Unity Technologies reveals how many devs use the software engine.
The nostalgia for 64-bit gaming has taken a significant technological leap with the arrival of Perfect Dark VR on Meta Quest. This isn't just a simple workaround to make the emulator look bigger; it's a standalone port that brings Joanna Dark's missions directly into your VR headset.
"I have a headache. And with a head this big, that's no joke." - me after playing this for 30 minutes
It wasn't too good on the Nintendo 64 all those years back. Hyped as GoldenEye 2, it didn't even come close. On the Xbox 360, it wasn't too good either. No more Perfect Dark games please.
PlayStation wowed gamers from day one, but developers managed to push the console much further - TechStomper tracks the progress made over the PS1's years at the top through five games that show how programmers and artists unlocked the legendary grey box's potential.
Look, I loved my PS1. Graphically though N64 delivered a better overall experience. The difference that gave PS1 an advantage was CD storage PS1 had some beautiful cut scenes, but in terms of graphical power N64 hands down was better. PS1 had WAY more GAMES though. I think Developers preferred the tstorage over squeezing everything onto a cartridge with VERY limited space!
GameCube same thing Nintendo went with storage that was limited, but had games using multiple disks. RE4 is one port that clearly showed GC advantage. Rouge Squadron 2 and Luigi's mansion were beautiful launch games. Again PlayStation didn't Limit developers storage space. Nintendo's mini discs were expensive, and developers went with PS2! PS2 I am pretty sure has the largest game library of all consoles. Maybe not if you in include the vast amount.of.shovel wear on current consoles.
After that ugh, Nintendo seems to have given up on graphical power. Switch 2 games look really good, but I am usually going to buy ports on PS5/Series X.
N64 had some stunning games, but a lot of the library ran poorly. PS1 games tended to hit a playable 30 more often, albeit with less complex geometry and less/no filtering of textures, and the inherent flaws in how PS1 rasterises graphics.
I played loads of both back in the day and I definitely preferred the solid geometry and smooth textures of N64.
While the N64 was technically more powerful than the PS1, it in fact did not have better graphics than the PS1. Not even close. Not even a little bit.
The N64 was all about Vaseline-looking textures and a blurry-ass mess, while the PS1 had gorgeous colors, sharp, pixelated textures, and god-tier dithering, and just a better image quality overall. Just look at Quake 2 for a perfect example of the differences.
On a side note, the PS1 dithering was like having a virtual canvas for the graphics. So, so good. With the added benefit that it had allowed the PS1 graphics to age like fine wine.
With that said, if you still doubt how awesome the PS1's graphics were or how big the worlds could get, then check out:
Ghost in the Shell
Mizzurna Falls
Vagrant Story
Colony Wars
Omega Boost
Alien Resurrection
Terracon
The PS1 just had better graphics with better textures, lighting, image quality, and even better overall framerate than the N64.
Zelda and Mario would disagree. Nothing the PS1 had touched those games and others. You’re comparing a 32 bit system vs a 64 bit system. While cds did have advantages, speed wasn’t one of them. Not to mention the 64 was much more powerful.
Now if you’re talking ps2 vs the n64 then that would be a much better comparison.
@rlow1
They can disagree all they want, but that changes nothing. While the Mario developers were smart enough to keep the graphics and textures simple, thus maintaining the cartoon-like quality look, the Zelda developers did not. Basically, Zelda does not look as good as you think it does, and the PS1 has better-looking games than Mario and Zelda both.
"Nothing that the PS1 had touched those games and others."
Except there are. You're talking with nostalgia-fogged glasses and dismissing without any knowledge of the PS1 catalogue. Hell, you don't even do research before commenting.
Like I said, the PS1 has plenty of games that look way better than those two games. But since you're not going to go see any of the games I listed, I'll do the same thing you're doing and just name-drop super popular games like Final Fantasy 8 and 9, with a side of Vagrant Story, and that takes care of that. Three games that, to this day, look absolutely amazing and much better than Mario and Zelda.
"You’re comparing a 32-bit system vs. a 64-bit system."
Listen, I won't insult you for coming here and arguing that 64 is a bigger number than 32, because, I mean… yikes. Next thing you'll say is that the Jaguar made the PS1 look like the Atari. It's not a good look, is all I'm saying. So I'll just suggest you do a bit of research on both systems' architectures, their advantages and disadvantages, and their bottlenecks, and learn a bit. Then, you know, actually see the games running on native hardware, and if you can't, there are plenty of videos out there.
There's no need for the PS2 when the PS1 had better graphics than the N64, and you mentioning two popular games is not an argument; it's you not even trying.
i dunno about that one. which n64 games rival the graphical experiences of mgs, soul reaver, vagrant story, ffix, chrono cross, dino crisis 2, silent hill, crash bandicoot 3, and countless others?
PlayStation 1 Devs were so innovative back in the day utilising so many techniques to achieve the best results. I think this article needed to focus on the games that used pre-drawn backgrounds like Resident Evil, In Cold Blood and FF8 to produce visuals that surpassed anything at the time.
I think you are right and I might add in an honourable mentions to at least discuss pre-rendered backgrounds in the visual history of PS1. It was hugely important and should have been in there.
I was going to include Resident Evil for 1996 but I wanted to talk about a second-generation 3D engine versus Ridge Racer, and I also wanted to talk about Lara's animation.
I was also going to put FF8 for 1999 on the list, even wrote a sentence. But then I figured that Driver would say more about how far programmers (and artists) had come in getting the most from the console.
Could even do an 'alternative PS1 graphics' history. Focus on atypical presentations, like pre-rendered, 2D, BSP engines etc.
I think we need remake for these games :
Driver 1 & 2
Final fantasy 8
Legend of dragon
Dino crisis 1 & 2
Fatal frame 1
Parasite Eve 1 & 2
I would buy at least half of those if remade, easily.
I would love a remake of Driver 3 also.
A Diablo 2 veteran argues that Blizzard have squandered “the magic” of previous games by focussing on smooth progression and balancing.
Even if 1% of those "devs" make an actual game in the next year, that's 55K games. I'm wondering about the shovelware ratio.