Are we a bunch of Sony haters?

[Compass]

explains why one of the first SCEA published games for the PS1 was fucking Raiden Project. Which nobody bought.

I bought it. And for $50 no less. Still have it, too, in the old-style oversized case.

Compass = 2D's knight in shining armor.

[kedawa]

Likewise, there's no denying that the consumers wielded the hammer.

I think the attitudes of developers also played a significant role.
When the PS1 came out, it gave them a chance to really try new things, and publishers were willing to take more risks because they didn't have to worry about cart costs. The result was a lot of really fresh and innovative ideas, even if they weren't as polished and refined as the 2D games we were used to.
It's also worth noting that sprites are kind of a bitch to work with, really.
You want to change a character's hat? Go modify every single frame of that character's animation. You want the character to be bigger (and not be a pixelated mess)? Same. How about having them right-handed all the time? Hope you like doing twice as much work.

To me, the PS1/Saturn/N64 was to 3D what the NES/SMS was to 2D. The graphics were glitchy and unpolished, but over the course of their lifecycles, those consoles brought us some really great new gameplay paradigms that would be perfected in the following generation of consoles.

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

Sony kicked off consumer 3D video games.

Atari Jaguar says "hi." Although its quality can be debated, you can't deny it was the first console to actively push 3D. 3DO as well. Both of which hit before Sony got into the ring.

The worst is definitely P2 though.

People in Buffalo say that all the time. "you got any P2s?" "no, I don't carry old computer parts". That usually leaves them looking dazed.

[RoleTroll]

Apparently when Nintendo increases gaming popularity they're a savior, when Sony does it, they have ruined the industry.

Personally, I'm not sure it's a good thing that Nintendo will do well this generation. But I firmly believe it will happen, and I blame Sony.

[Port]

I'm not buying the argument that the Playstation was the specific point gaming went mainstream anyway. There were millions of arcade gamers, millions that owned Atari/Commodore/Nintendo/Sega systems. The Playstation was another step in popularity in an already huge industry.

I think the point people are trying to make is that the Playstation was the point when gaming became seen as a fit for the coveted 18-35 demographic. Previously, gaming had been regarded as a kid's toy. Now, it was more than that.

[Low]

I was not a fan of the PSone, owned about equal numbers of games my PSone, Saturn, and N64. Truthfully I played alot more Saturn and N64 though the system had it's moments. When the PS2 hit I was severely pissed that the general public was waiting for the goods to materialize and ignoring a selection of triple A games in what would be Dreamcast's final year.

That little phase passed and I grew to love the PS2, and it's decent selection of 2D titles (Cave shooters alone for example) and decent 3D. I still think SoTC and Okami are beautiful games even stacked against the next gen. Don't own a PSP yet but I will give Sony credit for a overall higher quality mark for it's portable library. Nintendo seems to hand out quality seals like someone handing out flyers in front of a strip club.

As far as the PS3, yeah it looks great and will be great. I'm not spending $600, I'll buy a Wii and pick up the PS3 games I want on clearance til the day it's more affordable. Sony has a quality product, I respect that but am cheap. Sorry. *-neo

[MechDeus]

I think the point people are trying to make is that the Playstation was the point when gaming became seen as a fit for the coveted 18-35 demographic. Previously, gaming had been regarded as a kid's toy. Now, it was more than that.

I had a 2600 when I was two years old, an NES in elementary school, a Genesis/SNES in middle school, and a PS/Saturn/N64 in high school. A lot of people that grew up with gaming would be the proper ages for who gaming was thought appropiate for at the time for each generation. As gaming matured it gained more people as time went on, but that's not really surprising in any way.

[JefmcC]

In my opinion, Sega should have pushed 2D more. The games you mentioned are great, and the Saturn's 3D has aged horribly. I love Burning Rangers, for example, but I can barely tolerate looking at it. Astal, on the other hand, still looks wonderful.

I agree with all that, but I'd like to add something. All the 3D games from that generation look like ass now. But at the time, the Saturn pulled off some of the best 3D from that gen with Panzer Dragoon 2 and RPG, Daytona CE, Sega Rally, Virtua Fighter 2, and Virtua Cop. I firmly believe that if Sega got better 3rd party backing, we would have seen the Saturn truely sing at 3D. Hell, Radient Silvergun is one of the best looking games from the 32bit era.

I'd also like to point out that the Saturn's 3D was more stable than the PS1. Saturn had less warping and less seems showing between the polys. Was the PS1 easier to make shine? No question. But in the right hands, the Saturn could out perform the PS1. Too bad there were only a few of those hands.

The Saturn was just a monster to program for, and apparently Sega didn't go out of it's way to make it easier. The fighting between SOJ and SOA didn't help either.

[Error]

Wow. I haven't seen a fanboy war like this in ages. Since PS1 vs Saturn days. God this brings me back. Here let me get a shot in....Sony sucks Sega rulez! No wait, that wasn't even true back then. Sony rulez Sega sucks! No that wasn't right either. Oh I know...Hey look everyone, Nintendo is still stuck in the past, lets all point and laugh! There we go. It only took them 3 consoles to get their shit together again, but they are apparently back. Lets see if Sony can do the same.

[sethsez]

...

Did you even play that game past level 2? It's a fucking showcase of gameplay.

Indeed I did. I played the shit out of the game, in fact, because I was a stupid kid who believed the hype and thought I was missing something when I didn't enjoy it.

I wasn't. There are a ton of styles of gameplay, but most of them sucked, and no game should ever be that reliant on rote memorization. Even R-Type wasn't that ridiculous about it.