# Fifth generation of video game consoles

The fifth generation era (also known as the 32-bit era, the 64-bit era, or the 3D era) refers to computer and video games, video game consoles, and handheld gaming consoles dating from approximately October 4, 1993, to March 23, 2006. The best-selling home console was the Sony PlayStation, followed by the Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn, and Atari Jaguar. The PlayStation also had a redesigned version, the PSone, which was launched on July 7, 2000.
Some features that distinguished fifth generation consoles from previous fourth generation consoles include:
* 3D polygon graphics with texture mapping
* 3D graphics capabilities – lighting, Gouraud shading, anti-aliasing and texture filtering
* Optical disc (CD-ROM) game storage, allowing much larger storage space (up to 650 MB) than ROM cartridges
* CD quality audio recordings (music and speech) – PCM audio with 16-bit depth and 44.1 kHz sampling rate
* Wide adoption of full motion video, displaying pre-rendered computer animation or live action footage
* Analog controllers
* Display resolutions from 480i/480p to 576i
* Color depth up to 16,777,216 colors (24-bit true color)
This era is known for its pivotal role in the video game industry's leap from 2D to 3D computer graphics, as well as the shift in home console games from being stored on ROM cartridges to optical discs. This was also the first generation to feature internet connectivity: some systems had additional hardware which provided connectivity to an existing device, like the Sega Net Link for the Sega Saturn. The Apple Pippin, a commercial flop, was the first system to feature on-board internet capabilities.
For handhelds, this era was characterized by significant fragmentation, because the first handheld of the generation, the Sega Nomad, had a lifespan of just two years, and the Nintendo Virtual Boy had a lifespan of less than one. Both of them were discontinued before the other handhelds made their debut. The Neo Geo Pocket was released on October 28, 1998, but was dropped by SNK in favor of the fully backward compatible Neo Geo Pocket Color just a year later. Nintendo's Game Boy Color (1998) was the most successful handheld by a large margin. There were also two minor updates of the original Game Boy: the Game Boy Light (released in Japan only) and the Game Boy Pocket.
There was considerable time overlap between this generation and the next, the sixth generation of consoles, which began with the launch of the Dreamcast in Japan on November 27, 1998. The fifth generation ended with the discontinuation of the PlayStation (specifically its re-engineered form, the "PSOne") on March 23, 2006, a year after the launch of the seventh generation.

## History
### Transition to 3D

The 32-bit/64-bit era is most noted for the rise of fully 3D polygon games. While there were games prior that had used three-dimensional polygon environments, such as Virtua Racing and Virtua Fighter in the arcades and Star Fox on the Super NES, it was in this era that many game designers began to move traditionally 2D and pseudo-3D genres into 3D on video game consoles. Early efforts from then-industry leaders Sega and Nintendo saw the introduction of the 32X and Super FX, which provided rudimentary 3D capabilities to the 16-bit Genesis and Super NES. Starting in 1996, 3D video games began to take off with releases such as Virtua Fighter 2 on the Saturn, Tomb Raider on the PlayStation and Saturn, Tekken 2 and Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation, and Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64. Their 3D environments were widely marketed and they steered the industry's focus away from side-scrolling and rail-style titles, as well as opening doors to more complex games and genres. 3D became the main focus in this era as well as a slow decline of cartridges in favor of CDs, due to the ability to produce games less expensively and the media's high storage capabilities.

### CD vs cartridge

After allowing Sony to develop a CD-based prototype console for them and a similar failed partnership with Philips, Nintendo decided to make the Nintendo 64 a cartridge-based system like its predecessors. Publicly, Nintendo defended this decision on the grounds that it would give games shorter load times than a compact disc (and would decrease piracy due to a certain chip in the ROM cartridge). However, it also had the dubious benefit of allowing Nintendo to charge higher licensing fees, as cartridge production was considerably more expensive than CD production. Many third-party developers like EA Sports viewed this as an underhanded attempt to raise more money for Nintendo and many of them became more reluctant to release games on the N64.
Nintendo's decision to use a cartridge based system sparked a debate in the video game magazines as to which was better. The chief advantages of the CD-ROM format were (1) larger storage capacity, allowing for a much greater amount of game content; (2) considerably lower manufacturing costs, making them much less risky for game publishers; (3) lower retail prices due to the reduced need to compensate for manufacturing costs; and (4) shorter production times, which greatly reduced the need for publishers to predict the demand for a game. Its disadvantages compared to cartridge were (1) considerable load times; (2) their inability to load data "on the fly", making them reliant on the console RAM; and (3) the greater manufacturing costs of CD-ROM drives compared to cartridge slots, resulting in generally higher retail prices for CD-based consoles. A Nintendo Power ad placed a Space Shuttle (representing cartridges) next to a snail (representing a CD), as an analogy for their respective speeds, stating that "the future doesn't belong to snails".
Almost every other contemporary system used the new CD-ROM technology. Consequent to the storage and cost advantages of the CD-ROM format, many game developers shifted their support away from the Nintendo 64 to the PlayStation. One of the most influential game franchises to change consoles during this era was the Final Fantasy series, beginning with Final Fantasy VII, which was developed for the PlayStation instead of the N64 due to storage capacity issues; prior Final Fantasy games had all been published on Nintendo consoles – either the NES or Super NES, with the only other entries being on the Wonderswan, or computers like the MSX.

### Overview of the fifth-generation consoles

The fifth generation was characterized by an unusually high number of console formats. More competing consoles comprised this generation than any other since the video game crash of 1983, leading video game magazines of the time to frequently predict a second crash.

#### Major consoles

The Atari Jaguar was released in November 1993 and was marketed as the world's first 64-bit system. However, sales at launch were well below the incumbent fourth generation consoles, and a small games library rooted in a shortage of third-party support made it impossible for the Jaguar to catch up, selling below 250,000 units. The system's 64-bit nature was also questioned by many. Its only add-on, the Jaguar CD, was released in 1995 and was produced in limited quantities due to the low install base of the system. The 32-bit Atari Panther, set to be released in 1991, was canceled due to unexpectedly rapid progress in developing the Jaguar.
The Sega Saturn was Sega's entry into the stand-alone 32-bit console market. It was released in Japan simultaneously with the 32X in November 1994, although it would not have a North American release until six months later. It became Sega's most successful console in Japan. In America and Europe however, a disastrous launch and an MSRP of $399 compared to the PlayStation's $299 caused it to be a commercial failure, selling far fewer units than the Master System and Mega Drive/Genesis before it.
The PlayStation, released in early December 1994, was the most successful console of this generation. With attention given by third-party developers and a more mature marketing campaign aimed at the 20–30 age group enabling it to achieve market dominance, it became the first home console to ship 100 million units worldwide.
The Nintendo 64, originally announced as the "Ultra 64", was released in 1996. The system's delays and use of the expensive cartridge format made it an unpopular platform among third-party developers. Several popular first-party titles allowed the Nintendo 64 to maintain strong sales in the United States, but it remained a distant second to the PlayStation.

#### Other consoles

The Amiga CD32 was released in September 1993 and sold in Europe, Australia, Canada and Brazil. It was never released in the United States due to Commodore's bankruptcy and court-ordered import restrictions. Despite promising initial sales, the console was hampered by poor software quality with many titles being simply re-releases of older games. Production of the Amiga CD32 was discontinued after only eight months.
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was one of the earliest fifth generation consoles and was released in October 1993. Despite having massive third-party support and an unprecedented amount of hype for a first-time entrant into the industry, it had early difficulties due to software development delays and its high price. For its initial release, the 3DO had a $700 retail price tag and only a single available game ready for market. The 3DO would be discontinued only three years later. While generally regarded as a failed system, the 3DO was this generation's fourth best-selling console in a crowded field with sales of 2 million units.
The Sega 32X, an add-on console produced by Sega for the Genesis, was launched in November 1994. The Sega Neptune, a standalone version of the 32X, was announced but ultimately canceled. Sega failed to deliver a steady flow of games for the 32X platform. With customers anticipating the PlayStation on the horizon, and with Sega's more technically advanced Saturn already competing on the market in Japan, sales of the 32X were poor.
NEC, creator of the TurboGrafx-16 of the previous generation, entered the market with the PC-FX in late December 1994. The system had a 32-bit processor, 16-bit stereo sound, and video capability. Despite its impressive specifications, it did not have a polygon processor and was marketed as a platform for 2D and full motion video games. The PC-FX game library was criticized for being low in quality, and having titles that relied more on animation than gameplay. Due to low expected sales, it was never released outside of Japan.
In 1995, Nintendo released the Virtual Boy, a supposedly portable system capable of displaying true 3D graphics, albeit in monochromatic red and black. Despite being marketed as a portable system, it is not actually portable in practice due to the lack of a head strap. Also, because of the nature of its display, the system reportedly caused headaches and eye strain. It was discontinued within a year, with fewer than 25 games being released for it. Although it sold over 750,000 units, Nintendo felt that it was a failure compared to consoles such as the Super Nintendo, which sold over 20 million.

### Aftermath of the fifth generation

By the end of the 1995 Christmas shopping season, the fifth generation had come down to a struggle between the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Atari Jaguar, and the upcoming Nintendo 64. The Amiga CD32 had already been discontinued; the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Genesis 32X, and Virtual Boy were still on the market but were considered a lost cause by industry analysts; the Neo Geo CD had proven to appeal only to a niche market; and industry analysts had already determined that the yet-to-launch Apple Bandai Pippin was too expensive to make any impact in the market. Moreover, even the leading fifth generation consoles were still facing sluggish sales. Combined sales for the PlayStation, Saturn, and Jaguar barely topped 1 million units for the Christmas shopping season, as compared to combined sales of 4 million for the Sega Genesis and Super NES. Focus groups showed that most children under 12 years old were equally happy playing on fourth generation consoles as they were playing on fifth generation consoles, making the fourth generation consoles more appealing to adults buying gifts for children, since they were cheaper. Industry analysts began putting forth the possibility that the fifth generation of consoles would never overtake the fourth generation in sales, and become superseded by a new generation of DVD player consoles before they could achieve mass acceptance.
1996 saw the fifth generation consoles' fortunes finally turn around. With the Saturn, PlayStation, and Nintendo 64 all showing dramatic increases in sales over the previous year, they claimed a combined 40% of the retail market for hardware and software, putting them in position to finally overtake the fourth generation consoles in 1997.
The Sega Saturn suffered from poor marketing and comparatively limited third-party support outside Japan. Sega's decision to use dual processors was roundly criticized, as this made it difficult to efficiently develop for the console. Sega was also hurt by the Saturn's surprise four-month-early U.S. launch of their console; third-party developers, who had been planning for the originally scheduled launch, could not provide many launch titles and were angered by the move. Retailers were caught unprepared, resulting in distribution problems; some retailers, such as the now defunct KB Toys, were so furious that they refused to stock the Saturn thereafter.
Due to numerous delays, the Nintendo 64 was released one year later than its competitors. By the time it was finally launched in 1996, Sony had already established its dominance, the Saturn was starting to struggle, and the 3DO and Jaguar had been discontinued. Its use of cartridge media rather than compact discs alienated some developers and publishers due to the space limits, the relatively high cost involved, and a considerably longer production time. In addition, the initially high suggested retail price of the console may have driven potential customers away, and some early adopters of the system who had paid the initial price may have been angered by Nintendo's decision to cut the price of the system by $50 six months after its release. However, the Nintendo 64 turned out to be a commercial success, particularly in the United States, where it sold 20.63 million units, nearly two thirds of its worldwide sales of 32.93 million units. It was also home to highly successful games such as Star Fox 64, Mario Kart 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, and Super Smash Bros. While Nintendo 64 sold far more units than the Sega Saturn, Atari Jaguar, and 3DO combined, it posed no challenge to the PlayStation's lead in the market.
By 1997, 40% to 60% of American homes played on video game consoles. 30% to 40% of these homes owned a console, while an additional 10% to 20% rented or shared a console.

### Changes in the industry

After the dust settled in the fifth generation console wars, several companies saw their outlooks change drastically.

#### Atari

Atari Corporation, which was not able to recover its losses, ended up merging into JTS Corporation in 1996. This caused the Atari name to virtually disappear from the gaming market until 1998, when Hasbro Interactive purchased the Atari assets from JTS for $5 million, before selling itself to Infogrames for $100 million in 2001, and restructuring itself as a third-party developer.
On May 14, 1999, Hasbro Interactive announced that all rights to the Atari Jaguar were released into the public domain, thus declaring the platform open; this allowed anyone to freely create and publish games for the Jaguar without endorsement or licensing from Hasbro Interactive. Since then, homebrew developers began to release uncompleted Jaguar games as well as several brand new titles to satisfy the system's cult following.

#### Sega

Sega's loss of consumer confidence (coupled with its previous console failures), along with their financial difficulties, set the company up for a similar fate in the next round of console wars.

## Home systems
### Comparison

Comparison of fifth-generation video game home consoles :
| Name | Name | 3DO Interactive Multiplayer | Sega Saturn | PlayStation | Nintendo 64 |
| Manufacturer | Manufacturer | The 3DO Company | Sega | Sony (SCE) | Nintendo |
| Image(s) | Image(s) | | | | |
| Image(s) | Image(s) | Top: Panasonic FZ-1 R·E·A·L Bottom: GoldStar GDO-101M | Top: North American Saturn Model 1 and controller Bottom: Japanese Saturn Model 1 and updated controller | Top: Original PlayStation with DualShock controller Bottom: Revised PSOne with DualShock controller | Top: Nintendo 64 with controller and game cartridge Bottom: Nintendo 64DD |
| Release date | Release date | NA: October 4, 1993JP: March 20, 1994EU: June 11, 1994 | JP: November 22, 1994NA: May 11, 1995EU: July 8, 1995 | JP: December 3, 1994NA: September 9, 1995EU: September 29, 1995AU: November 15, 1995 | JP: June 23, 1996NA: September 29, 1996EU: March 1, 1997AU: March 1, 1997 |
| Launch price | US$ | US$699.99 (equivalent to $1,520 in 2024) | US$399.99 (equivalent to $830 in 2024) | US$299.99 (equivalent to $620 in 2024) | US$199.99 (equivalent to $410 in 2024) |
| Launch price | GBP | | £399.99 (equivalent to £970 in 2023) | £299(equivalent to £730 in 2023) | |
| Launch price | A$ | | | | |
| Launch price | JP¥ | | ¥44,800 (equivalent to ¥46,530 in 2019) | ¥39,800 (equivalent to ¥41,330 in 2019) | |
| Media | Type | CD-ROM | CD-ROMCartridge (limited, Japan and Europe only) | CD-ROM | Game Pak cartridgeProprietary magnetic disk (via 64DD) |
| Media | Regional lockout | Unrestricted | Region locked | Region locked | Region locked |
| Best-selling game | Best-selling game | Gex, 1+ million | Virtua Fighter 2, 1.7 million | Gran Turismo, 10.85 million | Super Mario 64, 11.62 million |
| CPU | CPU | ARM60 (32‑bit RISC) @ 12.5 MHz (8.75 MIPS) | 2× Hitachi SH-2 7604 (32‑bit RISC) @ 28.63 MHz) Hitachi SH-1 (32‑bit RISC) @ 20 MHz (12.5 MIPS) Motorola 68EC000 (16/32‑bit CISC) @ 11.3 MHz (1.9775 MIPS) SCU (32‑bit Saturn Control Unit) | LSI LR333x0 (labelled as the Sony CXD8530CQ on the package) (based on the MIPS R3051 core) @ 33.8688 MHz (30 MIPS) System control coprocessor (inside CPU) | NEC VR4300 (64‑bit RISC) @ 93.75 MHz (125 MIPS) 32-bit data coprocessor (64DD) |
| GPU | GPU | 2× accelerated video co-processors Math co-processor (inside CPU) | Sega VDP1 (32‑bit video display processor) @ 28.63 MHz (sprites, textures, polygons) Sega VDP2 (32‑bit video display processor) @ 28.63 MHz (backgrounds, scrolling) SCU DSP (inside SCU (32‑bit Saturn Control Unit)) | Sony GPU Vector math unit (in main CPU) @ 66 MIPS | Reality Co-Processor (64‑bit MIPS R4000 based, 128‑bit vector register processor) @ 62.5 MHz |
| Sound chip(s) | Sound chip(s) | 13 channel unnamed custom 20‑bit DSP embedded in the CLIO chip | Yamaha YMF292 SCSP Yamaha FH1 DSP (inside Yamaha YMF292 SCSP 24‑bit, 128-step, 4 parallel instructions) | Sony SPU (sound processing unit) | Reality Signal Processor (DSP) |
| Memory | Memory | 3 MB RAM 2 MB DRAM 1 MB VRAM | 4.5 MB RAM 2 MB SDRAM 1.5 MB VRAM (512 KB sprite/texture cache, 512 KB frame buffers, 512 KB backgrounds) 1 MB DRAM (512 KB sound, 512 KB CD-ROM sub-system buffer data cache) | 3587 KB RAM 2 MB DRAM 1026 KB VRAM (1 MB frame buffer, 2 KB texture cache, 64 bytes FIFO buffer) 512 KB sound RAM 1 KB non-associative SRAM data cache | 4 MB RDRAM (8 MB with Expansion Pak) |
| Video | Video | Resolution: 320×240 to 384×288 (progressive), 320×480 to 768×576 (interlaced) Colors: 110,592 (384×288) on screen, out of 16,777,216 (24‑bit) palette Polygons: 20,000/sec, flat shading, Gouraud shading Sprites/textures: Scaling, rotation, texture mapping Background: 1 bitmap plane | Resolution: 320×224 to 720×240 (progressive), 320×448 to 720×576 (interlaced) Colors: 172,800 (720×240) on screen, out of 16,777,216 (24‑bit) palette Polygons: 140,000/sec (textured, lighting, Gouraud shading) to 500,000/sec (flat shading) Sprites/textures: 16,384/frame (32 bytes each, 512 KB memory), scaling, rotation, distortion, texture mapping Backgrounds: 7 (3–6 tilemap planes, 1–4 bitmap planes), parallax scrolling, scaling, rotation | Resolution: 256×224 to 640×240 (progressive), 256×448 to 640×480 (interlaced) Colors: 153,600 (640×240) on screen, out of 16,777,216 (24‑bit) palette Polygons: 90,000/sec (textured, lighting, Gouraud shading) to 360,000/sec (flat shading) Sprites/textures: 4,000/frame (bitmap objects), scaling, rotation, texture mapping Background: 1 bitmap plane | Resolution: 320×240 to 720×288 (progressive), 320×480 to 720×576 (interlaced) Colors: 207,360 (720×288) on screen, out of 16,777,216 (24‑bit) palette Polygons: 150,000/sec (textured, lighting, Gouraud shading) to 600,000/sec (flat shading), anti‑aliasing, Z-buffering Sprites/textures: Scaling, rotation, texture mapping, mipmapping, texture filtering, bilinear filtering, trilinear filtering Background: 1 bitmap plane |
| Audio | Audio | Stereo audio, with: 16‑bit sound Optional Dolby Surround support Streaming CD-DA audio (16‑bit PCM, 44.1 kHz sampling rate) | Stereo audio, with: 32 sound channels on SCSP FM synthesis on all 32 SCSP channels 16‑bit PCM audio with 44.1 kHz sampling rate on all 32 SCSP channels 1 streaming CD-DA channel (16‑bit PCM, 44.1 kHz) | Stereo audio, with: 24 ADPCM channels on SPU 16‑bit audio and 44.1 kHz sampling rate on all 24 ADPCM channels 1 streaming CD-DA channel (16‑bit PCM, 44.1 kHz) Optional Dolby Surround support | Stereo audio, with: Variable number of channels (up to 100 if all system resources are devoted to audio) Capable of playing back different types of audio (including PCM, MP3, MIDI and tracker music) 16‑bit audio and 44.1 kHz sampling rate on all channels Optional Dolby Surround support |
| Accessories (retail) | Accessories (retail) | MPEG cards FZ-EM256 save memory backup unit Gamegun Mouse | Arcade Stick Saturn digital gamepad 3D controller Light guns Multitap (up to 12 players) Keyboard Sega NetLink (online modem and keyboard) Mouse 1.44 MB 3.5" floppy disk drive DirectLink (LAN) Memory card MPEG cards RAM expansion cartridges | PlayStation Multitap (up to 8 players) Fishing reel controllers (Bass Landing and Reel Fishing) Dual Analog Controller DualShock GunCon Jogcon Konami Justifier NeGcon PocketStation (Japan only) PlayStation Mouse Analog Joystick Dance pad LCD screen (for PSone systems only) Memory card Link Cable | Controller Pak Memory Expansion Pak Rumble Pak Fishing Reel Transfer Pak Nintendo 64DD (Japan only) Microphone TiltPak |
| Online services | Online services | None | NA: NetLink 28.8k modemJP: SegaNet 14.4k modem | US: Lightspan Online Connection CDJP: i-mode Mobile Phone Connection Cable | US: SharkWire Online 14.4k modem (unofficial)JP: Randnet (64DD only) |

### Other consoles

These consoles are either less notable, never saw a worldwide release, and/or sold particularly poorly, and are therefore listed as 'Other'.
| Name | Name | Atari Jaguar | 32X | Virtual Boy | Pippin |
| Manufacturer | Manufacturer | Atari | Sega | Nintendo | Apple/Bandai |
| Image(s) | Image(s) | | | | |
| Image(s) | Image(s) | Top: Atari Jaguar and controller Bottom: Atari Jaguar CD connected to the console and ProController | 32X connected to a model 2 Genesis | Virtual Boy with controller | Japanese Pippin Atmark with a wireless AppleJack controller. The model released in America was named @WORLD and was colored black. |
| Release date | Release date | NA: November 23, 1993EU: June 27, 1994AU: August 1, 1994JP: December 8, 1994 | NA: November 21, 1994EU: November 1994JP: December 3, 1994 | JP: July 21, 1995NA: August 14, 1995 | JP: March, 1996NA: June, 1996EU: March 17, 1997 |
| Launch price | US$ | US$249.99 (equivalent to $540 in 2024) | US$159.99 (equivalent to $340 in 2024) | US$179.95 (equivalent to $360 in 2024) | US$599 (equivalent to $1,200 in 2024) |
| Launch price | GBP | | | | |
| Launch price | A$ | | A$700 (equivalent to $1,460 in 2022) | | |
| Launch price | JP¥ | | ¥29.800 (equivalent to ¥30 in 2019) | | |
| Media | Type | ROM cartridgeCD-ROM (via Jaguar CD add-on) | ROM cartridgeCD-ROM (via Sega CD add-on) | ROM cartridge | CD-ROM |
| Media | Regional lockout | Unrestricted | Partial | Unrestricted | Unrestricted |
| Best-selling game | Best-selling game | Alien vs Predator, more than 50,000 | Unknown | Mario's Tennis (US pack-in game) | Unknown |
| CPU | CPU | "Tom" (32‑bit RISC) @ 26.59 MHz "Jerry" (32‑bit RISC) @ 26.59 MHz Motorola 68000 (16/32‑bit CISC) @ 13.3 MHz (2.3275 MIPS) | 2× SH-2 32-bit RISC (23 MHz) | NEC V810 @ 20 MHz | PowerPC 603 (66 MHz) |
| GPU | GPU | Tom chip: GPU, object processor, blitter Jerry chip: DSP | 32x Specific: Sega 32x VDP (Sega Custom LSI) @ 23 MHz Megadrive: Yamaha YM7101 VDP (Video Display Processor) Sega CD Add-on: Sega ASIC coprocessor | Video Image Processor | Taos 8/16-bit VGA |
| Sound chip(s) | Sound chip(s) | "Jerry" chip: DSP, 2× DAC (converts digital data to analog signals) | 32x Specific: Pulse-code modulation Megadrive: Yamaha YM2612 Yamaha VDP PSG (SN76496) Sega CD Add-on: Ricoh RF5c164 | VSU (Virtual Sound Unit) chip | |
| Memory | Memory | 2 MB FPM DRAM (4× 512 KB chips) | 32x Specific: 256 KB main RAM 256 KB video RAM Megadrive: 64 KB main PSRAM 64 KB video DRAM 8 KB audio SRAM Sega CD Add-on: 512 KB RAM 256 KB VRAM 64 KB ARAM 16 KB cache 8 KB Internal Back-up | 64 KB work PSRAM128 KB graphics DRAM128 KB VRAM | 6MB DRAM (22MB maximum) 128KB nvSRAM (save files) |
| Video | Video | Resolution: 320×220 to 360×220 (progressive), 320×440 to 720×440 (interlaced) Colors: 79,200 (360×220) on screen, out of 16,777,216 (24‑bit) palette Polygons: 10,000/sec, flat shading, Gouraud shading support Sprites/textures: 1,000/frame (blitter objects), scaling, rotation, texture mapping Background: 1 bitmap plane | 32x Specific: Resolution: 320×224 Color palette: 32,768 (15-bit high color), 256–32,768 colors on screen, Polygons: 40,000 Texture Gouraud Shading polygons/sec, 50,000 texture mapping polygons/sec, 100,000 Gouraud Shading polygons/sec, 160,000 flat shading polygons/sec Megadrive: Sprites: 80 on screen, 20 per scanline, 8×8 to 32×32 sizes, 16 colors per sprite, integer sprite zoom, sprite flipping Tilemaps: 2 parallax scrolling planes with line & row scroll effects and tile flipping Colors on screen: 64 to 75 (standard), 192 (shadow/highlight), 512 (160×224 resolution) Color palette: 512 (standard), 1536 (shadow/highlight) | Stereoscopic LED display Resolution: 384×224 | Resolution: 640x480 8-bit and 16-bit color Brooktree Bt856KPJ |
| Audio | Audio | Stereo audio, with: Number of channels dependent on software Synthesis (wavetable synthesis, AM synthesis) 16‑bit PCM sampling | Stereo audio with: 10-bit PWM, surround sound 6 FM synthesis channels/voices 3 square wave channels/voices Sine wave LFO 1 PCM channel, 8-bit samples, 8 to 22 kHz sampling rate Sega CD Add-on: 8 PCM channels (16-bit, 32 kHz) 1 streaming CD-DA channel (16-bit, 44.1 kHz) | Virtual Sound Unit with: Five wave channels One noise channel 32 PCM samples | 16-bit, 44 kHz |
| Accessories (retail) | Accessories (retail) | Jaguar TeamTap Jaguar Pro Controller Jaguar MemoryTrack Cartridge Jaguar JagLink Interface | Megadrive peripherals supported | Virtual Boy AC Adapter Virtual Boy Stereo Headphones | Pippin Atmark Floppy Unit Deltis 230 MO Docking Turbo Pippin Atmark keyboard |
| Online services | Online services | Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator 19.2k modem (no mass production) | None | None | Atworld.Net |
* FM Towns Marty, created by Fujitsu. Released on February 20, 1993.
* Amiga CD32, created by Commodore. Released on September 17, 1993.
* PC-FX, created by NEC. Released on December 23, 1994.
* Playdia, created by Bandai. A console consisting of simple multiple choice games. Released in Japan on September 23, 1994.
* Casio Loopy, created by Casio. Released in October 1995 in Japan, targeted at female gamers.
* iQue Player, manufactured by iQue, a size-reduced Nintendo 64. Released in November 2003 only in China.

### Worldwide sales standings

| System | Units sold |
| PlayStation | 102.49 million shipped (74.34 million PlayStation, 28.15 million PSone) (as of March 31, 2005) |
| Nintendo 64 | 32.93 million (as of March 31, 2005) |
| Sega Saturn | 9.26 million |
| 3DO | 2 million |
| 32X | 800,000 |
| Virtual Boy | 770,000 |
| PC-FX | 400,000 |
| Atari Jaguar | 250,000 (as of May 15, 2007) |
| Amiga CD32 | 100,000 |
| FM Towns Marty | 45,000 (as of December 31, 1993) |
| Apple Bandai Pippin | 42,000 (as of May 4, 2007) |
From 1996 to 1999 (when the PlayStation, N64 and Saturn were the major 5th-generation consoles still on the market) Sony managed a 47% market share of the worldwide market, followed by Nintendo with 28% (with a percentage of that figure from the 16‑bit Super NES), while Sega was third with 23% (with a percentage of that from the Dreamcast).
Production of the Sega Saturn was discontinued in 1998. Its demise was accelerated by rumors that work on its successor was underway; these rumors hurt the systems' sales in the west as early as 1997. The N64 was succeeded by the GameCube in 2001, but continued its production until 2004; however, PlayStation production was not ceased as it was redesigned as the PSone, further extending the life of the console around the release of the follow-up PlayStation 2. The PlayStation console production was discontinued in 2006, the same year that the PlayStation 3 was released in Japan and North America.

## Handheld systems
### Handheld comparison

| Name | Name | Genesis Nomad | Game Boy Color | Neo Geo Pocket | Neo Geo Pocket Color |
| Manufacturer | Manufacturer | Sega | Nintendo | SNK | SNK |
| Console | Console | | | | |
| Release dates | Release dates | NA: October 1995 | JP: October 21, 1998NA: November 18, 1998EU: November 23, 1998AU: November 27, 1998 | JP: October 28, 1998 | JP: March 16, 1999NA: August 6, 1999EU: October 1, 1999 |
| Launch price | US$ | US$180 (equivalent to $370 in 2024) | US$79.95 (equivalent to $150 in 2024) | | US$69.95 (equivalent to $130 in 2024) |
| Launch price | GBP | | | £59.99 (equivalent to £130 in 2023) | |
| Launch price | A$ | | | | |
| Launch price | JP¥ | | | ¥7,800 (equivalent to ¥7,910 in 2019) | |
| Discontinued | Discontinued | NA: 1999 | WW: March 23, 2003 | JP: 1999 | NA: June 13, 2000EU: June 13, 2000JP: October 22, 2001 |
| Media | Type | ROM cartridge | Game Boy Game Pak Game Boy Color Game Pak | ROM cartridge | ROM cartridge |
| Media | Regional lockout | Region locked | Unrestricted | Unrestricted | Unrestricted |
| Media | Backward compatibility | Sega Genesis | Game Boy | — | Neo Geo Pocket |
| Best-selling game | Best-selling game | Sonic the Hedgehog, 15 million | Pokémon Gold and Silver, 23 million | Unknown | Unknown |
| CPU | CPU | Motorola 68000 @ 7.6 MHz | Sharp SM83 @ 4.2 / 8.4 MHz | Toshiba TLCS900H @ 6 MHz | Toshiba TLCS900H @ 6 MHz |
| Memory | Memory | 64 KB RAM64 KB video RAM8 KB audio RAM20 KB ROM | 32 KB RAM16 KB video RAM2 KB ROM127 B High RAM | 12 KB RAM4 KB audio RAM64 KB ROM | 12 KB RAM4 KB audio RAM64 KB ROM |
| Display | Display | 3.25-inch backlit LC display | 2.3-inch (diagonal) TFT LCD 32,768 colors, up to 56 simultaneously | Monochromatic | 2.7-inch (diagonal) 4,096 colors, up to 146 simultaneously |
| Audio | Audio | Yamaha YM2612 sound chip | Nintendo Audio Processing Unit generating: Two square wave channels One waveform channel One noise channel | Zilog Z80 @ 3 MHz controlling SN76489 sound chip generating: Three square wave channels One noise channel Dual 8-bit DACs | Zilog Z80 @ 3 MHz controlling SN76489 sound chip generating: Three square wave channels One noise channel Dual 8-bit DACs |
| Resolutions | Resolutions | 384 × 224 | 160 × 144 | 160 × 152 | 160 × 152 |
| Battery life | Battery life | 4 hours | Up to 10 hours | 40 hours | 40 hours |
| Units sold | Units sold | 1 million | 118.69 million (including Game Boy) | | 2 million |

### Other handhelds

* Design Master Senshi Mangajukuu. Released in 1995 in Japan only.
* PasoGo by Koei, a console with a library dedicated to the game of Go. Released in Japan on 1996.
* Game.com. Released in 1997.
* PocketStation. Released in 1999 in Japan only.

## Milestone titles

* Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PlayStation, Saturn) by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and Konami is considered one of the best PlayStation games available, and a strong argument for the relevance of 2D games in an increasingly 3D market. The game is also credited with starting the Metroidvania genre, along with Super Metroid.
* Crash Bandicoot (PlayStation) by Naughty Dog and Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) would go on to become Sony's de facto mascot along with Nintendo's Mario and Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog. The game featured a marsupial bandicoot named Crash and would prove to be one of the PlayStation's most successful titles.
* Dragon Warrior VII (PlayStation) by Heartbeat, ArtePiazza, and Enix was the number one best-selling title on the PlayStation in Japan, released in 2000. The game was the first main installment of Japan's national RPG series released in 5 years.
* GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo 64) by Rare and Nintendo is a critically acclaimed game that helped make the first-person shooter a potential popular genre on consoles. The game has subsequently become credited alongside Shiny Entertainment's MDK for pioneering and popularising the now-standard inclusion of scoped sniper rifles in video games.
* Guardian Heroes (Saturn) by Treasure and Sega incorporated side-scrolling beat-em-up gameplay with RPG elements, and allows players to alter the storyline through their actions, such as choosing between a number of branching paths, leading to multiple endings, and killing civilians and enemies, leading to changes in the Karma meter.
* The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64) by Nintendo EAD and Nintendo is one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time and often listed as one of the greatest video games of all time.
* Nights into Dreams (Saturn) by Sonic Team and Sega was bundled with the Saturn's analog controller, which was almost essential to the gameplay. With its innovative gameplay and graphics, Nights, an exclusive title, aided in the selling of a number of Saturns.
* Paper Mario (Nintendo 64) received critical acclaim for its graphics, gameplay, and writing. It eventually led to more sequels starting with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door which also garnered critical acclaim.
* Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn) by Team Andromeda and Sega is the highest-rated Saturn title on Game Rankings with a score of 92.87%, and has been cited as one of the greatest games ever made.
* Perfect Dark (Nintendo 64) by Rare and Nintendo was the spiritual successor to GoldenEye 007 and is widely considered one of the greatest games of all time. It is the highest-rated first-person shooter of all time on Metacritic.
* Pokémon Red and Blue (Game Boy) by Game Freak and Nintendo was a critical and financial success when the games debuted on the Game Boy and putting another Nintendo franchise on the map. By the end of this console generation, the games sold about 31 million units worldwide.
* Pokémon Gold and Silver (Game Boy Color) also developed by Game Freak and Nintendo garnered critical acclaim from various gaming critics, are considered by many to be the best games in the Pokémon franchise.
* Quake (PC, Saturn, Nintendo 64) by id Software built upon the technology and gameplay of its predecessor Doom, and its engine offered full real-time 3D rendering and had early support for 3D acceleration through OpenGL, in addition to various multiplayer option compared to its predecessor. The game was critically acclaimed upon release and is considered one of the best video games of all time.
* Rayman (Jaguar, PlayStation, Saturn, PC) by Ubisoft was highly praised for its animated 2D graphics, atmosphere, soundtrack, and high difficulty, and was the number one best-selling title on the PlayStation in the UK, released in 1995. The game has since spawned over 45 additional entries in the series.
* Resident Evil (PlayStation) by Capcom received critical acclaim and is credited for popularizing the survival horror genre.
* Sega Rally Championship (Arcade, Saturn, PC) by Sega AM5 and Sega was the first rally racing game. It broke new ground by incorporating different surfaces with different friction properties, and has been cited as one of the greatest racing games ever made.
* Star Fox 64 (Nintendo 64) by Nintendo EAD and Nintendo is the first Nintendo 64 game to use the Nintendo 64 Rumble Pak, which was bundled with the game. It was a success and sold 3 million copies worldwide.
* Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64) by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (Nintendo EAD) and Nintendo is considered to be one of the greatest games of all time, particularly for its use of a dynamic camera system, the implementation of its 360-degree analog control, and open world design. Super Mario 64 is one of the best selling home console games of the era, selling 11.62 million copies worldwide.
* Tekken 3 (arcade, PlayStation) by Namco is considered not only to be the greatest installment of the Tekken series, but remains as one of the greatest fighting games of all time according to PlayStation Magazine. It has a Metacritic score of 96, and is the 12th highest rated game ever according to GameRankings. Its predecessor achieved similar feats until its succession, and the first game in the franchise was the first PlayStation game to sell over a million units.
* Tempest 2000 (Jaguar) by Llamasoft and Atari was critically acclaimed for its graphics, gameplay and soundtrack, and has been cited as one of the best games released on Jaguar as well as one of the best games of all time. It was later ported to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn by High Voltage Software, each with several changes and additions from the original version.
* Tobal 2 (PlayStation) by DreamFactory and Square holds the record for the largest character roster in a fighting game with 200 playable characters to choose from, including a greatly expanded Quest Mode compared to its predecessor.
* Tomb Raider (PlayStation, Saturn, PC) by Core Design and Eidos Interactive popularized many elements seen in later video games and spawned several very successful sequels. The main character, Lara Croft, was named the most recognizable female video game character by Guinness World Records.
* Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PC) by Neversoft and Activision garnered widespread critical acclaim and has been cited as one of the greatest games ever made.
* Virtua Cop (Arcade, Saturn, PC) by Sega AM2 and Sega introduced the use of 3D polygons to the light-gun shooter genre, paving the way for future light gun shooters like Namco's Time Crisis and Sega's The House of the Dead, and was a major influence on GoldenEye 007.
* Virtua Fighter (Arcade, Saturn, PC) by Sega AM2 and Sega created the 3D fighting game genre. The console port, which was nearly identical to the arcade game, sold at a nearly 1:1 ratio with the Saturn hardware at launch. The original arcade version also had a major influence on the PlayStation becoming a 3D-focused console.
* Virtua Fighter 2 (Arcade, Saturn, PC) by Sega AM2 and Sega was heralded at the time as "the ultimate arcade translation" and "the best fighting game ever". The title remains the highest selling Saturn game in Japan with 1.7 million copies.
* Wipeout (PlayStation, PC, Saturn) by Psygnosis received critical and financial success for its futuristic setting, weapons designed to both stall and destroy opponents and its marketing campaign designed by Keith Hopwood and The Designers Republic, in addition to unique licensed music from established electronica acts for PAL versions. The game has been described as being synonymous with Sony's debut gaming hardware and as an early showcase for 3D graphics in console gaming.