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CPU: 65c816 16-bit 3.58 / 2.68 / 1.79 Mhz Processor: 16-bit PPU (Picture Processing Unit) RAM: 1 Mbit (128 Kbyte) Video RAM: 0.5 Mbit (64 Kbyte) Resolution: 512 x 448 Colors Available: 32,768 On Screen Colors: 256 Max Sprites per screen: 128 Max Sprites per line: 32 Max Sprite size: 64x64 Min Sprite size: 8x8 Sound Chip: 8-bit Sony SPC700 8 Channels Features Mode 7 Cart Size: 2Mb - 48Mb *Super Nintendo History* When the massively successful Nintendo Entertainment System finally started to lose its stranglehold on the video game industry (due to the 16-bit systems), Nintendo decided it was time to introduce their next-generation console to the world. Arriving in September 1991, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) was set to take the Sega Genesis's crown. And it would have, if it was released earlier. Despite the SNES' superior graphics and sound, the Genesis simply had too big of an audience to taken over that easily. Eventually, however, the SNES reached as many homes as the Genesis, and was just as popular. The main thing that separated the SNES from the pack was its abundance of RPG's (many by Square), which every other system lacked, as well as its Mode 7 capabilities, which included image scaling and rotation. This allowed for many innovative games, such as first-person perspective racing games like F-Zero and Super Mario Kart, and added a new dimension to tried-and-true genres. Also, the SNES is one of the only consoles to have cartridges with add-on chips. The Super FX chip (used in StarFox, Vortex, and Yoshi's Island) was a 16-bit RISC processor that added extended abilities to games. A faster version, the Super FX2, was used in Doom and Stunt Race FX. The DSP chip was a math co-processor that pushed games like Pilotwings, Super Mario Kart, and Street Fighter 2: Alpha to their limits. Capcom had a special chip, the C4, which added line-drawn effects to Mega Man X2 and Mega Man X3. The SA-1 was a chip used in Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius (Parodius 3) and Super Mario RPG. But perphaps the Super NES' greatest strength was the masterful sequels and remakes of the NES' greatest hits. Games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, and Super Mario World all retained the gameplay that made them classics, while updating the graphics, sound, and game size to the 16-bit standard to keep them fresh. The SNES' only drawbacks were its slower clock speed, which gave the Genesis an edge in sports and action games, and Nintendo's policy on "family values." The best example of this was the Mortal Kombat controversy, which made many people stick with their Genesis. Although the Super Nintendo's version of MK was graphically superior to the Genesis version, Nintendo decided that the game was too gory, so Acclaim was forced to change the blood to sweat. Also, some of the gorier fatalities in the game were scrapped and replaced with tamer, lame ones. The Genesis version was the same, except it had a "blood code" which restored all the blood and guts. Surprisingly, this little technicality made many people not buy the SNES game, and look at it in a different light. Nintendo learned their lesson, however, and allowed the blood in the following versions. Following in the tradition of every other console before it, in 1997 Nintendo released a new Super Nintendo model. It looks very similar to the Super Famicom (Japanese SNES), except for the white and purple color scheme and compact size. The new design left out the RF output and expansion ports. In the end, the SNES library was larger than Genesis's and the amount of consoles sold was almost twice as many. Nintendo had won the 16-bit war. the above text was taken from some website, forgot where....