If I remember correctly ‘The Big Question’ made its debut with a SNES vs Mega Drive face-off. At the time I couldn’t think of a question that would resonate more, but the console competition a generation after was equally as brutal. So today’s question is bound to be a blood bath. Ladies and gentlemen: PlayStation or N64?
I’m going to lay my cards on the table and say that, during that generation, I owned a N64. I frequently borrowed my friends PlayStations but I never actually owned one. So I’m a little biased in this regard. I always loved the N64, but quality games were few and far between. It always seemed as though PlayStation owners had more choice.
So this is a difficult one for me. I’ll leave it for you to decide!
Comments
61 responses to “The Big Question: PlayStation Or N64”
As someone who does not find first party Nintendo games appealing, other than Pokemon, Playstation is the clear choice for me.
While I enjoyed 4 player Golden Eye and Pokemon stadium, I’ll take the wider, more diverse and more personally appealing library of the Playstation any day.
Sega Saturn.
I second this.
I third this.
I Fourth this.
I Kiss this
Ya know I only found out this year that SEGA had a console during that generation, I thought that the dreamcast came after then Genesis.
You’re not alone there. Only a couple of years back I found out the Saturn actually existed here. Never heard of anyone that owned one at the time, nor saw any at the shops or anything like that.
I really don’t understand the appeal of the Saturn. i can’t think of 5 games that where any good.
NiGHTS: Into Dreams, Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop, Dragon Force, Sonic R, Fighters Megamix, Panzer Dragon 1+2+Saga, Dayona USA, Deep Fear, Dark Savior, superior Capcom and SNK ports with the better controller for them, Astal, Burning Rangers, Fighting Vipers, Radiant Silvergun, Shining Force III.
I think tha’s more than 5.
Dolphin!
Yeah I know a lot of people who’d jump straight to N64 option without thinking much about it, but the PS1 actually has just about every single one of my all time favourite games (a lot of which people forget about) everything from Dino Crisis 2, Final Fantasy 7/8/9, MediEvil, A Bugs Life, Gran Turismo, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Tony Hawks.. the list goes on 🙂
It does have a lot…for me Tenchu, Wipeout, Tony Hawks, Crash, Tekken and so on, but the sheer gravity of Zelda OoT, Goldeneye, Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64 is too powerful.
Oh… Wipeout… Guh. Excuse me. I think I have something in my eye. 🙁
dont forget the original super smash bros too!
Both…
You have zelda/banjo/mario on one side and crash/metalgear/rpg (FF/Chrono) on the other. Its got to be a hair between them in people’s decision making.
Nintendo 64, without a doubt. Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Mario 64. Those 5 games alone are some of the best games ever released imo.
Playstation. Zero contest. It played music CDs and the entire ensemble didn’t look like an oversized baby’s toy. It also had more mature games. And the magazines came with DEMO CD’S so you could try a whole bunch of new games everything month. I loved those demo cds.
It had Tomb Raider, FFVII, Metal Gear, Wipeout, FFVII, Tekken, F1, Crash and last (but definitely not least) FFVII. And FFVII.
Regrettably, I never had a N64. My vote goes to Playstation.
I never owned either but after seeing Goldeneye, Lylat Wars, Mario Kart 64 and Super Mario 64 – compared with the more “realistic” graphics but much longer load times on the Playstation, I never wanted a Playstation at all. I used to buy Nintendo Magazine every month and lined my bedroom with the posters, compiling a mental checklist of all the games I would play when I owned an N64.
The first console I actually owned after the death of my Sega Master System was a PS2.
I preordered an N64 and picked it up at launch. Loved the pants off it for a couple of years, but was lured away to PlayStation after being a Nintendo boy for my entire life. I love(d) both systems for entirely different reasons. The N64 had some incredible experiences – the two most significant for me being Mario 64 and GoldenEye. It still remains a big part of my gaming upbringing – not nearly as much as the SNES, but it’s there.
Somehow the switch to PlayStation felt to me like I was growing up. I’d been watching all these people talk about Final Fantasy 7, and Metal Gear Solid, and I had to get involved. I’m not implying either system is more mature either, it just felt like that to me at the time. I didn’t want colorful Nintendo games as my mainstay anymore. I wanted bigger, darker, more adult stuff. With blood, explosions, and most of all cutscenes. Nintendo’s stubborn insistence on sticking to cartridges with the N64, to me, is one of the biggest reasons they fell to irrelevance (for the ‘mainstream’) so quickly.
That being said, I have incredibly fond memories of both systems, again, for entirely different reasons.
TL:DR – PlayStation, for me. The games, combined with CD-ROM, just felt like a whole new world to me.
EDIT: Also, I was reminded of the fact it was also a CD player! Like the PS2 being a DVD player, was a pretty awesome bonus at the time.
NINTENDO SIXTY FOURRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!
I can say with almost complete certainty that I played every game on N64, that’s how much I love N64.
Even Superman 64?
Yes, I even played that, rented it for a whole weekend as a kid, the multiplayer was confusing.
I had a N64 and I played that blurry screened bastard a lot.
I did end up getting a PSOne (the slim model) later so that I could play a few games I had won in a competition and pick up some titles I missed, but the N64 was my console of choice.
I owned an N64 and my brother got a PS1 so we had the best of both worlds some weekends during the school holidays we would swap so we could both play the “classics” on the consoles….good times
N64. that is all.
Both but I was lucky I had both at the time and was thrilled by high-quality titles on both systems.
N64 – Pokemon Snap, GoldenEye, Majora’s Mask, Ocarina of Time, Banjo Kazooie, Lylat Wars and Rogue Squadron, Extreme-G. There are more I’m sure…
PSOne – FF7 through to 9, Rollcage, Metal Gear Solid, Vagrant Story, FF Tactics, Tenchu 1 and 2, Tony Hawk and Mat Hoffman. Damn that was a golden age…
I actually had neither of these consoles. I skipped the 32/64 bit generation completely and went hardcore PC mode in this time. A lot of the good Playstation games were eventually released on PC anyway so that seemed to work for me. I had friends that owned N64’s, and friends that owned Playstations, so I could get my fix that way as well.
So my vote is for neither 😛
I had both consoles but I don’t think total time played on N64 exceeded double digits.
On the other hand, on the PS1 there were some single games that I played more than all games on the N64 combined.
But then, I’ve never really seen the appeal of the Nintendo franchises.
I own a 64 (still got the little bugger :D) and played the ever loving shit out of it. What an awesome system.
However the PS1 brought the console to so many more homes. Big name, great games, and diversity. I personally think it won that generation convincingly and took consoles to a whole new level. Look at what Nintendo has done since then, gimmicks mostly. Sad really.
Still… *hugs N64*
I’m going to say Playstation because it was supported longer and had a broader library. However, its really tough to choose between them because this was back when consoles still had a large number of meaningful exclusives. Only having one of the machines would have meant missing a huge number of ‘classics’.
WWF NO MERCY IS MY ANSWER
During that generation, I believe I had a SNES. Turns out ten year-olds have limited funds and even more limited patience, and so resort to buying cheap second-hand consoles from pawn shops. I did get to rent a N64 for my birthday one year, 1999 I think it was… 3D Mario Kart was awesome.
I was N64 all the way, but in retrospect I think that was a product of my age. (I was 11 when I got an N64). If I had that time again as a 26 yr old, I’d be playstation all the way. Wipeout, MGS, the original Dualshock with powered rumble. That, and I feel physically repulsed by the N64 control now its so fcking terrible.
Remember Donkey Kong 64, Banjo Kazooie, Golden Eye and Conker’s Bad Fur Day though. Go back and play them now, they’re still fantastic, unforgettable games.
The N64 controller can die in a fire for all I care though.
Yeah I liked Donkey Kong and GoldenEye, for some reason Banjo Kazooie creeped me out, I hated Banjo as a kid, just hated him so hard. Never played Conkers but I generally approve of toilet humour.
Actually now that you mention it, I used to enjoy all of the Rare N64 games more than the first party Nintendo gear during the N64 primetime, but I reckon they’ve aged far worse than Mario64 and Ocarina. Try playing perfect dark now on N64, the framerate is absolute arse
Ohhh I don’t know, DK and Banjo aged better than Ocarina and especially Super Mario 64. Perfect Dark, Golden Eye and Conker’s? Not so much. I still think DK64 and Banjo are their greatest accomplishments though.
It all comes down to Rareware for me.
PS1 was a more powerful console and it definitely had potential to be better, and of course, Dualshock > N64 Controller, but the fact that Rare decided to go with the 64 just blows the PS1 out of the water. Banjo Kazooie, Banjo Toowie, Donkey Kong 64, Golden Eye, Conker’s Bad Fur Day – some of the best games ever made. It was Rare who set the standard for all 3D games to come, and they mastered that shit better than anyone.
If you didn’t have a Nintendo 64, then you just plain simply missed out on the most magical years of gaming.
I’m glad someone who prefers N64 still recognises that the dualshock was superior.
OH god yes. Well, at least until the Gamecube came around…
I had both at the time, I would pick the N64. If not only for Mario64, Ocarina, Goldeneye, Wave Race, F-Zero and Mario Kart.
The PS1 had it’s fair share of great games like the tekken, wipeout, street fighter alpha and EX series but I have fonder memories of my 64.
Really should be an option for both – I never owned either (actually I owned a Sega Mega Drive with a Mega CD – that was japanese imported, so only played a select few japanese CD games that came with it,) but did have some time with each of them, and played some great games on both systems.
N64 had Mario, Ocarina of Time, Golden Eye among others.
My first Playstation experience was Wipeout, but eventually got around to Resident Evil 2, Silent Hill, and Final Fantasy.
http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18noah4eun9h8jpg/ku-medium.jpg
I loved both, but the Nintendo 64 was my first real step into console 3D gaming so I think it has that little bit extra as far as sentimental value. My family didn’t have much money at the time either, so the fact my dad went out of his way to find a second hand one when it was still the latest and greatest meant alot.
Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye, Ocarina of Time, Lylat Wars, Super Smash Bros, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, Pokemon Stadium, the list goes on… I never owned a PS1 (although I went PS2 over Xbox and Gamecube) but thanks to the amount of decent exclusives on the N64 I wasn’t worried, even though most of my friends had PlayStations. N64 all the way.
People keep listing the same series of games for the N64 as their reason for why it was better. Some of the most common ones I’m seeing pop up are mario64, Banjo Kazooie, Conker and DK64, which the more astute of you may notice are all platformers.
Now this is going to be controversial, but hear me out. The thing is, these games, as platformers, are clunky, slow and repetitive compared to the masterpieces of platformer design that are the first two Crash Bandicoot games. Seriously, those games are tight as in terms of controls, the levels are varied and interesting, and visually they hold up a lot better.
I think this can be said for a lot of PS games compared to N64 games, is that they seem to have a greater degree of playability today. Heck the only N64 game I still play today is OOT, and only because I have it on 3DS (I find the original nearly unplayable).
Granted I may have a bit of PS bias, considering that’s what I had growing up, but I did have (and continue to have) massive exposure to both systems, and just really prefer how PS games feel.
I first played a Playstation at a mate’s house playing Tekken and Die Hard Trilogy and couldn’t believe that arcade quality games were in the living room (well, his bedroom). After that I saved up from my paperround and got one and had so many memories of playing games, demos and the anticipation of upcoming games that I have rarely felt since. The first time I ran through Midgar or broke a Genome soldier’s neck in Alaska, bombing it round Clubman Stage Route 5 at night at 60FPS. FIFA and Pro Evo, Syphon Filter, Abe’s Odysee & Exodus. The first time I played the demo of Driver and spent hours and hours trying to explore Miami before the timer ran out and then doing exactly the same when the game came out. Medal of Honor. I loved Medal of Honor. The PSOne could do a decent FPS as well as the N64. Finally, one of my favourite games ever, Vagrant Story. Criminally overlooked, but one of the best RPGs ever, if not the best. Brilliant setting, great characters, little handholding, pure awesome.
Those’re my memories of that gen of gaming, that’s why I voted for the PSOne, now it’s sad looking back that even though I still get excited for games, I don’t reach the level of excitement I did back in the day
why not have a both option?, thats like trying to choose to wether i like Captain Kirk or Captain Picard more, its an improbable choice
Nintendo sixty four-ever.
Dreamcast count in that generation?Anyway between those two personally the N64, but I think the Playstation did more for games in general, bringing them out of the bedroom and into the living room without shame and making them “cool”.
If it hadn’t been for the PS I think a lot of teens/young adults from the 16bit era would have “grown out” of gaming or migrated to pc but the PS games generally had more depth.
After playing Rogue Squadron, I’d have been tempted by the N64 if it wasn’t for that fucking abomination of a controller.
Fortunately I didn’t overcome my hatred of it since the N64 had way fewer games that I had any interest in. PS1 kicked its arse in so many ways that it was, on occasion, nearly as good as a PC.
Both great consoles. The last of the great Nintendo consoles – so much so that I bought a Wii just to get access to the virtual console so I’d be able to play the great N64 games again.
Of course, in typical fashion, Nintendo dropped the ball on the virtual console. Doesn’t look like much effort is going into the virtual console for the Wii U either.
Nintendo to be the next Sega, totally dropping out of the hardware race except for handhelds, and eventually handhelds when smartphones take over completely, and moving towards developing for both Sony and MS hardware.
Being only 16 now, I missed the golden age of the N64 and PSOne. The first game that I ever played on a console was Twilight Princess (I know, I know) on Wii in 2007. Before then I had only played random in-browser games on Mini-clip and such.
When I first broke into Hyrule field I was stunned. Never before in my wildest dreams had I thought games could actually consist of this much anything. The nostalgic memories still excite me. Ever since then I’ve been a Zelda fan. So much that, a year ago I bought a N64 off Ebay and played through OoT. It was great and made me realise where the original design innovations in Zelda came from. Skyward Sword was also great. Currently a PC gamer wanting a PS4 having mostly played Xbox 360 and Wii.
Despite what happens I’ll still be playin’ Zelda.
N64.
I really liked both. The PS was a single player machine for me, and I adored it. The all night sessions playing with friends on the N64 are by far my favourite memories from that generation though.
I owned an N64 and a PC with a Voodoo 3 card. The PC got more use.
For me, PS vs 64 was always a case of Quantity vs Quality. Yeah, PS had more games, but in my opinion, the vast majority were just shit. Even the good ones were generally pretty crappy looking (to me). 64 may have had fewer games, but they were just way higher quality.
I saved my pocket money for a Nintendo 64 pre order, still have the pre-order VHS with some guy running into walls with motion tracking dots for Mario on it. N64 was the last Nintendo console I bought though, I loved the Rare and Nintendo games, but PS2 had so much more choice and so many more adult games. I’d still love to be able to play current first party Nintendo games, but can’t justify a console purchase just for Mario and Zelda.
I grew up on the N64, and games like Donkey Kong 64, Banjo Kazooie, Smash Bros, OoT and Super Mario 64 are truly amazing. I personally prefer the N64, but the PS has the more diverse library. Metal Gear, Resident Evil, Castlevania: SoTN, Crash bandicoot, FF 7, and so on.