The sega saturn's PPU's, (2d processors, or Picture Processing Units) behemoths or merely programed right?

[FishTankX]

I'm wondering, what made the sega saturn's 2d units so powerful? Why did they always have to cut down/dumb down the games when porting to the playstation? I heard the saturn had several co processors, but still, that shouldn't give it such a sharp edge on 2d. Can anyone technically inclined please explain to me why the sega saturn's PPUs (Picture Processing Units, an ancient term from the 16 bit era, I don't know what they're properly called) were so powerful in comparison to what was out in it's time, and why they still hold their own today? (I think the PS2 is just catching up in 2d capabilities).

Also, was it hardware power or merely hardware similarity with arcade hardware that gave it such an edge on arcade ports?

 

[FishTankX]

Bumpity Bumpity

 

[DeschutesCore]

The Saturn had dual 2D processors designed with a specific functions in mind. Other consoles like the PS 1 & 2 and XBox all are designed around a multifunction 3D focused CPU/GPU.

The Saturn also had a tremendous amount of sprite manipulation functions. It's along the same lines as the good old ATI/nVidia vs. Matrox issue. Matrox has a vastly superior 2D engine (as is evident with the Parhelia whooping EVERYTHING's @ss in MAME) where everyone seems to think 3D is the way of the future. Playstations (1 & 2) both have dedicated geometry engines, but no sprite engine.

Quote:
"The Saturn is very fast at drawing single pixels using its processor, while the PlayStation has to go through its polygon engine. That gives the Saturn programmer more flexibility."

There's a lot more to it than just fast per pixel routines, but every improved hardware dedicated function helps. By rendering 2D with a 3D system, you have a fair amount of additional wasted info that could be used for additional effects like scaling, etc. but generally just soaks up bandwidth.

Links:
Saturn Specs
PS1 Specs

DC

PS: This is a pretty poor explanation (more like opinion) from an entry level graphics programmer. I have no background in console hardware other than minor emulation development experience in the NES. Please take everything with a grain of salt.