These two consoles has been a debate in gaming history for a LONG time! Settle it now!
  The Sega's Genesis? Or the classic SNES! YOU DECIDE!

I remember there being this great commercial about which system was better, with a guy dressed up in a Genesis controller.  He was touting the fact that while SNES had a four directional controller, Genesis had a much more multidirectional controller, and thus was the better system.  It really was a stupid commercial, but it made me think I was smart for having a Genesis when most of my friends went with SNES.

For games, however, I think I much more enjoyed what you got with SNES.  I usually went over to my friends houses to play video games, and they rarely came over to mine to play my Genesis.  I don't think I even played Genesis much long after Sonic 3D blast was just a big headache.  So much for the improved 3D functionality!

-Andrew

I'd definitely say the SNES was better because to me, it had a better overall library of games than the Sega Genesis. The SNES had games such as Chrono Trigger, Super Mario World, Final Fantasy IV and VI, it also had some great racing games such as F-Zero and Super Mario Kart. Other than a lot of great Sonic games, the only other Genesis games I thoroughly enjoyed were the Phantasy Star games. For that reason, I definitely say the SNES was better.

I'd personally have to say Genesis. (Don't hurt me.) I don't want to say why, just for the sake of causing fights or arguments in this thread, but I just find it better than the SNES, but the two come close together.

I personally prefer the Genesis/Mega Drive and yes that's probably partly rooted in nostalgia since it's the first I console I ever owned.

I'm sure most of the members here prefer the SNES especially in ways of games and at least in terms of technical capabilities the SNES was the superior console (except in processing speed which means there was actually some truth to the blast processing ads ).

I found the genesis to have lots of great games that the snes didn't have they just aren't as well known or iconic as the snes exclusives are like the phantasy star games, vector man, gunstar heroes, shining force 1 and 2 (though those last mentioned ones have become fairly popular) etc. And of course there's also Sonic :3

So in terms of the capabilities of the consoles themselves then yes SNES is superior in most regards but in terms of the games, while it is subjective I'd actually say they were somewhat on par from a critical standpoint, personally though I prefer the Genesis library.

Sauron422416 : The same applies for the genesis though, had lots of great games including pretty much all genres, some of the games weren't as well known but that didn't make them any less good.

Platformer: Sonic games, Vectorman, Castlevania Bloodlines, Mega Man the Wily Wars etc.
Racing: OutRun, Virtua Racing, Super Monaco GP
RPG/Adventure: Shining Force 1 and 2, Phantasy Star series
Action: Gunstar Heroes, Zombies ate my neighbours, Altered Beast, Contra Hard-CORPS

And I'm pretty sure it was generally accepted that out of the two the Genesis was the hands down best when it came to sports games.

So you get the gist, though I'm not really sure about kart racers but as far as I'm aware mario kart was more or less the game that made that into a psuedo genre of sorts.

Both are too different to distinguish one.

The Sega Genesis, for the longest time, was in many ways the most advanced 16-bits platform. Phantasy Star II (and IV) had graphic designs that absolutely no Super Nintendo games had until Chrono Trigger. Even Final Fantasy VI had the usual "swing your weapon" pattern than didn't touch the enemy at all. Of course, its color pallet was limited to 64 colors, but I didn't mind that.

Many video game magazines in the 1990s considered Genesis to be the better console for sports game. I don't really care for them, but Sonic was superior to Mario. It was more colorful, had better music and more things to explore.

However, I did prefer Squaresoft to Sega when it comes to RPGs. Despite inferior graphics, the stories were just better and the soundtrack was DEFINITELY better with life-like instruments.

So in short I can't cast a vote. I've had both consoles (I started with a Genesis) and I enjoyed them both for different reasons.

Sauron422416 : Super Nintendo Entertainment System is better, hands down. It has way better and funner games than Genesis. SNES is a classic. 

greenluigi : I agree! 
 janus: You may be comparing the graphics that the Genesis were capable of at the time to the graphics of the SNES. But that is were you are wrong. The Sega Genesis also ported classic arcade games to their home console, but, they had to reduce the graphics due to technical limitations. Games...well gamers complained that early Genesis games were too short and repetitive. So they created Sonic! Yes, they did have really good games but most people never heard of it...now I am not saying they are BAD games...I am saying that they were not popular and known to most gamers. Nintendo also made the Super FX chip which enabled the Super Nintendo to render more advanced 2D and 3D effects. They used this for Yoshi's Island and Star Fox. Sega responded with their own chip, the "Sega Virtual Play Chip". The only game that used this: Virtual Racer, retailed at $100, making it the most expensive Genesis game ever to be sold in stores! Ironically, the price of additional chips was one reason why Sega criticized Nintendo in 1994. I quote from the 1994 issue of Gameplay Magazine:
  "Nintendo would like you to believe that by adding chips into their cartridges, they will be saving you money. If Donkey Kong Country, priced at $69.99 is any indication of the money they are saving you, its a good thing they are a game company and not your banker."

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Sauron422416 : I never played arcade games (nor did they interest me) so I can't really compare. 

But yes, Genesis had serious defects compared to Super Nintendo. Nevertheless, games like Phantasy Star II and IV were technically superior to SNES RPGs until Final Fantasy VI (and even then, PS IV sprites weren't just blobs of pixels).

Sauron422416 : The truth is there is no better system they all have there faults in which the other does not so they are matched perfectly. It is all a matter of which one we grew up with nostalgia plays a big role in peoples decision on these. These consoles are many peoples childhood even though I was not born in this age I still like this age. A age where game companies had to be creative to outwit each other thus many good games have come out for both systems. But in reality no one can outwit the other because there will always be people who like system over the other and vice versa. So what I am trying to say is that no system is truly better than the other it's all a matter of nostalgia and general interest if that makes any sense.

genesis is 32 bit and snes is 16 bit right? then why is it that the snes has far superior grapihcs? Super nintendo has donkey kong country, super mario world, super star wars, zombies ate my neighbors, f-zero, countless great games. Genesis had.... gunstar heroes and a few others.

   "The truth is there is no better system they all have there faults in which the other does not so they are matched perfectly. It is all a matter of which one we grew up with nostalgia plays a big role in peoples decision on these. These consoles are many peoples childhood even though I was not born in this age I still like this age. A age where game companies had to be creative to outwit each other thus many good games have come out for both systems. But in reality no one can outwit the other because there will always be people who like system over the other and vice versa. So what I am trying to say is that no system is truly better than the other it's all a matter of nostalgia and general interest if that makes any sense." -18mlivingston 
 
    18mlivingston: Could not have said it better!
BUT...
I did some research comparing some hardware specifications of the two consoles. Here are some of my findings. 

Specification	SNES	Genesis	Winner
CPU Speed	1.79-3.58 MHz (usually 2.68 MHz)	7.67 MHz	Genesis
CPU Bits	16	16	Tied
RAM	128 KB	64 KB	SNES
Internal ROM	None	1 MB (later model(s))	Genesis

Sound Processor Bits	8	8	Tied
Synthesizer	No	Yes	Genesis
Sound RAM	64 KB	8 KB	SNES
Audio	8 channels, stereo	6 channels, stereo	SNES
Colors Possible	32,768 (counting Alpha)	512 (flickering allows appearance of more)	SNES

Simult. Colors Possible	256	64	SNES
Onscreen Planes	1-4 layers with varying uses, depending on the mode (0-7) in use	2 scrolling layers, 1 sprite layer, 1 window plane	SNES
Maximum simult. sprites	128	80	SNES
Maximum Sprite Size	64x64	32x32	SNES
Display Resolution	From 256x224 to 512x448	320x224	SNES

Headphone Output	No	Yes, with Volume control (original model only)	Genesis
Backward Compatibility	No	Yes, with adapter	Genesis
Expandable Functionality	Design allowing easy implementation of game-specific enhancement chips, Game Boy compatibility via Super Game Boy peripheral	Sega CD peripheral (higher sound quality, CD playback, full-motion video), Sega 32X peripheral (32 bits, high color)	Debatable

SNES WINS: 9         
GENESIS WINS:5            
TIES:2
SNES WINS! (In my opinion)
Source: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~dherring/cgt141/project1/comparison.html

Sauron422416 : I've read about it before so I was more or less already aware of the specs, hence why I said that SNES has the advantage in most regards besides processing speed which was why the term blast processing had some truth to it. Though the genesis had some cool features like the headphone output you mentioned.

With that said the Genesis was still capable of some really great looking games, if you want an example look at vectorman, it really pushed the systems limits and was more or less made specifically for the system and probably wouldn't have been possible on the snes.

And even so I really judge them mostly by how fun the games exclusive to that were so, the genesis is still my favorite (though there a lot of games I enjoy on the SNES as well).

TheFadedWarrior : No, the Genesis was 16 bit as well. You're probably thinking of the 32x which was an attachment that converted the Genesis into a 32 bit system. The 32x came late in the Genesis' life and was an overall flop.


I have to agree with 18mlivingston and say that they are both too good in their own right to compare or declare a winner.


Sauron - Also, in regards to your comparison chart Sauron, it isn't fair to compare the two systems specs since the Genesis came out in 1989 and the SNES came out in 1992. There was a lot of time in between for tech improvements and Nintendo had three years (60% of a full generation at the time) to look over their competitor's system and make sure they made one that was more powerful. Had they released in the same year, specs comparisons would work, but not when they release over half a generation apart.
That would be like comparing the N64's specs with the Dreamcast's, which incidentally were released around a half generation apart if that gives you an idea of the difference that amount of time between systems can make.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System. I will never forget how awesome that console and name is. I grew up with one, then moved on to a different console but I will never forget the fun I had on the SNES.

My pick has to be the Super NES.
So much fun to be had on that classic console!
Playing Game Boy games on Super Game Boy, and playing Super NES games like the Donkey Kong Country Trilogy, Super Mario World, SMW2: Yoshi's Island, Super Mario RPG, Secret of Mana/Seiken Densetsu, Super Castlevania 4, Final Fantasy 5, Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 4, and other great Super NES games!
Yeah, I generally have a blast on the Super NES. But I like Sega Genesis/Mega Drive too.

Eirinn : Good point. It never occurred to me to consider the year of release to make the comparison.

But did it really influence Nintendo? The release year is probably for the U.S.; the Super Famicom seemed to have been released earlier because Super Mario World says 1990 and Final Fantasy IV was about 1991.

Does anyone know if the Japanese consoles are any different from the ones in North America or Europe?

janus : Do not know janus,,,I do not think that there were any differences between the Eastern and Western releases of the SNES!