# Honestly now. Nintendo vs. Sony **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 17, 2001, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564 "2001-01-17T20:52:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/21 "2001-01-18T19:28:27Z")
> [@](#): > > I always thought Genesis beat Super Nintendo. Personally, I had the Nintendo system, (back then I didn’t have the budget to get both) so I hated to admit it, but I think their system was better. It had better titles, you mean? Hmm, possibly, that’s a fairly subjective thing, though. There’s no question that the SNES was technilogically superier to the Genesis, being released almost two years later, but it’s the titles that make the system, of course. > [@](#): > > I guess there is an objective way to answer that question. If we could find the numbers for console sales for 92-95(?) we could see who sold the most. I looked around on the net a bit, but couldn’t find any concrete numbers. Further complicating the issue is what is important, the sales figures over the course of the lifetime of a system, or on a year to year basis? I found a few sites that claimed the SNES outsold the Genesis in the US in total number of units, but that the Genesis did outsell the SNES during several crucial years (93-94). Unfortunately, they didn’t have the actual sales figures. Another issue is whether we look at just US sales or worldwide sales (or maybe US/Japan sales). I think the history of the N64 has shown that the sale of units in Japan can have an effect on what software we see in the US, as some Japanesse game developers have been reluctant to support a system that didn’t sell well in Japan, even if it did reasonably well in the US. Supposedly the SNES outsold the Genesis rather significantly in Japan, but I couldn’t find figures for that either. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/22 "2001-01-18T20:01:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Freedom2 \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > why you ask? money. PS2’s are running at around $400 > > They are $299. \*\* If you can find one in the store, it is. If not, you are paying $350-$400 for the “privilage” of owning one. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/23 "2001-01-18T20:38:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Demise \* > **Sony + Squaresoft = the reason to buy a PS2.** No way! Everyone knows _Metal Gear Solid 2_[ is the reason to buy a PS2. ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/24 "2001-01-18T21:30:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Demise \* > \*\* > Sony + Squaresoft = the reason to buy a PS2. > > \*\* Dude, that’s exactly why I bought a Playstation 3-4 years ago. I was waiting for the next nintendo (N64) but then I found out that Squaresoft was going to make FF7 for Playstation. Next day I went and bought the Playstation. Unforturnately, I don’t like the direction Squaresoft is heading, and I may end up with a Dreamcast if I don’t see some other quality RPGs for PS2. Already I keep hearing about Skies of Arcadia and some other quality titles for dreamcast. Anyway, in the end, it’s all going to be about the games. Dreamcast tried with Shenmue, but it wasn’t enough to sell consoles. Eventually a kick ass game will appear on PS2 and cause console sales to kick into overdrive. It looks to me like Sony has the best developer base, even if it’s hard to develop for. I don’t know how many developers are planning on going for the gamecube. **rjung** , according to [xbox.com](http://xbox.com), there is a Metal Gear Solid X in the works. (That’s something I can’t stand, naming games after the console, nintendo does that to no end and it looks like XBOX wants to do it as well. You know microsoft and their branding.) ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/25 "2001-01-18T23:43:38Z")
I’ve been online so long I’m getting cross-eyed (occupational hazard), so I’m not going to go get any cites, but IIRC, there’s a bunch of _original name_ X games coming out for the Xbox. Lame, ain’t it? I can see it now, Final Fantasy X X. (Which, according to every Square/Xbox article I read is _not_ going to happen.) ---
**Author:** ![Tsugumo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4da419/32.png) [@Tsugumo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tsugumo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/26 "2001-01-19T00:29:21Z")
[http://pocket.ign.com/news/10078.html](http://pocket.ign.com/news/10078.html) Game Boy Advance. More powerful than a SuperNES, backwards compatible with GB and GBColor games, handheld and no other competition who’s systems you have to worry about buying for “that ONE game”, same price as a GB, four player multiplayer capabilities (developers are being bugged by Nintendo to make good use of it), a load of games already being worked on including the almighty F-Zero, Mario Kart, Tactics Ogre, Castlevania, etc., and possibly no territoy lock-out meaning you can play import games. In Japan it hooks up to cell phones for Internet play. I love Sony (Nintendo’s N64 was like a kick in the face with it’s kiddie games), but the PS2 is way too expensive (around $500 here in Canada, last I heard), the X-Box is evil (like we need Bill Gates taking over consoles as well as PCs), the Dreamcast while nifty is made by Sega who in the past has dropped so many systems (the Saturn was around for what, almost a year? Sega CD?), and the Gamecube…well…it’s purple. Sure, maybe it’ll have another Zelda game, and a Mario game, and even Metroid…but I’d rather play 2d versions of them along with a load of other wicked games on a handheld during a long bus trip. 3d is cool and all, but the best Final Fantasies were in 2d, along with a ton of other great games. And there’s my two cents, heh… - Tsugumo ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/27 "2001-01-19T00:32:47Z")
If Nintendo brings back Super Dodge Ball, I’d be all over it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/28 "2001-01-19T00:49:07Z")
Only the depth of the gameplay is important to me. When I play I dont consider how many pologons it plays per second. I just connected my Dc to a vga monitor today. Whoa, that is just awesome. I hope to put my psx2 on a vga monitor soon. ---
**Author:** ![Caesar0211](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caesar0211](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caesar0211)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/29 "2001-01-19T01:51:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pochacco \* > Polygon numbers are basically worthless metrics for comparing console power. As you’ve discovered, not all polygons are created equal – it matters a great deal how the polygons are organized and what effects are applied to them. I can agree with this up to a point. I do agree with you on the part of “its the type” of polygon that does the work, but one thing I do disagree with you on is the release date. I have full faith in Nintendo that they’ll get the system out on time. I dont know about elsewhere, but in my town, nobody is really looking forward to the XBox. look at the controller for instance. Its a rip off of the Dreamcast controller. sure Nintendo’s controller might look simalar to the PS’s but its totally unique. the XBox’s looks like a replica. ---
**Author:** ![Caesar0211](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caesar0211](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caesar0211)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/30 "2001-01-19T01:59:53Z")
Game Boy Advance…I think we all can agree than Nintendo dominates and will forever dominate the handheld market. also, I know if the guys at IGNCube ever heard I said this, they’d shoot me in my foot, but yes, I do belive that Squaresoft would be the SOLE (pun intended) reason to buy a PSX. PS2’s are too much and crap. One thing that Nintendo suffered on with the 64 was the lack of good RPG’s…sure they had Zelda, but it was an RPG/Adventure. ohwell…and also, SNES was way better than the Genesis…but Sega always did have sonic…one of my childhood heros. haha ---
**Author:** ![s0ccerStud007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@s0ccerStud007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/s0ccerStud007)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/31 "2001-01-19T02:34:21Z")
like I’ve said before… Nintendo is a childish system… you can’t say because they are making 2 more mature games that its gonna be like that from now on, Everyone buys these system for 1 of 2 reasons, if not both… they want RPG, or they want Fighter games… Tekken for example… fighting game… one of the best!!! nothing is better then it in my opinion, no fighting game that is. and for RPG… well playstation is known for their RPG’s, I mean come on… Brave Fencer Musashi! Legend Of Lagaia! Chrono Cross! and the best of them all… the Final Fantasy series… Nintendo will never have the power to beat out these games… ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/32 "2001-01-19T02:41:30Z")
So this thread is where all the missing periods were hiding… On a (slightly) more serious note, does anybody know anybody (other than Caesar) that gives a rat’s ass (or anything else) about when the Gamecube is coming out? ---
**Author:** ![Caesar0211](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caesar0211](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caesar0211)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/33 "2001-01-19T14:09:26Z")
Hey KK, atleast I wassnt wanting Dodge Ball to come back. seriously! Oh, and Soccer, we still dont know if Square has a dev kit from Nintendo. Right now its anybodys game. ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/34 "2001-01-19T15:58:26Z")
This is straight from the horse’s mouth, however, it doesn’t have a date on it to know recent progress. I’m pretty sure they are set further back than what this says. [http://www.nintendo.com/gamecube/index.html](http://www.nintendo.com/gamecube/index.html) “Although an exact release date for NINTENDO GAMECUBE has not been announced, the current plan is to launch the system in Japan in July 2001 and in North America in October 2001. Keep checking [Nintendo.com](http://Nintendo.com) for updates as they become available” A game noone talks about is Mario Party. Its an kiddie game but the it becomes insanely fun with a bunch of college kids that become competitive quickly. No other system has anything close. ---
**Author:** ![S-Terry\_Dan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@S-Terry\_Dan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/S-Terry_Dan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/35 "2001-01-19T16:43:40Z")
I, personally, am pulling for the Wonderswan Color. I only saw a few games that I’d really want for the GameBoy Advance, and knowing Nintendo it’ll be a miracle if they make it to the USA. Konami Wai Wai Racing isn’t too likely because of the Parodius-like theme, and Silent Hill is essentially a pretty text adventure. However, there are several good reasons to get a WonderSwan Color. Namely, Final Fantasy 1 (with up to 6 planned), Front Mission, Seiken Densetsu, and a bunch of other good stuff. Plus, from the pictures I’ve seen in the gaming mags, WSC looks a LOT better than the GBA. I don’t expect good games to beat ad power, name recognition and Pokemon (after all, remember what happened to the NGPC? Fortunately, I bought mine the day of the recall and haven’t had too much trouble finding games), but I’m just hoping that the WSC grabs a niche and holds onto it. X-box: It’ll be too little, too late. Hopefully. PS2: It takes awhile to properly learn how to work a console. Compare Tekken to Tekken 3. And for all the gloom and doom around it, they’re selling like mad. Incidentally, I hope an eBay power seller loses his ass by buying up a bunch of PS2s and being unable to sell them over price. Power sellers eat shit. GameCube: _Why_ Nintendo clings to proprietary game media is beyond me, but at least they’re not carts. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/36 "2001-01-19T22:03:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Caesar0211 \* > **Hey KK, atleast I wassnt wanting Dodge Ball to come back. seriously!** ::shaking head:: You’ve never actually played Super Dodge Ball, have you? I shall light a candle for you. Such wasted youth. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/37 "2001-01-19T22:12:35Z")
Oh, and **Dan** if there were Japanese games you liked for GBA, odds are you can get them imported, as there were never any serious import issues for Nintendo products in general, or the Game Boy in particular. Doesn’t seem likely that they’d start now, either. A good one to check is [http://www.toysnjoys.com](http://www.toysnjoys.com). They import a lot of stuff and their not averse to the idea of accepting/placing special orders for stuff either. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/38 "2001-01-19T22:48:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KKBattousai \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Caesar0211 \* > > **Hey KK, atleast I wassnt wanting Dodge Ball to come back. seriously!** > > ::shaking head:: You’ve never actually played Super Dodge Ball, have you? I shall light a candle for you. Such wasted youth. ☹ \*\* I’m still waiting for Technos of Japan to make a sequel to **River City Ransom** 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564/39 "2001-01-19T23:32:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by c\_goat \* > **rjung** , according to [xbox.com](http://xbox.com), there is a Metal Gear Solid X in the works. Yes, but from all reports it’s just an XBox port/upgrade of the PlayStation One’s _MGS,_ not the new one. > [@](#): > > (That’s something I can’t stand, naming games after the console, nintendo does that to no end and it looks like XBOX wants to do it as well. You know microsoft and their branding.) At least with Nintendo you could dismiss it as part of their juvenile audience targeting tactics… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honestly-now-nintendo-vs-sony/50564.md?page=1)