Jinroh

I grew up using Commodore and Atari 8-bit. I had friends who were into Video Game Consoles. Went from Atari, Coleco, Nintendo, and Sega. They did not know what a bit was. When Sega released the 16bit Genesis (MegaDrive), they believe "16Bit" was some video game super power. Later, Atari came up with 64bit Jaguar. This was the "Bit Wars" era. As programmers, we know there are many other factors involved in making systems play better video games.
 
Memory Address Size. The Program Counter, and how much memory the Central Processing Unit can address, is one of the important factors in making good video games. The 8-bit 6502 based machines, can address only 64 Kilobytes without bank switching. These machines had a 16bit program counter and address space. If bank switching is used, it must be managed in a way as to not to bog down the Central Processing Unit (CPU). Some of that memory needed to be used for display memory and put a limit on the graphics resolution. The other part of memory was needed for programming and data. That put a limit on how much you can do.  Later CPUs such as the 68000 and 80x86, had larger address space. 32bit program counter and address space, that can go up to 4 Gigabytes without bank switching. So, higher resolutions are possible and having more space for programs and data.
Clock Speed of the Central Processing Unit. This was much more important with consoles after the "bit wars" and was one reason why the Sega Genesis appear to be playing better games than other machines around the time when it was actively sold. The 68000 ran at 7.16 mhz on the Genesis vs 3.52 on the Super Nintendo. This is a major factor when moving objects around the screen while playing music, sound effects, and other things. Some may notice a few games slow down when the program tries to move too many things at once. "Blast Processing" was Sega's way to make it easier to understand that their system had a faster CPU.
Video Processor.  The Video Chipset or Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). The graphics resolution, bits per pixel, memory available and just some things that make a difference. How things are displayed, layered, and managed are important factors. Earlier video processors used hardware sprites overlaid on top of a background. Later units would be using "Blitters" to render moving objects. 3D accelerators came into use around 1995. As we know, the faster these things ran, the better and more realistic something looks. The video processors operate independent of the CPU and may have their own dedicated memory. So the # of bits of the main CPU may not matter.
There are other factors like optimizations of the programming, using compiled programming languages vs assembly. Management of graphics and data. There are people that make games on 8-bit machines with near 16 bit performance because they learned how to manage things, use optimized code, and pre-calculate things and store them inside tables. 

 
 

Does your coffee get cold before you drink the whole cup?  Why not cover the cup... WITH A STIRLING ENGINE?  << HERE >>
Not only will your coffee stay hotter longer, you'll be able to tell when it starts cooling down by the speed of the flywheel!

 
This one was too good to pass up!

Kinetic Swinging Sticks on Amazon << HERE >>
Okay, this one is cool, and they've been around for decades, but it's expensive and has a 5 year warranty.  One should know though that they all eventually fail.

Here is my first "find", it's currently on special for $50.00 at Amazon << HERE >>

 

Giga Pet just released the new interesting virtual pet if you feel like the 90s. Most so far have been rehashes of 90s pets. I was surprised to see Cryptids. Pretty unique idea. 🙂 Here.

Giga Pet just released the new interesting virtual pet if you feel like the 90s. Most so far have been rehashes of 90s pets. I was surprised to see Cryptids. Pretty unique idea. 🙂 Here.

Giga Pet just released the new interesting virtual pet if you feel like the 90s. Most so far have been rehashes of 90s pets. I was surprised to see Cryptids. Pretty unique idea. 🙂 Here.

ATARI states that they intend to release new handheld content, and more:
 
 

I would go for this. 😛 The Lynx uses the 65C02S, if I remember right. Western Design Center produces these in large volumes, last I checked. So we could at least have the original processor.
I have one in the drawer, I got from them, but that was 20 years ago. 😄
 

The Play it Loud! Campaign was great. Loved those coloured shells, and the translucent one.

 
I thought this was the cool ad. Never used this controller though, but I remember seeing them.

The Play it Loud! Campaign was great. Loved those coloured shells, and the translucent one.

 
I thought this was the cool ad. Never used this controller though, but I remember seeing them.

The Play it Loud! Campaign was great. Loved those coloured shells, and the translucent one.

 
I thought this was the cool ad. Never used this controller though, but I remember seeing them.

The Play it Loud! Campaign was great. Loved those coloured shells, and the translucent one.

 
I thought this was the cool ad. Never used this controller though, but I remember seeing them.

I love them all!   Played on even the adaptors for the Intellivision and ColecoVision.
I think the weakest ones are the newest Flashbacks and even the Atari 2600+ only due to amount of games that work on those due to not 100% working emulation.
The best to me?  I think for footprint the 2600 jr. is a great way to go.   Part of me wonders if a Intellivision adaptor or the other could be made to work on their own?  😄   That would be a nice tiny 2600.
Nostalgia:  Started on Telegames model.  And I have a 6 switch 2600 in the box.

Pretty sure we have talked about this before? But as will come to no surprise, my 7800 is my main console I use for both 2600 and 7800 gaming. I had a 4 switch woody originally when I was child, but it was given to my cousins in the late 80s when I got my 7800 and it replaced that 4 switch in our house back then.
I have just about each model of the 2600 (Minus a 2800 but I've few of the SVA IIs). I do like the Vader models, but I would say my favorite looking one would be the 4 switch woody. Again, it was what I had when I originally grew up with Atari so that will always have that spot even if I don't use one today.
 

7800 is my goto also. I have a 4 switch. I think a Telegames. I don't use it as much because the 7800 Parallel Port unit I have is just so handy.

7800 is my goto also. I have a 4 switch. I think a Telegames. I don't use it as much because the 7800 Parallel Port unit I have is just so handy.

7800 is my goto also. I have a 4 switch. I think a Telegames. I don't use it as much because the 7800 Parallel Port unit I have is just so handy.

7800 is my goto also. I have a 4 switch. I think a Telegames. I don't use it as much because the 7800 Parallel Port unit I have is just so handy.

My preferred method for playing 2600 games is the 7800. That's my default. I think the best looking 2600 system is the 2600 Jr. My favorite was the Atari 2700, but that's not really an option. The 4-switch is the icon, but the Vader looks so mean. Yet who doesn't like a Heavy Sixer?

Agreed, that is some killer box art for Conan. 😄 A certified classic, though I never played this version. 😛

Agreed, that is some killer box art for Conan. 😄 A certified classic, though I never played this version. 😛

Good games. 🙂 I used to like Marble Madness on the NES, how is it on the GB?
Haha that could be, the old heated rivalry. 😛