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HoloDust on 15 October 2024
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Soundwave said:
HoloDust said:

Yeah, SG-1000 was very similar to ColecoVision, which, while as an actual start of 3rd generation in '82 was quite superior to Atari 2600, was not enough for SG-1000 to go head to head against Famicom in 83.

SEGA MarK III, aka Master System, 2 years later, is then in turn quite better system than NES - but Famicom/NES were quite cleverly designed - give consumers very solid base console and then have them pay really expensive cartridges that pack additional hardware as well for even better looking games.

Yep, though Nintendo got there way first with what I would say was a full generation leap over devices like Atari and Colecovision and indeed the SG-1000.

When people say "Nintendo always used underpowered hardware!" and especially point to the NES, they really don't know what they're talking about. The SG-1000 and Famicom, released on the same exact day and the Famicom would be more like a Sega Dreamcast versus a Sony Playstation 1 (SG-1000). 

Like I'm sure the SG-1000 has fun games, but performance wise, even the first Super Mario Bros. game (which isn't near the top for the Famicom/NES in graphics) looks, plays, and feels like it's from a generation ahead of all these games:

The Sega Master System was released 2 1/2 years after the Famicom, of course it had better hardware by then, but again 2 1/2 years is a huge gap, and while the Master System had better visual capability, it wasn't a generational leap past the Famicom, the Mega Drive was but that wouldn't release until late 1988 in Japan, a full 5 1/2 years after the Famicom. 

Famicom was actually heavily influenced by ColecoVision, which was already massive jump over 2600 - which is no surprise, ColecoVision was built with "arcade games at home" design mantra, it delivered that quite successfully, and given it was released in '82, it had no problem to trounce 2600 from '77.

So yeah, SG-1000 is kinda like Dreamcast to PS1, but ColecoVision was Dreamcast one year before that, and actual start of that generation. It shows more how much behind SEGA was, releasing pretty much same hardware as ColecoVision one year later against (what is to be expected) better hardware from Nintendo.

Master System was quite better than vanilla NES...but as I said, Nintendo made Famicom/NES really cleverly, relying on addition chips in cartridges to carry it way beyond what it was capable of out of the box.