Engineering:Namco System 11

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Short description: 32-bit arcade system board by Namco and Sony Computer Entertainment
Namco System 11
System 11 PCB.gif
ManufacturerNamco
Sony Computer Entertainment
TypeArcade system board
Release dateSeptember 1994 (1994-09)
DiscontinuedFebruary 1999 (1999-02)
Operating system512 KB
CPUMIPS R3000A 32-bit
PredecessorNamco System 22
SuccessorNamco System 12 (System 11 Upgrade)

The Namco System 11[lower-alpha 1] is a 32-bit arcade system board developed jointly by Namco and Sony Computer Entertainment. Released in 1994, the System 11 is based on a prototype of the PlayStation, Sony's first home video game console,[1] using a 512 KB operating system and several custom processors. The Namco System 12[lower-alpha 2] is an upgraded version of the System 11 that was released in 1996, featuring faster processing power.

History

Namco's research managing director Shegeichi Nakamura met with Sony Computer Entertainment head Ken Kutaragi in 1993 to discuss the preliminary PlayStation specifications, with Namco subsequently developing the System 11 arcade board based on PlayStation hardware and Tekken as their answer to Sega's popular Virtua Fighter. Tekken was initially planned for the Namco System 22, after Namco heard Sega was developing Virtua Fighter 2 for their new Sega Model 2 board, before the development of Tekken was later moved to the System 11 after the meeting with Kutaragi.[2] Tekken was the first game to use the System 11, and was initially released for arcades in September 1994,[3] several months before the PlayStation's Japanese release in December 1994.

Although the System 11 was technically inferior to the Sega Model 2 arcade board, its lower price made it an attractive prospect for smaller arcades.[4][5] According to the June 1995 issue of Edge:

Namco took a significant risk in basing its Tekken coin-op on raw PlayStation hardware, considering that it would be competing directly with Sega's Model 2-powered Virtua Fighter 2 ... For once, a home system can boast an identical conversion of a cutting-edge coin-op ... Namco's research section managing director, Shegeichi Nakamura ... explains: "When Sony came along we decided to go for a low-cost system—in short, we've left the big arcade stores to Sega and VF2 and Tekken has been sold to smaller arcade centres" ... Namco has a further four titles planned for System 11, all of which are likely to make the jump to the PlayStation.[4]

Technical specifications

  • Main CPU: MIPS R3000A 32-bit RISC processor @ 33.8688 MHz, Operating performance - 30 MIPS, Instruction Cache - 4KB
  • BUS: 132 MB/s.
  • OS ROM: 512 KB
  • Sound CPU: Namco C76 (Mitsubishi M37702)
  • Sound chip: Namco C352
  • Main RAM: 2 MB
  • Video VRAM: 2 MB
  • Sound RAM: 512 kB
  • Graphical Processor: 360,000 polygons/s, sprite/BG drawing, adjustable framebuffer, No line restriction, 4,000 8x8 pixel sprites with individual scaling and rotation, simultaneous backgrounds (parallax scrolling)
  • Sprite Effects: Rotation, Scaling up/down, Warping, Transparency, Fading, Priority, Vertical and Horizontal Line Scroll
  • Resolution: 256x224 - 640x480
  • Colors: 16.7 million colors, Unlimited CLUTs (Color Look-Up Tables)
  • Other Features: custom geometry engine, custom polygon engine, MJPEG decoder

Games

List of Namco System 11 games
Year Title Genre Ref.
1994 Tekken Fighting [6]
1995 Tekken 2 Fighting [7]
Tekken 2 Ver.β Fighting
Soul Edge Fighting [8]
1996 Dunk Mania Sports [9]
Xevious 3D/G Vertical-scrolling shooter [9]
Dancing Eyes Puzzle [10]
Soul Edge Ver. II Fighting
J-League Soccer: Prime Goal EX Sports
1997 Star Sweep Sports
Pocket Racer Racing
1998 Point Blank 2 Lightgun shooter [11]
Family Bowl Sports
Kosodate Quiz My Angel 3: My Little Pet Quiz
List of Namco System 12 games
Year Title Genre
1997 Tekken 3 Fighting
LiberoGrande Sports
1998 Soulcalibur Fighting
Techno Drive Driving simulator
Super World Stadium '98 Sports
Fighting Layer Fighting
Derby Quiz: My Dream Horse Quiz
Tenkomori Shooting Vertical-scrolling shooter
1999 Tekken Tag Tournament Fighting
Mr. Driller Puzzle
Aqua Rush Puzzle
Golgo 13 Lightgun shooter
Super World Stadium '99 Sports
Ghoul Panic Lightgun shooter
Um Jammer Lammy NOW! Rhythm
Kaiun Quiz Quiz
2000 Golgo 13 Kiseki no Dandou Lightgun shooter
Point Blank 3 Lightgun shooter
Super World Stadium 2000 Sports
Truck Kyosokyoku Driving simulator
2001 Golgo 13 Juusei no Requiem Lightgun shooter
Super World Stadium 2001 Sports

Notes

  1. Japanese: システムイレブン Hepburn: Shisutemu Irebun
  2. Japanese: システムトゥエルブ Hepburn: Shisutemu To~uerubu

References

  1. Pettus, Sam; Munoz, David; Williams, Kevin; Barroso, Ivan (20 December 2013). Service Games: The Rise and Fall of SEGA: Enhanced Edition. Smashwords. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-311-08082-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=DbFxAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA198. 
  2. "System 11: Namco's PlayStation coin-op". Edge 3 (21): 68. June 1995. https://archive.org/details/EDGE.N021.1995.06/page/n67. 
  3. "Tekken (Registration Number PA0000704272)". https://cocatalog.loc.gov. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Tekken". Edge (Imagine Media) 3 (21): 66–70. June 1995. 
  5. Tokyo Drifter (April 2002). "Virtua Fight Club". GamePro 14 (163): 48–50. 
  6. "Tekken". GamePro (IDG) (68): p. 38. March 1995. 
  7. "Tekken 2". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine (Emap International Limited) (1): 21. October 1995. 
  8. "Soul Edge". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (12): 123. December 1995. 
  9. 9.0 9.1 "The 1996 AOU Coin-Op Show: 3D Arcade Gaming Enters the Next Level!". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine (Emap International Limited) (5): 116–7. April 1996. 
  10. Ylärakkola, Arttu (2 February 2007). "'Arcade Obscurities' - Namco's Dancing Eyes". Game Network. http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2007/02/column_arcade_obscurities_namc_1.php. 
  11. https://www.highwaygames.com/arcade-machines/point-blank-6185/