Honestly? I think this is a silly debate... Whether you're a fan of PlayStation's awesome 3D Platformers and RPGs or the Saturn's gorgeous 2D platformers, shmups and fighters, there's a lot to love here on both sides of the trenches! Now, I don't work for Sony or Sega, and I'm not a fanboy, so I've decided to keep this comparison refreshingly positive. I refuse to focus on the negatives. That's already been done to death! If you feel there's a clear winner here, then you might be somewhat biased or perhaps you aren't quite as familiar with the other console as you might think. Honestly, both systems had a fair share of crap titles, and you might argue that the PlayStation had 2,418 games to Saturn's 557, but believe me, more titles means more shovelware too. So, let's look directly at what both systems did well. I won't be scoring, so it's up to you to decide which machine merits your vote:
Core System Design
◙ Saturn was a sleek, jet black box (in U.S. and Europe) like it's predecessor the Genesis/Mega Drive. It had a top loading 2x CD ROM drive capable of playing audio CDs, 2 controller ports, and support for S-Video, RGB, and EDTV. The Saturn came with 510 blocks of internal memory along with a single memory cartridge slot for backing up saves. The system ran on an internal power supply and had a rear compartment for a Video CD player card.
◘ PlayStation was flat, gray and rectangular with a large top loading 2x CD ROM drive capable of playing audio CDs. It sported large buttons for power and eject, 2 controller ports and had S-Video support. PlayStation had no internal memory, but had two memory card slots for backing up and transferring saves. The system ran on an internal power supply and had a rear parallel port for GameShark and Video CD card add-ons.
Control Pad
◙ Saturn's U.S. launch control pad was panned by gamers and critics due to it's odd shape and strange clicky, unresponsive shoulder buttons. Sega quickly responded by bringing the Japanese model stateside. This proved to be a brilliant move, as the model 2 Saturn control pad is considered by many to be the greatest 2D game pad of all time! With a button layout that was familiar to Genesis and Mega Drive fans, it was the perfect pad for pulling off rapid fire combo attacks. Saturn would also receive a nice analog 3D control pad that provided accurate movement for 3D platformers and racing games.
◘ PlayStation's original control pad was very different. It was extremely light to hold. It used a single D-pad that was divided into 4 separate buttons on the surface which made fighting games somewhat difficult. It also used geometric shapes instead of letters for it's action buttons. About 3 years after the PlayStation's launch, Sony released the DualAnalog and later DualShock control pads, which would leave a lasting legacy for Sony's later PlayStation consoles. The DualShock control was ideal for first person shooters and racing games as it offered superior 3D control to it's digital predecessor.
Graphics Capabilities
◙ Saturn was designed to be an all-around graphics powerhouse, but it's focus was always on vibrant and colorful 2D gameplay. Rumors that Sega tossed in a 3D chip at the last minute are simply not true. With it's dual Hitachi CPUs and dual VDPs, Sega claimed the Saturn was capable of displaying 500,000 flat-shaded polygons per second. This chipset, however, presented problems for programmers who would often end up using only one CPU/VDP for convenience, thus reducing the power by half. Those that took time to develop for both CPUs/VDPs produced astounding 3D visuals (AM2, Namco, Treasure). The Saturn really shined when it came to brilliant 2D sprites and was further enhanced with the addition of 1MB and 4MB ram expansion carts. Many Neo•Geo ports came exclusively to Saturn as the PlayStation hardware had difficulty rendering and scaling such complex 2D sprites.
◘ PlayStation was designed for 3D from the start. With a single CPU and GPU it was a breeze for programmers and was capable of 180,000 texture mapped and light-sourced polygons per second. These numbers were reasonably achievable for most titles. PlayStation also benefited from more RAM, which enabled higher quality video compression/playback. It was also capable of true transparencies at launch, while Saturn developers struggled to achieve the same by the end of it's life. The PlayStation rendered triangular polygons as opposed to the Saturn's quads resulting in more seamless textures and less inherent aliasing. A great example of PlayStation's texture-mapped 3D capabilities was Square's Vagrant Story from Yasumi Matsuno. 3D games looked awesome on the PlayStation and were a blast to play!
The Games
◙ Saturn - (exclusives & games best on Saturn): Albert Odyssey, Astal, Baku Baku, Burning Rangers, Clockwork Knight 2, Daytona USA CCE, Deep Fear, DoDonPachi, Dragon Force, Enemy Zero, Fighters Megamix, Fighting Vipers, Guardian Heroes, House of the Dead, Last Bronx, Legend of Oasis, Lunacy, Magic Knight Rayearth, Marvel Super Heroes, MegaMan X4, Metal Slug, NiGHTS into Dreams, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Panzer Dragoon Zwei, Radiant Silvergun, Rayman, Saturn Bomberman, Sega Rally, Sega Touring Car, Shining Force III, Shining the Holy Ark, Sonic Jam, Soukyugurentai, Street Fighter Alpha 2 & Zero 3, Three Dirty Dwarves, Vampire Savior, Virtua Cop 2, Virtua Fighter 2, Virtual-On, X-Men: Children of the Atom, X-Men vs Street Fighter, Waku Waku 7
◘ PlayStation - (exclusives & games best on PlayStation): Alundra, Ape Escape, Battle Arena Toshinden, Brave Fencer Musashi, Bushido Blade, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Crash Bandicoot 2, Chrono Cross, Dragon Warrior VII, Driver 2, Dino Crisis 2, Einhander, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy VII & IX, Grand Theft Auto 2, Gran Turismo 2, Heart of Darkness, Jet Moto 2, Klonoa, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, MDK, Medal of Honor, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2 & 3, Ridge Racer, Parappa the Rapper, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Omega Boost, Saga Frontier 2, Spyro the Dragon, Silent Hill, Strider 2, Syphon Filter, Tekken 3, Tomb Raider II, Twisted Metal, Vagrant Story, Wipeout XL, Xenogears
Here is a nice video series by Real Blue comparing ports for Saturn and PlayStation. This is probably the best way to compare the consoles graphically, but remember, it's all about the games!
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