Why has there been no crash like in 1983

[Jon1]

There are more than 2 Jaguar games that looked better than the Genesis. Almost half the library is 3d, which couldn't have been done by either the SNES or Genesis. And off the top of my head, 2d games like Super Burnout, AVP, Tempest 2000, and even a game like Zool 2 or Rayman couldn't have been done on those overrated systems anyways. But whatever, if that's what you call a crash, 94-95, then I wish we were always in a "crash". 

[Oltobaz1]

It did have 3D games you couldn't reproduce on 16 Bit systems. Then what? Most of these games didn't play
that well, and the 3D was primitive. Impressive at the time on a technical level I guess, how they compare as far
as aesthetics with 16 BIT 2D gaming (Genesis/SNES/Neo Geo ) is of course open to debate. Cybermorph or Axelay?
Club Drive or Super Monaco GP?

It did have a few gems objectively, pretty much the ones you mentioned, some of the best being strictly 2D (Rayman), incidentally.
Still, 2D gaming was best handled on 16 BIT consoles, let's also throw in the awesome PC Engine/TG 16 in there. Legendary Axe/ Alisia
Dragoon, Actraiser 2, Magician Lord... Countless others... Sure you want to stick with Rayman and Zool 2?

[ptdebate1]

[QUOTE=Jon]There are more than 2 Jaguar games that looked better than the Genesis. Almost half the library is 3d, which couldn't have been done by either the SNES or Genesis. And off the top of my head, 2d games like Super Burnout, AVP, Tempest 2000, and even a game like Zool 2 or Rayman couldn't have been done on those overrated systems anyways. But whatever, if that's what you call a crash, 94-95, then I wish we were always in a "crash". [/QUOTE]

Again, there were 3D games on the SNES and Genesis. Starfox and Virtua racing both look and play great.

And just to reiterate, 

[QUOTE=Jon]better[/QUOTE]

and 

[QUOTE=Jon]3d[/QUOTE]

are NOT synonymous, even by your own admission. It's no feather in the Jag's cap that most of its games were 3D. 3D in 1993-95 was the worst thing a game could be.

To bring us back to what we were actually talking about, though--2D graphics and whether or not they improved significantly with the Jag and the Neo Geo--the Jaguar doesn't offer much, not because it wasn't powerful, but because it's architecture was confusing, its marketing horrible, and its user base nonexistent. These factors made it impossible for most software developers to justify releasing their titles for the platform.

94-95 were dull years in gaming history, for sure. Doesn't mean that it was a crash, it was just a weird time when people weren't sure whether or not to shell out for Sega console upgrades, wait for the Saturn or PS1, or stick with their 16-bit machine. 3D and CD-ROM were big buzz words at the time but no one really delivered something outstanding until the PS1 came along.

[Jon1]

Calling 94-95 dull years is ridiculous. For each year you could name the best games and it would blow away just about any years since. I could give a darn that maybe they were scattered on different systems. Any of those alternative systems (3do, Turbographx, Neo Geo, etc.) would have provided a great experience, and since most people already had a Genesis or SNES, 2 systems would have been enough. If one had any more, then it would've been an even more amazing time. How about the late 90s, when the N64 was putting out like 1 good game a year and everything was focused on the PS1, which wasn't good enough to make up for there being no other alternative, and which no one even cares about anymore. If anyone like PC games, that era produced incredibly revolutionary titles like Doom and Front Page Sports Football Pro 95. And let us not get started again on how amazing the arcades were back then. 

[Oltobaz1]

The Turbografx 16 aka the American PC Engine has much more in common
with the Genesis, the SNES and the Neo Geo than it has with the 3DO or the
Jaguar. That's why it's a great console. Not saying I don't find merits with the 3DO,
the Jaguar or even the CDI, they have some great games... Yet being stuck with a
3DO back then and missing out on Japanese gaming (save from Super Street Fighter 2/
Samouraï Spirits and Lucienne's Quest)... Serious case of heresy.

[ptdebate1]

Jon, it's absurd to say that no one cares about the ps1. People care so much about being able to play ps1 games that three out of four current Sony consoles are backwards compatible with them!

[Oltobaz1]

Good point, and long live the PS1!

[Jon1]

I never compared the Turbografx 16 (or Neo Geo) to the 3do or Jaguar technologically. It shows how diverse the gaming universe was with so many options. Also, it seems like the N64 has actually aged better than the PS1, with it's great titles aging really well. As far as sales go, it seemed like the SNES and Genesis probably made a killing that 94-95 era, with the titles we've mentioned like DK 2 and others. I think I remember hearing how DK2 had some sort of astronomical sales. Everyone had at least one of those 2 systems, some both. 

[BanjoPickles1]

Jon, the numbers don't lie, man. Donkey Kong Country was a huge hit, but what else? Nothing on the Jaguar was a hit. In fact, 16-bit gaming kept the industry alive until the PS1 made the next generation viable.

If you want to know how well the industry was doing back then, check out a list of million-plus selling games and see how many came from those years. Some of the best games came out of that era, yes, but what does it matter? Check out how many timeless classics came out the year that arcades went belly-up (1983). In fact, one of my favorite games came out that year (Q-Bert). The point is, those stagnant years needed to happen, and it's easy to draw parallels. PS1 saved gaming by righting some of the wrongs of the 8/16-bit generations (a $10 per game licensing fee to attract the best developing houses in the business, treating third parties like partners instead of second-class citizens, lowering the cost of games to the $40-50 mark as a result of going with discs instead of cartridges), just like Nintendo saved gaming by righting many of Atari's wrongs (d-pad replacing the joystick, strict licensing policies, deeper game experiences, etc.). Systems like the Jaguar, 32X, 3DO.....they really didn't pioneer anything. Even the Saturn, great as it was, didn't reinvent the wheel in any way. One thing that killed the industry in 83 was a glut of imitators, and you had a lot of that same mindset in the mid-90's.

[scotland171]

[QUOTE=BanjoPickles] Check out how many timeless classics came out the year that arcades went belly-up (1983). In fact, one of my favorite games came out that year (Q-Bert). [/QUOTE]

Thank again Banjo. We had not really discussed the arcades.  I will count myself lucky to have been there for pinball, electromechanicals and the video game arcades, even being the change maker guy in one for awhile. For me, the arcade crash was slow motion over a few years, but real.  

The surgeon general, Koop, called them addicting, and set off media stories. Pac Man had been so huge that when its popularity faded, it helped foster that the whole concept had been just another fad like troll and roller skating.  The dark video arcades made parents uneasy, pinball palace like dens of trouble and many that would survive would be more like Family Fun redemption centers.  Arcades had sprouted up too many too fast, and there were too many new games that small capitalized mom and pop shops could not afford to rent or buy.  (parallel to baseball card and comics crashes ten years later).   It was just a recipe for disaster.  

Good times for players with choices and bargain bins, bad for the industry.  Those two things can happen at once.  

Warner, that owned Atari and was involved in computer, arcades and home consoles, had their stock go from $60 to $20 a share. We talk about companies weathering a panic, but wow, its understandable at the time.  The industry went from rivaling Hollywood making about $3 billion to just $100 million in a few years time.  Sure, 1983 had Qbert, Star Wars, Spy Hunter and Dragon's Lair, so we players had great times...while they lasted.