Namco System 11 and System 12
The 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, using a 512 KB operating system and several custom processors. The 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. Tekken was the first game to use the System 11, and was initially released for arcades in September 1994, 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. According to the June 1995 issue of Edge:
Namco System 12 was developed using the same basic configuration as System 11 but with the CPU operating frequency increased 1.5 times and higher memory capacity. This board was first publicly used for Tekken 3 released in March 1997.
Technical specifications
- Main CPU: MIPS R3000A 32-bit RISC processor @ 33.8688 MHz or @ 48 MHz, Operating performance - 30 MIPS, Instruction Cache - 4KB
- BUS: 132 MB/s.
- OS ROM: 512 KB
- Sound CPU: Namco C76 or Hitachi H8/3002
- 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
- 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
- Other Features: custom geometry engine, custom polygon engine, MJPEG decoder
Games
| Year | Title | Genre |
| 1997 | Tekken 3 | Fighting |
| 1997 | LiberoGrande | Sports |
| 1998 | Soulcalibur | Fighting |
| 1998 | Techno Drive | Driving simulator |
| 1998 | Super World Stadium '98 | Sports |
| 1998 | Fighting Layer | Fighting |
| 1998 | Derby Quiz: My Dream Horse | Quiz |
| 1998 | Tenkomori Shooting | Vertical-scrolling shooter |
| 1999 | Tekken Tag Tournament | Fighting |
| 1999 | Mr. Driller | Puzzle |
| 1999 | Aqua Rush | Puzzle |
| 1999 | Golgo 13 | Lightgun shooter |
| 1999 | Super World Stadium '99 | Sports |
| 1999 | Ghoul Panic | Lightgun shooter |
| 1999 | Um Jammer Lammy NOW! | Rhythm |
| 1999 | Kaiun Quiz | Quiz |
| 2000 | Golgo 13 Kiseki no Dandou | Lightgun shooter |
| 2000 | Point Blank 3 | Lightgun shooter |
| 2000 | Super World Stadium 2000 | Sports |
| 2000 | Truck Kyosokyoku | Driving simulator |
| 2001 | Golgo 13 Juusei no Requiem | Lightgun shooter |
| 2001 | Super World Stadium 2001 | Sports |