[quote name='WuGgaRoO']A lot of comparisons can be made between the PS3 and Saturn
1) They both have hardware that was/is difficult to use
The Saturn utilized 2 CPUS.. which was very rare at the time..most systems utilized only 1 CPU to do all their processing.. Most programmers had no idea hot to effecitevely utilize the Saturn's power.
IE) Alien Trilogy was a game that appeared on both the PSone and the Saturn. However, there was a huge difference between the two versions because the company who developed the game for the Saturn, only utilized one 28.6MHz cpu (AS opposed to the 2 CPUs that were equipped on the Saturn).. The PS1 version on the other hand utilized one CPU at 34MHz.. The full capabilities of the Saturn can be seen in Virtua Fighter 2, where each of the 28.6CPU were utilized to process each character.
The PS3 on the has a similar issue because it uses the CELL PROCESSOR, which includes a total of 7 CPU's on it.. all working at 3.2Ghz.. now similiarly to the Saturn, a lot of companies are having a very difficult time harnessing the TRUE power of the PS3, much like companies had a difficult time harnessing the true power of the Saturn
2) Both systems were more expensive at the time of release
With Inflation taken into account, the Saturn premiered at $572 and the PS3 was released at 600...
3) Both systems were the underdog even though they had higher graphical capabilities...
4) Both were colored black (couldn't help myself)
5) They could both easily import games
As we all know the Blu-ray is not region locked. The SATURN was region locked, but an action replay 4 in 1 could remedy that quite easily.. it allowed those with a US Saturn to (1) play import games, (2) added 1 or 4 megs of ram, (3) gave us a way to store saturn games, and (4) served as a gameshark/genie/action replay... All the other systems, you have to jump through hoops to get them to play imports
6) They both had die hard fanboys which hated the other systems and felt that their system was cool or 1337...
7) This is just a comparison between SEGA and SONY, but both utilized a special type of compact disc in their systems which allowed for higher capcity (GD-ROM for Dreamcast and Blu-Ray for PS3)
HOWEVER THERE ARE SOME STARK CONTRASTS
1) SONY is not foolish... it will not pull the plug prematurely on the PS3.. that means that the system can reach its full graphical potential.
One of Saturns main downfalls was the ditching of the Saturn and then making the Dreamcast.. Saturn btw.. had A LOT of Japanese support... it sold horribly in America, but not that bad in Japan. When the plug was pulled people were pretty upset, which helped lead to the downfall of the dreamcast.. that and i would consider it an "in between generation" system.. it looked a lot better than the PSone, but got its ass handed to it by the PS2.
2) SONY had much more success than SEGA... Let's be honest here.. the genesis was all right... but all the money it made from the PS2 sales allows SONY some wiggle room with its current counsel.. SEGA did not have this cushion so support the Saturn.. For instance, the successor of the PS1 (THE PS2) is still being sold at a decent rate.. and where is the successor of the Saturn? On ebay for 25 bucks...
3) Third-Party Support
As mentioned before, PS3 has MUCH more third party support than the Saturn... I reference my previous point of Alien Trilogy where it looked like crap on the Saturn because the developers didn't utilize the systems full capabilities. However, if you look at the PS3, there are a TON OF GAMES that work equally well across the board (PS3, 360, and PC) This defiantly helps boost up SONY's sales and will help prevent it from tanking.
4) FREE Network capabilities
The whole point behind this is that SONY has a faily decent internet service with built-in wireless.. the Xbox 360 has neither of these.. long story short.. the Saturn had little to nothing above their competion.. the PS3 on the other hand, has this,
So long story short, it seems that while there are some similarities between the two systems, one must keep in mind that the company has an important say about whether or not a video game system will become popular or not. There is marketing, first-party games, as well as the company's "financial abilities"....
To be honest, up until recently, I have thought that the PS3 was going to tank terribly. I was afraid it was going the way of the Saturn and fast. However, seeing games like Killzone 2 and MLB The Show '09, and God of War 3... one must realize that SONY has gone through great lengths to make sure that this system will make them money..[/QUOTE]
Except for the fact that their install base is smaller because they won't cut the price of their console to something affordable. I want a ps3, but If i want an affordable one I need to buy it used off CL or something. NO WAY will i do that with so many of the lasers failing.