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I think Christmas brings out the kid in us all and that's probably why I'm making this
retro tech video to talk about my childhood gaming experience. Sega Vs Nintendo, in the
late 80s and early 90s, the console wars were fought between these two Japanese Tech Giants,
it was very much the Sony Playstation Vs Microsoft Xbox battle of that era. Also, because personal
computers still hadn't penetrated the mainstream consumer tech market, it was probably the
Mac Vs PC of that time also. I was a Sega man myself, from the age of 6 -- 10, the original
8-bit Master System II was my gaming machine of choice with such titles as Alex Kidd in
Miracle World, Ghouls & Ghosts, Altered Beast and Bubble Bobble.
Okay, maybe the last one was a joke, anyway, the comparative system from Nintendo was the
NES, which was perhaps most famous for games like Super Mario Bros, The Mega Man series,
Adventure Island II and the very classic, Duck Hunt. The systems were very easily matched
in terms of overall performance the Master System was superior in terms of graphics,
although gaming on the NES was far more innovative.
The bigger brothers to these machines were Sega's MegaDrive (Genesis in the US) and Nintendo's
SNES. Both 16-Bit systems in so many ways were perhaps the cause of so much division
in the gaming world. The MegaDrive included such famous titles as Sonic the Hedgehog (all
the games in the series), Revenge of Shinobi, Toe Jam & Earl, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage
and Mortal Kombat. Initially it was a big and bulky machine but Sega streamlined it
down to this beautiful design in a manner similar to how Microsoft also trimmed the
fat off the Xbox 360 and they will no doubt do the same thing to the Xbox One, because
right now it's basically a bit of a tank. The SNES was perhaps most known for Street
Fighter 2: Turbo, Donkey Kong Country, The Final Fantasy Series, Star Fox and The Legend
of Zelda. It's difficult for me to admit but the SNES was probably the better console.
There's no doubt that the SNES' superior Sony SPC700 sound chip provided stunning audio
(for the time) when compared to the rather lackluster MegaDrive. The graphical definition
and image quality of the Mega Drive seemed to shine through occasionally but my preference
for the Sega console was born more out of childish loyalty than rationality. The SNES
probably just edged it in retrospect. For example, there was no comparative 3D flight
simulator for the Mega Drive like Star Fox on the SNES. The SNES just occasionally seemed
to be able to produce titles that didn't seem possible for a 16-bit console. All in all,
there was little to separate them, both consoles were exceptional for their time and a pleasure
to play. The debate as to which was the better system continues to rage on today among those
people who squandered an unconscionable amount of their youth playing them. So which system
were you, Sega or Nintendo? Please comment below guys with your preference and head over
to Computing Forever to take part in the poll asking this very question, link below in the
description. Right now it's a tie I believe. We'll see how it progresses over the next
few days. And finally, while you're over there, be sure
to sign up to my new Computing Forever Monthly Newsletter, which is completely free and will
provide you with exclusive video and blog content from me. It's also a great way for
me to reach you guys considering how inadequate the YouTube subscription
box is lately.