[klodolph]

I agree that this is way more complicated.

Nobody knew what 3D hardware would look like in 1994, they were too busy inventing it. For example, the Saturn provides quads as your primitive, which seems weird to anybody looking at the Saturn today. The PlayStation and Nintendo 64 both used triangles.

You might have various reasons to prefer the Nintendo 64 or PlayStation, but from a developer's perspective, the main reason you would prefer the Saturn is probably because of its 2D performance. But a higher price point for better 2D performance is a tough sell.

It's also interesting to look at the different companies through the lens of what their strengths are. Sony has generally had pretty solid hardware design, Microsoft has generally made systems that are easier to develop software for, etc.

[Firehawke]

Better 2D performance and more RAM. The lack of RAM kneecapped the Capcom fighting game ports on PSX.

[robin_reala]

The Saturn’s RAM expansion pack helped too: https://sega.jp/fb/segahard/ss/ram.html

[mkl]

Interesting discussion of the quad system: https://forum.beyond3d.com/threads/why-did-gpus-abandon-quad...