The fifth generation of video games took place from 1993 to 2001. It was an era of transition from the 2D sprite based games of all previous generations to the 3d graphics of modern generations. The industry took a huge leap in making the transition from cartridges to optical discs, chiefly the CD-ROM.
Let’s take a quick detour for a moment to talk about CD based gaming. One of the biggest arguments amongst gamers at this time was whether CD based game consoles or cartridges were superior. There is no doubt that CD based systems were more powerful and could pack more data such as video and higher quality audio, but gamers were not the only ones questioning which one would ultimately make more sense. In fact, many companies in the video gaming landscape were having the same arguments internally around that time.
The Sony Playstation in fact can partially be attributed to Nintendo who entered into a very short lived agreement to work with Sony, who were the industry leaders in the CD field, to create a CD based system. Nintendo ended up exiting the agreement to go on to work with Philips on a project creating a CD based add-on for the Super Nintendo that also never came to fruition. Sony was so upset about what had taken place that they decided to take their technology and enter into the game industry on their own with the release of the Playstation. As everyone knows, Nintendo ultimately ended up waiting until the tail end of the 5th generation to release the Nintendo 64. – Read the rest of the article here from Classic Console Magazine (courtesy of Old School Gamer)!
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