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8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, Previous, Current?

astroboyastroboy Registered User regular
edited January 2007 in Games and Technology
We used to (and still do) refer to previous hardware generations as such:

8-bit
Sega Master System
NES

16-bit
Genesis
TurboGrafx
SNES

32-bit
Saturn
Playstation
N64
Jaguar

(Granted, not all those systems technically fell under their headings, but we generally consider them as a part of those generations nonetheless.)

Those terms were borne from the hardware specs and their use as a selling point from marketing folks. Things got blurry as time went on, and bits were no longer important or emphasized to define the generation.

Which brings us to:

The Previous Generation
Dreamcast
PS2
GameCube
Xbox

The Current Generation
Xbox 360
PS3
Wii

It's fine calling them "Previous Generation" and "Current Generation" for now, but what happens when subsequent generations appear and those terms no longer hold true for them. How will they be referred to then?

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Posts

  • Lucky CynicLucky Cynic Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Nvm, >_>

    Lucky Cynic on
  • yakulyakul Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    The previous generation was NEXT-GEN. This GEN (PS3, Wii) is CURRENT-GEN.

    When the PS4 and XBOX 360 2 and Wiii come out, oh boy you better believe there is gonna be trouble.

    yakul on
  • RaslinRaslin Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Wow. The next nintendo system really should be called Wiii.

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  • mspencermspencer PAX [ENFORCER] Council Bluffs, IARegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Darkest_3|i+3 wrote:
    N-64 was 32bit?!
    Yes it was.
    The CPU powering Nintendo 64 is a MIPS R4300i-based NEC VR4300.[6] The CPU is clocked at 93.75 MHz and connects to the rest of the system through a 32-bit data bus.

    mspencer on
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  • QorzmQorzm Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    The 360 has 360 bits right

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  • StigmaStigma Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    I always figured PS2/X-Box era was 128bit.

    Stigma on
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  • yakulyakul Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Qorzm wrote:
    The 360 has 360 bits right
    No no it's how many flops it does.

    yakul on
  • mspencermspencer PAX [ENFORCER] Council Bluffs, IARegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Also, Wikipedia's classification of game consoles might be informative here. They say we should call the last gen (Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox, GCN) "sixth generation" and the current gen (360, PS3, Wii) "seventh generation."

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  • Lucky CynicLucky Cynic Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    mspencer wrote:
    Darkest_3|i+3 wrote:
    N-64 was 32bit?!
    Yes it was.
    The CPU powering Nintendo 64 is a MIPS R4300i-based NEC VR4300.[6] The CPU is clocked at 93.75 MHz and connects to the rest of the system through a 32-bit data bus.

    Oh, but it was a 64bit processor, okay, kinda had me looking over my shoudler for a minute there...

    Lucky Cynic on
  • QorzmQorzm Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Is Nintendo just really bad with numbers

    N64 wasn't 64 bits or whatever

    And Mario 128 has nothing to do with 128 bits

    Right?

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  • mspencermspencer PAX [ENFORCER] Council Bluffs, IARegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    I think Nintendo's marketing department started to figure out: if they wanted the American sales numbers they were going for, they would need to stop using numbers higher than what their target market can count to.

    *ba-dum tsss*

    Thank you, thank you... what, Xbox 360 you say? Crap, never mind. :-)

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  • astroboyastroboy Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    mspencer wrote:
    Also, Wikipedia's classification of game consoles might be informative here. They say we should call the last gen (Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox, GCN) "sixth generation" and the current gen (360, PS3, Wii) "seventh generation."

    Hmm, that's a tidy way of looking at it.

    I guess that also solves the technical inaccuracy of putting the TG-16 under a "16-bit" generation heading. Simply refer to that generation as the Fourth Generation.

    Man, that's gonna take some getting used to, especially for those of us who experienced the "Bit Wars" of the '90s:

    "Neo Geo, 24-bits!"
    "N64, 64-bits!"
    "Atari Jaguar, evenmore-bits!"
    :?

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  • MarlorMarlor Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Stigma wrote:
    I always figured PS2/X-Box era was 128bit.

    Well, the main core of the PS2's "Emotion Engine" was a 64-bit CPU. The Gamecube had a CPU with 64 and 32 bit components. The XBox had a 32-bit processor.

    The CPU's word size really is unimportant.

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  • FreddyDFreddyD Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Marlor wrote:
    Stigma wrote:
    I always figured PS2/X-Box era was 128bit.

    Well, the main core of the PS2's "Emotion Engine" was a 64-bit CPU. The Gamecube had a CPU with 64 and 32 bit components. The XBox had a 32-bit processor.

    The CPU's word size really is unimportant.
    I would bet it used a 32-bit instruction set with some tricks for working with 64 bit numbers. Bits don't matter much anymore. It's all about flops and hertz.

    FreddyD on
  • VariableVariable Mouth Congress Stroke Me Lady FameRegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    yakul wrote:
    The previous generation was NEXT-GEN. This GEN (PS3, Wii) is CURRENT-GEN.

    When the PS4 and XBOX 360 2 and Wiii come out, oh boy you better believe there is gonna be trouble.

    that's how I categorize them in my file where I record my games... last gen is "next-gen" and this gen is "current-gen".

    Variable on
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  • lazerbeardlazerbeard Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    I dunno, I just reference a console from the era when I am referring to a generation, like N64 generation, or like "around the time of the PS2" that is an easy reference that everyone understands, especially since there isn't any one feature we can reference any more.

    lazerbeard on
  • FyreWulffFyreWulff YouRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited January 2007
    the previous generation should be called The Generation In Which The Word 'Exclusive' Lost It's Meaning Completely

    FyreWulff on
  • SimBenSimBen Hodor? Hodor Hodor.Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    We should call each generation Steve, Bob, Ray, Sue and Patrick, respectively. No more confusion.

    SimBen on
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  • hambonehambone Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    I remember when the Saturn was Next Gen.

    hambone on
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  • ZackSchillingZackSchilling Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    I refer to the generations by their most memorable graphical techniques. Starting from the beginning we have the

    White Paddles Generation
    Rainbow Rectangles Generation
    Sparse Backgrounds Generation
    Parallax Scrolling Generation
    3D Vomit Generation (alt: Lens flare Generation)
    Specular Plastic Generation

    ...and everyone's new favorite, the Light Bloom Generation

    ZackSchilling on
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  • MonaroMonaro Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    ZackSchilling wrote:
    ...and everyone's new favorite, the Light Bloom Generation

    ...Bajillions of Enemies on Screen at Once Generation?

    Monaro on
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  • SimBenSimBen Hodor? Hodor Hodor.Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Monaro wrote:
    ZackSchilling wrote:
    ...and everyone's new favorite, the Light Bloom Generation

    ...Bajillions of Enemies on Screen at Once Generation?

    ...Sweat generation?

    SimBen on
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  • PataPata Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    This generation shall be known as Waggle Generation.

    Pata on
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  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    8-bit for life!

    Sega Master System 4 EVER

    TheSonicRetard on
  • The_RatThe_Rat Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited January 2007
    The PS2/GC/Xbox generation was the light bloom generation. This generation is the fancy, overt pixel-shader generation.

    The_Rat on
  • Duchess ProzacDuchess Prozac Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    Gah, seeing the word generation written so many times has made the word seem very peculiar and strange.

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  • cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    ZackSchilling wrote:
    I refer to the generations by their most memorable graphical techniques. Starting from the beginning we have the

    White Paddles Generation
    Rainbow Rectangles Generation
    Sparse Backgrounds Generation
    Parallax Scrolling Generation
    3D Vomit Generation (alt: Lens flare Generation)
    Specular Plastic Generation

    ...and everyone's new favorite, the Light Bloom Generation

    :^:

    cloudeagle on
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  • seeraphaelseeraphael Registered User regular
    edited January 2007
    ZackSchilling wrote:
    I refer to the generations by their most memorable graphical techniques. Starting from the beginning we have the

    White Paddles Generation
    Rainbow Rectangles Generation
    Sparse Backgrounds Generation
    Parallax Scrolling Generation
    3D Vomit Generation (alt: Lens flare Generation)
    Specular Plastic Generation

    ...and everyone's new favorite, the Light Bloom Generation

    I like it, except maybe instead of "3D Vomit Generation" we can call it "Ugly Origami World Generation" instead.

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