Why Additive Blending Made PlayStation Effects Look Better Than Nintendo 64
By
ibobev
Fresh out the oven, still warm. Top of the tray.
Summary
This article explains why visual effects like explosions looked superior on the original PlayStation compared to the Nintendo 64. The key reason is additive blending — a graphics technique that makes effects appear brighter and more luminous by adding pixel values together. While the N64 technically supported additive blending, it was practically unusable due to hardware limitations. The article details the PSX's four blend modes, explains how additive blending works mathematically, and contrasts the rendering capabilities of both consoles.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledDid you ever wonder why explosions and other effects looked so much cooler on the original PlayStation than they did on the Nintendo 64?
The reason is additive blending! Or rather, in the N64 case, the lack thereof.
While the N64 actually did support additive blending, it was practically unusable.
The PSX supports 4 different blend modes (in addition to just overwriting pixels) to control how sprites and geometry are mixed into the existing frame buffer.
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