6 replies to this topic

[mbd30]

I'm referring to the NES and SNES in particular. Many games go beyond the technical limits of the original hardware by including special chips. There's the MMC chips for the NES and there's the FX chip, etc. for the SNES.

For some reason this mania for special chips seemed exclusive to Nintendo. Like why weren't there a lot of special chip games for the Sega Genesis to compensate for hardware weaknesses such as limited color palette and no hardware scaling and rotation?

[TwinChargers]

I'm thinking Sega, instead of putting extra chips into the games themselves, chose to go the expansion route and you had systems like the 32X and the Sega CD. With both of those you got what Nintendo was doing with there chips. I'm not sure if Sega thought that this would be cheaper for them in the long run, with added hardware sales and with the Sega CD cheaper to produce games, but in hindsight it didn't work out as well.

[Csonicgo]

Well, I remember Virtua Racing for the Genesis that used a special Chip like the SuperFX chip. I don't know if it counts, but the chip would get REALLY HOT! it hurt to touch the cart after a while of playing it.

[Pixelboy]

Didn't Sunsoft use a special chip in the last Batman game they released on the NES...? Can't recall the name, but I do think it was from Sunsoft...

[Seob]

True the Sega MegaDrive game Virtual Racing used the Sega Virtual Processor.

[MagitekAngel]

Don't forget the rumble packs, cameras, tilt sensors, light sensors, and other nonsense Nintendo took to stuffing in their Game Boy/Game Boy Advance carts!

[Reaperman]

Also can't leave the 7800's pokey carts out of the conversation of non-nintendo special chips.

Edited by Reaperman, Tue Jan 3, 2012 3:12 PM.