'The Challenge Will Always Be There'

11:42pm
Friday, 3rd June 1988

Nintendo Headquarters
Minami Ward, Kyoto, Japan



There were days when Izumi Kenta hated his job – this was one of them.

Still, he thought. Overtime is overtime.
Filing yet another stack of legal papers away – just two more stacks to go – he turned to another small pile. Reaching for the first paper, he soon realised that, like the last pile, this pile would be about the company’s gaming machines. However, unlike the last pile (which dealt with the machines found in Video Game Arcades across the land), this one would be about the so-called ‘Home Consoles’… something which Kenta knew very little about.

“Izumi-san, I’m going to get some coffee. Would you like some?”

Kenta looked up to see one of colleagues, a young man in his mid-20s by the name of Inoue Junichi, looking at him expectedly. His first thought was to dismiss the offer, not being a big Coffee drinker. On the other hand, he was feeling rather tired…
“Does the machine provide Black Coffee?” he asked.
“I believe it does.”
Another few seconds passed before he decided he may as well take his colleague up on the offer. With that, the young man left.

Turning back to the papers, Kenta began the monotonous job of reviewing the text for any errors, legal or grammatical. The first few pages were mostly concerned with Nintendo’s existing home products, the Family Computer and its westernised counterpart ‘Entertainment System’, as well as a peripheral device for the Family Computer called the ‘Disk System’. Nothing seemed amiss, so he filed them away.
The next few documents were a tad more interesting, mostly concerned with Nintendo’s next home system, tentatively titled ‘Family Computer 2’. Of course, lacking any real knowledge of gaming, it was the fact that one of the proposed sound chips for the new device would be designed and produced by the Sony Corporation that caught Kenta’s attention. Still, everything seemed to be in order, so onward the documents went.
The next document, a more recent one, gave Kenta pause.

And here I thought CDs were for playing music.

His first thoughts upon reading the contract were that Sony was being asked to make a music player for the new ‘Famicom 2’, which seemed a strange thing to want for a gaming machine, but upon further reading, he discovered that apparently the idea was for Sony to create a device for playing games that would be stored on CD rather than the standard ROM Cartridge.
Kenta paused and rubbed his eyes. It was far too late to be doing this.

“Izumi-san.”
Junichi had finally returned with the Coffee.
“Thank you.” Putting the contract down, he reached for the plastic cup being held out for him and took a sip. He immediately regretted it when he realised just how hot it was, letting out a slight splutter. Junichi offered his concerns, but they were quickly dismissed.
“So…” Junichi began, trying to strike up a conversation. “Anything of interest?”
Kenta took another sip of Coffee before shaking his head slightly. “A few items concerning a new gaming console.”
“The Famicom 2?”
Kenta nodded and motioned towards the contract he had just been looking through. “It seems we will be having dealings with Sony, particularly with some CD-based device.”
“Like the one NEC are planning for their PC Engine?” was Junichi’s response. “May I?” he added, looking at the contract.
Kenta gave his assent, not entirely sure what the younger man was referring to. With that, Junichi picked up the papers and began browsing through them.
“You seem remarkably well informed about such things,” Kenta noted.
“My younger brothers both have great interest in these things,” Junichi replied. He flipped through to the next page. “I think my parents are beginning to wish I had chosen another company to work for, with the questions that are asked of me when I visit.”
Kenta took another sip of Coffee and reflected on his colleague's words. Despite his own unfamiliarity with home gaming, he was aware of just how popular it had become in recent years. Even his own daughter, now growing old enough to care about such things, was beginning to make noises about such things, mostly due to the words of her friends. He had just begun to wonder if perhaps he would end up buying a Family Computer by the end of the year when he noticed Junichi frowning slightly.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“I’m not sure,” the young man replied. “Perhaps you should look at this.”
Kenta put the now mostly-empty Coffee cup on the desk and took the contracts back from Junichi. Junichi indicated the part that he had been looking at and Kenta began to read himself.
A few seconds later, he was glad he had taken the offer for Coffee after all.

“Is Mizunuo-sama still in the building?” he asked Junichi, referring to his direct superior.
“I believe so,” Junichi replied, glancing at his watch. “Though he may be about to leave.”
“Then get him quickly, before he does so.”

As Inoue Junichi left to do his bidding, Izumi Kenta started reading through the contract again in greater deal, hoping that this was just a misprint, otherwise tonight was going to be a very busy night. For, while he may not have understood the nuances of video gaming, he certainly understood concepts like ‘creative control’. He also understood just how much his superiors valued said control when it came to the games made for their systems.
And if he was reading this right, someone had given full creative control over the games made for this CD system to Sony.

 
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- Excerpt from ‘TheGamingPlace.com’ Interview between Justin Powell and James ‘Jamie Mac’ MacInroy, 16th June 2016.

JUSTIN POWELL: “Now, Mr MacInroy, it has often been stated that your involvement with Sega of Europe predates Sega of Europe itself. Would you care to elaborate on that?”

JAMES MACINROY: “Well… it began in, I think, early-88… or maybe mid-88. Anyway, like many, I was feeling the squeeze, what with the economy and being unemployed – this was during the Thatcher years, mind – when, one day, an acquaintance of mine mentioned that some software publisher in London was looking for some marketing and design people. Now I’ve never exactly been the next Van Gogh, but enough people seemed to think I had at least some artistic talent, and the company was based near enough to where my Grandmother lived, so I figured I might look into it.”

POWELL: “Of course, this software publisher wasn’t just any software publisher, was it?”

MACINROY: “Aye, I’ll admit I was a bit surprised when it turned out to be Mastertronic, of all companies. I mean, back then they were everywhere, from Woolies to local Newsagents, selling cassettes for stuff like the old Amstrad CPC. You remember those, don’t you?”

POWELL: “A little, but that's mostly because my brother had one – a bit before my time otherwise.”

MACINROY: “Right… well anyway… like I said, I figured I might as well give my Grandmother a visit and apply while I was down there. Not that I was expecting much, so imagine my surprise when I actually got a reply. Not only that but an offer for an interview.”

POWELL: “And after that you got the job?”

MACINROY: “In short, yes. Not that it was easy, mind. See, I’d been to London a few times, but I’d never really used the Underground on my own before. I remember at one station, I had to practically charge through one set of train doors as they were closing. Barely made it as it was – God knows how long it’d’ve taken me to get there otherwise. Probably wouldn’t have got the job if that’d happened. Make you think, doesn’t it? Anyways, I got there and had the interview, and before I knew it, I was gainfully employed at Mastertronic.”

POWELL: “And how did that go to begin with?”

MACINROY: “Considering I was a scrawny inexperienced twenty-odd Scotsman working for a London-based company while living with his Grandmother… surprisingly well.”

POWELL: “So, what was Mastertronic’s connection to Sega then?”

MACINROY: “By the time I joined, Mastertronic had been Sega’s main distributor in the UK for about a year – someone had spotted that Sega had no UK distributor and Mastertronic offered themselves up – and had just become distributors for France and, I think, West Germany by then. That continued after the Virgin merger [when Mastertronic merged with Virgin Games to become ‘Virgin Mastertronic’], until Sega-related stuff made up the majority of the business. See, what you have to remember is that, back then, Nintendo weren’t really that much of a player in Europe – it was all about the Master System.”

POWELL: “Not like America, where it was all about Nintendo.”

MACINROY: “Exactly. Anyway, by the time the 90s rolled around, the old 8-bit computers like the Amstrad, the Commodore and the Spectrum were pretty much done. It was all about the Mega Drive and the upcoming Super Nintendo after about 1990. No-one was buying the cassettes from the Newsagents anymore, but all our Master System and Mega Drive stuff was practically flying off the shelves, so really, Sega buying us out in ‘91 was pretty much a formality.”

POWELL: “And when that happened, you made the transition?”

MACINROY: “Pretty much. Not that I really noticed that much difference. As an employee of Virgin Mastertronic, as it was by the time Sega bought us, I just another cog in the machine. After we became ‘Sega of Europe’, I was still just another cog in the machine… for the first few years at least...”

-
 
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- Article taken from ‘TheGamingPlace.com’, originally published 25th May, 2006.

'Looking Back At… the Super Nintendo CD'
Written by R.H. Paulson for ‘TheGamingPlace.com’

Super Nintendo CD.jpg

A few days ago, some of you may have noticed an article on this site discussing which is the best Super Mario game. While the usual suspects were represented (1, 3, 'World' and 'Ultra'), I was somewhat surprised to see a strong argument in favour of ‘Super Mario CD’ from this site’s very own Chuck Leeds. Having looked at the Sega Mega-CD (or ‘Sega CD’ for those you born-and-raised in North America) in the last edition of 'Looking Back', I figured that now would be a good time to take a look back at Nintendo’s own CD Peripheral.
Unlike the Mega-CD, the Super Nintendo CD (also known as the ‘Super-CD’ and the ‘SNES-CD’) had a rather convoluted development. Originally conceived in the mid-to-late-80s while the Super Nintendo was still in development, a deal was made with Sony to create a CD-based add-on for the new console. It made sense, since not only had Sony just created the sound chip that would be used for the Super Nintendo itself, but they had also co-developed the Compact Disc in the first place. However, the deal to make the CD add-on ultimately fell through. The exact reasons remain vague to this day, though most sources seem to agree that creative control was the major issue. Some sources even claim a contract had actually being signed before being re-negotiated and ultimately abandoned. Whatever the exact reasons, the split was relatively amicable and the Super Nintendo got its Sony-created sound chip. Sony would of course go on to become one of the primary manufacturers of the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer.
Nintendo, however, weren’t quite ready to give up on their planned CD add-on and turned to another company with considerable experience with CD technology.
Philips, like Sony, was a logical choice. Not only had they co-created the CD format alongside Sony, but they were already working on a CD-based console of their own (the end result being the Philips CDi, which I reviewed last year in the inaugural 'Looking Back').

The Super Nintendo CD was released in late-1992 (1993 in North America & Europe), a year after the Sega Mega-CD (and the Philips CDi). Like the Mega-CD, it didn’t exactly set the world on fire (though it did outsell the Mega-CD by just over 2 million), but it was a modest success. While it didn’t convince Nintendo to embrace the new CD medium, it was successful enough for them to try the same add-on strategy with the Ultra and the Dynamic Drive (whose sales currently stand at approximately 8.5 million, according to the most recent estimates), long after everyone else had abandoned the practice.

As I’ve previously stated, my experience with Nintendo’s consoles is relatively low due to their relative lack of popularity in the UK compared to America. Sure, there were a few people I knew in school who had the SNES, but for the most part, it was all Master System and Mega Drive. Because of this, the SNES-CD is one of those things I know of, but have little experience with. Luckily for me, one of my neighbours owns a Super CD, and was kind enough to dig it out and let me have a go. Joining us was his 8-year-old son, who was somewhat bemused by the bright colours and relative lack of 3D on display.
Kids these days…

The first game we played was the aforementioned ‘Super Mario CD’, and having played it, I can see why so many people are fond of it. While I would definitely recommend it to those with a fondness for the 2D Mario Games, I wouldn’t go so far as calling it the best the Mario franchise has to offer. As it turns out, I wouldn’t even call it the best Mario game on the SNES-CD – that honour goes to ‘Super Mario’s Wacky Worlds’.

Originally developed by NovaLogic for the Philip’s CDi before being cancelled due to the CDi’s poor sales, Nintendo revived it (apparently, it was one of the few CDi games Nintendo actually gave positive feedback to) and released it for the SNES-CD in 1996 (the last major release for the SNES-CD before the launch of the Nintendo Ultra). The game, a sequel to ‘Super Mario World’ (despite it’s title, ‘Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island’ is in fact a prequel), is probably one of the best of the 2D Mario Games I’ve ever played. The locations, based on the real world rather than the more traditional Mushroom Kingdom, are varied and the level design is well done. The soundtrack falls somewhere between ‘Super Mario World’ and ‘Super Mario Ultra’ in terms of quality (and unlike ‘Super Mario CD’, doesn’t recycle music from ‘World’), though the ‘Ice World’ theme does get a tad repetitive after a while.

Next on the list was ‘Mario Kart CD’. Not much to say about this one really – if you’ve played the original Mario Kart, just imagine a bigger version with slightly improved graphics.

The SNES-CD, like many CD-based consoles of the time, saw more than a few FMV games. As with FMV games on other CD-based consoles of the time, the ones released for the SNES-CD were almost uniformly terrible, so I’ll move on.

Finally, we have the ‘Metroid Duology’, which was probably my favourite of the games I played that day. The SNES-CD version of the original ‘Metroid’ is pretty much a straight port of the original NES version, albeit with a graphical upgrade (not quite to ‘Super Metroid’ levels, but a definite improvement). The gameplay is essentially the same, though the backstory is somewhat more developed in this version. The real highlight of the Duology, however, was the SNES-CD version of ‘Metroid II: Return of Samus’. Originally released for the Game Boy, ‘Metroid II CD’ (as it’s informally known) is, on the surface, essentially a colourised version of the Game Boy original. That being said, the graphics receive a similar graphical upgrade, as with the Duology version of the original Metroid. Some of the cavern backgrounds from the original are altered in places (making navigation a lot easier than in the monochrome original) and the soundtrack also receives an upgrade. Personally, if I were to recommend any game for the SNES-CD, this would be it.

Functionally, the SNES-CD unit itself is on par with the Mega-CD. While there was some slight slowdown with ‘Super Mario’s Wacky Worlds’ (to be fair, the game does push the SNES-CD to its limits), the device worked well enough. The design of the machine also went surprisingly well with the bizarre grey-&-purple rectangle that is the North American Super Nintendo.
My neighbour informed me that a major part of the advertising for the SNES-CD at the time was the fact that it could also play Music CDs (while the Mega CD also had this ability, Sega apparently didn’t emphasise that fact the same way Nintendo did). Whether this strategy helped to shift any extra units is debateable, but since it was apparently a big deal at the time, I figured we should test the SNES-CD’s music-playing abilities. A Led Zeppelin CD my neighbour had lying around went in and… it played just fine.

In the last ‘Looking Back’, I defended the Mega-CD against the negative reputation it’s gained over the years. Despite that, I do feel that the SNES-CD is the better of the two. While it shares many of the same problems as the Mega-CD (i.e. games that don’t make the most of the CD medium, an overabundance of terrible FMV games, etc), the Super Nintendo CD makes better use of what it has, to the point that it’s probably the best of all the CD Add-ons of the early-90s – a remarkable feat for something created by the same company that gave us the CDi.


R.H. Paulson is a UK-born writer and gaming enthusiast, currently residing in Savannah, Georgia, USA. When not waxing nostalgic about video gaming, he indulges in his fascination with Professional Wrestling, writing reviews for ‘WrestleWatch.com’.

Super Nintendo CD.jpg
 
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Always great to see another video game timeline, especially one which hinges on the impact of the Nintendo-Sony deal (an increasingly popular POD, it seems). I really appreciate your strong focus on the narrative aspect - the "epistolary" take is more immersive, especially when we're focusing on a medium which so many of us know primarily through journalism and criticism. Looking forward to the twists and turns you've got planned in the coming updates. Consider me subscribed! :)
 
How i miss this timeline(was created in Seis de Reyes, a Holiday, at for that).

So Nintendo Found that Sony have already his own plans since the begin(was not only creative control...who trully mean full royalties benefit) and decide to act quickly rather OTL fiasco(the whole thing, Yamauchi take sony pants down publicaly and make them humillated with the philips triple deal as a way to negotiated...but mostly revenge)

Umm so Sony join 3DO group...that would be interesting. maybe the will save Trip Hawking ass or sinking with the ship?

So at the end Nintendo did release a CD-add on, nice for the guy with the kid help, you forgot to add Secret of Mana to the SNES-CD(as originally planned) that game was the first square rpg european ever played.

So the Ultra 64 would be CD based? and with Disk Drive too? that would be simple amazing, wanting to knew more about it.

Nice timeline so far keep there.
 
Well, this next update is definitely not what I originally had in mind, but what I had in mind just wouldn't come, so instead, a glimpse into the future.

Brainbin said:
Always great to see another video game timeline, especially one which hinges on the impact of the Nintendo-Sony deal (an increasingly popular POD, it seems).

Thanks for vote of approval. Hope this next update continues to hold your interest.
And yes, I have noticed that the Sony-Nintendo deal is somewhat popular (which is why I went with the lesser known Philips deal for the SNES-CD).

Umm so Sony join 3DO group...that would be interesting. maybe the will save Trip Hawking ass or sinking with the ship?

So the Ultra 64 would be CD based? and with Disk Drive too? that would be simple amazing, wanting to knew more about it.

OTL, Sony were apparently this close to joining in with the 3DO before choosing to continue on with their own 'Play Station' project, so with the Sony version SNES-CD has been aborted in the late-80s TTL, I figured... why not?

The Nintendo Ultra is still cartridge-based like OTL's N64. The Dynamic Drive is also OTL, albeit with a lot more success (and an international release).

Hope you enjoy the update.
 
From ‘TheGamingPlace.com’ forum.

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“Favourite Saturn Game?”
Originally posted by: Mr Nice Guy
July 12th, 2005, 08:03PM


Mr Nice Guy said:
With the ‘Favourite Mega Drive/Genesis games’ thread getting so much attention, I think it’s only fair that we also consider the Mega Drive’s often-overlooked successor, the Saturn.
Personally, I feel that not only is Sega Rally Championship one of the greatest arcade games of all time, but also the greatest arcade-to-console port. Consequently, it gets my vote as best Saturn game.

Da_Man said:
Not sure I’d go so far as to call the Saturn “overlooked”, but whatever.
What is often overlooked is my pick…

GTA_boxart_Sega_Saturn.png


Yes, I get that 2 was a DC launch title and 3 pretty much codified the so-called Sandbox genre, but it was the original for the Saturn that started it all.

Someone said:
As far as being overlooked goes, I’ve always seen the Saturn as being the ‘Star Trek III: The Search for Spock’ of consoles – perfectly fine in and of itself, but caught between an incredibly popular predecessor (Wrath of Khan) and successor (The Voyage Home).
(Wow, I could not have put that any nerdier, could I?)

As for my favourite Saturn game, I’ve always felt that ‘Dead Man Dan’ deserved a lot more recognition (and a sequel).

The Cuyahoga Kid said:
Favorite Saturn game? That’s easy.
Sonic_X_treme_boxart.png

First Saturn game I ever played (the reason I got a Saturn in the firstplace) and still one of my alltime favorites.

BigBlueOrange said:
Mr Nice Guy said:
Personally, I feel that not only is Sega Rally Championship one of the greatest arcade games of all time, but also the greatest arcade-to-console port. Consequently, it gets my vote as best Saturn game.

I’d argue that Colin McRae Rally is just as good, if not slightly better.

Someone said:
As for my favourite Saturn game, I’ve always felt that ‘Dead Man Dan’ deserved a lot more recognition (and a sequel).

Is that the one where you play a resurrected skeleton?

Anyway, even though the PC version is technically the best version, Duke Nukem 3D for the Saturn is still pretty good (better than Duke Nukem Ultra anyway).

BobFromBoston said:
The Cuyahoga Kid said:

Geez, I’d forgotten how bad coverart during the 90s could get.
As for me, I've always had a soft spot for Nights into Dreams (and before anyone says anything, yes I do agree that Nights into Air was better, but it wasn't for the Saturn so it doesn't count when it comes to this thread)

Mr Nice Guy said:
Someone said:
(Wow, I could not have put that any nerdier, could I?)

On this site? Impossible!

BigBlueOrange said:
I’d argue that Colin McRae Rally is just as good, if not slightly better.

I stand by my choice, but fair enough (though I’ve heard the same thing said about V-Rally too).

Someone said:
BigBlueOrange said:
Is that the one where you play a resurrected skeleton?

Anyway, even though the PC version is technically the best version, Duke Nukem 3D for the Saturn is still pretty good (better than Duke Nukem Ultra anyway).

That’s the one.

Duke Nukem Ultra is okay, but you’re right – the PC version is the definitive one.

TheQuietOne said:
Best survival horror game of all time.

Silent_Hill_boxart_Sega_Saturn.jpg


Actually, come to think about it, between this and games like Deep Fear and Tomb Raider, the Saturn had quite a few games that deserved sequels but for some reason didn’t get them.

Marshall said:
Always preferred the Resident Evil trilogy myself.
Also, didn't they release something called Tomb Raider Gold a few years ago, or is that not a sequel to the original?

Someone said:
Silent Hill, Dead Man Dan, Deep Fear, Tomb Raider… wow, you’re right.

-Edit-
Marshall said:
Also, didn't they release something called Tomb Raider Gold a few years ago, or is that not a sequel to the original?

Tomb Raider Gold was more of a remake of the original with a graphical upgrade and some extra bonus levels thrown in (mostly stuff from what would have been Tomb Raider II had it not ended up consigned development hell) than an actual sequel.

Marshall said:
How much of a difference is there between the original and the remake?

TheQuietOne said:
As Someone said, the main game is pretty much a remake of the original and most of the bonus levels are what would have been part of the second game (specifically the Underwater Wreck and Ice Palace levels), though I remember reading somewhere that the India levels were created specifically for Gold.

As far as graphics go, here’s a comparison (both images from the PC version, though the console versions aren’t much different).
TR-TRGold comparison.jpg

Makes you wonder just how far the series could have gone.

MikeTheMod said:
Fascinating as this all is, I'm afraid we're starting to drift a little off topic here.
Also, while I'm here, my contribution (which I'm shocked hasn't been mentioned yet)...

Shennmue_boxart_Sega_Saturn.png

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TR-TRGold comparison.jpg
 
Pretty nice, mostly game saturn almost got OTL,except with butterlies, so Tomb Raider is TTL Duke Nukem? and Shenmue in Saturn? that game must have pushed Saturn to this limits, so what will be of N64 ITTL buddy?
 
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