We should commend the great effort by Nintendo and Microsoft though. By making Playstation the most popular console brand they have effectively shut down any chance for Playstation to have a comeback ever again. Win-Win!

Just imagine if FF7 would have been a N64 exclusive.. Nintendo really fucked up that gen.

This was a very fun read. It is funny how much things change with so many having access to the web, and information. If this had happened in the age of the internet, there would still be Sega/Nintendo fanboys talking about the terrible start the PS1 got off to, and how terrible and arrogant Sony was at the time. Luckly, this is a nice little peice of history, that will most likly stay something only the most hardcore game sales historians have any knowledge of.

Looking at these numbers, I can definitly see a very similar pattern coming in the future for the PS4. I think the launch of PlayStation VR and the wide spread availability of PlayStation Vue is going to push consoles sales to the next level. It will be very insteresting to look back on this in 5 years, and see just how similar this expansion is to the market expansion created by the PS1.

N64 cartridges usually only had like 64mb on them right?

Final fantasy 7 was 4 CDs on the PS1 (even highly compressed its atleast 1.5 gigs worth of a game).

Imagine if instead of 4 CDs (for ps1), you had like 25 cartridges to play FF7 on the N64.

Please insert Cartridge #12 of 25, and load your save game.

Excellent piece of writing.

It's an interesting generation to study. I'm thinking what your saying about PS1 in Eirope is true at least, I remember we only got the PS1 until halfway through the gen, after the N64 in any case which already launched late here. I think it was the release of Gran Turismo that did it for us. Seeing how big that series is here, that could maybe also have been part of the rapid increase the way Final Fantasy did in the US/JP.

While I personally think the N64 is absolutely genius and the best thing ever, I agree it was the turning point for Nintendo and they made some decisive errors. It's interesting, history and speculating on what could have been!

FYI ff7 was a 3 disc game :) 8 & 9 were 4 disc :) 

PS1 made a comeback ? I thought it was the starting point LOL ...

Sure it may have been a slow burner at first but it's not like Sony had any prior success been a console manufacturer at the time ...

PS3 to PS4 is what I'd call a "comeback" IMO ...

Pretty much my thoughts. It's not like it was ever behind N64 or anything. Was it even behind Saturn? When the big games arrived, it sold. 

I didn't read the long ass op, though. Maybe it addresses this.

Only a select few games(Resident Evil 2 from memory) were of that capacity. Most of the titles were much smaller.

i buy the ps1 games in better graphic and with trophies on PS4 now :)
FF7 and Roqua Galaxy looks beautiful. Next Games - i hope - Metal Gear Solid 1, Digimon World and Digimon World 2003