PlayStation Vs. N64: How They Matched Up In 9 Crucial Areas
9. Hardware Head To Head
1298218Raw figures rarely tell the whole story, but the N64 was the superior machine when its specs sheet was placed side by side with the PlayStation’s.
Sony’s debut console had a two-year head start, which gave Nintendo extra time to cook up the most powerful home console of its generation, on paper at least.
The N64 rocked a 93.7 Mhz 64-bit CPU chip with a 62.5 Mhz RCP and 4MB of RDRAM, which is geek speak for 'it was powerful as hell by 90s standards'.
By comparison, the PlayStation’s 33.8 Mhz 32-bit CPU, nameless graphics chip and 2MB of main RAM made Sony look like it had taken a knife to a gun fight.
But, like Sean Connery’s hapless character in the Untouchables, Nintendo was dealt a fatal blow by another weapon in its opponent’s arsenal - the CD-ROM drive.
Not only did this once cutting-edge tech attract a generation of gamers to Sony’s grey wonder, it drew in scores of third-party developers too, enticed by the promise of additional storage space, superior sound output and FMV cutscenes.
Nintendo’s faith in cartridges cost it the backing of some of the era’s biggest games developers and publishers - an issue that still persists for the Big N today - but the tried and tested medium did have plus points.
Some games for the CD-based PlayStation had loading times reminiscent of the ZX Spectrum and a single scratch to one of its discs could spell an instant game over.