[Black Squirrel]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NV1

I know very little about the history of PC graphics cards, only that the naming schemes suck.

This video card (Nvidia's first) is interesting. It pre-dates technologies such as DirectX and is based on the Sega Saturn, to the point where you can actually plug Sega Saturn controllers into it. There's half a dozen Saturn-to-PC ports which take advantage of the thing too, which might explain to my younger self why Panzer Dragoon ran great on my old PC, while Virtua Fighter 2 did not.


Presumably some obsessed and mentally unstable Saturn emulator developers could turn mid-90s PCs into Sega Saturns with this thing. Although apparently it's exceptionally rare and sought after by collectors.

...

well I thought it was interesting, anyway

[Meat Miracle]

1. old news
2. It's not based on the Saturn, it's just based on the same principle of quadratic rendering.
3. being able to plug in Saturn pads to a PC takes relatively little additional logic. There's a reason we have home-made converters too.
4. It would not help emulator development at all, as you'd be trying to offload rendering onto a totally unknown hardware. If anything, it would stall it even more. Plus, a mid-90s machine would not have the horsepower to emulate the other 3 cpus and 3 asics in the system fast enough.

[Oerg866]

It's more than just the same principle.

And it is ver ymuch like its own gaming system indeed, it also had integrated SB compatible audio. and it's not *that* rare, at leat in germany I know tons of these exis.t

[Meat Miracle]

Oerg866, on 11 August 2012 - 05:29 AM, said:

It's more than just the same principle.

Do we have any documentation on the NV1 to check that?

[Oerg866]

Nvidia grew pretty close to sega during that time, even constructed the never released nv2 together. I think the evidence of nv1 carts existing speaks for itself though, I mean why deny that sega saturn controller ports and the same rendering technique have anything to do with the other? I really don't see the point in arguing about this.