Most Over Rated & Under Rated Console?

[zapiy]

Brilliant I am learning about colour fellas.

[AmigaJay]

Ah the unique colourclash! Always thought it was novel and funny at the same time! Heck if Sony had it on one of their consoles they would advertise it as an amazing new feature!

[JoeMusashi]

What colour clash? That Altered Beast screenshot looks pretty damn arcade perfect to me!

 

I seem to recall the colour clash is down to the system not being able to display more than 2 colours in any 8x8 square (inc black funnily enough...)

[Bobinator]

I just don't understand why people basically pretend that it isn't an issue, or makes some games not look good, while in the same breath, they'll badmouth the C64's color pallete.

But that's an entirely different argument for an entirely different time.

[AmigaJay]

I just don't understand why people basically pretend that it isn't an issue, or makes some games not look good, while in the same breath, they'll badmouth the C64's color pallete.

But that's an entirely different argument for an entirely different time.

They both had strengths and weaknesses, colourclash, weak sound on the speccy vs drab colours and low res games on the c64...of course any fan will know the Speccy wasn't in direct competition with the C64, being alot cheaper, its like comparing the pc engine to the neogeo or the amiga to the x68000.

[Cryptic33]

Only just seen this topic so here goes:

Most overrated: [align=center:3tncx32q]I'll go with X-Box simply because it was over hyped and although a very good modern day console it is well matched by the offerings from Sony and so was not as ground breaking as they would have us believe. More a logical progression in console design.[/align:3tncx32q]

Most underrated: [align=center:3tncx32q]Atari 7800 because by the time it came to market, the market had moved on. Nonetheless, it is a well designed console with some cracking games. Indeed, it still gets support but the whole games market was in a period of flux and looking for the next big thing like the Mega Drive.[/align:3tncx32q]

I can't close without adding a little to the debate about the Jaguar. I deliberately did not choose this console as my choice for the underrated category because I feel the Jag was under-supported more than underrated. It wowed critics at the CES 2003. Here is an interesting report about the impression the Jag made. Therefore, I believe it is much maligned, wrongly so, and a very worthy contender for it's day.

Also, I can't accept the criticism here that the Jag was overrated because you have to review it in the context of when it came to market, please see the link in the previous paragraph. At the time of release, the Jag was hailed by many, many critics as Atari's saviour with the potential to place Atari back at the top. This was not overrating the system as it could have done that, especially with the prospect of the Jag 2. If anything, the hype of the Jag 2 would be overrated as Atari never delivered on this and many other promises. The demise of the Jaguar was not because of the console, just how it was marketed etc.

[TrekMD]

Good choices there Cryptic and also valid points about the Jaguar. 

[Cryptic33]

Good choices there Cryptic and also valid points about the Jaguar.

Thanks. I am a little passionate about the Jaguar but I was trying not to be biased. As Gone (Laird) stated, this one console seems to get more bad press than any other and without justification. I may be a fan of Atari products but I do see the beauty in the competition also. Example in case is the Mega Drive which was a sexy machine in it's day and very practical. I'll stop there so as not to bore everyone with my ramblings.

[Bobinator]

I hate to sound like a hater, but I'd like to give my two cents, if that's all right. See, the problem with the Jaguar, speaking from what's basically an outsider's perspective,, is that it was just generally outclassed by the competition. It's more somewhere between being a 16-bit console and a 32-bit console, while not really overpowering any of the major players of those two eras in terms of features.

It only had one really interesting exclusive, with Alien VS Predator, with most of its best stuff seeing ports to the PC and other systems. It did 3D stuff really well, considering this was before the Playstation, and personally, I think they should have focused on that. The problem is that a majority of the library is 2D stuff that could have been done, with a few cuts, on the SNES and Genesis, leaving the 3D stuff that makes the console stand out. Without the 3D, it isn't really anything you couldn't get from another console.

I really don't want to sound like I hate the Jaguar or anything. I don't, seriously. I'm just giving my personal view on why it hasn't really gotten a love by the gaming public, or at least, my personal opinion on them.

I would like to ask of you, however, one honest question. I ask this because I'm honestly interested in seeing the answer. What makes you appreciate the Jaguar so much? Is it the brand name? Is there a certain game that never hit anything else you feel should have gotten more love? Or are you more interested in the potential it had, where it could have gone?

I will admit, however, that I'm not entirely unsympathetic to how you feel. See, I'm a 3DO fan. Now, there was a console that had potential. But much like the Jaguar, it failed because it didn't play to its particular strengths, and because a lot of its best games (although not all of them) were done on newer systems. Unlike the Jaguar, however, where the failings in its library were too many ports from other systems, the 3DO had too many games that... well, weren't really games.

[AmigaJay]

Imo the majority of sales went to Sega and Nintendo in the 16bit console marketplace between 1990-1992 so the trouble was in the early 90s was the market was over saturated with consoles in between generations, had the Jaguar launched a year earlier to compete with the Snes then who knows, but the same can be said for cd32, mega cd, 3do etc all failed for different reasons, but mainly due to launch date, the 5 year cycle took Megadrive owners to saturn or playstation and snes owners to n64. Anything in between had limited success but unless had perfect launches and endless software support were never going to succeed.

[Cryptic33]

I hate to sound like a hater, but I'd like to give my two cents, if that's all right. See, the problem with the Jaguar, speaking from what's basically an outsider's perspective,, is that it was just generally outclassed by the competition. It's more somewhere between being a 16-bit console and a 32-bit console, while not really overpowering any of the major players of those two eras in terms of features.

It only had one really interesting exclusive, with Alien VS Predator, with most of its best stuff seeing ports to the PC and other systems. It did 3D stuff really well, considering this was before the Playstation, and personally, I think they should have focused on that. The problem is that a majority of the library is 2D stuff that could have been done, with a few cuts, on the SNES and Genesis, leaving the 3D stuff that makes the console stand out. Without the 3D, it isn't really anything you couldn't get from another console.

I really don't want to sound like I hate the Jaguar or anything. I don't, seriously. I'm just giving my personal view on why it hasn't really gotten a love by the gaming public, or at least, my personal opinion on them.

I would like to ask of you, however, one honest question. I ask this because I'm honestly interested in seeing the answer. What makes you appreciate the Jaguar so much? Is it the brand name? Is there a certain game that never hit anything else you feel should have gotten more love? Or are you more interested in the potential it had, where it could have gone?

I will admit, however, that I'm not entirely unsympathetic to how you feel. See, I'm a 3DO fan. Now, there was a console that had potential. But much like the Jaguar, it failed because it didn't play to its particular strengths, and because a lot of its best games (although not all of them) were done on newer systems. Unlike the Jaguar, however, where the failings in its library were too many ports from other systems, the 3DO had too many games that... well, weren't really games.

Oh I wholly agree with you about many of the games released for the Jag and how it did have competition from great systems like the SNES (Star Fox for example). A v P was a great title for the Jag but 3D was supposedly just around the corner as the next step in console gaming. The Jag (Atari) promised this with the ill fated 3D VR Headset. And this is where it all gets a bit messy. For me, at that time the Jag was new and, yes, full of potential. The nostalgia factor is off the scale for anyone who saw the 2600 as a wonderful console which got replaced, logically, by other great systems like home computers and ever improving consoles from Sega and Nintendo for example, for Atari to then say "we're back", was very exciting. We all love an underdog and at the time of the 16-bit/emerging 32-bit systems, the Jag was seemingly incredible. Indeed, it did have some very good features and a couple of good games.
I also remember the 3DO and much talk about how many believed it to be better than the Jag or at least comparable. Another console that rings a bell is the Neo-Geo. What I was interested in back then was the idea of a damn good console that ordinary folk like me could aspire to owning without taking out a mortgage as gaming became very expensive and still is to this day.

I have owned my Jag for twenty years and it is very symbolic and therapeutic. I don't class myself as a "gamer", I could never compete with most gamers but, I do like to play and the Jag allows me to dip in to that world/era of when gaming was not so calculated or driven by profit. I know that is a contradiction, I guess I mean affordable.

I see AmigaJay has posted in the time it has taken me to write this reply (I'm getting old) and I think he makes a good point and explains the period well. Thanks.

To sum up in answer to Bobinator, my life has been a bit of a roller coaster at times and as I work towards a happy retirement I am grateful for my daughter, naturally, and the only thing I can claim as a hobby is collecting games for my Jaguar. So, yes, there is a lot of nostalgia and history and I can't begin to argue the finer points of why one console is better than another. I only know that for a very short period in time, the Jaguar made history and makes me happy. I enjoy introducing others to a system many don't even know existed and I like to expel some of the myths surrounding the Jag. I don't try to mislead anyone but obviously, I am a fan of the system which, did, have an immense amount of potential at one time.

Unknown Cryptic33/Jaguar fact: both my daughter and the Jag were born in 1993 so call me a big softy, it's probably true.

[Bobinator]

Ah, so you associate it with general good feelings and memories, I take it. Fair enough, I have a lot of consoles and games that I feel the same way about. The PS1 makes me wish I was still 7 and still had an outdoor pool, but I digress.

[Cryptic33]

Well, although you are correct regarding my motivation, there is actually more to the story than that. I won't go on about that here though

[guest5468]

This is a tough question

Overrated in my book would be the n64.  Goldeneye and Zelda was the reason I bought one.  The controller was okay.  So many systems were disc based and Nintendo went with a cartridge...smh.

Underrated - most of my friends were into Nintendo and playstation - I was into Sega.  The Saturn and dreamcast to me were underrated.  I got my money's worth with my Saturn. 


Rich451

[zapiy]

Some great replies above, @Cryptic33 that's a very well thought out reply, I don't get on the Jag as much as I probably should, your right though, it's about what you feel when playing a system more than about the real facts behind the so called specs, that hardly matters if you enjoy the games.