The Obsession With The Raw Power

[Paradox]

why are you putting the dreamcast next to the PS2? the dreamcast was released a full 2 years before the ps2. the dreamcast was against the PSX and N64

 

[iignotus]

why are you putting the dreamcast next to the PS2? the dreamcast was released a full 2 years before the ps2. the dreamcast was against the PSX and N64

​

The Dreamcast was also released a couple of years after the PSX and N64. It was a strange scheduling, and probably one of the leading factors to its demise. With that in mind, you can't take release dates into account for what it's competing against. The Dreamcast was easily very near or equal to the graphical ability of the PS2.

Bringing up how it was released years before the PS2 just shows how advanced a machine it was for its time.

 

[thingley]

It was a complete disaster, 2 years to late, outdated hardware straight from the git go. Atari passed up the rights to distribute the NES as an Atari system to release the 7800, c'mon, it was a complete disaster from the start.

If a console maker announced they were going to release a new console with 2 year old technology and less than 70 games (there would be no new ones after that and no marketing to speak of) you would expect a disaster - I agree.

But the fact is the 7800 managed to sell well enough for Atari to continue to produce them for 4 years. It was never going to worry nintendo but it still sold respectably considering it was against the now established nes.

I can name several modern console makers who dream of having a disaster like the 7800. (at least I could but they've gone bust...)

 

[Paradox]

why are you putting the dreamcast next to the PS2? the dreamcast was released a full 2 years before the ps2. the dreamcast was against the PSX and N64

​

The Dreamcast was also released a couple of years after the PSX and N64. It was a strange scheduling, and probably one of the leading factors to its demise. With that in mind, you can't take release dates into account for what it's competing against. The Dreamcast was easily very near or equal to the graphical ability of the PS2.

Bringing up how it was released years before the PS2 just shows how advanced a machine it was for its time.

​

i guess thats what i really meant to say just didnt know how to put it

 

[Alpha2]

I don't think it's fair to include the Super FX in there because it wasn't actually a part of the system hardware. If we're going to include that, then we also have to include the likes of the Virtua Processor, which was no slouch either.

I'll give you the Virtua without an argument, it still dosent change the impression that the SNES made when you set many of it's games side by side with the Genesis.

I think the humble gameboy is the best example of marketing succeeding against raw power. Nobody thought THAT would last as long as it did.

1989-1998--nearly ten years, with a system that was 10 years obsolete when it was launched.

The GB survived because it did what it did well in comparison to all it's competators (except maybe the Lynx but that suffered more problems than just marketing). The GB was cheaper, lasted longer on battery power, was compact enough and had the Nintendo name, every single one of these was an advantage in a time when other portables were more expensive, ate to many batteries, larger, and not being made by the leading name in console gaming at the time. Anythig cheaper and smaller was an ugly game and watch style LCD game. Frankly the GB had no weaknesses aside from the inability to play it in the dark. like the fairytale goes, it was wasn't too big or too small, it was just right at the time making a color one made up for that and making the GBA was even better, and finally giving it a light was even better... no wait, strike that because they just gave it a BETTER light... :blink:

why are you putting the dreamcast next to the PS2? the dreamcast was released a full 2 years before the ps2. the dreamcast was against the PSX and N64

Uh no. The Saturn was the PSX's direct competator, not the DC. The DC, had it not been prematurely murdered by sega, would have been competing against the Xbox eventually and the PS2 would have have the distinction of being the least powerful system just because the Xbox was released a year after IT (which is probably the reason why Sega pulled it sadly).

 

[Angel]

It was a complete disaster, 2 years to late, outdated hardware straight from the git go. Atari passed up the rights to distribute the NES as an Atari system to release the 7800, c'mon, it was a complete disaster from the start.

If a console maker announced they were going to release a new console with 2 year old technology and less than 70 games (there would be no new ones after that and no marketing to speak of) you would expect a disaster - I agree.

But the fact is the 7800 managed to sell well enough for Atari to continue to produce them for 4 years. It was never going to worry nintendo but it still sold respectably considering it was against the now established nes.

I can name several modern console makers who dream of having a disaster like the 7800. (at least I could but they've gone bust...)

​

Actually i looked it up again, the 7800 was released in 86, had a library of 60 games. Atari pulled the support for the 7800 in 89 and completely discontinued it in 92. The one system i forgot about that led to the demise of the 7800, the XE, had more support than the 7800 did. It was doomed from the very beginning.

Modern? What would that be? Nokia? Sorry, N-gage sold wwaaaayyy better than the 7800. I would say that the Gizmondo, Zodiac are the 2 "mainstream" systems that are modern that did worse than the 7800. You can't consider Gamepark because they are not mainstream, hell even Tapwave you can't really consider, its a Palm system but i couldn't think of anything else.

 

[geniv]

wait, when did the GBA first came out? and when was the last gameboy game released?

 

[Alpha2]

Gameboy - '89

Gameboy Pocket - '96

Gameboy Light - (availible only in japan... kinda wish I'd bought one when I had the chance!)

Gameboy Color - '98

Gameboy Advance - '01

Gameboy Advance SP - '03

GBA Micro - '05