Which generation does the Genesis belong to? Gen 3 or 4.

[Pemalite]

Agente42 said:

numberwang said:

More importantly, is the Genesis + 32X a 5. gen console? It had two Hitachi SH2 32-bit processors and wasn't far of from the Amiga CD32, Jaguar or 3DO.

generation in a videogame is not technology. The videogame is entertainment not tech

Every console generation is defined by the technology of the day.

The 4th generation is defined by parallax effects and Mode 7.
The 5th generation is defined by 3D Graphics, FMV, CD quality Audio.
The 6th generation is defined by TnL (Fixed function vertex processing) DVD.
The 7th generation is defined by programmable pixel shaders, online gaming.
The 8th generation is defined by Tessellation, Deferred Rendering, Dynamic Lighting and Shadowing.
The 9th generation will be defined by Ray Tracing and Physics.

Obviously there are some overlaps here and there... I.E. 6th generation Xbox had programmable pixel shaders and online gaming like the 7th gen. - But it released later in the cycle and thus was able to take advantage of newer hardware developments brought forth by the PC.

Or the 7th gen Wii having a hardware feature set similar to the 6th gens Gamecube. - But Nintendo was shifting gears and opted to no longer chase newer hardware developments and opted to use outdated hardware designs whilst focusing on other aspects such as motion controls.

But in short, you can bet that every console generation is defined by technology to a very large extent as it generally takes years for there to be large shifts in hardware feature sets.