and hardware.

I appreciate your candor and I honestly think there is room for discourse about this topic it is very interesting to look at the ways the different companies handled hardware designs in the past especially since it’s all become basically the same in recent generations.

I only feel dirty because I don’t like feeding the fanboys. It’s genuinely not a horrible thing to discuss but you can already see the fanboy battles about ps5 and Xbox series x heating up haha.

I’ve owned nearly every console from every generation personally I have no specific preference for any company, I remember being a big Dreamcast fanboy back when I was in school because I wasn’t yet old enough and working to afford them all. I saved up for my N64 originally by taking my $2 a day lunch money from school and not buying lunch for a whole year because my parents wouldn’t buy me a console. I ate my morning break snack food (banana and apple) for lunch for almost a whole year to get that console.
 
I appreciate your candor and I honestly think there is room for discourse about this topic it is very interesting to look at the ways the different companies handled hardware designs in the past especially since it’s all become basically the same in recent generations.

I only feel dirty because I don’t like feeding the fanboys. It’s genuinely not a horrible thing to discuss but you can already see the fanboy battles about ps5 and Xbox series x heating up haha.

I’ve owned nearly every console from every generation personally I have no specific preference for any company, I remember being a big Dreamcast fanboy back when I was in school because I wasn’t yet old enough and working to afford them all. I saved up for my N64 originally by taking my $2 a day lunch money from school and not buying lunch for a whole year because my parents wouldn’t buy me a console. I ate my morning break snack food (banana and apple) for lunch for almost a whole year to get that console.
I once convinced the mother of the kids I babysitted to buy them an Atari Jaguar. Just so I could play it.

Luckily I also convinced her to buy them a PS1.

I bought a used N64 from a kid in my high school class about a month after it came out cuz he wanted the PS1. I consider myself the winner to this day.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
I wouldn’t
PS4 over XBone for sure but Idk how anyone could possibly say PS5 over Series X without making it obvious they are just being a fanboy. Series X is the same price but...more powerful, SIGNIFICANTLY smaller and STILL quieter AND cooler. I still don't know how the hell they pulled that off and idk what don't was thinking with that giant console. They say they made it big to keep it cool but the Xbox is cooler, smaller, quieter, and stronger... so Sony was clearly, objectively, out engineered this round.
but is it Really smaller? It’s a box. Ps5 is taller but sleeker. I wonder what are the volumes.
ps5 got some better features too.
i wish Xbox was white lol
 
Nice topic OP. As a caveat, I have never owned an XBox console so I am limited to Nintendo and Sony opinions.

That said, my evaluation of the quality of engineering of a console starts and ends with longevity. If I purchased a car I'd want to get one that will require minimal maintenance and not break down or require major repairs for as long as possible. I view consoles the same way.

Given that, I would almost always select a Nintendo-built console over the competition, with some minor exceptions.

I owned the NES, SNES, and N64, and all of them kept working with basically zero issues until I sold them. In the case of the N64 I still have my original console and two original controllers from 1996. Everything continues to work to this day. I never owned a Genesis (rented it only) so I can't really say how long-lived it is.

My GameCube worked flawlessly until I sold it around 2015. I still have 4 working GC controllers that have no issues.

The only console that has straight-up failed on me is the PS3. I had 2 PS3s since launch date (both OG fat models) and I loved them to death. However, about 2 years ago my first PS3 finally died with the YLOD. Being as how I had never had a console fail I was not prepared for this occurrence. Unfortunately I had discontinued PS+ by that point and so permanently lost a bunch of save data (including my Rock Band expert drum career, which was a real bummer). From an engineering standpoint if you don't design a console that is immune to failure you better have a way to backup essential information. I was once again dismayed to learn I could not use my save data backup from my PS3 as it is locked to the hardware. So, while I love love love the PS3 (still use one as my primary Blu-ray player) I cannot say it is well-engineered.

As a comparison my two Wiis from 2006 and Wii U from 2012 are both still going strong.

To be fair, the Switch does not reach the normal Nintendo-level of engineering due to the controller issues. However, I will take replaceable controller issues any day over a permanently bricked console that wipes out untold volumes of data. And no, cloud save doesn't save Nintendo here as that's behind a paywall. Still, the quality of console they packed into a handheld is pretty amazing. I have also never had screen scratching issues despite docking and undocking hundreds of times.

In summary between handheld and console I have never had a Nintendo device fail (handheld: GBA, DS, 3DS, 3DS XL ... and my GBA is still perfectly functional). From an engineering standpoint that speaks volumes, to me. Here's hoping Sony and Microsoft take a page from Nintendo when it comes to designing with longevity in mind.
 

Romulus

Member
Nice topic OP. As a caveat, I have never owned an XBox console so I am limited to Nintendo and Sony opinions.

That said, my evaluation of the quality of engineering of a console starts and ends with longevity. If I purchased a car I'd want to get one that will require minimal maintenance and not break down or require major repairs for as long as possible. I view consoles the same way.

Given that, I would almost always select a Nintendo-built console over the competition, with some minor exceptions.

I owned the NES, SNES, and N64, and all of them kept working with basically zero issues until I sold them. In the case of the N64 I still have my original console and two original controllers from 1996. Everything continues to work to this day. I never owned a Genesis (rented it only) so I can't really say how long-lived it is.

My GameCube worked flawlessly until I sold it around 2015. I still have 4 working GC controllers that have no issues.

The only console that has straight-up failed on me is the PS3. I had 2 PS3s since launch date (both OG fat models) and I loved them to death. However, about 2 years ago my first PS3 finally died with the YLOD. Being as how I had never had a console fail I was not prepared for this occurrence. Unfortunately I had discontinued PS+ by that point and so permanently lost a bunch of save data (including my Rock Band expert drum career, which was a real bummer). From an engineering standpoint if you don't design a console that is immune to failure you better have a way to backup essential information. I was once again dismayed to learn I could not use my save data backup from my PS3 as it is locked to the hardware. So, while I love love love the PS3 (still use one as my primary Blu-ray player) I cannot say it is well-engineered.

As a comparison my two Wiis from 2006 and Wii U from 2012 are both still going strong.

To be fair, the Switch does not reach the normal Nintendo-level of engineering due to the controller issues. However, I will take replaceable controller issues any day over a permanently bricked console that wipes out untold volumes of data. And no, cloud save doesn't save Nintendo here as that's behind a paywall. Still, the quality of console they packed into a handheld is pretty amazing. I have also never had screen scratching issues despite docking and undocking hundreds of times.

In summary between handheld and console I have never had a Nintendo device fail (handheld: GBA, DS, 3DS, 3DS XL ... and my GBA is still perfectly functional). From an engineering standpoint that speaks volumes, to me. Here's hoping Sony and Microsoft take a page from Nintendo when it comes to designing with longevity in mind.


I think longevity is great too but if a console lasts for 8* years without problems that are respectable because the generation is over. Of course, it would be great for it to last forever, but I think it's more important during its generation. It's this shit like 360 that was dying day 1.
 
I think longevity is great too but if a console lasts for 8* years without problems that are respectable because the generation is over.
True, and that's probably reasonable for the majority. For me, I like to collect older consoles so it becomes more of a problem if there's a design flaw that will cause perma-death at any point.
 
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