History of Video Game Console Audio Capabilities/Sound Chips

Another AV Project.
Didn't hit everything I could have in this video but I was already over the 10 minute video limit and I didn't want to research more lol. This is probably the proudest work that I've ever done on anything.

[@dogeofcoin7038]

No C64? That's sad, because the C64 was primarily a game machine with an astounding sound chip.

[@grroink7565]

Honestly my knowledge on consoles before NES is pretty limited so while making this video I kinda just auto piloted and tried to hit the big "modern"/ heard of consoles

[@dogeofcoin7038]

@@grroink7565 Ok, that makes sense. If you were to make an updated version of this video, the C64 would be a good console to include.

[@Nikku4211]

To be technical, it's a home computer, not a console.

[@ratix98]

Bringing a pc into the mix? Can't forget that the pcjr & tandy1000 also used the same sound chip as the master system.

[@isaacjaramillo4063]

Nes only has 4 2 squares 1 tri and one noise. Smb3 had a co processed chip called the mmc5 that added the extra channel. Not every game had it.

[@josealvesduarte90]

The NES actually has 5 channels, the fifth being a delta modulation channel (adpcm). The MMC5 adds 3 new channels, two square waves and a PCM.

[@hallomeinnameistkarl216]

extending josealves‘ answer, SMB3 uses the MMC3, not the MMC5

[@poorman-trending]

SID chip? Sound blaster??

[@SPCooki34]

the snes has 8 channels not 6

[@babysal5765]

nice

[@fancykat9940]

SNES has 8 PCM channels, not 6

[@enderjed2523]

No, the SNES had 8 BRR channels, not PCM.

[@joejoemyo]

I really want to know how this was so internalized that it set off alarm bells when you heard the incorrect metric

[@chopperbrosadvance9760]

It used 2 of them for sfx in smw so that may have where the error came from

[@alfombracitario]

​@@chopperbrosadvance9760there are really 3 channels reserved in smw for sfx... other games like plok use 6 channels and 2 for sfx

[@josealvesduarte90]

​@@enderjed2523 BRR is ADPCM.

[@Butterstix2014]

Great video! One thing that I think ought to be noted is the Famicom’s ability to play new audio channels using sound chips that could be included in game carts. Like the VRC6, for example. Though that’s technically not the famicom doing that, rather the cartridge. The famicom disk system would be worth mentioning too.

[@kmburke84]

Totally skipped over the turbografx 16, the whole point for me at least

[@hydrochloric007]

Video Game music Then: BEEP Video Game Music Now: Orchestra

[@mdjey2]

Actually its less video game music now.

[@tylerhottes6760]

*SNES had 8 pcm channels...

[@PKSuperStar256]

*SNES

[@tylerhottes6760]

@@PKSuperStar256 oh goodness, Thanks for the correction,

[@PKSuperStar256]

@@tylerhottes6760, you're welcome!

[@tylerhottes6760]

@@PKSuperStar256 btw I just corrected it... so it’s all good. Hope you had a great Christmas Day...

[@R4dm1n]

5:33 The SPC700 has 8 channels, not 6.

[@AshleyRiot]

This video is quite poorly made. It’s not researched and enough and is full of inaccuracies. Order of console releases are out of order, release dates are for North America for every single one and aren’t for their original release dates (Ex. Genesis originally came out in 1988) and this video doesn’t include systems like the PC Engine or the Sega Saturn. The editing isn’t really that good and some words you’re saying are cut off. Some info you give is already known. You also completely forgot to mention the Sega CD’s CDDA audio capabilities with adds 2 channels. Thus, it has 22 channels. Not 20. You said 22 (which I know you got for GST) but adding it up what you said (4+6+8+2), it’s 20. The SNES has 8 channels and not 6. At this point, I would like to correct this video and make my own. Edit: I would like to add that the video is quite poorly paced and should’ve had some music. Also sorry if I sound a bit rude.

[@FlaxXGD.-]

You are so rude.

[@AshleyRiot]

@@FlaxXGD.- I’m just pointing out a lot of wrong stuff i found in the video

[@MauveDash]

You might want to credit The 8-bit Guy for some of the things you used here!

[@lamiamekni2802]

So nowadays the consoles themselves are capable of producing soundtracks without sound chips

[@customsongmaker]

Well the consoles aren't producing the music, they're just playing it. With the consoles in the 80s, they could produce the music from just a few hundred bytes of data. The NES could have used the PCM channel to play an entire song from an audio recording, if the cartridge had 20 times as much storage space. But there was only enough room for a low-quality recording of a human voice saying "Ghostbusters!" or something.

[@lamiamekni2802]

@@customsongmaker but if the NES cart had 20 times the storage space, it would've been too costly

[@customsongmaker]

@@lamiamekni2802 but it would've been worth it

[@squeakyfoxx]

great video! but I have a few things to note. Final Fantasy VII, along with a lot of other PS1 games aren't using the redbook CD audio. they're instead _sequenced_, likely using midi or some midi-like implementation.(and the PSU only had 24 channels, so it still couldn't be as complex as a full orchestra) and the PS1's SPU also has something else that's realpy cool imo that you skipped over, and that's *hardware reverb*. so does the n64, but to my knowledge, it's not documented well as of right now. speaking of the N64, it *does* have its own soundchip. most, if not all games were sequenced though. but it has the ability to play I think it was 16 channels? I forget. also the SNES has 8 channels, not 6. and it's technically not PCM, rather it's BRR. everything after that with the exception of the PS2(it had the same soundchip carried over from the PS1. Kingdom Hearts 1&2 had a midi implementation, as well as Final Fantasy X and X2, which used the 24 channels.) had a DSP, which is still a "sound chip", but it's primarily for streaming audio, and not intended for sequenced playback. also you forgot handhelds! the DS interestingly has a pretty nice sound chip with 16 channels, 8 of them being able to be PSG channels(square wave/noise generators), although to my knowledge, that wasn't used much.

[@madmax2069]

It's crazy on what the homebrew scene and the demoscene has been able to do with limited sound capabilities. Heck take the 2600 as example, the homebrew scene and demoscene has done some pretty impressive things with only 2 channels (and limited tones which many are off key), the music from the demo "little 50" is a pretty good example, or "Thursday night at the club" which uses DPCM (and tons more), not to mention the DPC capabilities of what was used in pitfall 2.

[@tweakPTCG]

Where are the handhelds tho

[@TeleKamptiA]

1:51 No, the one you clicked LAST will play

[@mee_is_sus]

Finally, another person with a Cozmo/vector profile picture

[@TeleKamptiA]

@@mee_is_sus Who was the first?

[@TeleKamptiA]

Oh wait you 🤣 I’m stupid

[@inphanta]

As soon as I realised this was an American video, I knew the C64 would get completely skipped over. For reference, I recommend you look into it. The SID chip was celebrated for a reason and yes, it sounded better than the NES.

[@enderjed2523]

They also missed out the Atari 5200 (or Atari 8 bit computers) POKEY chip, which could certainly compete with the Master System/SG-1000's SN chip.

[@AWISECROW]

Lmao, yeah. No pc engine?, no amiga?, no zx 128k? Not meant to be comprehensive i guess.

[@enderjed2523]

@@AWISECROW The Amiga was literally made by an American company, and it only sold well in Europe once the A500 rolled around.

[@AWISECROW]

@@enderjed2523 @Enderjed Fair enough. Shows how much i know, having not been born in the 80s in order to experience the amiga. I should have said PC-88, MSX, and handhelds. Alot of those old home computers shared the same sound chips though. I think we all missed the point because this vid is about consoles. (Amiga CD32!)

[@enderjed2523]

@@AWISECROW The Amiga CD32 is a modified Amiga 1200, although then again, all Amigas have the same sound chip, the PAULA, because it was never changed.

[@VladMarianBrandiburu-v6h]

famicom not famicon

[@matthewrease2376]

I saw that 8-bit guy frame

[@gabsterz180]

forgot to talk about surround sound

[@plproductions1776]

Really nice essay here. Really fast paced and concise. Nice.

[@melonmaniac]

8-bit, vote 8 bit guy

[@rafario448]

Sad you didn't touched in GBA and NDS soundchips.

[@Flo_Resolution]

He didn't mention MANY chips in this video lmao

[@JasonMontell2501]

What scratchy stuff in the Mario bros theme?

[@Flo_Resolution]

I think he's talking about noise. Pretty much it's similar to the sound of TV static. But it's usual cut to be short. He was talking about the beat of the Super Mario Bros "Ground/Overworld Theme"

[@Flo_Resolution]

3:52 here's noise plus triangle for reference

[@kenshirootomo6993]

I suposse TG16, Neo Geo and SEGA SATURN were the same as SNES, Genesis and PS1.

[@ReyndOut]

Cool!

[@officialmichaeltan]

Now we have spatial audio

[@crazyworldoutthere4379]

Aquatic Ambience from Donkey Kong Country 2 lmao

[@boptillyouflop]

SNES uses ADPCM too.

[@cathgomeswow]

Nice video bro!

[@leottori692]

seems like the gameboy is missing...

[@Thewolfguys.cartoons2000]

And the sega master system

[@jc_dogen]

@@Thewolfguys.cartoons2000 same as the sg-1000 sound he covered.

[@grasstails9737]

The gameboy is the nes sound except the dpcm is gone and the triangle channel is a custom wave channel

[@AshleyRiot]

@@jc_dogen One issue. A version of the Master System that was only released in Japan (I believe it was the Mark III) added an Yamaha FM chip.

[@jc_dogen]

@@AshleyRiot yeah, it was also used in the msx

[@elinimitable8932]

Video game music from today is a crap, it's like hit play to a mp3 song or music while you play, old school days composers and audio engineers really did the hardwork to adapt in so such poor and limited hardware good sound and music, 8-bit, 16-bit forever

[@PKSuperStar256]

People can make a recreation of that in modern game engines though.

[@NCHLT]

Fun fact. The music uses 16 bit PCM in most modern video games

[@ShwappaJ]

Limitation allows for inspiration, as they say

[@Flo_Resolution]

Super Mario Odyssey, Sonic Mania, and Cuphead OST want a word with you. Hell even games like Sonic CD (JP) or Earthworm Jim CD had pretty much mostly played their CD quality music, while everything else was just sfx.

[@GeoNeilUK]

This is very America-centric and very console-centric! You missed out the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. The original version (known as the 48K Spectrum) of which only had a 1 bit beeper powered by its custom ULA. It was mostly used for bleeps but composers did actually manage to use PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to get polyphonic tunes out of that baby! The later Spectrum + (AKA the 128K Spectrum) added an AY-3-8910 which had very similar specs to the chip used in the SG-1000 and Master System. Then there was the Commodore 64 which used a custom designed chip called the Sound Interface Device or SID. This had 3 voices, each of which could change between Pulse/Square wave, Triangle wave, Sawtooth wave and Noise at any time during the tune. You could also apply modulation and filters on those voices to make a very flexible chip and get games with soundtracks you wouldn't expect to hear on an 8 bit machine. Also there was the Commodore Amiga which used another custom designed chip called Paula which had four 8 bit PCM channels, two hard panned to the left channel and two hard panned to the right channel. Not as advanced as the chip in the SNES though. Games nowadays just stream audio samples, quite often in the form of Ogg Vorbis files (maybe even Opus files) whereas older systems pre CD either used tracker modules or something akin to MIDI but written specifically for that game on that system. Like digital sheet music that the computer would "perform live" (modules were digital sheet music with samples included as instruments)

[@JasperTedVidalTale]

Actually the ZX Beeper is directly controlled/powered (Software controlled) by the CPU so generating any kind of music while doing other tasks is a no go on the ZX Spectrum's CPU

[@GeoNeilUK]

@@JasperTedVidalTale "Actually the ZX Beeper is directly controlled/powered (Software controlled) by the CPU so generating any kind of music while doing other tasks is a no go on the ZX Spectrum's CPU" Manic Miner had in game music.

[@JasperTedVidalTale]

@@GeoNeilUK Yes very few zx 48k games had in game music (Including Pitfall 2) and while having that is impressive on its own. Sadly the vast majority of zx spectrum 48k games only have sound effects instead of in-game music probably because they think that having a title screen music (Where nothing is going on) is already enough from a zx 48k game dev standpoint (Just like the game library of the Apple II & Thomson TO/MO Series)

[@Flo_Resolution]

​@@GeoNeilUKyeah, I'm American and I noticed he hadn't talked on the SID or AY chips. We did get C64 and I think Amiga, in the states as well. My dad told me his cousin had a C64 in the 80s.

[@Flo_Resolution]

​@@JasperTedVidalTaleI do like the theme to Prime Mover by HelpComputer0 (I think that's what the game is called) it's a browser game and I really like it.