September 1991 - Developers' opinions of Super CD format

[SamIAm]

Translation, from the top left:

There are presently 45 developers in total who make games for the PC Engine. We conducted a survey among all of them, asking how they feel about the Super CD-ROM format. NEC Consumer Electronics (who makes the hardware) and Sario declined to comment. We put the results of the remaining 43 developers into the graphs below.

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Q1. Do you plan on developing Super CD-ROM games?
PINK: We are already. (25)
GREEN: We're thinking about it. (7)
YELLOW: No plans. (8 )
ORANGE: Yes, but we haven't started. (2)
LIGHT BLUE: Other (1)

27 developers, a majority, are either developing Super CD games or have committed to it. Most devs who have made a PCE CD game in the past are now making Super CD games. One newcomer also plans on making Super CD games.

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Q2. To which do you give the most weight/resources: Super CD games, normal CD games, bi-compatible games, or Hucards?
PINK: Super CD (17)
ORANGE: Normal CD (1)
YELLOW: Bi-compatible (7)
GREEN: Hucard (3)
LIGHT BLUE: Can't say (14)
DARK BLUE: Other (2)

As we expected, the PCE world is centering more and more on the CD-ROM system, and the Super CD format is the main one. There is only one developer making software for the 2.0 system. For Hucards, it's only three. We expect to see fewer and fewer Hucard games from now on.

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Q3. Do you think the Super System Card 3.0 is expensive?

PINK: Very expensive (8 )
ORANGE: A little expensive (24)
YELLOW: Just right (5)
GREEN: A bit cheap (1)
LIGHT BLUE: A great deal (1)
BLUE/PURPLE: Other/no comment (4)

For CD-ROM system owners, the Super System Card is a savior. For many developers, it seems expensive. Many fear that the price will inhibit the spread of the format. Some even feel you should be able to trade in your other card for one.

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Q4. The Super CD is at a disadvantage against the Mega CD in terms of specs. Do you think it can compete?
PINK: It can compete (15)
ORANGE: It can't compete (2)
YELLOW: Can't say (23)
GREEN/LIGHT BLUE: Other/No comment (3)

How do they see the Mega CD, the rival everyone is worried about? Mostly, they think that the know-how they've cultivated and the success they've had in the marketplace so far will allow them to compete with it. Also, they said that game [systems] are made and broken not by hardware specs, but by software. Will everything depend on the coming lineup, we wonder?

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Q5. Be honest: do you expect the Super CD system to spread in the market?
PINK: Absolutely (4)
ORANGE: To a degree (27)
YELLOW: No (1)
GREEN: I don't know (9)
LIGHT BLUE: No comment (2)

Of course, it all depends on the users, but most developers expect the new system to spread. There are, however, some who are worried about the price of the new system card and the confusion caused by all of the different hardware. At any rate, with the advent of the Super CD system, the PCE is at a turning point.

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[Lower box]

Mr. Tabeda of NEC Avenue (pro-PCE) vs. Mr. Miyaji of Game Arts (pro-Mega CD)

Editor: The Mega Drive's CD system is on the horizon. Which do you think is going to be more successful, that or the PCE CD-ROM?

Miyaji: When it comes to CD-ROM units, the Mega CD is at an advantage. It's got faster seeking, six megabits of work RAM just like a computer, and another CPU.

Tabeda: In terms of specs, yes, it's true. The PCE CD-ROM's new version does strike me as something of a half-measure. If they're going to bother, I'd rather see a bigger change.

Miyaji: The Mega CD has scaling and rotation hardware, as well.

Tabeda: I think that the PCE can cover that difference. The Mega Drive can display only 64 colors simultaneously, while the PCE can do 512. No matter how much more memory either gets, the PCE is absolutely going to have superior display abilities. Everything around the PCE's CPU is very fast as well, and it's easy to make software for it. I think it can fight using these innate characteristics.

Miyaji: We haven't seen a change in market shares yet. The PCE's achievements are great, including that it brought CD-ROMs into people's homes. I think that from here on, we're going to shift into to a period when people scrutinize the software's quality itself.

Mr. Tabeda produced Super Darius, and has been involved in PCE software since the beginning. Mr Miyaji created Silpheed on PC and is eager to work on the Mega CD, along with the rest of his company.

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I recently picked up a few PCE magazines from 1990 and 1991. Those years, to me, are in many ways the most interesting period for the hardware itself, and for Hudson/NEC. The Super Famicom's release in Japan caused a drop in Hucard development and software/hardware sales, and the rise of the Genesis in North America made it hard to hope for growth in that market. Getting behind the new 3.0 system so strongly was a risky move, but it worked, and it gave us another few years of good CD games.

I'll try to see what else I can find that paints of picture of what it was like at this juncture in the PCE's history in Japan.

[Necromancer]

Thanks for translating and sharing another good read.  Not many surprises, really.

[SamIAm]

Indeed, there's nothing earth-shattering here.

The things that I find interesting are:
- The huge number of devs working on Super CD games before the 3.0 card was even released.
- That the above was the case despite some ambivalent feelings about the Super CD system's potential.
- The fact that bi-compatible games seemed like they might really be a thing at one point.

Also, I've always thought that Game Arts would have been the perfect dev for Hudson to have in their corner. It's too bad, in a way, that they were so drawn to the Mega CD hardware. 

[geise]

At least Game Arts gave the Mega-CD the Lunar series and a PC-88 port of Silpheed.  Essentially few of the games I would even want to play on the system.  I do wonder what they would've done if they went with the Super CDRom route.

[Mathius]

Thanks for translating!

I never really understood the logic behind bi-compatible games like Macross for example. I've not noticed any performance improvements in the ones I've played over the years.

[SuperPlay]

Interesting read :-) Thank you for the translation

[esteban]

Awesome, thank you.



Besides Game Arts, what other developers favored Mega CD over the PCE?

[Mathius]

Awesome, thank you.



Besides Game Arts, what other developers favored Mega CD over the PCE?

Wolf Team comes to mind arguably. Translated interviews have suggested that Wolf Team preferred programming in 68000 if I am remembering correctly.

[seieienbu]

These interviews are always interesting to read.  I find Tabeda and Miyaji's discussion of technical specs at the bottom the most interesting. 

I'll look forward to reading more of these when you have the time; thanks for the translation SamIAm.

[exodus]

great stuff, once again!

[SignOfZeta]

Thanks for translating!

I never really understood the logic behind bi-compatible games like Macross for example. I've not noticed any performance improvements in the ones I've played over the years.

The point is to cater to people who only have the CD systems but not to brand your game as old crap that 3.0 buyers might be hesitant to buy. Once the SuperCDROM2 logos started showing up on games the old CDROM2 stuff would seem old. After you paid over half as much as a SFC cost for a boring card you'll want to see it used as often as possible.

It's kind of a ruse, honestly.

[Black Tiger]

Anyone who had to buy a System 3.0 card would already have a CD-ROM2 and be used to saving money when buying CD games instead of cart games.

The difference in price between a PCE CD RPG and a SFC RPG is alone half the price of the system card. That's not even taking into account the value of the CD soundtrack, in a country where game soundtrack CDs sold well.

[esteban]

Thanks for translating!

I never really understood the logic behind bi-compatible games like Macross for example. I've not noticed any performance improvements in the ones I've played over the years.

The point is to cater to people who only have the CD systems but not to brand your game as old crap that 3.0 buyers might be hesitant to buy. Once the SuperCDROM2 logos started showing up on games the old CDROM2 stuff would seem old. After you paid over half as much as a SFC cost for a boring card you'll want to see it used as often as possible.

It's kind of a ruse, honestly.

Well, as a publisher, you want to sell the game to everyone.

A splintered user-base is problematic.

So, it's not that I disagree, but until the SCD install base was "significant", it really was important appeal to both groups.

Is it fair to say that the SCD format was, perhaps, more successful than its predecessor?

What is the CD vs SCD catalog in raw number of releases? (we can figure this out).  In total sales? (we don't have this info, sadly)

Of course, it would be so nice to chart CD vs SCD releases by date of release (to see when support for CD was dropped).

[Mathius]

Thanks for translating!

I never really understood the logic behind bi-compatible games like Macross for example. I've not noticed any performance improvements in the ones I've played over the years.

The point is to cater to people who only have the CD systems but not to brand your game as old crap that 3.0 buyers might be hesitant to buy. Once the SuperCDROM2 logos started showing up on games the old CDROM2 stuff would seem old. After you paid over half as much as a SFC cost for a boring card you'll want to see it used as often as possible.

It's kind of a ruse, honestly.

Well, as a publisher, you want to sell the game to everyone.

A splintered user-base is problematic.

So, it's not that I disagree, but until the SCD install base was "significant", it really was important appeal to both groups.

Is it fair to say that the SCD format was, perhaps, more successful than its predecessor?

What is the CD vs SCD catalog in raw number of releases? (we can figure this out).  In total sales? (we don't have this info, sadly)

Of course, it would be so nice to chart CD vs SCD releases by date of release (to see when support for CD was dropped).

This would be interesting. I'm sure SCD would win out over CD by number of releases alone. Just in my library of games SCD wins out with 47 games vs 25 CD-ROM2.

[deubeul]

According to pcedaisakusen, japanese retail titles:

CD: 121
SCD: 282