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warioswoods on 18 April 2009
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shams said:
Shadow)OS said:

shams said:
Lots of reasons:
- at the time, carts were seriously inferior. They were too small, and too expensive.
- the N64 was underpowered. The PSX/PS1 has significantly better polygon throughput - and even though the N64 has "prettier" polygons, with extra work PS1 games were a lot better.
...

N64 strength>PS1 strength.


There are a lot of points to argue against the N64 'failure' (a lot of which I could debate about if I cared enough), but power is not one of them.

Sorry, I seriously don't agree.

I developed games on *both* platforms - and while the PSX had issues (had to do software poly clipping and tesselation for perspective correction, etc) - in terms of "raw" power the PSX could do around double the number of polygons than the N64 did.

The other real issue with the N64 - the texture cache was a whopping 4k. The PSX had a more 'open' architecture, and you could use the RSX RAM for frame buffer, texture cache (etc) - as needed.

The PSX also had a couple of co-processors (MPEG decoder, IO chip) - whereas the N64 had a really "weak" CPU, and it sucked up cycles for music, sound and more.

...

The *core* reason for the failure was definitely the media - but if you look at some of the excellent late-generation PSX games (Spyro was always amazing IMO) they are technically leaps ahead of the N64.

The PSX also had more RAM (something that isn't commonly known) - the RAM was just segmented into system, video, audio (etc) RAM - whereas the N64 had its main bank.

(disclaimer: all these numbers are from memory, and if I make a mistake... don't shoot me :>)

All that you have successfully argued is that the PS1's power was more versatile in nature, which no one disputes -- it could handle all sorts of things that didn't exist on the N64.  In terms of 3D graphics though, you're absolutely wrong.  Look at something like Banjo Tooie, or any of the great 3D platformers on the N64 -- a port of any one of those games to the PS1 would have looked like complete crap, like pretty well every platforming game ever released on PS1.  

Are you really wanting to hold up Spyro as an example of what the PS1 could do for a 3D game??? That series is absolutely abysmal in comparison to the smooth 3D platforming on the N64.  Hell, even Waverace was leaps and bounds beyond the PS1; I can only imagine how awkward and jagged it would be on that system.