Namco 16-Bit home videogame console, did you know?

[GigaDrive]

Atari followers here are probably very familar with the legend of Atari nearly acquiring the rights to the Famicom/NES for the American market, thus the Atari-Nintendo Entertainment System was almost a reality. Then some years later, Atari almost acquired the rights to Sega's 16-bit Megadrive-Genesis in America, thus the 'Atari Genesis' also almost happened.

 

I bet though, that few gamers are aware of Namco's 16-bit entry into the home videogame console system wars that almost happened in 1989-1990. according to EGM (and perhaps other magazines), Namco had a 16-bit system in the works in 1989 that was said to be comparable to the then-upcoming Nintendo Super Famicom.

 

I'll bet still fewer gamers are aware that this Namco 16-bit console also almost became the Japanese follow-up to the TurboGrafx-16.

 

check this out

 

at least one time in the past, Namco had their own videogame console almost ready to be released in Japan.  In 1989, they had a 16-bit console that was said to be similar to the Super Famicom (SNES). 

 

The story gets a little bit complicated from there, try to bare with me!

 

Coming into the picture was NEC, who made the PC-Engine ~ TurboGrafx-16.  NEC was aware of Namco's 16-bit home videogame system. NEC was looking to put out a successor to the popular PC-Engine (the Japanese Turbografx) to combat the upcoming Super Famicom.  NEC was rumored to be in negotiations with Namco to acquire Namco's 16-bit system and *call* it the PC-Engine2.  but NEC's partner in the PC-Engine/Turbografx business, Hudson, killed the deal.  So instead, NEC and Hudson would introduce their own PC-Engine2, which was a beefed up 8-bit PC-Engine called the SuperGrafx -- a console that failed with only 5 games released specifically for the new beefier machine.

 

Then things get unfortunately simple....

 

The 16-bit Namco console was buried, or, maybe possibily used as the basis of a Namco arcade system.

 

here are a few articles from EGM, circa 1989, where the Namco console is mentioned, which backs up what I am saying.

 

http://img413.imageshack.us/my.php?image=namcoconsole7ev.jpg

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/8462/namcoconsole01vt.jpg

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5281/namcoconsole13xr.jpg

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/9483/namcoconsole22zw.jpg

 

 

 

I for one would've welcomed a 16-bit Namco console over the SNES, and as a friendly  (or not so friendly) rival to the Genesis. Who knows how different the videogame industry would be if Namco had taken the chance. maybe we'd be playing Tekken on a 32-bit Namco console if the first one had been successful, instead of Playstation.

 

what do you think ?

 

even though there isn't even a single photo of the Namco console, I think it's very possible it existed somewhere in Namco's R&D facilities. we all know that Atari and others were working on 16-bit home videogame systems to get in on the

"16-bit Revolution" that was happening at the time. Atari had (probably had) an ST-based 16-bit console underway in the late 80s, perhaps before the Panther project, or being designed in parallel with Panther, just before Jaguar development started....... and then there's the whole Atari MIRAI mystery with SNK

 

Namco's 16-bitter seems to be at least as mysterious as MIRAI, if not even more so.

 

thoughts ?

Edited March 5, 2006 by GigaDrive

[JB]

I don't think prototypes and "might've beens" really count. There's a LOT more systems if we count those.

 

 

 

Footnote: The SuperGrafx wasn't really the PCEngine 2. That was the PCFX(which didn't exactly do well either). SuperGrafx is like... I can't really think of an analogy to it, as I can't think of anything else in videogame history that's been so totally un-notable. It was a PCEngine with extra RAM and a second GPU.

 

 

Hence the lack of support, as it wasn't really WORTH supporting. Extra RAM was nice, but the CD expansion did that, gave extra processor power at the same time, AND had an established userbase . The second GPU wasn't that interesting as there wasn't enough processor power to really make use of it.

 

But it was mildly better supported than your article gives it credit for, with 7 games instead of 5, though one(Darius Alpha) was just a Darius Plus mod that removed the stages between bosses.

[Jess Ragan]

All I can say is thank goodness the Tramiels didn't get their hands on my precious Sega Genesis. They would have sunk the system faster than the Titanic.

 

JR

 

EDIT: JB, I can think of another system that compares pretty darned well to the Supergrafx... the 32X. If Sega had released the Neptune, that would have been an even closer equivalent.

Edited March 5, 2006 by Jess Ragan

[GigaDrive]

I don't think prototypes and "might've beens" really count.  There's a LOT more systems if we count those.

 

 

 

Footnote: The SuperGrafx wasn't really the PCEngine 2. That was the PCFX(which didn't exactly do well either).  SuperGrafx is like... I can't really think of an analogy to it, as I can't think of anything else in videogame history that's been so totally un-notable. It was a PCEngine with extra RAM and a second GPU.

 

 

Hence the lack of support, as it wasn't really WORTH supporting. Extra RAM was nice, but the CD expansion did that, gave extra processor power at the same time, AND had an established userbase . The second GPU wasn't that interesting as there wasn't enough processor power to really make use of it.

 

But it was mildly better supported than your article gives it credit for, with 7 games instead of 5, though one(Darius Alpha) was just a Darius Plus mod that removed the stages between bosses.

1028373[/snapback]

 

 

in reality or practicality, you're right, the SuperGrafx was not the PC-Engine2, the PC-FX was. but officially the SuperGrafx was the PC-Engine2, going by what NEC and Hudson were doing. even if PC-Engine2 was just the project name. it was only named SuperGrafx when it was released in November 1989.

 

the PC-FX went by several of its own project names: Ironman, Tetsujin and HUC62.

 

There were only 5 specific SuperGrafx games released: Battle Ace, Grandzort, DaiMakaiMura (Ghouls 'n Ghosts), Aldynes and 1941 Counter Attack.

 

The two Darius games were really PC-Engine games that ran better, without flicker on a SuperGrafx, but were not really SuperGrafx games.

Edited March 5, 2006 by GigaDrive

[SteveW]

I'd swear that Namco had a hand in the development of the Playstation. I remember reading about that several times back then. I might just be crazy, though.

[Jess Ragan]

Well, they DID use the Playstation hardware for a few of their arcade games, most notably the early Tekken games and Soul Calibur (which later came to the Dreamcast with vastly improved graphics). It's possible that they helped design the hardware, since they decided to support the Playstation and ONLY the Playstation when that system was first launched.

 

It was a decision that made a bad situation worse for Sega... Namco had a knack for making games that were just similar enough to Sega's greatest hits (Virtuas Fighter, Racer, and Cop) to convince players that owning a Saturn wasn't necessary. It's one of the ten reasons I feel the system was a failure in the United States.

 

JR

[GigaDrive]

I'd swear that Namco had a hand in the development of the Playstation. I remember reading about that several times back then. I might just be crazy, though.

1028380[/snapback]

 

 

I don't think you're crazy at all. I recall reading something along those lines, but don't remember where.

 

during the development of the 32-bit polygon-capable Playstation in 1991/92 through 1994, Namco came out with their spectacular Ridge Racer arcade game in fall 1993.

It was the first ever fully texture-mapped polygon game that ran at 60fps in high resolution. I believe that Sony wanted to get as close to that as possible in their upcoming home platform. now to be clear, the Playstation is *not* based on the internals of the Ridge Racer arcade game, that used Namco's System22 hardware, which had 3D chip technology from simulator powerhouse Evans & Sutherland.. anyway I think Namco probably had *some* role in shaping the Playstation hardware. we know for absolute fact that they worked with Sony on the Playstation-based System11 hardware. it would be interesting to know if there's more to it than that.

[JB]

Before they scaled back, the SuperGrafx could have BEEN a PCEngine 2. They were originally talking about far more signifigant upgrades than what finally made it to shelves. Among other things, a CPU upgrade was planned for the PCEngine 2.

 

All of that was scrapped in the end in favor of the SuperGrafx, which was little more than a shoddy hackjob on the same aging system.

 

 

 

It's really rather tragic. The PCEngine was a good system with damn good games, and NEC and Hudson sat there fumbling every attempt to move it forward after that.

 

The US release was a joke.

The first attempt to update it was even worse.

The second update was just too little too late. The PCFX was an incredible machine when it was created, but by the time it launched it was simply outclassed by the PS and Saturn.

[spacecadet]

I'd swear that Namco had a hand in the development of the Playstation. I remember reading about that several times back then. I might just be crazy, though.

1028380[/snapback]

 

Sony and Namco had a good relationship, but I don't think Namco directly helped design the PlayStation. Sony did, however, basically design Namco's System 10, which was basically just a PlayStation with a bunch of extra RAM and ROM. Maybe you're confusing and reversing this?

 

I think it's possible that Namco planned a 16 bit home machine at some point, though. I mean they'd have had a highly competitive arcade system of their own during the 16 bit era that they probably could have adapted for the home, which would also have basically meant a built-in stable of easy Namco ports. Something like the System 1 or System 2, whichever was current at the time. Whatever form either of these would have taken in the home probably would have been at least on par with the Sega and Nintendo machines of the day (these articles all focus pretty heavily on NEC as a competitor, though, which leads me to believe Namco was probably only considering a Japanese release).

[GigaDrive]

I will say this: going by those EGM reports, the SuperGrafx was not *THE* PCEngine2 that was expected - given that the full PCEngine2 was supposed to have a true 16-bit processor and improved audio capabilities, both of which the SuperGrafx lacked. The not scaled-back fully powered PC-Engine2 would probably have been not TOO far off from NEO-GEO in sprite and color performance as well as in CPU speed, even though smaller (than NEO-GEO) rom cards or carts would've been used to keep game prices consumer-friendly. For certain a fully-developed PC-Engine2 would've been a better machine than the Super Famicom given Super Fami's poor CPU.

 

Scaling & Rotation were originally supposed to be part of NEC-Hudson's spec. I'll bet those functions were part of the Namco console spec too.

Edited March 5, 2006 by GigaDrive

[Jess Ragan]

Before they scaled back, the SuperGrafx could have BEEN a PCEngine 2. They were originally talking about far more signifigant upgrades than what finally made it to shelves. Among other things, a CPU upgrade was planned for the PCEngine 2.

 

All of that was scrapped in the end in favor of the SuperGrafx, which was little more than a shoddy hackjob on the same aging system.

 

 

 

It's really rather tragic. The PCEngine was a good system with damn good games, and NEC and Hudson sat there fumbling every attempt to move it forward after that.

 

Blame Johnny Turbo. I know I do!

 

JR

[JB]

I will say this -- the SuperGrafx was not *THE* PCEngine2 that was expected - given that the full PCEngine2 was supposed to have a true 16-bit processor and improved audio capabilities, both of which the SuperGrafx lacked.

1028387[/snapback]

I don't think the SuperGrafx was ever under the PCEngine 2 label.

I think it was a side project that managed to take over.

 

If I had to bet, the PCE2 was running behind schedule, and NEC got sick of waiting.

They probably wanted to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Super Famicom, and the PCE2 wasn't going to bear fruit in time for it, so they hacked an upgrade for the existing PCEngine without stopping to think that their "new" system wasn't even in the same class.

[GigaDrive]

I will say this -- the SuperGrafx was not *THE* PCEngine2 that was expected - given that the full PCEngine2 was supposed to have a true 16-bit processor and improved audio capabilities, both of which the SuperGrafx lacked.

1028387[/snapback]

I don't think the SuperGrafx was ever under the PCEngine 2 label.

I think it was a side project that managed to take over.

 

If I had to bet, the PCE2 was running behind schedule, and NEC got sick of waiting.

They probably wanted to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Super Famicom, and the PCE2 wasn't going to bear fruit in time for it, so they hacked an upgrade for the existing PCEngine without stopping to think that their "new" system wasn't even in the same class.

1028392[/snapback]

 

 

I think that's possible.

 

The magazine certainly had the SuperGrafx under the PC-Engine2 label. but maybe NEC and Hudson did not concider the PC-Engine2 and the SuperGrafx to be the same thing. I will go out on a limb and say that the PC-Engine2 was not the 32-bit PC-FX.

 

you know, the PC-FX itself was a scaled down version of Hudson's 32-bit system that they showed off in 1992, the Ironman/ Project Tetsujin seen here, and here, a machine that had polygon capabilities.

 

so after the stunning PC-Engine, what we (or Japan) got as follow-ups, two of them, were extremely disappointing systems compared to what had been thought to be coming down the pike. a 16-bit PC-Engine2 supposed to be coming in 1990 or 1991 but got 8-bit SuperGrafx in 1989 instead. Then instead of the 32-bit polygon powerhouse Ironman/Tetsujin that was supposed to be coming in 1992 or 1993, Japan got a weak 32-bit PC-FX 'anime system' in 1994.

Edited March 5, 2006 by GigaDrive

[JB]

 

I think that's possible.

 

The magazine certainly had the SuperGrafx under the PC-Engine2 label.  but maybe NEC and Hudson did not concider the PC-Engine2 and the SuperGrafx to be the same thing.   

I've seen magazines make squirelly statements like that before.

 

I will go out on a limb and say that the PC-Engine2 was not the 32-bit PC-FX.

Indubitably not. The hardware's far too advanced for the era the PCEngine 2 project was in.

 

you know, the PC-FX itself was a scaled down version of Hudson's 32-bit system that they showed off in 1992, the Ironman/ Project Tetsujin seen here,  and here, a machine that had polygon capabilities.

Everything I've seen says it was the same hardware as Ironman, though I admit this particular piece of hardware is somewhat out of my normal knowledge base. I'm curious where you got the scaled-down note.

 

At the time of Ironman, 3D rendering wasn't a major priority. Sega wasn't even going to have 3D hardware in the Saturn until they saw the PS had it. So I'm a tad skeptical that Ironman had 3D hardware and it was removed for the PCFX when, if anything, the opposite should've been true. But NEC handled things poorly enough that I won't discount anything.

 

 

As a sidenote, It would've been possible to render polygons in software on a PCFX, though it wouldn't have been pretty(but still way better than StarFox. ). That could lead to some confusion, if people saw a software-rendered game and just assumed it was done in hardware.

 

 

so after the stunning PC-Engine,  what we (or Japan) got as follow-ups, two of them, were extremely disappointing systems compared to what had been thought to be coming down the pike.  a 16-bit PC-Engine2 supposed to be coming in 1990 or 1991 but got 8-bit SuperGrafx in 1989 instead.  Then instead of the  32-bit polygon powerhouse Ironman/Tetsujin that was supposed to be coming in 1992 or 1993, Japan got a weak 32-bit PC-FX 'anime system' in 1994.

The thing is... if hte PCFX had come out in '92 like NEC had originally planned, it WOULD have been a stunning powerhouse. But when you shelve a system for 2 years and then release it because the competition releases platforms that STARTED development after you finalized your system, it tends to look less impressive.

And the stuff I've seen says that's exactly what happened(this includes software publisher interviews).

[JB]

There were only 5 specific SuperGrafx games released: Battle Ace, Grandzort, DaiMakaiMura (Ghouls 'n Ghosts), Aldynes and 1941 Counter Attack.

 

The two Darius games were really PC-Engine games that ran better, without flicker on a SuperGrafx, but were not really SuperGrafx games.

Missed this earlier.

 

That would make the 2 Darius games SuperGrafx games that included a base PCE game on the same HuCard. Clearly they ARE using the SuperGrafx hardware while in a SuperGrafx.

I don't really think it's fair to discount them from SuperGrafx status any more than it would be to slap the large number of "dual-mode" GameBoy Color games as B&W GB games, especially given how close a SuperGrafx was to a base PCEngine in the first place.

[GigaDrive]

Everything I've seen says it was the same hardware as Ironman, though I admit this particular piece of hardware is somewhat out of my normal knowledge base. I'm curious where you got the scaled-down note.

 

I've seen it mentioned several times, here is one

 

http://members.tripod.com/~faberp/IronMan.htm

 

HUDSON 32 BIT PROTOTYPE SYSTEM

 

AKA IRON MAN

 

AKA PROJECT TETSUJIN

 

From this project NEC developed his PC-FX multimedia system. The system was developed by the same designers of the PC Engine and later was sold to NEC that used only a small fraction of this technology to develop the FX system.

 

The board as it was presented in 1992. Note the PC Engine joypad attached to the board. Two stickers (one with the Hudson logo and the other with the famous bee logo) cover NEC and HE system logo on the pad. At the time Hudson wasn't in talk with NEC to mass-produce and distribute the system. It's unknow how much of this board was used for the final PC-FX hardware design, anyway I think very few...

This was the last hardware project made by Hudson Hardware Team (they developed also Sharp X68000 and PC Engine systems).

 

to be fair, I have also seen the claim that PC-FX being weaker than the Ironman/Tetsujin, disputed. I guess I am open to either possibility.

 

 

 

Missed this earlier.

 

That would make the 2 Darius games SuperGrafx games that included a base PCE game on the same HuCard. Clearly they ARE using the SuperGrafx hardware while in a SuperGrafx.

I don't really think it's fair to discount them from SuperGrafx status any more than it would be to slap the large number of "dual-mode" GameBoy Color games as B&W GB games, especially given how close a SuperGrafx was to a base PCEngine in the first place.

 

fair enough - the poor SuperGrafx could due with every single game it can claim. poor thing had less than 10 games no matter what anyway.

 

 

I also forgot to mention the absolutely astonishing Sharp X68000. a 16-bit computer system with arcade-quality audio & visuals. it came out the same year as the PC-Engine, 1987. but was very close to true arcade quality. it was comparable to most arcade coin-op machines that did not use more than one CPU. it blew away the PC-Engine, Megadrive and in many ways (though not all, the Super Fami / SNES)

 

the X68K was almost as powerful as Sega's standard single-68000 System16 board of 1986 and Capcom's CPS board of 1988. X68K got near-exact ports of Capcom, Sega, Konami, Taito and other arcade games. and even decent-though-scaled-down (and not close to exact) conversions of Sega's highend multi-68000 games like Space Harrier, AfterBurner II and the best home version of Thunder Blade ever made. the custom chipset (and OS) was designed by Hudson In retrospect, minus the disc drives and large amounts of RAM, its performance is the minimum that I would've wanted in a 16-bit PC-Engine2. if Hudson doubled the sprite capability of X68K (and SuperGrafx) from 128 sprites to say, 256 sprites and added hardware scaling & rotation, and a color capability of 512 or 2048 on-screen out of 32,768 pallete, you'd have a machine inbetween the SNES and NEO-GEO. just perfect to be the true successor to the PC-Engine ~ TurboGrafx-16.

 

sure I am fantasizing, but within the realm of reason

Edited March 5, 2006 by GigaDrive

[Jess Ragan]

The X68K was truly awesome. It was my favorite computer to emulate for several months... the graphics were so crisp and beautiful that they put even the Amiga to shame!

 

JR

[JB]

Everything I've seen says it was the same hardware as Ironman, though I admit this particular piece of hardware is somewhat out of my normal knowledge base. I'm curious where you got the scaled-down note.

 

I've seen it mentioned several times, here is one

 

http://members.tripod.com/~faberp/IronMan.htm

 

HUDSON 32 BIT PROTOTYPE SYSTEM

 

AKA IRON MAN

 

AKA PROJECT TETSUJIN

 

From this project NEC developed his PC-FX multimedia system. The system was developed by the same designers of the PC Engine and later was sold to NEC that used only a small fraction of this technology to develop the FX system.

 

The board as it was presented in 1992. Note the PC Engine joypad attached to the board. Two stickers (one with the Hudson logo and the other with the famous bee logo) cover NEC and HE system logo on the pad. At the time Hudson wasn't in talk with NEC to mass-produce and distribute the system. It's unknow how much of this board was used for the final PC-FX hardware design, anyway I think very few...

This was the last hardware project made by Hudson Hardware Team (they developed also Sharp X68000 and PC Engine systems).

 

to be fair, I have also seen the claim that PC-FX being weaker than the Ironman/Tetsujin, disputed. I guess I am open to either possibility.

I noticed they say they don't know how much of the hardware made it into the PCFX, they just think it was very little for unspecified reasons.

 

It looks to me like most of the diffrences are just due to consolidation of components, which is expected witht eh move from a prototype to production hardware.

 

Wish I culd tell if those large squares had heatsinks on them or not. It'd give a better idea, as the PCFX doesn't have heatsinks, but it DOES have five large square chips.

http://nfg.2y.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=1305 has a disassembled PCFX.

 

 

Missed this earlier.

 

That would make the 2 Darius games SuperGrafx games that included a base PCE game on the same HuCard. Clearly they ARE using the SuperGrafx hardware while in a SuperGrafx.

I don't really think it's fair to discount them from SuperGrafx status any more than it would be to slap the large number of "dual-mode" GameBoy Color games as B&W GB games, especially given how close a SuperGrafx was to a base PCEngine in the first place.

 

fair enough - the poor SuperGrafx could due with every single game it can claim. poor thing had less than 10 games no matter what anyway.

Indeed it did. 6.5 by my count.

 

 

I also forgot to mention the absolutely astonishing Sharp X68000.  a 16-bit computer system with arcade-quality audio & visuals. it came out the same year as the PC-Engine, 1987. but was very close to true arcade quality. it was comparable to most arcade coin-op machines that did not use more than one CPU.  it blew away the PC-Engine, Megadrive and in many ways (though not all, the Super Fami / SNES)

 

the X6800 was almost as powerful as Sega's standard single-68000 System16 board of 1986 and Capcom's CPS board of 1988.  X68000 got near-exact ports of Capcom, Sega, Konami, Taito and other arcade games. and even decent-though-scaled-down (and not close to exact) conversions of Sega's highend multi-68000 games like Space Harrier, AfterBurner II and the best home version of Thunder Blade ever made.  the custom chipset (and OS) was designed by Hudson      In retrospect,  minus the disc drives and large amounts of RAM,  its performance is the minimum that I would've wanted in a 16-bit PC-Engine2.  if Hudson doubled the sprite capability of X68000 (and SuperGrafx) from 128 sprites to say, 256 sprites and added hardware scaling & rotation, and a color capability of 512 or 2048 on-screen out of 32,768 pallete, you'd have a machine inbetween the SNES and NEO-GEO. just perfect to be the true successor to the PC-Engine ~ TurboGrafx-16.

 

sure I am fantasizing, but within the realm of reason

1028412[/snapback]

Heh.

 

The X68k IS pretty impressive.

And like the PCEngine, it fell victim to delayed and ignored upgrades. When it came out, it was the best machine on the market, but when it died it was still using the same AV chipset and everything else had caught up with it.

 

Always traghic when a company has a good pdoduct and shoots themself in the foot like that.

[GigaDrive]

The X68K was truly awesome.  It was my favorite computer to emulate for several months... the graphics were so crisp and beautiful that they put even the Amiga to shame!

 

JR

1028516[/snapback]

 

 

same here. I got into X68K emulation in 2002. even many years after x68K became obsolete, I could appreciate just how incredible a machine it was thanks to a winning combination of hardware and software. Indeed X68K graphics crush those of the Amiga, although Amiga had the potential to do much better arcade conversions than it typically recieved, but not as good as X68K which rivaled the arcade in many instances.

[GigaDrive]

I noticed they say they don't know how much of the hardware made it into the PCFX, they just think it was very little for unspecified reasons.

 

 

It looks to me like most of the diffrences are just due to consolidation of components, which is expected witht eh move from a prototype to production hardware.

 

could very well be.

 

Wish I culd tell if those large squares had heatsinks on them or not. It'd give a better idea, as the PCFX doesn't have heatsinks, but it DOES have five large square chips.

http://nfg.2y.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=1305 has a disassembled PCFX.

 

 

hey that's really interesting, thanks. I don't believe I've ever seen the actual chips of the released PC-FX. forcertain, the PC-FX is definitally based on the Hudson Ironman/Tetsujin technology, more or less.

 

here's something I was able to find by googling 'HuC62'

 

 

Designing hardware which allows software to perform at 100% functionality is another role played by Hudson Soft, a software maker. As one link in our own software development, the people at Core Technology Division developed the "C 62 System" operating system which integrates computer programs and LSI. This was utilized in the "NEC PC Engine" which enjoyed explosive popularity through delivering quality games to the market.

Acclaimed as an easy to use, superior performance system, it is presently being utilized in a variety of fields as an embedded system for liquid crystal displays.

Core Technology Division independently developed the 32-bit semiconductor chip set "HuC 62 system" responding to the multimedia age. This LSI is also being put to a variety of uses including game systems.

 

 

 

edit: found more on the history of Project Tetsujin and PC-FX. there were changes in the CPU used

 

History

 

Hudson Soft begins the development at the end of 1990 projet named: Tetsujin . In May 1992 a first prototype is presented. Composed d'un microprocessor central HuC62320 (32-bits RISC 10 Mips) and assisted by 5 coprocesseurs. At the beginning of 1994 the Tetsujin project was moulted in projet FX. Manufacturing is NEC partner of Hudson depuis the PC-Engine via its branch NEC HE (NEC Entertainment Home). The microprocessor is not any more it HuC62320 but a NEC V810.

 

 

Edit, again!

 

I found more than I've ever seen on the subject of Tetsujin to PC-FX changes

 

 

Promising beginnings...

 

http://www.grospixels.com/site/images/necp...l_m7c9c9847.jpg

The "board' presented in 1992: let us note that the logos of pad NEC were changed into Hudson.

 

Extremely Nipponese success of the range PC-Engine , a console 8-bits surpuissante, Hudson Soft launches out at the end of 1990 in the development of a technology 32-bits. Approximately 2 years later, we are then in May 1992, a first prototype is introduced: It is here only about a "board' (together of components laid out on a chart). Composed of a central microprocessor HuC62320 (32-bits RISC, 10 Mips) and assisted by 5 coprocessors (management of the sound, input/output, pallet of colors, sprites and effects special like compression/decompression of the images), the in-house unit developed by Hudson terrace already the competition represented then by the consoles 16-bits and other computers. This level of design, the peripheral of storage (cartridge, CD-Rom...) and the manufacturer are not finalized yet. The project, then named Tetsujin (iron man), made strong impression in the specialized press. A probable marketing is announced for January or June 1994...

 

http://www.grospixels.com/site/images/necp...l_m57ca12f7.jpg

http://www.grospixels.com/site/images/necp...l_m394b1dd4.jpg

http://www.grospixels.com/site/images/necp...l_m14389eb3.jpg

http://www.grospixels.com/site/images/necp...l_m36dd9205.jpg

 

 

 

One of the graphic demonstrations consists in choosing, between these 4 tètes, a face starting and a face of arrival. The machine is then given the responsability to transform choice 1 into choice 2 through a whole series of incredibly fluid animations. Very impressive (it appears).

 

 

http://www.grospixels.com/site/images/necp...l_m1c53f910.jpg

http://www.grospixels.com/site/images/necp...l_m249fbbbf.jpg

http://www.grospixels.com/site/images/necp...l_m61043c7f.jpg

 

Quality of image, speed of posting, handling and animation of the objects 3d surfaces full: with these demonstrations, Hudson strikes a great blow.

 

http://www.grospixels.com/site/images/necpcfx/schema.gif

Diagram of architecture of the Tetsujin project.

 

 

... with the radical changes

 

At the beginning of 1994, new revelation: The Tetsujin project was moulted in project FX. A manufacturer is now announced. It acts, obviously, of the indéboulonnable NEC, partner of Hudson since the PC-Engine via its branch NEC HE (NEC Home Entertainment). Contrary to the plan initially envisaged, the microprocessor is not any more HuC62320 but a NEC V810 definitely more powerful. This change, of appearance pain-killer, seals the destiny of the machine partly: The 3d is abandoned with the profit of the handling of video images in real time. But why thus such a transformation will you say to me?

 

http://www.grospixels.com/site/images/necp...l_m667d215e.jpg

http://www.grospixels.com/site/images/necp...tml_b3a526c.jpg

 

Here the kind of images whose the magazines at that time satisfied us: They were supposed to show us the power of the architecture of the machine. With the passing, the joke can appear amusing. I deliver to you the comments of this great moment of journalism:

1) "this photograph illustrates well the possibilities of transparency offered by Alpha Channel (???) of the FX"

2) "the shot-them-up on the FX go décoiffer"

These photographs illustrate the plays Lords Of Thunder FX and Super Star Soldier FX, 2 engines which will unfortunately never be marketed.

 

Several factors are to be taken into account. The first: the raising of prices of the components managing the 3d Those proposed and developed by Hudson are being maintaining much more expensive. The second: Some of the design features of future Saturn de Sega start to circulate in the medium and cool our 2 small drainage canals somewhat (particularly those concerning the treatment of the 3d mappée). To finish: Semi-official advertisement by Sony of its arrival on the market of the consoles. It too is for NEC which forces Hudson to re-examine its copy. The engineers of the Nipponese tandem are now pressed by the duet Sega/Sony. By giving up the 3d, large problem is solved: Saving of time and saving in money. For the remainder of architecture, Hudson inflates the capacities of some of its components and NEC grafts a video system allowing a management bitmap except par. This change of orientation makes it possible cause a drop in drastiquement the cost of the future console. Result, Hudson and NEC ambitionnent to market the 32-bits the least expensive of the market. To finish, compatibility between the plays PC-Engine and those of the FX are unfortunately not on the agenda. Appointment in a few months...

 

there you have it, apparently. the PC-FX specs were increased in some areas, such as the CPU and the video system for displaying smooth animation, but the 3D graphics sub-system was cut out.

 

now, it is possible that the PC-FX of 1994 contains all of the co-processors of the 1992 prototype board -- perhaps the 1992 prototype did not contain the planned 3D chipset ?

 

some years after the 'FX launched, there were rumors of a PowerVR graphics card upgrade -- if that had ever become a reality, of course it would've boosted the 3D graphics capabilities of the 3D-less 'FX well beyond what the original 3D-capable Tetsujin could've offered.

 

 

 

 

Heh.

 

The X68k IS pretty impressive.

And like the PCEngine, it fell victim to delayed and ignored upgrades. When it came out, it was the best machine on the market, but when it died it was still using the same AV chipset and everything else had caught up with it.

 

Always traghic when a company has a good pdoduct and shoots themself in the foot like that.

 

yeah I agree. the X68K would've made an absolutely exellent console if Sharp had made one based on the core chipset, like Fujitsu did with the Marty (FM Towns) and as Commodore did with the CD32 (A1200 based)

Edited March 6, 2006 by GigaDrive

[Bruce Tomlin]

The thing is... if the PCFX had come out in '92 like NEC had originally planned, it WOULD have been a stunning powerhouse. But when you shelve a system for 2 years and then release it because the competition releases platforms that STARTED development after you finalized your system, it tends to look less impressive.

You mean like the 7800 when the NES came out?

[GigaDrive]

The thing is... if the PCFX had come out in '92 like NEC had originally planned, it WOULD have been a stunning powerhouse. But when you shelve a system for 2 years and then release it because the competition releases platforms that STARTED development after you finalized your system, it tends to look less impressive.

You mean like the 7800 when the NES came out?

1028776[/snapback]

 

I'm not really up on Atari history, but wasn't the 7800 ready in '83 or '84 but shelved until '86?

 

my first game system was the 7800, got it in early '88 when many of my peers had the NES.

[JB]

The thing is... if the PCFX had come out in '92 like NEC had originally planned, it WOULD have been a stunning powerhouse. But when you shelve a system for 2 years and then release it because the competition releases platforms that STARTED development after you finalized your system, it tends to look less impressive.

You mean like the 7800 when the NES came out?

1028776[/snapback]

The 7800 hardware and FamiCom hardware were developed at the same time, and the FamiCom launched at about the time the 7800 was supposed to.

They're about equivalent power-wise, though each one has it's own strengths and weaknesses.

 

The 7800's problem was that it missed 2 years of software development, and had a cheap company "supporting" it.

 

 

The thing is... if the PCFX had come out in '92 like NEC had originally planned, it WOULD have been a stunning powerhouse. But when you shelve a system for 2 years and then release it because the competition releases platforms that STARTED development after you finalized your system, it tends to look less impressive.

You mean like the 7800 when the NES came out?

1028776[/snapback]

 

I'm not really up on Atari history, but wasn't the 7800 ready in '83 or '84 but shelved until '86?

Bingo.

[GigaDrive]

The 7800 hardware and FamiCom hardware were developed at the same time, and the FamiCom launched at about the time the 7800 was supposed to.

They're about equivalent power-wise, though each one has it's own strengths and weaknesses.

 

yeah, that's basicly -exactly- what my understanding of the 7800 was