Mark’s Rants: Saturn or Playstation

Video game lovers everywhere are faced with a tough choice in the next few months. Or maybe, their parents are faced with a tough Christmas present decision. Either way, you gotta decide. That’s what I’m saying. Is it Sega or Playstation?

Sega Saturn

The Sega Saturn is the purported “dream machine” from the people who brought you the Genesis. Not to mention the Sega CD and every young man’s favorite game…Night Trap.

The Saturn also boasts some great games, including Virtua Fighter, which many of you know from hours of arcade time. Pumping quarter after quarter into the slot is now a thing of the past and a continue is just a button click away.

Add to that, the Saturn is available, right now. It’s in stores for all of us to gobble up and play Panzer Dragoon.

But it’s not all rainbows and roses. There are downsides here.

The Drawbacks

The thing is $399. That’s right, almost four-hundred bucks for your chance to jump into the future with Sega. Not only that, but there are some serious problems with the underlying hardware here. I don’t want to totally go geek and bore you with the specifics, but let’s just say the system is pretty complicated and that can lead to some lagging and glitching that can harm the gameplay experience.

The Pros

Despite all that, the thing that makes the Saturn stand up is the excellent slate of games exclusive to the device. Sega has a strong background in arcade gaming and it really shows with what they’ve been able to produce already for the new system. Wonderful games seem like they will be the norm for this console.

Playstation

Who told Sony they were capable of making a gaming system?

For years there have been two kids on the block: Nintendo and Sega. They have dominated the field and cultivated a fierce rivalry that, honestly, made each company better.

Now we’ve got a new kid on the block and it ain’t Donny.

Sony electronics (the geniuses behind your third favorite television) has decided that they want to get into the gaming field.

I don’t know what makes them think they can make video games. Of course, I didn’t know what made them think they could make movies when they bought Columbia/TriStar, but here we are.

Playstation Pros

$299.

That’s pretty much it. The Playstation is a full one-hundred dollars less than the Saturn, but does it have anything else going for it?

It doesn’t boast much in the way of games (especially when compared to Sega) but it does have an intriguing title called Twisted Metal, which will release before year’s end.  Mortal Combat (a Sega mainstay) also has a version going over to the Playstation, but that doesn’t mean it will be any better.

Playstation Cons

Where are the games? Sure there are a few decent titles, but Playstation lacks a mascot game. Sega has Sonic, Nintendo has Mario, but what does Playstation have? The Twisted Metal clown?

It’s admirable that Playstation has embraced the CD revolution (unlike Nintendo) and that they will be able include games with full motion video, but where are those games?

And have you seen that controller? What are all those different shapes for? I guess A and B doesn’t do it for Sony.

The Verdict

Look each of these machines has its pluses and its minuses. In an ideal world you’d be able to buy both of them, but that would be a hell of a price tag.

If my opinion means anything to you (and why should it) I suggest that you shell out that extra $100 and pick up the Sega Saturn.

Stick with a company with a proven track record and an unbeatable game catalogue.

Young upstart Sony might make a go of it in this business, but I think it’s just as likely in ten years you won’t hear about the Playstation ever again.

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