A end to these "silly" 8 and 16 bit wars

[coleco82]

My introduction : My first game system was a Atari 2600 jr. I was born in 82, so I missed the awesomeness that is colecovision, intellivision, etc. I played Atari before everyone and their pet rock owned a nes. I loved getting high scores and using my imagination for every Atari game I played. The NES was mind boggling because things looked like what they were supposed to .

The Nes had actual chiptune music and so did Atari (Pitfall 2, ET, raiders of the lost ark etc)

Everyone I knew had both a Atari and a nes, although it was really rare to see a master system or a Atari 7800

 

The bit wars... oooh scary

 

I remember being young and watching the debuts of the genesis and snes, I thought man, this is cool

As time went on, I was able to play both systems because I had friends and cousins that had both snes's and genesis's

Genesis was good at action games, and a slew of other stuff, sports games too

Snes was good at RPGS and also a ton of other stuff too

It is fair to say if you have played both, you can appreciate the pros and cons of both systems

Both snes and genesis have great games and are fun no matter what

 

The only "war" is the war of the fanboys and fangirls, swooning over their brand loyalty

we ALL need to get along :-) In the end WE as consumers of these systems WON our hearts and imaginations

 

Everything is fun and cool, you just need an open mind to experience it

Go have fun and play some games, except for barneys hide and seek and dr Jekyll and mr hide etc etc

[Pixelboy]

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

[coleco82]

Thank You Pixelboy. I only started that topic because I'm in the "its all gravy" camp of Nintendo sega etc.

 

I think I need more coffee today :-)

[phoenixdownita]

I believe the bit wars were also children of a time in which you had to chose one or the other.

Very few people I knew had access to both (or more) systems, at that point because people tend to dislike being wrong they develop an almost religious attachment for one or the other (whether they chose it by happenstance or by choice). They stop seeing faults in their choices but are quick in pointing out faults in others .... obviously because faults in our own choices we believe reflect poorly in our own image (and there's some truth to that, if you consistently chose poorly you probably lack some judgment), so we stick to it to a fault in order to sustain our own self image.

 

During the 16bits era I venture it is safe to say that the NeoGeo AES schooled all other systems but bitd I didn't know anyone affluent enough to own one.

During the 16bits computers, I only knew one person that had both an Atari ST and an Amiga 500, if was either of them and not both.

The same thing for the earlier 8bits computer, you had a C64 or a ZX Spectrum [in EU early 80s] or one of the others, rarely people had more than one (I was fortunate enough to own 3 at a point [mid to late 80s] as the result of trading back a C64 floppy drive for an MSX1, and a friend leaving to me an 800XL for years as he couldn't care less).

 

People like the feeling of belonging together and allegiance to one console or the other is a way to achieve that, a sense of belonging and commonality, we're actually wired to be afraid to what's different and we also naturally tend to try and uniform .... peer pressure of whathaveyou especially when you're in your teens.

[zzip]

I believe the bit wars were also children of a time in which you had to chose one or the other.

Very few people I knew had access to both (or more) systems, at that point because people tend to dislike being wrong they develop an almost religious attachment for one or the other (whether they chose it by happenstance or by choice). The stop seeing faults in their choice but are quick in pointing out faults in the other .... obviously because faults in our own choice we believe reflect poorly in our own image (and there's some truth to that, if you consistently chose poorly you probably lack some judgment), so we stick to it to a fault in order to sustain our own self image.

 

During the 16bits era I venture it is safe to say that the NeoGeo AES schooled all other systems but bitd I didn't know anyone affluent enough to own one.

The same thing for the 16bits computers, I only knew one person that had both an Atari ST and an Amiga 500, if was either of them and not both.

The same thing for the earlier 8bits computer, you had a C64 or a ZX Spectrum [in EU early 80s] or one of the others, rarely people had more than one (I was fortunate enough to own 3 at a point [mid to 80s] as the result of trading back in a C64 floppy drive for an MSX1, and a friend leaving to me an 800XL for years as he couldn't care less).

 

People like the feeling of belonging together and allegiance to one console or the other is a way to achieve that, a sense of belonging and commonality, we're actually wired to be afraid to what's different and we also naturally tend to try and uniform .... peer pressure of whathavyou especially when you're in your teens.

Humans are just tribal by nature and we give our allegiances to certain groups easily, whether it be consoles, car brands, sports teams, or political parties. They become our substitute for 'tribe', and we will defend them vigorously. So these kinds of petty wars will not be going away.

 

When it comes to consoles, there's also a factor that the winning ones get the best support from developers and the losing ones get passed over- so that gives an extra incentive for people to "evangelize" their preferred console.

[Flojomojo]

I'm sure the magazines of the day played into the rivalry, too -- how easy and fun (and maybe just a little bit lazy) it was to print comparisons and shootouts every single month? And when you're a kid, without much money of your own, you look to those rags to feel better about not being able to play it all.

 

We have the same kind of duopoly today with XBone and PS4, but as far as I can tell, no "war." Which is a little odd to me, because the stakes are a bit higher in this one, since there's no cross-platform multiplayer gaming. I would think the schoolyards would help sort out winners and losers, with kids wanting the system their friends were playing?

 

Are we done with this crap now? I haven't seen an Android pissing on Apple sticker in a long time.

[godslabrat]

The bigger the "console war" is, the more reason you have to own multiple consoles.

 

In the NES era, the 7800 and SMS never had a real start in the US, so any rivalry was basically just a victory lap for Nintendo. Yeah, you could grab one of the other systems to round out your collection, but you didn't miss THAT MUCH if you only had an NES.

 

In the SNES/Genesis era, both systems offered excellent games, catering to different genres, and publishers went out of their way to make the most of each system. The fans fought tooth and nail, but if you didn't have both systems, you missed out on A LOT.

 

In the PS1/N64 era, again, you had two systems with vastly different libraries. Not only that, they had different media technologies, which gave each system unique advantages. The fan fighting hit an all-time high, but again, choosing only one of the two systems meant you missed key games from the generation.

 

Then the PS2/Cube/Xbox era hits, and developers start to release a lot of multi-platform titles. The hardware differences between the systems starts to fade, it becomes more about exclusives. Fan fighting dies down a bit, and you can have a great collection in this era by owning only two of the three systems.

 

By the time the PS3 and 360 launch, the console war becomes more of a habit than a real source of tension. By the end of both system's lifespans, you could have had nearly identical experiences regardless of what you picked. And the Wii became an accessory to whatever your "real" system was.

 

Then we hit the current gen, and have two systems that are identical by all but the most pedantic measures. And the "console war" has gotten so quiet as to be meaningless.

 

So yeah, that's why it looks so stupid in hindsight. The times when customers were screeching loudest about which one was "right" were the times we should have been saying "all of the above".

[zzip]

We have the same kind of duopoly today with XBone and PS4, but as far as I can tell, no "war." Which is a little odd to me, because the stakes are a bit higher in this one, since there's no cross-platform multiplayer gaming. I would think the schoolyards would help sort out winners and losers, with kids wanting the system their friends were playing?

Then we hit the current gen, and have two systems that are identical by all but the most pedantic measures. And the "console war" has gotten so quiet as to be meaningless.

You guys aren't reading the right gaming sites then. There's quite a loud console war between the two.

[Bill Loguidice]

For most of us, as adults, we can probably afford multiple systems, so platform wars should be mostly meaningless to us. With that said, and as was stated earlier in this topic, we're a tribal species through and through, so whatever we don't have/support versus whatever we do have/support tends to err on the "enemy" side.

 

Personally, I gave up on platform wars in my youth. Now that I have pretty much everything, I don't really care. I feel fortunate to experience it all, as well as to be able to freely acknowledge the faults that go along with the positives.

[Flojomojo]

You guys aren't reading the right gaming sites then. There's quite a loud console war between the two.

 

Sounds like I'm reading exactly the right sites, to be avoiding childish "conflict" like that.

[high voltage]

My introduction : My first game system was a Atari 2600 jr. I was born in 82, so I missed the awesomeness that is colecovision, intellivision, etc. I played Atari before everyone and their pet rock owned a nes. I loved getting high scores and using my imagination for every Atari game I played. The NES was mind boggling because things looked like what they were supposed to .

The Nes had actual chiptune music and so did Atari (Pitfall 2, ET, raiders of the lost ark etc)

Everyone I knew had both a Atari and a nes, although it was really rare to see a master system or a Atari 7800

 

The bit wars... oooh scary

 

I remember being young and watching the debuts of the genesis and snes, I thought man, this is cool

As time went on, I was able to play both systems because I had friends and cousins that had both snes's and genesis's

Genesis was good at action games, and a slew of other stuff, sports games too

Snes was good at RPGS and also a ton of other stuff too

It is fair to say if you have played both, you can appreciate the pros and cons of both systems

Both snes and genesis have great games and are fun no matter what

 

The only "war" is the war of the fanboys and fangirls, swooning over their brand loyalty

we ALL need to get along :-) In the end WE as consumers of these systems WON our hearts and imaginations

 

Everything is fun and cool, you just need an open mind to experience it

Go have fun and play some games, except for barneys hide and seek and dr Jekyll and mr hide etc etc

 

The NES with its outdated technology from 1983 was mindboggling?

[zzip]

Sounds like I'm reading exactly the right sites, to be avoiding childish "conflict" like that.

LMAO, I knew a comment like this was coming when I used the word "right"

[HoshiChiri]

 

We have the same kind of duopoly today with XBone and PS4, but as far as I can tell, no "war." Which is a little odd to me, because the stakes are a bit higher in this one, since there's no cross-platform multiplayer gaming. I would think the schoolyards would help sort out winners and losers, with kids wanting the system their friends were playing?

 

 

 

I think the lack of many system exclusives is a key factor here. There's no trying to figure out if you like Mario over Sonic anymore- both the big players have Call of Duty or Overwatch or what-not, so it's more a matter of whoever gets a new system first decides for everyone else- you're not likely to 'miss out' on the big popular game by owning the wrong thing.

 

Plus the main gaming audience skews older now, so multiple system ownership is a lot more likely. I think it's part of why the Switch is doing so well- it's ability to change it setup depending on your environment (appealing to busy working adults) plus actual exclusive content makes it a far more appealing second system than the Wii U ever was.

[Flojomojo]

I think the lack of many system exclusives is a key factor here. There's no trying to figure out if you like Mario over Sonic anymore- both the big players have Call of Duty or Overwatch or what-not, so it's more a matter of whoever gets a new system first decides for everyone else- you're not likely to 'miss out' on the big popular game by owning the wrong thing.

 

Plus the main gaming audience skews older now, so multiple system ownership is a lot more likely. I think it's part of why the Switch is doing so well- it's ability to change it setup depending on your environment (appealing to busy working adults) plus actual exclusive content makes it a far more appealing second system than the Wii U ever was.

Maybe. As zzip helpfully points out, I'm too out of touch to know what the average gamer thinks ... I am old, I don't play multiplayer shooter or sports games, and I don't know or care what's popular. I ASSUME there are more people like us, with a little disposable income and less ego invested in multinational entertainment companies, but I don't have enough data or interest to know for sure. All I know for sure is that I think "console wars" is a dumb concept.

 

Now here's an insult-laden Sega vs Nintendo ad that goes to the heart of the argument. We don't need crap like this, never did.

 

[phoenixdownita]

...

 

the bit that states:

 

"... making sure the GG remains the number one color portable, which should be no problem considering the competition"

 

is interesting now with the gift of hindsight.

[Flojomojo]

Yes. Besides, Lynx was better than GG anyway.

[phoenixdownita]

Yes. Besides, Lynx was better than GG anyway.

Are you sure?

Are you trying to start a war?

The color portable war?

 

The GG has more pixels on screen: 160 × 144 vs the puny 160 × 102 of the Lynx.

The Lynx is missing out on 42 rows of pixels it can't be better.

42 ..... mmmmmhhhh ..... where did I see that number ....???

[Flojomojo]

Are you sure?

Are you trying to start a war?

The color portable war?

 

The GG has more pixels on screen: 160 x 144 vs the puny 160×102 of the Lynx.

The Lynx is missing out on 42 rows of pixels it can't be better.

42 mmmmmhhhh where did I see that number ....???

 

The color portable war of the early 1990s. What could POSSIBLY be more worthy of a fight?

 

GG had a lot of licenses and cut-down Genesis ports, a TV tuner, and a Master System adapter.

Lynx had unique Atari Games arcade ports, including my personal favorites, STUN Runner (caveman Wipeout), and APB (caveman Grand Theft Auto).

Gameboy had more, better, deeper games than either, was a pioneer of the long-form portable RPG, and sipped power slowly enough you could rely on it for a trip.

 

I had all three, of course.

[phoenixdownita]

 

The color portable war of the early 1990s. What could POSSIBLY be more worthy of a fight?

 

GG had a lot of licenses and cut-down Genesis ports, a TV tuner, and a Master System adapter.

Lynx had unique Atari Games arcade ports, including my personal favorites, STUN Runner (caveman Wipeout), and APB (caveman Grand Theft Auto).

Gameboy had more, better, deeper games than either, was a pioneer of the long-form portable RPG, and sipped power slowly enough you could rely on it for a trip.

 

I had all three, of course.

Still missing 42 rows of pixels on screen ..... you've got to do better than that to compensate for 42 rows of pixels, it's like playing Doom or Wolfenstein without the status bar at the bottom, it's a no starter imho .

 

(I had none as I was not in portable gaming at all)

[Flojomojo]

42 ..... mmmmmhhhh ..... where did I see that number ....???

 

yes yes, it's your IQ, we know, we're very impressed

 

j/k, you're a hoopy frood who knows where his towel is

[phoenixdownita]

 

yes yes, it's your IQ, we know, we're very impressed

 

j/k, you're a hoopy frood who knows where his towel is

 

What's an IQ? I think I scored 42 on my GED ... (that is if I had one)

[Keatah]

Emulators can be any number of bits you want. And if you have a hex-a-core, you have 384 bits to start with. More than enough to handle all those childish vidyahgamez of 'yore.

[phoenixdownita]

Emulators can be any number of bits you want. And if you have a hex-a-core, you have 384 bits to start with. More than enough to handle all those childish vidyahgamez of 'yore.

Awwwwwww, and I thought we were out of the weird math ....

 

 

 

4-dimensional characters ... wtf? (can't even do 3D)

 

I love my NeoGeo but wtf? Oh right 4-dimensional, pan-dimensional ... 42 .... it's coming back to me .... it must have been a Start Trek episode.

[Eltigro]

TurboGrafx rules!

[phoenixdownita]

TurboGrafx rules!

Amen to that, but I prefer the Japanese version, the PCE, more games and weirder voice-over on the CD games