Whether you do or do not remember the Great Console War of the early 1990s is irrelevant. The sad part is that your grade school history books failed to educate you on this ever-public yet widely forgotten bloody battle. Families lost their mothers and fathers to extended hours, marketing wars, and overtime labor. Yet you sit on your couch everyday playing your PlayStation 4s and Xbox Ones without a single care for the countless war heroes who fought for the future of video gaming. Shame on you.
But if you are like me, and you remember the school bus and playground battles over Sonic vs Mario, then you understand the importance of this very specific and most epic hardware battle. Recently these events have resurfaced and people are beginning to remember again. Books, documentaries, and even a big budget movie keep the war’s rich history relevant and alive. If you weren’t there when it was going down, that’s okay, there are plenty of opportunities for you to learn.
To be fairly honest, I don’t really feel like diving all that deep into the whole history of The Console War. It’s pretty intense. It’s a rich story with plenty of jaw-dropping moments. While Nintendo would be the eventual victor, numerous companies battled valiantly. NEC with their Turbografx/PC Engine, Sega with their Mega-Drive/Genesis, Nintendo with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, SNK with the costly Neo Geo, and although released a little late in the game, Atari with their “64 bit” Jaguar system (which is arguably an early fifth generation entry instead of a late fourth generation).
The Atari was a complete flop, so that’s not even going to be in discussion here. NEC’s Turbografx-16 (TG16) – AKA PC Engine and PC Engine Duo – are very impressive pieces of hardware. The TG16 may have been a commercial failure in the US, but it was a smash success in Japan and remains a loyally beloved gaming system to this day. The SNK Neo Geo was easily the most powerful home system of the bunch, but at $600+ for the console and $200+ per game, it was a longshot to outsell its competitors. Regardless, the Neo Geo sold modestly well and actually received support all the way into the mid/late 2000s! So while each system had their successes in their own special ways, we will be focusing on the main battle between Sega and Nintendo. None of the other systems could even touch the worldwide success of Sega or Nintendo in the late 1980s and early 1990s. And if you want a full detailed history, there are some great documentaries you can watch and online articles you can read. For all intents and purposes here, I will be focusing on the specs of the Genesis and the SNES.
CPU*
| SUPER NINTENDO | SEGA GENESIS | |
| CPU Bits | 16 | 16 |
| CPU Speed | Approx. 2.68 MHz | 7.67 MHz |
| RAM | 128 KB | 64 KB |
| Internal ROM | No | 1 MB (later models only) |
COLORS, SPRITES, ETC*
| SUPER NINTENDO | SEGA GENESIS | |
| Colors Possible | 32,768 | 512 (flickering allows illusion of more) |
| Simultaneous Colors Possible | 256 | 64 |
| Onscreen Planes | 1 – 4 layers with varying uses, depending on mode in use | 2 scrolling layers, 1 sprite layer, 1 window plane |
| Maximum Sprite Size | 64×64 | 32×32 |
| Maximum Simultaneous Sprites | 128 | 80 |
| Display Resolution | From 256×224 to 512×448 | 320×224 |
AUDIO*
| SUPER NINTENDO | SEGA GENESIS | |
| Sound Processor Bits | 8 | 8 |
| Sound RAM | 64 KB | 8 KB |
| Audio | 8 channels, stereo | 6 channels, stereo |
| Synthesizer | No | Yes |
MISCELLANEOUS*
| SUPER NINTENDO | SEGA GENESIS | |
| Headphone Output | No | Yes, Model 1 only |
| Backward Compatibility | No | Yes, with converter |
| Add-ons capability | Yes, although none were released for public sale. | Yes: Sega CD, 32X |
VERDICT
The verdict on which system was the best is truly one’s own opinion. Sega bested Nintendo in some intangibles such as marketing, but Nintendo stuck to their guns and continued churning out quality game after quality game. The Genesis was famous for its “blast processing” which allowed the hardware to handle faster action games like Sonic and Streets of Rage, but that whole gimmick really just allowed Sega to claim the Nintendo was “slow.” But if you play SNES games like F-Zero or Street Fighter II Turbo, you can see that it was anything but slow. The SNES was just a little slower than the Genesis, that’s all. “Blast Processing” aside, the Super Nintendo pretty much dominated the Genesis in just about every other category.
If hardware technical specs were the only measuring point of a manufacturer’s prowess, the Neo Geo and 3DO would probably be thought of as the best systems of their time. Hell, even the Sega Game Gear and Atari Lynx were in some respects “better” than the Nintendo Game Boy! But the point I’m trying to make here is that a gaming system is ONLY as good as its games. And the Super Nintendo EASILY dominated the entire market when it came to quality games. Hell, you can find at least TEN Super Nintendo games on any Top 100 Best Games of All Times lists, which is an impressive feat! That’s 10% of the list… Out of tens of thousands of video games made! The Sega Genesis cannot say as much.
Despite the final sales numbers which saw Nintendo outsell Sega by almost 2 to 1 (approximately 50 million sold vs 30 million sold), Sega put up a remarkable fight. The Genesis is home to many great games and franchises, and had Sega actually stayed on their current path instead of creating shoddy add-on peripherals the likes of the 32X or Sega CD, it is very possible that those numbers could have been much closer. I still believe the Super Nintendo would have won regardless due to their abundance of legendary games.
Overall, it is widely believed that the Super Nintendo was the better of the two systems, but the truth of the matter is that it is solely based on opinion. When I say “widely believed,” I am referring to the people I have asked. I have asked industry professionals, gaming enthusiasts, retro game collectors, and your everyday casual fan, and just about every single person is in favor of the Super Nintendo. I am a big Sega nerd, and I absolutely LOVE me some Sega Genesis, but I can’t deny that the Super Nintendo is really a fantastic piece of hardware with some of the best games I have ever played. Just about every great SNES game is better than just about every great Genesis game. Despite the back and forth battle of which system is better, the real victor is the fans! Competition fuels greatness!
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Added 1/20/19
Recently someone commented and made a good point about something that I had no considered: This person pointed out an immeasurable quality of the Genesis – it has software that allow it to do more graphical effects than the SNES without SA-1. And while the SNES may have the ability to show more sprites on one screen than the Genesis, the SNES cannot show them all at the same speed. So while technical hardware may have allowed the SNES to best the Genesis in many categories, the Genesis cleverly utilized their software to create many tricks that aided in their overall performance and perception of performance.
*I’m not even going to pretend that I am capable of determining any of this information with my own investigation. I play the systems and I occasionally take them apart to fix random parts. That’s pretty much it. So this information was gathered from a variety of websites via my research. What I looked for in determining that the information was factual was by comparing it to multiple credible sources. PLEASE INFORM ME IF ANYTHING IS INACCURATE AND PROVIDE RESOURCES SO I CAN UPDATE THIS MESS.
SOURCES
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~dherring/cgt141/project1/comparison.html
Featured Image Credit goes to: http://media.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/tell-gr-sega-vs-nintendo.jpg
And “Blast Processing” really is not what most people think either:
https://inceptionalnews.wordpress.com/2022/12/12/blast-processing-the-reality/
The SNES CPU speed is 3.58 MHz. It only runs at 2.68 MHz when a SlowROM cartridge is used rather than a FastROM cartridge, which then deliberately throttles the systems to run at the slower speed, but this is purely down to cheap-ass publishers using the budget cartridge option rather than some inherent speed limit of the SNES. The SNES’ actual CPU speed is definitely 3.58 MHz. You really should correct that error.
I had both. I believe that in spite of nintendo’s hard (and it was superior) is not enough. The biggest downside on megadrive/genesis was the amount of SIMULTANEOUS colors on screen. Sega never managed to deal with that issue. Sega/mega CD had a lot of FMV games from either digital pictures or American Laser Games that won’t cut it and never did. Most of them (sewer shark was an awesome exception) were static requiring your input from time to time and for the 16 bit era that was new and experimental. On the other hand I still wonder why sega pulled out sega cd without fixing the amount of simultaneous colors on screen. Specially if the planned to have full motion video games. The video was terrible. Blocky artifacts everywhere and a small color palette.
I had a 3DO too and also (I was 100% gamer back then being a kid) a 32x.
The 3DO was AMAZING with full motion video and franchises like need for speed came up on a 3DO aling with the best street fighter port at the time.
Back to nintendo and sega: Even when Super Street Fighter 2 the new challengers on megadrive was overwhelmingly better previous installments lost the battle.
Megadrive’s FM and sound synth was better. But… Voices and digital sounds had an annoying distortion that snes haven’t. That said, the music and fx souns were better (point for sega) but the notorious distortion on voices really messed that perception.
You can play any capcom game ported for both systems or (for instance) death and return of superman and you’ll notice that music kicks better on genesis but voices wont.
Another hardware factor, was the SNES low pass filter that improved audio back in the day. Megadrive had a soft solution for it and also for distorted voives but that was never used on megadrive model 1. Only used on subsequent models.
I liked 32x and sega cd but I still believe that sega wasted a huge opportunity there. Saturn was (again) inferior but this time, nintendo wasn’t the issue. Sony was already there with PS1. Sega’s best console ended up in oblivion after all the “with this extra part will do better” and dreamcast had a long lifetime and success in japan only.
Basically: Nintendo 64 was a huge mess. No room for good textures or digital audio on a cartridge. Saturn vs nintendo 64 was “sega wins” but amazingly, nintendo used the downsides ratter that changing plans and worked out.
Sega’s worst mistake was to never fix the color palette, on screen colors, and the terrible “hadouken” from special champion edition didn’t helped at all.
Certainly, sega was able to do magic to level up his games with soft tricks but it’s not enough. Only their games (such as comix zone) were able to squeeze that potential. Developers from companies like square probably had a bad time even trying to do so.
Megadrive also had a small yet impressive pack of RPG’s like beyond oasis, shining force, soleil and others.
Disney games (or most of them) are better on megadrive. The biggest example is Aladdin.
But even if you look at every awesome idea from sega, one does not simply deal with all square/enix RPG, all capcom exclusives and overall better looking graphics.
Is a long story and deserves a really long chat with a coffee.
I loved both. But nintendo won.
Cheers from Argentina!
Yeah no . The genesis doesn’t have an immeasurable quality. The snes does. The SNES CAN show them all at the same speed and the Genesis CANNOT show them at the same speed. Also the genesis does not have any software that lets them do more graphical effects than the snes. That’s blatant lies from Sega fanboys.
Tf how long has it been
You still have a few details incorrect here on the SNES side:
1. The CPU speed is 3.58 MHz (it’s only 2.68 MHz in SlowROM mode).
2. You don’t mention the sprite plane on the SNES side, yet it’s there on the Genesis side. And, if the window plane is to be listed on the Genesis side as an additional layer too (even though it actually sacrifices part of layer A), then you should be listing to two window/shape masks that can also be applied as basically additional layers on SNES.
3. The SNES can also official support Dolby Surround sound too.
The SNES CPU speed is matter of absolute fact 3.58 MHz. It’s only certain publishers cheaping-out on certain games and using the SlowROM cartridges (rather than the FastROM ones that also readily available) that artificially slows the CPU down below its actual speed. But it is 100% a 3.58 MHz CPU. Not even getting the most basic stuff right is not a great start.
There’s some SNES information that could do with being tweaked:
For example, if you’re going to count the Genesis’ window plane (which is really just part of one of the two background planes that’s used for a HUD, and when doing so, that part of screen is no longer able to display the background wherever the HUD is being drawn) and sprites as two additional planes, then you have to include the SNES sprites as an additional plane too, along with the fact it can also draw two window masks/shapes to the screen on top of the normal background layers (allowing you to create two coloured shapes like say a circle or Mario’s hat or a head or star or whatever), which means, if we’re saying the Genesis has a total of 4 planes, then the SNES has a max total of 7 planes (Mode 0’s 4 backgrounds plus the sprites plus the two window masks). That’s only fair. Otherwise, remove the Genesis’ window plane and sprites from the planes number.
Also, the SNES CPU speed is documented at 3.58 MHz, so that’s the figure I think you should put up there. And, if you really feed the need to do so, you can clarify that under some circumstances/uses it runs a bit slower (like when accessing the controllers).
Anytime you publish an article comparing two console systems, it tends to attract low-quality posts such as Itachi’s. The point of comparing two vintage systems to each other is not to determine which is “better.” Know what’s better? A modern PC. Or any of several thousand other devices that have come out since these two consoles were contemporary. Take your boring bullshit elsewhere, Itachi.
Regarding the CPU speed, you say:
“Approx. 2.68 MHz” For SNES
“7.67 MHz” For Genesis
Since you’re simply listing the max CPU speed for Genesis then I think you should similarly list the max CPU speed for SNES too, which is 3.58MHz.
The SNES CPU is already slow enough without you listing a number that’s below its max speed, even if a bunch of games did in facct use that lower number.
For onscreen planes you say:
SNES: 1 – 4 layers with varying uses, depending on mode in use
Genesis: 2 scrolling layers, 1 sprite layer, 1 window plane
So, if you’re going to included the sprite layer and the window plane (which really just replaces part of one of the two main background layers) in the Genesis list then you should similarly include the sprite layer and even the two mask/window layers the SNES is capable of.
You should look up programming guides for both systems.
Because the SNES’s weaknesses aren’t obvious when you compare these specific numbers, but really come into play when you’re limited to two sprite sizes and 16kb per screen. And can only access any of it during a vblank.
And just wait until you find out how it organizes sprite tables.
With that said, the SNES’s “slow” cpu is capable of performing many more functions per clock cycle than the 68000, so it’s not just the SNES specs that are misleading.
Both systems are closer in power than you’d think, while still remaining wildly different. Especially in their insane high resolution modes. The SNES mode creates RPM Racing – looks like an Atari ST title, doesn’t it? It takes a huge color hit.
Meanwhile, the Megadrive’s high resolution mode, also has more sprites than its low resolution mode. Good luck figuring that one out.
Lol you just won’t accept MD has better specs on every aspect besides colors on screen and some sprites count, but in real life sega was more versatile in every aspect including sound, snes sound was muffled and artificial, sega md sounded with more bass, more natural, and clearer, maybe a little choppier in some games, but that is due to bad codec implementation by programmers. Nowadays there is plenty of examples, like Pyron’s version of sf2 that sounds better than the snes version due to better use of codecs already supportedby the system, thing snes obviously couldn’t do either. So stop lawyering your fake biased ideas and succumb to facts and reality, stop being a stubborn fanboy. For the love of God.
What is better, apples or oranges? They both are fundamentally different and are not suited for everyone’s taste. Some might prefer only one of them while others would be fine with both. However, there will always be a certain preference over the other. This will purely be my subjective opinion but during the SNES and Genesis heyday I always considered SNES to have better, more pleasing to the eye, colors. The system is perfect for JRPG’s. Genesis on the other hand has faster CPU and is better suited for fast paced action arcade games. The best example of it would be Contra Hard Corps, Gunstar Heroes, Alien Soldier and of course the Sonic games. Also, the genesis sound system very closely resembles arcade hardware of that time. One synthesizer chip and a Z80 for digital sample playback, usually drums. If in good hands, this combination can do wonders. And now we come to a point where one must choose the victor. Instead of choosing a console I would choose the victor by how many game genres, which I am interested in, can it offer. SNES for JRPG’s, platformers, shoot-em-up’s, beat-em-ups. Genesis for platformers, shoot-em-ups, beat-em-ups. Also, SNES is fun and cheerful, in a kids way, while Genesis is more mature. Usually if one has to choose, the choice is made using his or her core values and preferences. Happy, family friendly, colorful and great sounding games – SNES. Fast action paced games and more violence – Genesis. We are very fortunate that these systems have unique features which gives us variety and I am quite sure that deep down we all like both of these systems. However one of them will always be considered the more suited one for his or her preferences.
DUDES… Calm down. Good lord.
THE SHOW MUST GO ON!
Dude those specs are just biased incomplete and inaccurate. It shows only the SNES parts but no SEGA parts.. that is just lame bro. For starters SEGA HAS a high resolution mode you forgot to mention in your little frame, btw is 320X480 *without doubling pixels* like the one is used on sonic 2. Second SEGA MEGADRIVE HAS 11 CHANNELS OF AUDIO, NOT 6 like you put there. Besides the MD Bandwith is 3.030303Mhz compared to the 1.024Mhz of the snes and support a lot more formats and codecs. And for sprites, you also FORGOT TO MENTION that MD support a lot more sprite resolutions and a lot more backgrount tiles on screen, just to mention some things.. SO IT SEEMS YOU OMITTED A LOT OF INFO AND SPECS ON SEGA JUST TO MAKE SNES SPECS FLASHIER.. like Polygon rendering that your SNES isn’t capable of handling, I guess you forgot to put that too.. Well, maybe you should do a proper research with ALL THE DATA AND SPECS FOR BOTH SYSTEMS before posting incomplete biased info on one piece of hardware over another.
SEGA GENESIS has blast pross that allows the TV screen to let the game to move faster n the Genesis is 5 times faster than super Nintendo n the 2 player games like streets of rage golden ax are so fun to play with friends Sonic the hedgehog is great grafix n so fast n you don’t have to play it fast if you don’t want to super hang on fast game revenge of shinobi n columns all games on one cartridge on the 6 PAC n alterd beast when The SEGA GENESIS CAME out in 1989 I was king of the world n when SEGACDbcame out I was king of the world again n the super Nintendo games like Mario Cart n super Mario world was like baby games to me but the super nintendo was great but IAM the SEGA GENESIS guy I made the right choice n never looked back n never will I spent my life playing SEGA in it changed my life it made me who IAM today it made me super cool it’s my pashen SEGA RULES
You guys are arguing about which 30 year old console is better. Do you really have nothing better to do?
Also, PC beat both of them. Some things never change…
*runs*
If you think the SNES couldn’t handle superfast games, I’d like to recommend Uniracers. That game gets faster than Sonic 3 at times! Not to mention the high speeds of F-Zero!
I dunno. Uniracers doesn’t seem nearly as complex of a game as Sonic 3. Though it is really fast.
That is false. It’s a fully complex game
In what way? I don’t see any collectibles or enemies. All I see is a some sprites and a background. It still does move very fast though.
Lol your shitty console can’t even handle polygons F-zero is shit compared VIRTUA RACING lol. It’s total bull crap.
Don’t listen to Sega fanboys
There is no immeasurable quality of the Genesis. The Snes had immeasurable quality. The Snes is the one that has software that allow it to do more graphical effects than the Genesis without SA-1. And the SNES has the ability to show more sprites on one screen than the Genesis, the SNES CAN show them all at the same speed. Technical hardware may have allowed the SNES to best the Genesis in many categories, the Genesis never utilized their software to create many tricks that aided in their overall performance and perception of performance. In actuality, the SNES was the one that cleverly utilized their software to create many tricks that aided in their overall performance and perception of performance. facts
Snes is not as good spec-wise in hardware. Onlymore sprites and more colors… then besides that SEGAIS SUPERIOR IN EVERY ASPECT.
A few corrections to your table.
CPU:
The bit width values are for two different buses. The SNES has a 16bit internal bit width (register word length) but an 8bit external width (delivers data to the sound and video units). The Mega Drive has 32bit bus internal registers and 16bit external bus. This means each register value is 32 characters for internal instructions and 16 for external.
So you’ve used the internal bit width/bus for the SNES and the external bus for the Mega Drive.
It should read: Genesis 16/32, SNES 8/16.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_68000
Colours:
The Genesis is 9bit but has a shadow and highlight mode which triples the colours to 1536 (albeit really variations on the initial 512) allowing 180 on screen. Using blast processing/mid frame palette swop, on screen colours can be increased up to 512 although this technique was not known at the time but can be seen in a demo.
On screen colours is actually 60 as it uses 4 palette of 16 colours, of which the first is transparent. But that could be considered pedantic.
Resolution:
Genesis has H40 and H32 column modes which are horizontal columns of 8 pixels in width which are 320 and 256 pixels wide respectively. The lower resolution mode seems to be used mostly with games developed firstly on the SNES.
PAL resolution is 240 pixels vertically and NTSC 224. Although the extra 16 pixels for PAL mode was just made into blank bars for ease of convertion across regions.
There is also an interlaced resolution which doubles the horizontal resolution which is used in Sonic 2 split screen race mode.
In fact, in overscan, the resolution goes as high as 423×624.
The SNES high resolution mode was only used in game (not menus) by two titles, one of which, interestingly was Rise of the Robots.
Sound:
The Genesis has 10 channels as it possesses the Master System PSG chip for backwards compatibility (actually integrated into the VDP) albeit as 3 simple individual square waves and a noise channel.
8 channels of audio is accurate but the quality of the samples was actually very low and the resulting music not on a par with for instance the Amiga, released in 1985 which had a pooled RAM of 512KB and just 4 channels of which you could easily achieve a larger audio memory pool than 64KB resulting in much better music, check out off1k’s channel.
You could have included:
Sprite size:
Sprite sizes available might be a pertinent inclusion as the Genesis has 16 different sprite sizes which can all be used concurrently, wears the SNES only has 4: 8×8, 16×16, 32×32 and 64×64 of which you must choose just two per scene. This can be less efficient than none-square sprite sizes. Also, by combining 4 32×32 tiles, the Genesis easily handles large sprites in fact, large sprites are more common on the Genesis than on the SNES and without slowing down the game.
Video chip clock speed:
The SNES uses dual PPU’s (picture processing units) which are locked to the speed of the cpu, be it 1.5Mhz, 2.5Mhz or 3.5Mhz. Making the maximum speed 7Mhz across both PPU’s. The Mega Drive VDP runs at 13Mhz.
Hardware features:
Such as mode 7 background scaling and rotation and transparency but that might not look so good next to the Mega Drive VDP which only handles tiles. It does however include horizontal column scrolling which can be see making huge enemies sway around in like the level one big boss in Contra Hard Corps, or the Cheshire Cat in The Adventures of Barman and Robin https://youtu.be/CR0MWpOK1RU?t=2075 or the pirate ship boss in Pugsy https://youtu.be/bKrz7r0q5aQ?t=154 or this worm thing in Alien Soldier https://youtu.be/aJNEfPimU40?t=934. Also hardware parallax scrolling which eases development of the technique for programmers and can be defined per individual scanline or tile row (see Pugsy sea effect).
It’s worth noting that the Mega Drive can scale and rotate sprites as seen in TAoBaR here https://youtu.be/CR0MWpOK1RU?t=2043 or in Road Rash series (albeit at sub 10fps).
The SNES may have 15bit colour to the Mega Drive’s 9bit but that is 6 additional pieces of information per pixel to be stored in memory so on screen colour count was often below that of the Mega Drive and 256 colours on screen is simply not even remotely achievable apart from when colour overlays were used and the combinations of colours calculated could achieve a high number.
In conclusion:
This article was typical SNES favouritism. But the sly divisiveness of calling yourself a Sega fanboy and nerd but still having to concede the SNES is the superior platform is an attempt to manipulate readers into thinking this is an informed and unbiased opinion.
Sega don’t win the 16bit console wars because of marketing as you say (they outsold the SNES by 4.6 million in North America and were ahead in sales at all times) https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Fourth_generation_of_video_games#North_America as well as selling 576mill units of software to the SNES’s 379mill. https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Fourth_generation_of_video_games#Sales They did it because the games were far more entertaining. This is going up against a country besotted with the Nintendo brand and Sega’s output was remarkable at that time.
The SNES is a console which offers slim pickings for all but the hardcore jrpg enthusiast due to the pervasive slow down and input lag which I experienced across many games. People often cite the same games over and over for the SNES but I found no joy in Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Earthbound or practically any other SNES game. They just don’t play well. I can forgive the limited horizontal resolution as the square aspect is quite quaint but the input lag and overall lack of ambition or fun factor has given me the lasting impression that the SNES is not really worth my time. I like Strike Gunner STG but it slows down which is a bit sad. Street Fighter 2 Turbo is a lovely game in all respects but still lacks the option of the high speed mode available on the Genesis.
For a side note, the Game Gear is miles better than the Game Boy in every respect (except battery life and maybe sound) as is has 12bit colour and the GB only 2bits.
In every respect, the Mega Drive / Genesis beat out the SNES. Nintendo came out on the market with a machine which was full of promise and bluster, designed specifically to one up the Genesis, but failed to deliver where it counts, in game play and excitement.
You post a picture of a mess of wires to illustrate Sega’s idiocy but why aren’t those wires arranged neatly? Have you never had 3 things plugged in a the same time like it’s such a big deal? Also, a 3 in 1 integrated power unit was produced at the time and it is something you only have to do once as Mega Drive carts would plug into the 32X and then give you a better image somehow.
Nintendo never got it together to release a CD system because they lacked the competance to do so https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_NES_CD-ROM. The 32X and Sega CD were tragically neglected by Sega when they should have had amazing software given the power they possessed but poor management by incompetent Sega of America staff doomed them both with silly FMV games and rushed botched messes for the 32X when it had a demo by Zyrinx showing what it could actually do. The 32X is more or less on par with a Playstation in terms of processing power.
You could say all the enhancement chips in the SNES carts were add-ons as they added a fair bit of extra cost to each unit sold.
You could also mention the SNES sold for $200-$250 when the Genesis (in the same period) was $150 or that it’s games were $50 – $60 ($80 – $90 adjusted for inflation) where the Genesis games were £35 – £50 (sorry I don’t have USD dollars for Genesis carts. But Virtua Racing was $100 or £90 back then (the most expensive game available).
https://www.giantbomb.com/forums/general-discussion-30/how-much-did-games-cost-back-in-the-day-487807/
But there are a litany off other aspects of the Mega Drive architecture which gives it significant advantages over the SNES both in the ease of development of games to the overall power available. It even saw a recent release in Xeno Crisis which was good enough to be released on modern consoles and Steam.
So long live the Mega Drive / Genesis, it still ives on and don’t believe the hype. The Super Nintendo is simply not worth your time. Nearly all information available on the internet fails to give accurate information on this topic, stating it’s 256 on screen colours, 8 channel 16bit sound and 125 64×64 sprites and 512×448 resolution and scaling and rotation. All only just true.
All due to tribalistic Nintendo favouritism and anti Sega sentiment. The internet is awash with misinformation on this subject. Don’t be fooled. The SNES is garbage and the very worst platform of the 16bit generation. Leave your Donkey Kong Country’s and Mario Kart’s at the door and play a game which blow your mind on the Mega Drive.
https://segaretro.org/Sega_Mega_Drive/Technical_specifications
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Super_NES_Programming/SNES_Specs
Wrongs the genesis doesn’t have a 32 Bit bus. So no.. blast Processing is not even real. On screen colors for Sega isn’t 60 and it doesn’t use 4 palette of 16 colors. The lower resolution mode isn’t used mostly with games developed firstly on Snes. Snes has better resolution. Snes resolution wasn’t only used in games by two titles. S Genesis doesn’t have 10 channels and it doesn’t possess the master system VDP chip. Snes channels of quality of the samples wasn’t low and the resulting music IS on part. The Snes has better music.
The genesis doesn’t have 16. Different sprite sizes and Snes doesn’t only have 4. S you don’t nust choose two per speed. Snes can easily handle large sprites. And no. Genesis elites are not more common with large sprites than on the Snes. The Snes are 3.6 mhz. The genesis cup runs at 7.6 MHz so you’re wrong. Mode 7 DOES look cood next to the Megadrive bro . I doesn’t inclusive horizontal Colin scrolling and doesn’t make huge enemies sway around. Snes has hardware parallax scrolling and developers can use that c easily. Megadrive can’t scale and rotate sprites in those games. Snes colors are NOT 6 additional pieces of information per pixel in memory. And the on screen color count wasn’t bellow that of the Megadrive and 256 colors on screen IS achivable when color overlays weren’t used. And the Snes can achieve a much higher number. This article was Not Snes favoritism. Also dude you’re literally a Sega fanboy spreading lies about the Snes and the genesis. And what that guy said wasn’t a way to manipulate the readers. Also no. This is an informed and unbiased opinion. They didn’t outsell the Snes in North America. VG sales fandom is wrong. Sega didn’t win. Nintendo won because the games were WAY more entertaining. This is NOT going up e against a country besotted with the Nintendo brand an sega’s Output wasn’t remarkable. The Snes doesn’t offer slim pickings for all and it didn’t have much slow down and input lag. You didn’t experience that in many games. Super Mario world, Metroid, earthabout and Amy other Snes games are great. They DO olay well and the square aspect of the horizontal resluitoon isn’t limited. Also the Snes DID have ambition and the fun faction. And the Snes is WAY worht leople’s time. Strike gunner stg is wamaiang and it doesn’t slow down that much. Street fighter 2 turbo doesn’t like the option of the high speed mode on the genesis. You can literally look at the cheatcotes and find out the Snes is better for that. The game boy is miles better than the game gear I. Every respect. Also the Gameboy doesn’t only have 2bits. Co just because the game gear has more color doesn’t mean it’s better. I. Every respect, the Snes beaten the Genesis. Nintendo came out with a machine that was full of promise and bluster. Designed to one up the genesis and it succeeded. It did NOT fail to deliver where it counts in gameplay and excitement. Also a mess of wires to illustrate sega’s Idiocy are actually factual. Those writes arranged neatly isn’t going to give you the win. 3 in 1 integrated power is wasn’t produced at the time and it’s not something you would have to do once and the Megadrive carts wouldn’t plug into the 32X and give you a letter image. Nintendo DID get it together to release a CD system but it was because. If Sony and their attempts backstab Nintendo that they didn’t want to release it. The 32X and CD weren’t neglected because they realize their console flopped and it didn’t have amazing software and the power they loaded as lack. Poor management by Sega of america wasn’t the only thing that was making them lose. Nintendo was making them lose more. All of the enhancement chips for the Snes carts weren’t add ons and they didn’t add an extra cost to each u it sold. The 32x is no less or more to. At with a PlayStation in terms of processing power. The Snes sold for $199 when the genesis was sold for $189 dollars. Also no. Your aspects are idiotic and biased. They are a litany if other aspect of the Snes architecture which gives it a massive and big advantages over the genesis in the ease of development of games to the power available. Zeno Crisis is Wrong So death to the genesis and Megadrive and it doesn’t live on. The hype for the Snes is strong and factual. The Super Nintendo IS worth your time. All information in the internet does NOT fail to give accurate information on this topic. Also you’re saying Nintendo favoritism and anti Sega sentiment is tribalistic (when it’s not) when you literally have shown that your Sega favoritism and Anti-Nintendo sentiment is just as tribalistic if not MORE tribalistic and Neanderthal than the Nintendo Favoritsm and Anti sega sentiment. You sir are a hypocrical Sega lover/Sega fanboy. The internet is NOT awash with information on this subject because everything on theis subject fromthe internet is factual unlike you . The Snes is NOT garbage and it is NOT the very worst platform of the 16 Bit generation it is GREAT and it is the very best platform of the 16 Bit generation. The Sega Genesis is hot fecal matter and it is the WORST platform of the 16 Bit generation, if not, the worst console of all time. Everyone, do not listen to this Jack Wareham moron. He is an idiot who has no logic. Stay with your Donkey along Country’s and Mario Karts and do not fall into the dark abyss of hell that is Sega Genesis/Megadrive. They do not have games that blow your mind. Leave those genesis games at the door, drop the genesis games in the trash and play a game that will not only blow your mind, but pump you up, Dazzle you, fill your heart with dreams and bring you the Ultimate Holy 16 Bit Experience on the Super Famicom that the world has never seen. Short answer: Super Nintendo is better than a Sega Genesis. Do not listen to Jack. He speaks of lies. Deceptive lies. And his sources are complete biased Sega propaganda. Fact.
And Nintendo and SNES outsold Sega and the Genesis by 5 million in North America and it were ahead in sales at all times. Snes sold 589 million units of software to the genesis 576 mill. (Fact)
Jesus christ you talk like a conspiracy theorist. “Do not listen to Jack. He speaks of lies. Deceptive lies. And his sources are complete biased Sega propaganda.” Sega propaganda? Are you kidding me? This is about two computers from decades ago. In fact, the only one who sounds like a fanboy is you.
Uh no. I’m not the fanboy here. The one who sounds like a fanboy are you and Jack. His shit is Sega propaganda. Deal with it.
And for the record, the only one sounding like a conspiracy theorist is Jack. Tell your shit to him.
Wow you did all of that research to disprove a bunch of fanboys I congratulate the effort but do you really need to disprove fanboys that can’t except that Sega genesis was less powerful then the SNES
Wow, that was the longest text wall of lies I ever seen. How’s this: The SNES was better at child-friendly imagery, realistic sounds (if a bit muddy), and even colorful games than the SMD, and the SMD was better at bass-loaded tracks and sound clarity. You think you’re so smart cuz you said this lunacy: “the sly divisiveness of calling yourself a Sega fanboy and nerd but still having to concede the SNES is the superior platform is an attempt to manipulate readers into thinking this is an informed and unbiased opinion.” just makes you sound both paranoid and stupid, which is literally mentally impossible. Maybe before you point the “he’s a fanboy” finger, you should read up on BOTH sides of the story, and not just one. You look like less of a fanboy yourself that way, at least…
Street fighter 2 was in letter box format on the snes and the mega drive version was full screen if the snes could do much higher resolution.. But I guess that was due to the fast CPU on the megadrive.
Snes was full screen and can do higher resolution and no. It was not due to the so called fast CPU on the Megadrive.
Street Fighter for Snes was full screen, genesis wasn’t.
Of course SNES had better graphics and sound capabilities than the Mega Drive/Genesis since it came out 2 years later. 2 years meant a lot more then than it does now. Given that gap of time the Genesis shouldn’t have been better at anything. Yet it was at one specific thing: speed. It didn’t show all the time but especially did with certain kinds of games like sports and shooters. Given they had 2 years of newer tech to work with Nintendo either dropped the ball or Sega did an amazing job designing the Mega Drive. Probably a combination of both. The Genesis shouldn’t have been able to technically compete with the SNES whatsoever … hell, name me one thing PS2 technically does better than Xbox … but it was able to because Nintendo inexplicably decided to allow their 2 year old competition to be better at something, anything. I’m old enough to have lived through that console generation and ya kinda roll your eyes when people talk about these consoles now as though they were released on the same day. Those of us who owned Genesis at the time were expecting SNES to technically mop the floor with it and were pretty surprised when the gap turned out to be as narrow as it was.
Dude… That’s the best reply yet. Solid points made. I was too young to have experienced quite like you did (born in 1986), but I do remember having feelings of Genesis being more badass than SNES. I wasn’t exactly a street punk, but I liked to think I was. I was sporty and liked to play rough. So the Sega suited me well.
Nope. The Snes was way more badass and even being badass than genesis. Sega didn’t suit.
Please stop talking
Please shut the fuck up
Not solid points. Snes was better and great experience is for that console if you want great action and all of that.
Not solid points. Snes was better and great experience is for that console if you want great action and all of that. Check it.
They aren’t solid points. Snes was way better and great experience is for that console if you want great action and all of that. Check it.
Genesis speed is nothing compared to the Snes and all of their capabilities. Also no Nintendo didn’t inexplicibly decide to allow their 2 year old competition to be better at something. And not anything’s the Snes already technically mopped the floor with the genesis and there was no gap that was turned out to be as narrow as it was. It’s quite the opposite. Snes beat the Genesis.
And the Snes outsold the Genesis in North America and the US by more than 4.7 million. It sold a massive amount more. Your VG sales chart is bogus and wrong. The Snes sold more hardware and more software. Those 580 730 or whatever it is for the genesis are not accurate. History and facts already proven the Snes won the 16 Bit war. Get over it you Sega Incel.
Snes outsold Geneis by 5 mill. Checkmate!
The Snes had better graphics and it was out 1 year later. Snes did have speed when showing sports and shooters. Nintendo didn’t drop the ball and Sega didn’t do an amazing job designing the Megadrive. Not the combination of both. Xbox technically does better than Ps2. And Nintendo didn’t allow their competition to be better at something, and not anything. The Snes did mop the floor with the genesis and the gap wasn’t narrow as it was. Quite the opposite.
It’s not mentioned that different models of Genesis had different audio and video output capabilities. Some were better sounding, while others were better looking.
Nah the Snes beats any of those models and those models weren’t better sounding and weren’t better looking. It is mentioned the genesis had different audio and video output capabilities but that’s got nothing on snes
Nah the Snes beats any of those models and those models weren’t better sounding and weren’t better looking. It is mentioned the genesis had different audio and video output capabilities but that’s got nothing on snes. Just saying bruh, I’m just saying.
Back in the 90s’ I had a Genesis and a friend had an SNES. We were both game fanatics, and we’d regular swap systems. He’d have my Genesis and play the latest games, while I’d have his SNES and play his latest games. I absolutely loved both systems. While SNES had deeper gameplay (Mario World, Super Metroid, etc.), the simplicity and thrill of Sonic and Gunstar were pure fun. I liked that Genesis was the home of edgier games like Road Rash and a bloody Mortal Kombat. Sports games always played better on Genesis, but SNES was the go-to system for RPGs and strategy games. Still, Genesis was no sloucher in those genre: we played the hell out of Landstalker, Phantasy Star I & IV, Shinning in the Darkness, Warsong Gemfire, and Warrior of Rome. In the end, SNES outpaced the Genesis with Nintendo delivering blockbuster titles for many years, while Sega prematurely abandoned the Genesis and diluted their efforts with add-ons. Nintendo struck gold with SNES with all it’s franchises delivering absolute classics. Lately I’ve been playing Genesis High Definition Graphics model 1, connected to a stereo system, and I’m amazed at how great the sound is, especially the clarity of the drums and heaviness of bass. Maybe SNES had better sound effects, but the Genesis could produce great music, especially if you dig synthesizers.
Snes’s simplicity and thrill of Mario and Metroid are way more pure fun. Snes was also the home of edgier games and Mortal kombat 2 was on the Snes and so was doom troopers. Soorts games didn’t play better in genesis and the Snes was way better for many game genres. Genesis was a sloucher and those Genesis RPG games were nothing compared to the Snes. Snes had HD graphics too and the Snes sound in the bay. Genesis couldn’t producer great music. The Snes can produce better great music and it has clarity of the drums and the heaviness of bass which can match the genesis anytime.
Zezzboy
NintenDON’T fanboy versus SEGA Fanboy. You versus me.
The real story is Genesis sold more than 50 million units or just a few hundred thousands compared to SNES 49.1 mill. When in 1995 sales numbers was not recorded accurately for the Genesis before SEGA discontinued the system in 1997.
Hardware yes snes is powerful why? Because it came out 2 years later but a lot of its games do not look good graphically. Only the games that looks good in it are the ones good looking graphically. Anyone who owns Genesis and SNES knows that. Not a lot of games took advantage the hardware of snes. Many good developers in Genesis took advantage of its blast processing.
NintennDONT try to bullshit your way aoutnof that. The genesis did NOT sell more than 50 million units and they did NOT sell thousands of thousands. The Snes sold 49 million while Sega Genesis only sold 35 million. That is a FACT. Those sales numbers in 1995 WERE recorded accurately for the genesis. The Snes is powerful than the genesis and it came out ONE year later. A lot of it’s games DO look good graphicLly. Also no, it’s NOT only the games that look good in it. Anyone who owns the Snes and genesis knows that fact. Yes ALOT of games took advantages the hardware in Snes. And no, many developers did NOT take advantage of blast Processing because it didn’t exist. It was only a marketing gimmick to brainwash you Sega fanboys. Most developers took advantage of mode 7 and the Snes graphics. These are facts. Deal with it asshole.
I repeat. The Sega Genesis did NOT sell note than 50 million units and they did NOT sell few hundred thousands. It only sold 29 to 35 million compared to the Snes’s 49 to almost 50 million. And the Snes hardware came out 1 year later in 1990. Everything for the Snes and the hardware looked and is superior compared to the genesis, graphically, gameplay wise and etc. And I say this again. Snes is better than Genesis.
Nintendo fan Vs SegAIN’T fanboy.
I’m a SNES guy through and through but to be really fair to the Genesis, if it had maybe double the colors and the ability to do transparency then pretty much every single game on the system would have looked and ran better than the equivalent on the SNES. That being said, the reverse would also be true if the SNES had just had a CPU that was about 3x as fast, in that the benefits the Genesis superior CPU afforded it would be possible on the SNES too. And you can really see this in games that have a lot of stuff on screen, where the SNES generally really struggles in direct comparison to the Genesis, such as the amount of enemies it can have on screen at once in the Turtles or Streets of Rage games vs SNES Turtles and Final Fight for example, or the sheer amount of stuff on screen in a shooter like Thunder Force IV with no visible slowdown whereas most shmups on SNES really struggled with this.
Itndoesnt benefits the genesis not superior COU an. Also it can be possible on the snes. Also the Snes has a lot more stuff o screen and it doesn’t generally really struggle in direct comparison to the genesis. Also the Snes turtles and final fight games beat the genesis turtles and SoR games. And the sheer amount of stuff in screen in a shooter with no visible slowdowns exist with the Snes too and most shmups on snes don’t really struggle with that issue.
This is a very interesting subject. The Genesis/SNES console war was certainly the most fervently fought that I’ve ever witnessed, and for good reason. Both system’s have some absolutely amazing games. As a child, I grew up as a Genesis fan-boy. But later in life I purchased a Super Nintendo and wasn’t disappointed. Despite the specs of the two systems, the bottom line is, if you want the full 16 bit experience, you need to play the Genesis and SNES. They are both wonderful systems and offer extraordinarily different games that are worth playing. There’s really no rational reason to be a loyalist to either system. As much as I love Gunstar Heroes, Beyond Oasis, and Streets of Rage 2 on the Genesis, I would never deny myself the pleasure of enjoying EarthBound, Super Metroid, and Yoshi’s Island on the Super Nintendo for the sake of fanboyism.
You’re damn right, and there’s one more thing i’ve noticed lately. Almost EVERY action/platformer which are the same on both consoles, are cropped and zoomed-in on the SNES compared to their Genesis counterpart, clearly for that same CPU reason.
Dude almost every action/platofromer are NOT cropped and zoomed in on the snes compared to the genesis counterpart. This is NOT for that same false CPU reason.
Zezzyboy, all you do is say the opposite of any positive Genesis thing said. Are you real, or are you programmed to respond that way? Many of the things you are denying are true statements. You only look foolish when you respond the way you are. Do some homework, and you’ll see you’re not right about some of your opinions. I’m laughing at you, for you are so predictable.
The way I always saw it, the SNES was a toy for babies, children, and designed for those wanting nothing stronger than a G rating in simple to play games with easy controllers for small hands, whereas Sega Genesis was the spicier console for teens and adults who could handle more realistic visuals and red blood in fighting games with beefy man-hand size controllers.
Lol no. The Snes was not a toy for babies, not for children and it wasn’t designed for those wanting nothing stronger than a G rating in simple to play games with easy controller for small hands. It was the exact opposite. It was a revolutionary and spicer console for everyone that was designed for wanting much stronger, with many games that aren’t simple to play and a comfortable controller for your hands.
Genesis was not the spider console for teens and adults, it was actually a fake rebel console for wannabe cool kids and it couldn’t handle more realistic visuals and red blood in fighting games. Snes can do all of that but was holding back. Also beefy man band size controllers are bulky, unresponsive and uncomfortable.
Funny comments here. And even more entertaining is to see people trying to compare (fanboys, cough…) hardwares developed and released on almost two years gap. That’s ridiculous. Genesis and SNES were very different machines, with different ambitions.
The most important and never forget: SNES, clearly a most modern machine, had it ass kicked by Sega for YEARS in the USA, only having a breath when Nakayama-san made **** in Japan declaring the 16-bit dead. That’s the real joke.
Wow you are so biased. The snes kicked the genesis ass in the USA and Nakayama called it quits and forfeits the war to nintendo. That isn’t a joke.
No, the Snes from 1991 all the way through 1993 (until mid 1994) was losing to Sega. No matter how many dirty underhanded things Nintendo tried during the 4th generation they barely squeaked by. I am speaking of course of the anti-trust lawsuit and court case that broke Nintendo’s illegal, immoral, and unethical stranglehold on the US market (even though Nintendo won…they were exposed). Once developers were free to make games for any machine they wanted…Sega pounded Nintendo into the ground.
This was further cemented as Nintendo joined a bunch of liberal senators in order to pass laws giving the government control of what content is allowed in games here in the US. In short Nintendo attempted to destroy our First Amendment rights in order to sell more consoles. Thankfully, this blew up in their faces causing them to fall back into their rightful place at dead last. A spot they would hold for the next two generations. Both the N64 and GameCube were losers in the market place and the Wii largely skated by playing in a completely different market but I digress…
Lastly, Nintendo did end up winning the 16-bit market (not really) as they were competing with themselves in yet another attempt to force the market backwards. You Nintendo fanboys call Blast Processing bad advertising should look at Donkey Kong Country just like 32-bit nonsense. Finally, Nintendo did not win the 16-bit console wars because they are still going to this day. Sega up until 2004 made Sega Genesis/Mega Drives for the Brazilian market….so yeah, Nintendo did not win anything.
Bruh shut up with that bull. And no, Nintendo from 1991 to 1994 was wining to Dega. Also Nintendo didn’t try underhanded and dirty things during the 4th generations and even if they did, they DID squeaked by. Also there is no anti trust lawsuit tand court case that broke Nintendo’s stronghold on the US market. It wasn’t even illegal and immoral and unethical. You’re forgetting the US was struck with the video game crash of 83 so Nintendo had to think and come up with ideas so there wouldn’t be a second game crash. And they weren’t exposed when they won. Also Nintendo complelety pounded Sega into the ground. (Fact) Also no, what you said was NOT cemented and Nintendo didn’t join a bunch of liberal senators in order to pass laws to give the government to contro of what content is allied in the US. No, Nintendo do NOT attempt to destroy our first amaendment rights in order to sell more consoles and this didn’t blew up int their faces because Nintendo didn’t fall back into their wrongful place at dead last. Also no. Nintendo actually landed to their rightful place at complete first. Both the N64 and GameCube weren’t losers in the market place and the Wii fully skated and was successful by playing in their market. Go back to school. Also Nintendo DID end of winning the 16 Bit market (Yes really) and they weren’t competing themselves in an attempt to force the market backwards. They never did any of that and you’re only saying this because you can’t accept the facts. Also you Sega fanboys always claim that Blast Processing is real and smart marketing when it’s not. And DKC isn’t 32-Bit nonsense. Also Nintendo DID win the 16 Bit console wars and they are NOT going to this day. It’s over, get over it and accept that fact. Sega’s genesis and megadrives are fighting in peaceful territory and was and is fighting a Brazilian 2004 to 2010(maybe or less likely present) phony war that was 20 years ago in the 90s. So no, Nintendo DID win anything and everything. That is a cold hard fact.
Snes was winning from 1991 to 1994 to Sega.
Sega Genesis destroyed the SNES with sports games. NHL 94, NHL 95, and NHL96 to this day are the some of the best hockey games ever made. And not to mention FIFA and MADDEN played much faster and better on the Genesis. Graphics-wise, Sonic 1 and 2 look way better than the Mario games. It wasnt until Donkey Kong Country came out and Yoshi’s Island (best platformer ever) that I bought the SNES. Yoshi’s Island did take advantage of a 21Mhz chip in the cartridge however.
What are you smoking? The Genesis didn’t destroy the snes in sports games. Also Madden and fifa played WAY faster and better on Snes. Also Mario looks way better than Sonic 1 and 2. And btw, DKC, yoshi’s island, Star Fox, Mega Man X crushes anything Sega can dish out.
You are out of your mind. I grew up with these machines. I owned a Sega Genesis in 1989 and an Snes in 1991. The Sega Genesis regularly outperformed the Snes in all sports titles. This isn’t even up for debate. It is common knowledge that Madden ran terribly on the Snes when compared to the Genesis. The Genesis had more sports titles in its arsenal as well. Mutant League Football, Mutant League Hockey, and Road Rash 1-3 are several “sports” titles that are not technically traditional but still exist within the genre only on the Genesis. Looking at games like Desert Strike and Thunder Force III (on both consoles) you can clearly see Sega’s console running circles around the Snes with relative ease.
Furthermore, you want to bring up sports titles being better on the Snes. Virtua Racing literally destroys every single title on the Snes and in 1992 it was a technical marvel beyond anything we had ever seen on console before. The Samsung/Sega SVP chip just destroys the FX and FX2 chips so soundly that it too is not up for debate. I remember Nintendo firing back with Stunt Racer FX…and how pathetically slow and choppy it ran…FX2 chip indeed.
Perhaps the biggest thing about the Genesis that most Snes fanboys refuse to acknowledge is…the Genesis can and did everything the Snes could do without extra hardware. The Genesis does Mode 7 without extra hardware Castlevania Bloodlines, Twin Cobra, and Wolfenstein to name a few. It’s sound was also leagues better when the Genesis was in competent hands…Streets of Rage 1-3, Revenge of Shinobi, Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition (with proper sound code is 1 for 1 arcade perfect) and Thunder Force IV are examples of games with sound that is better than even the best Snes soundtracks of their day.
you are so wrong on this one that everyone who reads this just lost a ton of IQ…. Genesis NEVER could do MODE 7 stop making shit up derptard
Bruh you’re such an idiot. The Snes outperformed Sega in some sports games. Genesis never outperformed Snes in all sports titles. Also it’s not common knowledges that s madden ran terribly in Snes . That’s a fallacy. Genesis may have more sports titles but those are lackluster. Also MLF and MLH and arias Rash series are NOTHING compared to Super Punch Out, Ken Griffey Jr, Uniracerss, and etc. also no those Sega sports titles don’t exist only o. The genesis. Desert strike and thunder force on both consoles, uh no. You can actually clearly see the Snes running circles around the Genesis with no effort and with ease. Also virtual racing is crap and Stunt racer literally craps on every single title on the genesis. Fact. Also in 1993, the Snes was the technological Marvel beyond the genesis and beyond anything we’ve ever seen on a console. The FX and FX 2 takes a dump on the Samsung/SVP Chip And Stunt Racer did NOT run pathetically slow and choppy. FX2 Chip NOT. Indeed. Also genesis cannot do and didn’t do everything the Snes could do do. The genesis doesn’t do mode 7 without extra hardware, the Snes can. And castlevania bloodlines, twin Cobra and wolfenstein are useless compared to Castlevania 4, F-Zero, and Snes’s wolfenstein. Also the Snes sound is WAY leagues better than the genesis when it was in competent hands. The genesis in competent hands couldn’t do crap, while Streets of Rage and Revenge of Shinobi and Thunder Force IV are great sounding music, they are NOT examples of games with sound better than the best Snes soundtracks of their day. Bruh you need to listen to Super Turrican, Earthbound, Plok, XMEN, Megaman, Megaman X 1-3 And every Street Fighter 2 on Snes because those alone and all of the best Snes soundtracks are WAY better than all of the genesis games listed and even the best Genesis soundtracks of their day. Facts. Snes is factually better.
To the people comparing MIPS, you cannot draw a direct parallel between two completely different CPU architectures’ MIPS output.
Likewise, you cannot directly compare MHZ unless the chips are the same.
One thing of note was that the WDC65816 was somewhat hampered by having an 8 bit external BUS, it was generally considered to be more efficient per clock than the MC68000, but then again, it was clocked much slower than Sega’s CPU. Matter of fact, the Nintendo Engineers wanted to use a 7-10mhz 68K in the “Super Famicom”, but the heads wanted to stay in the 6502 family for possible backwards compatibility with the original NES.
BTW, not that it really matters as much as you might think, but the 68000 is actually partially 32 bit internally, with a full 16 bit external bus, although just about everybody considers it to be a 16bit chip.
Now all of that is wrong
The Motoroller 68000 has a 32bit internal bus and a 16bit external bus which is double that of the WDC65816 in both cases. The Amiga and AtariST used a 68K and the ST stands for Sixteen Thirty two, such was the boast of 32 bit registers. The 68K also has significantly more registers (places to store code/values which can be accessed by the program), making programming far easier and achieve greater potential.
The CPU is not fact the major advantage over the SNES is performance. This is due to the YamahaIC6 integrated video, sound and DMA unit. The DMA is direct memory access and this means the cpu is not interrupted whilst accessing the game rom in delivering data to the sound and video chips. As well as this Mega Drive having faster cart rom access.. The SNES cpu is contained within the ‘5A22’ which contains it’s DMA, requiring cycle interrupts to access the ROM as well the I/O to access controller input.
But the are a great many ways in which the Mega Drive hardware is more efficient and powerful than the SNES architecture.
The above table of specifications, as was intended by Nintendo are very misleading and designed to make it look more capable than the Mega Drive on paper and in screenshots.
All of that is wrong. The 32 Bit buss is outright lies. And that is not double that of the WDC65816 in both cases dude. The genesi does not have major advantage I’ve tthr e Snes. Performance. The yamahalc6 I regraded video sound and DMs unit is nothing but lies. It doesn’t have direct memory access and the cpu is interaultrd. The Snes cpu isn’t contained within the 5A22 and itndoesnf contain its DMA and it doesn’t require cycle interiors to accep the rom and the I/O to access controller inputs also box . Your many ways are lies and outweighs Bull. There are so many ways the Snes hardware is more efficient and way more powerful than the genesis architecture. The table of specifications wasn’t intended by Nintendo and they were not misleading and the weren’t designed to make it look capable than the Megadrive in paper standards. It is FACTUALLY more powerful than the Megadrive in every possible way. Stop manipulating people with your lies.
It wasn’t clocked slower than sega’s Cpu. And the 68000 is not 32 Bit internally nor anytime. Also everyone gives facts that it’s just a 16 Bit chip
I see nothing but blatant Nintendo fanboyism here. The Genesis had two soundchips, the Yamaha and the PSG. The Yamaha had 6 audio channels and the PSG had 4 channels – that’s 10 audio channels. The majority of games on the Genesis used both chips. That’s why a lot of games on the Genesis had such a fuller sound.
Proof:
https://youtu.be/D1XIVX1UswU
Even if you tried to make the argument that “wave sounds better than FM”, but that’s entirely subjective. In a lot of games I actually prefer the synthesizer sound.
Another thing that was missed is that some of the model 2 revisions improved the audio out from the rear port. And it was improved yet again on the CDX. That’s probably what caused the confusion in some of the earlier comments.
It’s plain to see that you’re not a fan of the Genesis. That’s perfectly fine. Nobody is trying to force you to like the Genesis. You’re allowed to like whatever you want and have whatever preference you want. But blatantly misrepresenting it, in an attempt to make the SNES look better isn’t going to do anything but create arguments.
And all I see here is blatant Sega famboyisk. The genesis did not have two soundchips. Even if they did it would still sound horrible compared to the snes.
Genesis games didn’t have 10 audio channels and plus that proof you showed isn’t even real. Also waved sounding better than FM isn’t subjective. Synthesizer sounds are terrible.
Also the model 2 didn’t improve the audio out from the rear port. That’s bullcrap. And it’s plain to see you’re a genesis fanboy. Nobody is trying to force you to like the snes. Stop making bullcrap statements and accept the facts that this guy said facts and didn’t make the snes look better. You are wrong. It’s going to do a lot more than what you’re doing. Dimwit.
This guy isn’t blatantly misrepresenting preferences to make the Snes look and seem better. The Snes already IS better
The Genesis sound chip was 8kb vs 64kb on SNES. hence why any multiplat games sound 10x better on the SNES hands down…. SEGAs own games used the 8KB sound chip the best but still NOTHING on the Genesis can come close to background music compared to ANYTHING SQUARE made on SNES. FF4-5-6, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger… #NuffSaid
Sega’s sound chip that was 8KB wasn’t the best. And they didn’t use it the best. And I agree. Snes wins.
Sega’s sound chip that was 8KB wasn’t the best. And they didn’t use it the best. And I agree. Snes wins big time.
The YM2612 Genesis/Mega Drive sound chip did not need a great deal of memory as sending fm data is very small in size compared to sampled PCM wave files. 64KB however is not very much for all your sound effects, drivers, effects code and instruments, which is why SNES music uses 4bit ADPCM samples with heavy 4 point gaussian filters (mandatory to avoid crackling) resulting in very low fidelity sound with very little impact or dynamic range and simplistic compositions. The YM2612 on the other hand combined 4 sine waves in each of it’s 6 channels in a variety of ways to create some truly stunning music. FM can be manipulated on a far deeper level than a bog standard sampler and the S-SMP only had echo and pitch modulation (for portamento/more than just one note).
The YM2612 had 6 channels but the 6th channel could be changed to play back pcm samples but lacking the timing hardware to make it a full instrument or guassian filtering.
But sound could be played back directly from the cartridge meaning the 8KB memory could be circumvented.
The PSG chip included for Master System compatibility could also be used which is just 3 single square wave channels and a noise channel and is very simple compared to the 4 sine waves for each Genesis channel.
There is also a LFO (low frequency oscillator) which can be applied to any combination of the tracks to add an additional layer of complexity to the instrumentation.
The frequency output of the Gensis FM is 52Khz, whearas most SNES samples would be around 20Khz or as low as 8Khz. CD audio is 42Khz.
Also, PCM samples would have a low bitrate (as in an mp3) as well as only 4bit depth and a low frequency to save space. Cartridge space on SNES games was obviously limited so the range of instruments available would be limited by that aspect as well.
I care not for SNES music as most of it sound pretty similar. You hear the same instruments time and again and the fidelity is very poor. They are simply not fun to listen to in stark contrast to Genesis/Mega Drive music.
Source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Super_NES_Programming/SNES_Specs
You sir are a sonic aka Sega fanboy. The Megadrive DDID need a great deal of memory and sending fm data isn’t small in size compared to sampled PCM wave files. 64KB IS very much for all your sound effects, drivers, effects code and instruments. The Snes music doesn’t use 4 Bit ADPCM samples with 4 point Gaussian filters. Thts his total nonsense. There are no low Dudley sound with little impact or dynamic tang and compositions. The YM2612 does NOT combine 4 sine waves in each of its channels in a variety of ways. Th Snes can do that in abbariery of ways and it creates way more truly stunning music. Genesis and their YM cant do that by a margin. FM can’t be manilplatiednona deeper level than a standard sampler which isn’t standard, it’s a lot better than stander S-SMO. M and the S-SMP did NOT onlynhave exho and pitch modulation. The the 6thxhannel could not be changed to play back pcm samples and the timing hardware couldn’t do it and it couldn’t make it a full instrument or Guadiana filtering. Sound couldn’t be played back directly from the cartridge and it doesn’t mean the 8KB Emory cod be circumvented. It’s actually means the 8KB is weak. The PSG chip couldn’t be used and it’s not included for mastered system compatibility. It couldn’t Ben used for 3 single square wave xhannnels and a noise channel. And it is NOT a simple compared Ron the sine 4 waves for each genesis channel. The LFO deskt exist for the genesis and it’s can’t be Allies for an combination of the tracks. And it couldn’t add an additional layer of complexity to the instrumentation. The output of the genesis is NOT 52Khz. And and most Snes samples are around 52Khz and they aren’t has low as 8khz. Your downplay is wrong. CD audio is more than 42khz. PCM samples would not have a low nitrate and it doesn’t have only 4bit depth and a low frequency to save space. It actually has more bits like 16 Bit depth and a high frequency to space. Cartridge space ins es games wasn’t limited that mic. That limited crap can be same said for the genesis.. Snes range of instrument s available wouldn’t be limited by that aspect. Of course you don’t care for Snes music because you sit on your fat star all day and wank off to genesis music. Most of the Snes sound is NOT similar, you don’t hear the same instruments time and agin. And the fidelity is NOT poor. They aARE fun to listen to in Star contrast to genesis mega drive music. You at e making thinks up just so you can please your genesis masters because they promise to bum f you and you clearly signed the papers. You are disgusting and your disgusting downplay of the Snes is biased, unfactual, and completely false. Your rundown of the music and sound for both systems are wrong and biased and false. REPENT!! DEUS VULT!!
Why do you answer everything by just copying what Jack said and putting “NOT” in the sentence? About everything Jack Wareham has said is correct.
Why are you defending this asshole. Everything this guy said is NOT correct. It’s FALSE.
I say this again so you can hear me correctly. About everything this douchebag said is NOT correct. About everything I said is factual. Deal with it.
Zezzyboy, your argument is so weak I’m starting to think your just a bot that tries to auto-generate text to disguise itself as human. If you were programmed to be as dumb as a rock, I’d say they nailed it.
And you’re a fucking sheep. How are my arguments weak? Everything I said are 100% factual. Everything this dumbass is 100% false.
You’re just a fanboy sheep who doesn’t know anything about games and is only defending this jackass for no reason.
If you were paid by Sega to be a dumbass who only rides on their small ass dicks and talk trash about any other gaming companies except for them, I could say they nailed it too.
I really hope you are a troll. If not, it must be really hard to be that stupid. Lemme debunk some of your “100% factual” claims. I don’t really know much about the SPC700 in the SNES, so I’ll mostly be talking about the YM2612 and your most erroneous errors. “The YM2612 does NOT combine 4 sine waves in each of it’s channels in a variety of ways.” Yes it does. There are four operators for each FM channel. “The the 6thxhannel could not be changed to play back pcm samples…” Actually, it could. That’s where most of the drum tracks in Mega Drive games come from. It is limited though, it cannot change the pitch of the sample. “The PSG chip couldn’t be used and it’s not included for mastered system compatibility” Dude, are you kidding me? The entire point of including the PSG was for master system compatibly. It could also be used alongside the YM2612, for a total of 10 channels (6 FM, 3 square wave, 1 noise). “And it is NOT a simple compared Ron (ron?) the sine 4 waves for each genesis channel.” It is in fact very simple compared to the YM2612, since it just generates square waves and noise. The rest of the paragraph is so unreadable it’s like trying to read hieroglyphics. You almost talk like a flatearther. “If you were paid by Sega to be a dumbass who only rides on their small ass dicks and talk trash about any other gaming companies except for them, I could say they nailed it too.” You really think I’m being paid off by Sega? How stupid are you? I haven’t even said anything foul about the Super Nintendo, I think it’s a great system. You are just in plain denial of factual evidence. JACK EVEN LINKED HIS SOURCE AT THE BOTTOM OF HIS REPLY! And whenever someone calls you out for saying something misleading, you insult them! You are the one giving the SNES a worse reputation.
And you are an idiot. No the YM2612 doesn’t combine. There aren’t four operating channels
No it couldn’t. That’s where most of the drum tracks in Mega Drive games don’t come from.
Bruh this is total bullcrap. The actual entire point of including the PSG was for no compatibly. It could never be used alongside the YM2612, because it in LT had 4 chabbels channels (ni FM, no square wave, no noise). “And it is NOT a simple compared Rom (RON?) the sine 4 waves for each genesis channel.”
It is in fact NOT simple compared to the YM2612, since it just generates gross waves and horrible noise. My paragraphs are full of facts unlike what you are saying.
How stupid are YOU? The SNES is the greatest system.
How am I plain denial of factual evidence when you and jack never gave factual evidence?
The mega cd combined with the 32X does NOT give you 22 channels. That video is full of lies and everyone’s so called facts and proof are nothing but bull. How about you actually look at facts?
Zezzyboy, he gave his proof. Where’s yours?
He didn’t give his proof.
Did you know that the Megadrive combined with the Mega Cd and 32x gives you 22 channels of sound?
Proof: https://youtu.be/IGy7HBG3I1c
And don’t just immediately say that the proof is false like you do with everybody else. Please actually watch the video.
FALSE
The mega cd combined with the 32X does NOT give you 22 channels. That video is full of lies and everyone’s so called facts and proof are nothing but bull. How about you actually look at facts?
How about you give me some of your “facts” to look at?
I literally gave you facts and yet you still ignore them.
Alright, how about this. You’ve just been spewing nonsense without giving any proof. So give me proof. An internet link or something. Anything that explains your points. So far all you’ve said is something like this: I say “this thing could do this” and all you say is “FALSE this thing could NOT do this” without any proof whatsoever. You keep saying you’ve given me facts, but saying that fm synthesis sounds like trash is not a fact. It is an opinion. If you choose to not give me any proof, you’ll just confirm to me that your argument is false. So please give me some proof for your argument.
I have been spouting no nonsense, I already gave facts and you still choose to deny. There is already proof of my facts and me not giving any is not going to confirm my argument is false. Saying that fm synthesis sounds like trash IS a fact. Deal with it dumbass.
You do realize that saying something is a fact doesn’t make it a fact, right? You need evidence to help prove your argument. So you saying that “fm synthesis sounds like trash IS a fact.” doesn’t automatically make it a fact. So here is how I go about this: Each channel of the YM2612 has four operators. Here’s my proof, an excerpt from the Wikipedia article:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_YM2612
“The YM2612 has the following features:[1]
Six FM channels
Four operators per channel[4]
Two interval timers
A sine-wave low frequency oscillator
Integrated stereo output digital-to-analog converter (most other contemporary Yamaha FM chips require a separate external D/A converter chip)
Per-channel programmable stereo sound (left, right, or both left and right resulting in centre)
For channel three, operator frequencies can be set independently, making dissonant harmonics possible. (Normally, they would have a simple relation like e.g. 2× or 3× relative to a common base frequency)”
So after all of that, tell me. Does the YM2612 have four operators per channel?
Your do realize all of what you are saying is false right? Sorry but what I gave is evidence and everything I literally said is factual. They don’t have four operators and that’s bull. Stop lying
Me saying something makes it a fact and and me saying fm synthesis sounds like trash is a fact does make it a fact.
Oh my god, reasoning with you is like trying to ask the sky to turn green. I give up. Also this quote is hilarious “Me saying something makes it a fact.” Reading that makes me hope you are a troll. Either that, or you’re six years old.
Uh no, when I said that I actually said factual statements. Youre clearly a 5 year old.
Okey dokey baby boy
What ever you say little infant
Ah yes, the most biting remark. “little infant”. Whatever you say.
Aww look at the little hypocrite who thinks me saying “Little infant” is sarcastic but you saying “baby boy” isn’t sarcastic too. Fucking hypocritical Sega fag.
I dunno. Baby boy just seems to roll off the tongue much better than little infant. Also, I don’t know why you keep saying I’m affiliated with Sega. All I’ve done is try to correct you on how you’re misinformed about the YM2612. I’ve given you proof for my claim and yet you deny all facts that don’t support your claim. (Note: I MAKE MUSIC for the Megadrive USING THE YM2612, so I’m pretty knowledgeable on the subject. If you want proof, I can send you some of my tracks or make a video showing off all the features of the YM2612)
Also I don’t think you know what sarcastic means.
Oh really? Jesus Christ looks like little infant always want to deny the facts at face value. And no I’m not misinterpreted about the YM2612. You never gave me any proof for your claim. I haven’t been denying the facts. YOU have. No you don’t make music and you don’t have any knowledge about making music or the subject. The features of the YM2612 are nothing.
I know what sarcastic means. You have no brain.
Here is my proof for my claims: https://youtu.be/Gj-lcgG_K6g
“No you don’t make music and you don’t have any knowledge about making music or the subject.” HAH
Wow, that last part would have been a serious burn, if you weren’t so stupid. I have seen a lot of dumbass trolls, but you take the very lowest rank of stupid. What’s your I.Q., 3? Get a job. OH WAIT, you can’t, because you’re riding your shemale mother’s dick and playing a bootleg version of Mario, thinking you’re so smart when nobody in this planet is as stupid as you. Also, I read over LOTS of your shit and I just need to part some advice: IF YOU’RE GOING TO INSULT SOMEONE, AT LEAST SPELL THE INSULTS CORRECTLY.
This feeling in my chest is brutal, to consider DKC anything but a top 3 game let alone the best game on the system.
Then again, I realize I’m on the outside looking in when it comes to Zelda. I do like Link to the Past, but it never had that feeling of pure joy, awesomeness from literal minute 1. That, and it has one of the best overall soundtracks ever. Visually the game was stunning back then, and it still holds up well today with a very good art style.
Wholeheartedly agree on DKC being one of the GOATs. And my first experience with Link to the Past was when I was too young to figure anything out but joyously bouncing off of walls doing the dash attack.
Did you know it took David Wise 5 months to engineer just the underwater theme to Donkey Kong Country? This is why it’s a stand out track as the budget for that game was practically unlimited.
Did you know that you’re a Sega fanboy and the budget for the DKC game was great and better? Shut up and stop lying.
And it didn’t take him 5 months. Why are you sir a Sega fanboy trying to spread lies?
Sorry but I think I need to clarify some things.
The Sega Megadrive has 44khz sound (instead 22 khz) Yes. only fm and psg but more crisp.
The Sega Megadrive can do a lot of effects by software that are impossible in the Snes without SA-1. About Fzero seein fast…well…it´s only the scroll of ONE plane. You should compare games with more sprites on screen.
The Sega Megadrive can show less sprites than the maximum capacity of the SNEs, but the Snes can´t show them all at the same speed.
About the “blast processing” is the fast speed data to the DMA from Sega Genesis.
What I´m trying to say, at the end, the Sega Megadrive can do more effects or things than snes without any extra help, while the Snes has more colour output, better sound (but sounds less crisp) and transparent effects in da house. The Sega megadrive need to do that with software tricks like custom sound drivers, it can do rotations of sprites (something almost impossible for snes) and it can show polygons better than snes (except with Sa1)
What I´m trying to say that´s the Sega Genesis hardware has always being marketed as “less powerful” when is the contrary thing. Snes output more beautifuls images, but slower. But in the end, like you say, what most matter is the catalogue and the sega genesis doesnt have the same presence in japan and rest of the world like the snes.
Hope you appreciate this <3
Umm, no. The Genesis/Mega Drive had a max of 22 Khz sound. The Sega K Fusion Emulator has 44 Khz but the console did not. The Emulator also has a default of 320×224 but that was the max display for the Genesis/Mega Drive console, the default 256×224 just like the SNES. As for CPU, The Genesis/Mega Drive was clocked @ 7.6 Mhz with up to 1.4 MIPS (million instructions per second), while the SNES was clocked at 3.58 MHz with up to 1.79 MIPS ( That’s 390,000 more instructions per second than the Genesis/Mega Drive) The only piece of hardware that was better on the Genesis/Mega Drive was the MC 68000 but it was heavilly bottlenecked by the rest of the system.
The Genesis can’t do things than Snes can’t without help.
It needed help to do a lot of things. Snes can still handle a lot
Despite what you just said games always ran smoother on the genesis and slowdown was incredibly rare.
Slowdown plagued a lot of SNES games. Dont get me wrong, it was usually pretty minor and only showed up when a lot of sprites were on screen at once, but its evident in a lot of games.
I can’t even think of one genesis game where that happens, but I can think of several SNES games off the top of my head. I was just playing super castlevania 4, it happens all the time in that. Mega man x as well. Pretty much any game where there’s the possibility of many sprites gets slowdown.
Nintendo should have went with a better processor as the one they chose kinda limited the system. The Genesis clearly had a better processor.
That’s just the truth. Did SNES have more good games? Sure. It beat out genesis in a lot of categories but the processor really isnt one of them.
Bullcrap Kyle. Games always ran smoother on the Snes and slowdown can happen on the genesis. Slowdown didn’t plague a lot of Snes games and it’s not evidence in a lot of games because it was minorr and didn’t always happen. Also genesis slowdown was in Sonic 2 and Snes games didn’t have slowdown. Nintendo’s processor already had the better processor. Genes didn’t have it. The Snes clearly had the better processor . That’s the actual truth. And any Snes game did NOT have the possibility of many sprites gets slowdown bruh. Also the processor is one of them the Snes can beat out the genesis. The Snes had more great games and good games
Genesis did not have 44khz. The snes has more
That’s bullcrap. The genesis being less powerful is not the contrary thing. The snes doesn’t output images slower. Say what you want but the genesis is a weak console and it does have the same presence in japan. Learn that. Also the Snes can do more effects than genesis can without help. The Snes CAN show off more sprites at the same speed. Also FZero isn’t the scroll of one plane. Stop trying to compare games. F Zero does have more sprites in screen. The Sega megadrive can’t do those effects by software. That’s a blatant fallacy. Sega Genesis doesn’t have 44khz sound. It’s has only 22. It isn’t crisp like the snes is.
Yes the Snes does display images slower. That is a fact no matter how many times you deny it. You bring up F-Zero as some point to rattle your saber. F-Zero was nice but at the absolute limit of what the Snes could do without extra hardware. For refernce- F-Zero is running on one single plane in mode 7 (Fact).
The Genesis can do everything the Snes can do without any extra hardware (Fact). You brought up F-Zero…okay Twin Cobra…fight over. Twin Cobra was made for the Sega Genesis by Core design and adds nothing to the Genesis. It features- scalling, rotation, sprite warping, polygonal game play, and all without slowing down. The Snes can’t perform this feat even with an FX2 chip.
Let’s discuss the many games Nintendo produced with extra hardware (well over 100 games needed extra chips to run). This was rarely done with the Sega Genesis as again, it could brute force what it needed and is apparent when comparing games like Wolfenstein on the Snes (FX chip) to a bare bones stock Genesis. The Genesis version performs far better, has much greater draw distance, and more details in the sprites without any slowdown at all. Now, I will admit that on the Genesis it does rely heavily on dithering to get the job done giving the Snes an advantage up close.
Perhaps the coup de grace (killing blow) is Sega’s foray into modular gaming on the Genesis. Sega saw Nintendo’s success in getting an underpowered aging 16-bit console a bit more punch with modular thinking. Sega joined with Samsung to deliver the final word in graphics for the entirety of the 16-bit generation. Sega with the help of Samsungs SVP chip got a competent version of Virtua Racing to run on a stock Genesis. What’s better, it runs at an acceptable frame rate and is 2x smother than any FX based game ever (fact). With one fail swoop Sega delivered the most technologically advanced game on 16-bit hardware bar none and it was magical. In comparison l, Nintendo produced Stunt Racer on the FX2 as a response to Virtua Racing and that game dips regularly into single digit frame rates…no comparison (fact).
Still waiting for a Genesis games music to sound anything close to any SQUARE game on SNES. and Virtua Racing on Genesis was 32x nice try
Virtua Racing was on the standard Megadrive Hamzilla.
This is the Megadrive version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZozRMLqLNJM
This is the 32x version:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gNP3Lk0Ivk
Here is a side by side comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x44ox-w7eGc
That isn’t even true dude. Snes can do that easily.
False. That’s not standard megadrive. Hamzilla is correct. Snes can do it with Super FX and or FX 2 easily. Suck it.
How is it false? It is using the exact same method the Super FX used. Place a processor inside the cartridge to help with the 3d calculations. In what way is it not a standard Megadrive? If you are talking about the chip in the cartridge, wouldn’t that mean that Starfox is not running on a standard SNES?
Footage of Virtua Racing running on standard megadrive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05ydclvNaDY
Lol no the hell its not. It is not a standard megadrive. Snes can run fox racing standard. Also no, it means star fox can run on a standard snes. Also you wanna talk about calculations? Bruh Every game is about calculations. Snes games can run fine.
Can you tell me why it is not a standard Megadrive?
It’s already been explained. Get out.
No. You haven’t explained anything at all. Just saying something is not explaining it. Not once have you explained why it isn’t a standard Megadrive. Going by your logic, I could say “the Atari 2600 is more powerful than the Switch (FACT)” and you would call that proof. Of course, it’s not. When are you going to realize that you need to actually have evidence to back up your points? Here are MORE videos showing Virtua Racing running on a STANDARD Megadrive. It’d be interesting to see your thoughts on them if you would actually watch them instead of just denying them immediately.
https://youtu.be/q7Ow3w2DIRc
https://youtu.be/PBF2B1nQNLc
https://youtu.be/8IRyt7s0NVM
https://youtu.be/ltOr2TqOJvo
Alright. I’ve given my proof for my points. Now give me yours. Tell me why Virtua Racing on the Megadrive is not running on a standard Megadrive. AND GIVE ME PROOF. Did you read that last word? PROOF. Please give me your PROOF for your points.
Or…
You won’t. You are just gonna type up some rubbish about how you’ve “already proven everything” and that I can’t understand “real facts”. Well, so far, the only one who can’t understand facts and proof seems to be you. But please, do respond and try to combat my argument. I’d love to read what you’ll come up with.
Dude the Snes does NOT display images slower. That is a fact and no matter how many times you try to say I deny it, your statements aren’t true. Also F Zero isn’t to tattle my saber when it’s actual fact I bring up F Zero because it’s actually supports my facets. Also there was no limit of what the Snes could do without extra hardware. F Zero is NOT running on one single plane in mode 7 (Actual fact)
The Genesi cannot do everything the Dnes can do without hardware (fact.) Also Twin Cobra? Bruh…Super Mario kart and Super FX racing…the fight is over. Also that game named Twin Cobra DID add much for the genesis. That game couldn’t do scaling,rotation,soritewarpinf and polygonal gameplay. Snes CCAN perform this feat even with an fX2 Chip. You’re just lying. Also there were not over 100 games that Nintendo ended extra hardware. Also this wasn’t rarely done with genesis and it couldn’t brute force what it needed and it isn’t apparent. Also wolfenstein? Get your facts straight man. The Snes can do wolfenstein a lot better compared to your so called bare bones stock genesis. The SNES performs far and way better, it has way greater draw distance, and it actually has way more details in the sprites and it can do it without slowdown as well. The Genesis can’t do any of that. It has poor factual hardware and the only thing given is the speed which isn’t a factor. Als the Snes already had Eva rages that the genesis couldn’t even have. Sega didn’t see Nintendo’s success in getting an underpowered aging 16!!85 console. Nintendo was the one who delivered the final word in graphics amfor the entirtety of the 16 Bit generation. Samsung helping Sega isn’t going to change the facts. Also Nintendo has the super fox which is way better. Virtual Racing is overrated. And the Genesis isn’t stock. Also it doesn’t run at a acceptable frame rate and it’s not 2x smoother than any superior FX based game ever created which can run way smoother and it has a much better frame rate (fact) also Nintendo didn’t have that fail swoop. NINTENDO delivered the most technologically advanced game in the 16 Bit hardware none and it was more magical. Also Nintendo’s Stunt Seaver did NOT dip regularly into single digit frame rates. There is a comparison. The Snes is more powerful and it’s more crisp. (Fact) The Snes is the most powerful and the most magical and technological 16 Bit system in gaming history. (Fact)
Dude the Snes does NOT display images slower. That is a fact and no matter how many times you try to say I deny it, your statements aren’t true. Also F Zero isn’t to tattle my saber when it’s actual fact I bring up F Zero because it’s actually supports my facets. Also there was no limit of what the Snes could do without extra hardware. F Zero is NOT running on one single plane in mode 7 (Actual fact)
The Genesi cannot do everything the Dnes can do without hardware (fact.) Also Twin Cobra? Bruh…Super Mario kart and Super FX racing…the fight is over. Also that game named Twin Cobra DID add much for the genesis. That game couldn’t do scaling,rotation,soritewarpinf and polygonal gameplay. Snes CCAN perform this feat even with an fX2 Chip. You’re just lying. Also there were not over 100 games that Nintendo ended extra hardware. Also this wasn’t rarely done with genesis and it couldn’t brute force what it needed and it isn’t apparent. Also wolfenstein? Get your facts straight man. The Snes can do wolfenstein a lot better compared to your so called bare bones stock genesis. The SNES performs far and way better, it has way greater draw distance, and it actually has way more details in the sprites and it can do it without slowdown as well. The Genesis can’t do any of that. It has poor factual hardware and the only thing given is the speed which isn’t a factor. Als the Snes already had Eva rages that the genesis couldn’t even have. Sega didn’t see Nintendo’s success in getting an underpowered aging 16!!85 console. Nintendo was the one who delivered the final word in graphics amfor the entirtety of the 16 Bit generation. Samsung helping Sega isn’t going to change the facts. Also Nintendo has the super fox which is way better. Virtual Racing is overrated. And the Genesis isn’t stock. Also it doesn’t run at a acceptable frame rate and it’s not 2x smoother than any superior FX based game ever created which can run way smoother and it has a much better frame rate (fact) also Nintendo didn’t have that fail swoop. NINTENDO delivered the most technologically advanced game in the 16 Bit hardware none and it was more magical. Also Nintendo’s Stunt Seaver did NOT dip regularly into single digit frame rates. There is a comparison. The Snes is more powerful and it’s more crisp. (Fact) The Snes is the most powerful and the most magical and technological 16 Bit system in gaming history. (Fact)
You need to get your mind out of the gutter and listen to facts.
There is no contrary thing. Genesis hardware was marketed as less powerful. Snes output on beautiful images weren’t slower. Also the Snes had more presence worldwide and in NA, US and Japan.
F Zero is NOT. The scroll of one plane.. S Megadrive can’t to a lot of effects by hardware and it’s not impossible win the Snes without SA-1. Also no, you shouldn’t compared games with more sprites on screen. The Snes had more sound and more crisp. Snes has more color output and better sound and it doesn’t sound less crisp, it sounds a lot more crisp. The Snes can do way more effects and or things than genesis/Megadrive without any extra help. That is a borderline fact.
Blast Processing is not the fast speed data to the DMA from the Genesis. Also the Snes CAN show more sprites all at the same speed. The genesis can’t do more effects or things than the Snes can without any extra help. The Snes can do that alone. Megadrive can’t do that and it didn’t have software tricks and they didn’t have custom sound drivers, it can’t do orations of sprites and the Snes doing it is NOT impossible. And the Snes can show polygons WAY better than genesis.
Nope. Snes puts in beautiful images and not slower. Genesis doesn’t have the same presence in America much. Snes wins. Genesis is a less powerful console.
Sega has no foray into modular gaming on the genesis (that’s not a killing blow) The Snes isn’t underpowered and it’s not against. The genesis is underpowered and again. Nintendo already delivered the final word in graphics for the entirety and eternity of the 16 Bit generation.(fact) Sega never delivered an advanced game in 16 Bit hardware. Nintendo’s Stunt Racer in the FX2 does not dip regularly into single digit frame rates. It actually regularly into double digit frame rates. There’s a comparison(fact) Take your virtua Racer and shove it up your asshole. Sega sucks. Nintendo rules (fact) Nintendo has foray into modular gaming (fact) suck it Sega fag.
Nintendo has foray into modular gaming in every Nintendo console (fact)
The only reason super Nintendo was more power full than the Sega genesis Wes it came out after but disagree the genesis had better games like golden ax 1 n 2 streets of rage revenge of shining mickeal Jackson’s moon walker thunder force 2 sonic the hedgehog was clearly better then super Mario world n sonic had better grafix Sega was more fun the games was easier to play that makes it more fun Sega more faster Sega genesis had 2 Motorola prossers n siege cost 149.99 n Nintendo cost 199.99 with Sega u got the better value n the better cooler looking system super Nintendo was just a bad looking gray n blue box the Sega genesis was sleek looking SEGA RULES SEGA FOR LIFE
@Paulmangione You are a Sega fanboy. The Snes was more powerful not because it came after and no you are wrong, the Snes had way better games than the Genesis. For instance: Knights of the Round Table, Actraiser 1 And 2, Power Rangers, Batman Returns, Adventures of Batman and Robin, Plok, Thunder Spirit, Final Fantasy II, Super Mario RPG, Turtles in Time, Doom, Gradius III, Run Saber, And the best versions of Mortal Kombat II and III and the better version of Sparkster. Super Mario World and also DKC are factually better than Sonic 2 and Mario has WAY better graphics and sound than Sonic does. And the snes games are better because they give you a balance of challenge, flow, fun, fast paced, slow paced, and strategy. Snes games also had better and easier games than Genesis ever did. So what if the Genesis is faster? Speed doesn’t always make a game. The snes with their special 10mhz chip can pull off the same stuff and can do more with others that the genesis couldn’t. Also you are forgetting the Genesis costed about $189.99 at the start which is basically $199.00. With Nintendo you got the better quality, the better deal and the better value. The snes is a way cooler looking system. It looks like a futuristic gray and purple tank people would use to go to war. The Genesis just look like an ugly black and red evil space ship someone would just pawn off for a measly $10.00. Nintendo is better and that is a fact. Nintendo rules. Nintendo forever and for life.
Easier is not better lol. The two Shinobi’s trounce everything on the SNES system, along with a couple of others like Contra HC and SoR. Stop being such a butthurt little manchild.
Lol no it doesn’t. The Snes games trounces the two shinobi’s and everything on the Genesis. Also no, Contra III, Batman Returns and such beat Contra HC and SoR. You’re the one who’s the butthurt little manchild because you’re still riding on that Genesis. Sad.
Easier is better. And stop being a butthurt little Sega femboy
“Femboy”?
That’s you femboy
???
Uno reverse card, fucker
I will say that the added speed of the Genesis shouldn’t be understated. Action games on the Genesis could be an absolute spectacle with all the sprites and chaos allowed on screen with a minimum slowdown. This made games like Contra Hard Corps and Thunder Force 3 really stand out. The slower CPU of course didn’t affect all games on SNES suffer such as RPGs, one of its strong suits, but otherwise great action games like Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts and Gradius III could be bogged down by slowdown. It also made the Genesis more ideal for certain multi-platform games, sports games being a prime example.
As for graphics though, yeah, the SNES is definitely a better beast in that realm. Some games could look washed-out, but that was most likely the developers, not the hardware. Music is in the same boat; the rough synths of the Genesis just couldn’t objectively hold a candle to the SNES’s clearer sounding samples. Yes, some games lent themselves better to the Genesis’s style of sound (Earthworm Jim being a big one), but the Donkey Kong Country games… But yeah, I definitely dig a lot of Genesis music and especially sound effects too, but the SNES just has some unbeatable material on it.
The advantage in games really only comes down to personal preference. Both consoles had excellent 1st and 3rd-party support but as stated previously, the Genesis often had the edge in multi-platform stuff, though not always (Zombies Ate My Neighbors and pretty much anything else requiring a 6-button controller). SNES and Genesis also have better libraries for certain genres. For me, SNES wins for merely having my two favorite games of any console, Super Metroid and Earthbound, plus numerous other classics but there are also some gems on Genesis I couldn’t be without like Gunstar Heroes and Streets of Rage 2. Both consoles end up having essential material for any old-school gamer though.
At the end of the day, SNES takes the cake for me, but I can’t deny a lot of the qualities the Genesis had going for it. I grew up with a SNES and love the hell out of it, but playing Virtual Console and Genesis collections has given me an appreciation for what it had to offer. I’d say out of all the generations of games, this one has the closest quality runs with both consoles being essential.
The speed on the genesis can be understated because the snes could pull the same
Stunt with their chips. Snes has better resolution too and the Genesis has nothing other than speed
Also the Snes isn’t that much slow and it d and games don’t look washed out. Snes cpu didn’t affect all games in Snes and Snes games didn’t suffer. SGnG and Graduus III couldn’t be bogged down by slowdown. It didn’t make the genesis more ideal for Multiplatform games, sports games and such and that isn’t a prime example. Snes was already more ideal for those certain games.
Snes had the hedge in multi platform games. Snes had better libraries for all. And there are no gems on genesis woth playing. Gunstar heroes and steeets of rage are overrated. The genesis had no a lot of qualities. Genesis collections shouldn’t give an appreciation and it doesn’t. This one didn’t have the closet quality runs with both consoles. Snes factually won. Action games on the genesis couldn’t be an absolute spectacle with all the sprites and chaos allowed on screen because it can have slowdown. Contra III and thunder spirit stand out. And super ghouls and ghosts and gracious iii couldn’t be bogged down by slowdown. It didn’t make the genesis a more ideal for certain multi platform games, and sports games are overrated on genesis . Snes games s didn’t lent themselves better to the genesis style of sins. Snes had better 1st and 3rd party support. Genesis never had the edge in multiplatform stuff.
Edge I meant for the first paragraph
“The SNES was just a little slower than the Genesis, that’s all.”
So you can’t do math? CPU Speed SNES=Approx. 2.68 MHz Sega Genesis/Mega Drive=7.67 MHz So actually Sega was almost 3 times faster! It’s right there in your specs comparison! Genesis also had better screen resolution, as you can clearly see in your side by side Toy Story photos. Call me crazy, but I prefer seeing more of a level.
Hey Smarterthannerdberry – That’s not your real name! I guess you’re right. My math sucks! I’ll work on it. And I’ll work on being better for you… If only you can forgive me.
Don’t listen do that dude. He’s just a Sega fanboy. The Genesis don’t have any effects that can beat the snes. It only has one thing and that’s speed. The snes has better resolution
Resolution: between 256×224 and 512×448. Most games used 256×224 pixels since higher resolutions caused slowdown, flicker, and/or had increased limitations on layers and colors (due to memory bandwidth constraints); the higher resolutions were used for less processor-intensive games, in-game menus, text, and high resolution images.
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Super_NES_Programming/SNES_Specs
Higher resolutions don’t cause slowdowns. And higher resolutions weren’t used for less processor intensive games, in game menus, text and high resolution images. Most games for Snes didn’t use 256×224 pixels. It didn’t cause slowdown, didn’t have flicker and didn’t have to increase limitations on layers and colors and it didn’t. Have much memory bandwidth.
SNES wins in: resolution, colors
SMD wins in: EVERYTHING ELSE
You don’t like the truth, but yet everyone else is a liar, a fanboy/girl, or a moron. I would tell you to get a job, but trolls like you can’t get jobs because nobody likes you. Nobody loves you. Nobody cares.
2.68 MHz was the SNES mid range frequency. The SNES had an adjustable clock with the lowest being 1.78 MHz and the max frequency of 3.58 MHz depending on what speed would be necessary for the instructions. The Genesis/Mega Drive had a clock frequency of 7.6 MHz.
Now let’s dive into the actual performance of the CPUs.
Genesis/Mega Drive CPU: Motorola MC68000 16/32Bit
Instructions per second: 1.4 MIPS
SNES CPU: WDC 65c816 16Bit
Instructions per second 1.79 MIPS
MIPS stands for Million Instructions Per Second.
The SNES is 390,000 more instructions per second faster than the Genesis/Mega Drive.
“Blast Processing” was a marketing gimmick.
Nintendo should have claimed the SNES had BIG BOOST XPLOSION ULTRA COMBO Processing.
Genesis doesn’t have 32 bits. Only in their Add Ons they do
Wow you don’t understand facts. The Genesis was NOT faster. Also no. The Snes had better screen resolution and pointing out toy story photos is idiotic
This isn’t bias at all!!!!!!!!!!! Wow super fanboys are awesome
@Marios mom: I’m not 100% sure if you’re being sarcastic or for real… It feels like it could go either way. But thanks for your comment!
Wow you Genesis fanboys are cringe and stupid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocrisy
https//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy
Mega fanboys are idiotic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocrisy
Haha no.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocrisy
(Btw, N64 > SNES)
(Btw, Snes>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>N64, fact)
What does the word fact even mean to you?
So you don’t know what facts are, that explains why you deny them.
Me asking what the word fact means to you = me not knowing what facts are? I haven’t denied any facts because you haven’t GIVEN ME any facts.
Nigga I GAVE you plenty of face and you still choose to ignore them. Yes you HAVE been denying the facts for the time you replied to me. Stop with the false statements.
Nigga just because you say “is NOT”, “does NOT”, and adding all-caps word “not” to everything doesn’t mean it’s correct. Unless the sun is NOT brighter than the naked eye can handle, the sky is NOT blue, grass is NOT green, and bullets can NOT kill people. See how stupid I sound when I put NOT behind everything like that? Same stupid look as you.
Great and objective review, I like it! I’m not very fond of the mainstream Nintendo fanboyism, however you’re entirely right; SNES had some truly awesome games (the graphically improved NES Mario series, for example). I like Genesis more, though, like all underappricated consoles.
Askblad: Thanks! I am much like you. I really prefer the underappreciated systems, the forgotten ones, and the rare ones. I like the feeling of being the underdog and staying off the mainstream path. Thanks for your input!
This is a great read! 10/10 and tells many things I used to argue to sheeple back in the day…. and still to this day some who still say this is better then that… I have more then enough proof to what ones the better choice! but again great read! thank you!! cheers
The Snes is the better choice
I’m not very fond of the mainstream Sega famblyosm. The snes is still better than the genesis and the Genesis is overrated by many fanboys.
Shut up dude. You Sega fanboys keep having a lot of Segafanboyism throughout the ages and it’s growing a lot larger and cringe than the Nintendofanbiyidn. Also most like the Snes more. Genesis isn’t an underappricated console
There is no Nintendofanboysim
You are the definition of “Nintendofanboysim”
No the fuck I’m not. You are the definition of Sega fanboyism
Says the person who keeps spamming “SNES IS BETTER CHOICE”
Lol you just won’t accept MD has better specs on every aspect besides colors on screen and some sprites count, but in real life sega was more versatile in every aspect including sound, snes sound was muffled and artificial, sega md sounded with more bass, more natural, and clearer, maybe a little choppier in some games, but that is due to bad codec implementation by programmers. Nowadays there is plenty of examples, like Pyron’s version of sf2 that sounds better than the snes version due to better use of codecs already supportedby the system, thing snes obviously couldn’t do either. So stop lawyering your fake biased ideas and sucumb to facts and reality, stop being a stubborn fanboy. For the love of God.
Honestly, I’m a fanboy for both systems. I like both the SMD and the SNES equally, and they both have their own greats and petties. SMD always had crisper, cleaner, and louder music, even if it was a bit crude at times. The vocal quality wasn’t very good on the Genesis because of the fact that they always used 8-bit or lesser recording quality. Meanwhile, the SNES had more heart-tugging music (looking at YOU, FF4!), and while the sounds were more realistic, they were also muffled and muddy, though this isn’t actually because of inferior hardware: there’s just too many filters and buffers for sound. I also admit that the echo effect the SNES had in some games was… a little annoying. The SNES was also better at going for the family, while the SMD was for those who like superspeed and bass-dropping beats. SMD, also, admittedly had better metal and rock music, while the SNES was mainly just orchestral. Like I said though, they’re both good at certain things that the other sucks at. Also, I know that I was “trolling” in earlier parts of this post, i was just pissed at Zezzyboy for being the totality of fanboying, hypocracy, and trolling at everything that looked like it meant “SNES was worse at SMD at this…”. Sorry if I probably said something TOO harsh (though we both know he deserved it if I did).