Sharing the contents of those Japanese PCE mags

[SamIAm]

Since I've become interested in going through whatever Japanese PC Engine publications I can find for a better understanding of PCE history, and since I can read Japanese, I thought it might be nice for me to gather choice information in a thread. I don't know how long I'll really keep this up (a lot depends on how many interesting materials I can get my hands on), but it would be a shame not to share!

------------------------------

PC Engine Fan - August 1993

Page 11
Previewing the Arcade Card, which is confirmed to be 18 megabits on the previous page, we see that the Arcade Card itself was originally designed ONLY for Duos and Super CD-ROM systems. The original plan for the old systems was to use an adapter that let you plug in both a 3.0 card and an Arcade Card. The adapter is still in development. The pictures drawn were created by the magazine staff as their own concept drawings.



The Arcade Card was slated for release in December of that year, at the price of 12,800 yen. "Arcade Card" was still a temporary name at that point.


Page 14
Konami says they are interested in the Arcade Card, but they can't say any more. The magazine writers say that they hope Martial Champion gets an ACD port.

Capcom says they have no plans to port SFII or Tenchi o Kurau II to the ACD.

Namco says the ACD looks nice, but there are no plans to port the arcade game Knuckleheads.

Page 15
The writers are just fantasizing about the possibilities of the ACD.

Page 48
This whole section is reader comments, and this page is about a recent topic of argument:
"Don't make the visual scenes the only selling point of the games!"

Lots of people wrote in, 10 fan letters were selected, and four developers each said their pieces about, essentially, the validity of digital comic books as games.

Hudson was one of the four developers, and even at this time, you can see them proclaiming their confidence in the genre.

At the end, the magazine proclaims their verdict: digital comic books are "innocent".

Page 72
Dracula X, now at 60% completion...Look at the huge-ass dude in the screenshot who got cut from the final game!


Page 96
PC Cocoron at 95%. Lots of screenshots. Sigh.
[direct translation]
The story is that the main character is trying to rescue Princess Lua from a Demon King. He gets more and more information about her as he beats the bosses which inhabit each area. The game is set in a "dream world" of five stages. You can play the stages in any order you like. You can even revisit stages. However, depending on the direction that you are moving, the enemy patterns will change.
Swim with the jump button and fight sharks head to head.
Slip around on ice and fight flying penguins.
There are flame-engulfed enemies in the lava stage.

You can put together different combinations of face, body, and arm parts. Each part has 8 varieties, each with different abilities and weights, so depending on how you combine them, your abilities and movement speed will change. When you beat a boss, you can change your character, so you can play as six different characters throughout the game.
Depending on the body you choose, you can fly.
Weight affects your jumping.
Your arm parts gather items to power you up.
With three types of parts, and 8 varieties of each, there are 512 total combinations!

Comical enemies like playing-card knights appear. This is a dream-world, after all.

(to be continued. Damn, this issue has more stuff than I was expecting.)

[esteban]

THIS IS THE BEST THREAD.

[Otaking]

Agreed great thread, look forward to reading more.

[SamIAm]

PC Engine Fan - June 1993

Page 28
The Laseractive. Hudson says they're excited because it takes less time to draw an image bound for LD video than it does to make pixel art, and there are pretty much no limits to the animation. They say they expect that the high price means only older gamers will buy the system, so they expect the games to be made to appeal to them. They're looking for a new way of thinking regarding how to use visual effects.

Riverhill soft says on the next page that they think it's great that the system can appeal to LD fans and gamers alike. They think the key will be finding the best balance between selling as many games as possible at the highest possible price. Their company wants to develop new kinds of entertainment.

Makers of the adult-themed Angel Mate, Puranet (Planet?) says, amusingly, that most games to date have put an emphasis on the "game" aspect. Now they want to see what kinds of fun can be had with high quality images. I like one thing they say: Now is a new multi-media age with lots of new technology coming around, but there are no standards yet, and the laseractive is at the front lines of the battle.

Surprisingly, Mega LD games are shown, if only in a little box, but they aren't bad-mouthed at all.

Page 39
Hudson and Bose are collaborating on a release of speakers. Hudson talks up the importanct role they've played in the video game audio world with the first system that has such high quality music. The speakers they're going to release will be targeted at PCE gamers. Only 89,000 yen!

(more later)

[csgx1]

Cool, lots of interesting info. Thanks for sharing and translating!

[ccovell]

Really awesome, especially unreleased/proto info.  Keep 'em coming!

mumblegrumblemagtorrentplzmumble....

[SamIAm]

I'm just looking at the magazines that are available from esteban's site. Since I live in Japan, and there is a big store in my town that sells all kinds of old game stuff including magazines, I might actually be able to get myself a few more issues. But I don't have access to any kind of mega collection...yet.

[TheClash603]

Very cool stuff, I will keep checking this thread out as it updates!

[ElSeven]

hmm, i have full scans of some Gekkan PCE mags that I haven't shared before,  would that be of interest to this thread?  Since I can't read japanese I am unaware of what lost/unreleased treasures they discuss, but the content might be of interest to some. 

I do recall the preview of a gray Avenue 6 pad, and a few peppered mentions of the laseractive.

[Tatsujin]

PCE mags have gotten  really expensive and rare these days in japan

[Tatsujin]

Namco says the ACD looks nice, but there are no plans to port the arcade game Knuckleheads.

lol, if they even had bothered to use any normal CDs

[Otaking]

I'm just looking at the magazines that are available from esteban's site. Since I live in Japan, and there is a big store in my town that sells all kinds of old game stuff including magazines, I might actually be able to get myself a few more issues. But I don't have access to any kind of mega collection...yet.

According to this article http://nfgworld.com/?p=1508 there exists somewhere a massive archive of Japanese PC Engine magazine scans, to qoute the article:
"Complete runs of every PCE mag ever printed, basically, 43 gigabytes of scans"

[SamIAm]

Yep. I've tried to ask him about them, though I haven't been very aggressive. Hopefully, he'll share.

Oh, and while I'm at it:


"When you look at all the data put together in the graph, the drop in Hucard sales in 1991 stands out. The reason for this drop is not only the release of the Super CD system; the release of 126 games in the previous year also had an influence. Certainly there were good games, but the reality is that this stank of panic selling. We must not forget that these circumstances made users lose faith."

[SamIAm]

PC Engine Fan - June 1993

Page 12
Ys IV was in development since January 1992. They were very secretive about it until this issue, apparently. Note that this means it took two years to make and release the game.

Falcom is said to have handled the "basic planning" of the game, which at this point is presumed completed.

The subtitle "Dawn of Ys" seems to have just been announced. "Adol will seek the truth about the founding of Ys."

They address the SNES Ys IV, which would come out in November 1993, before the PCE version. PCE Ys IV won't be based on any other game, they say, but everything is in Falcom's hands.

Page 19

Dig the Ys IV mouse and mousepad, treasure chest-piggybank and telephone calling cards? Well, guess what else is on the list. [suggested soundtrack]

Desk mat (probably for using stamps)
Postcard
Disc holder
Notebook paper
Card case
Clip board
System notebook (?)
Pouch
Keyholder
Patch
Stamp
Musical score
Tapestry
Can-type pen case
Post card file
Telephone card file
Pocket address book
Communication set (telephone card, stickers, and stamp in a set)
Colored pencils
Jute bag
Pass case (probably for commuter passes)
Survival kit (contains knife and ruler!)
Pen set
Mug
Music box (of the wind up persuasion)
1/8 figurine
Jigsaw puzzle

[SamIAm]

PC Engine Fan - November 1994

Wow. The transition is complete. There is an alluring woman on every page. Many are showing lots of skin. Even the reader letters are only talking about voice actors and actresses.

By far, the most interesting section of PC Engine Fan magazine seem to be the debate section:

Page 40
The topic this time: The PCE doesn't have enough shooters these days!

Guy #1 says that the Super Famicom has a much bigger share because it has a balance of games from all genres. The PCE is selling itself short.

But guy #2 says that it's only natural to focus on what's selling.

Guy #3 says he doesn't know what's best, but it seems like nobody wants shooters anymore.

Guy #4 says so too, but he sympathizes with developers.

Guy #5 says he bought a Duo for Gate of Thunder, and that the genre where the PCE is best equipped to beat the Super Famicom is shooters. He says they're not trying hard enough to come up with new ideas.

Guy #6 says he's a hardcore PCE fan, which leaves him neutral. He loves the shooters, but he's afraid that the PCE just can't handle the latest developments in the genre.

!! Here, the editor tells something surprising - a PCE game is currently considered a hit if it sells 30,000 copies. Cho Aniki was said to have sold 35,000 copies. !!

Hudson talks about games going in and out of style. Now, fighting games and tetris-esque puzzle games are in style. Shooters have gone to the fringe. They're too hard, and they used to get complaints about them. But the genre isn't dead in arcades, and even though they have nothing planned, Hudson'll bring something soon.

Naxat says that people wondering aloud why shooters are dying are just making the situation worse, because they're enforcing that very notion and discouraging development.

NEC Avenue says that more than developers saying "they don't sell", there are consumers saying "we won't buy them". They also say that shooters need to go to the next generation of systems in order to evolve.

Konami says "Hey guys. Sorry we haven't been making PCE games lately." They say people still fall back on shooters, that they've had luck with their latest Parodius game, and that they plan to keep on making shooters. But then they basically just say "good luck" to PCE fans.

Guy #7 says he grew up on shooters and he's sad that all he has these days on his PCE is Steam Hearts'. Sure, they aren't as dominant in the arcades these days, but there are still some very hot shooters out there like Rayforce and Sonic Wings 2.

Guy #8 says that the PCE doesn't have the market presence to try to please everybody, but PCE fans should speak up just a little louder, and developers will listen.

Guy #9 says sorry, but for third parties especially, you have to go with what sells, or you'll go bankrupt like Toaplan.

The verdict is that the PCE is "guilty" of not having enough shooters these days.



This section is going to be the first one I go to every time I get a magazine. It has comments directly from multiple developers including Hudson, and the topics seem to be really interesting.

[SamIAm]

PC Engine Fan - December 1994

Page 16

The PC-FX is making is full-blown debut.

The color is the same shade of grey-white as the Duo-RX, and it's otherwise unchanged from mockups previously shown, except for the PC-FX mark being placed on the power switch.

The actual day of release is still unconfirmed in this issue. Just that it will be within the year.

On the next page, they say the expansion slot on the front is designed to be like a computer's.

The slot on the bottom is a RAM expansion slot. Did anyone know that before? I didn't. Mednafen probably did.

The rear slot apparently was supposed to allow for the PC-FX CD drive to be used with PC-98 systems, and other expansions (I saw a video on niconico a long time ago that talked about fax machines and all kinds of crazy crap).

Page 27

Cancelled games alert!

Coconuts Japan was going to make a pachinko game. No development had started yet. No title either.

T&E Soft were going to make TWO golf games, a "Pebble Beach" and a "Masters" game. No development yet.

Nihon Bussan was going to make a Mahjong game and a racing game. No development yet. Boy would a racing game have been nice...

(more later)

[CrackTiger]

Lack of shooters on PCE? News to me!

The PCE could also use more RPGs, war sims, digital comic/adventures and screen/area-clearing-puzzley-strategy games.

[esteban]

PC Engine Fan - December 1994

Page 16

...

The slot on the bottom is a RAM expansion slot. Did anyone know that before? I didn't. Mednafen probably did.

The rear slot apparently was supposed to allow for the PC-FX CD drive to be used with PC-98 systems, and other expansions (I saw a video on niconico a long time ago that talked about fax machines and all kinds of crazy crap).

Yes, I took some screenshots of that video with the PC-FX info:


(not sure if this is from the same video as below...)









BRUT CREW.

[esteban]

...
...

Page 19

Dig the Ys IV mouse and mousepad, treasure chest-piggybank and telephone calling cards? Well, guess what else is on the list. [suggested soundtrack]

Desk mat (probably for using stamps)
Postcard
...
...

I can't believe it, but I am listening to the tunes and they fit the mood perfectly.

[SuperPlay]

Great thread, keep up the good work 

[roflmao]

I am loving this thread!  Really interesting stuff you're digging up.  Thanks! 

[esteban]

STATUS: I am taking everything SamIAm provides and including it on a page dedicated to each issue.

[NecroPhile]

Good stuff, Sam.  Thanks for sharing.

[SamIAm]

Hi again.

Before I continue: If anybody has any more PC Engine fan magazines, you don't have to scan every page in order to share them. By simply providing any pages at the beginning that look like they have info about distant hardware/software plans, and by also providing the "Reader's Court" sections which look like this:
(note that this comes from the low-color/cheap-paper section in the middle, at least in the issues I've seen)


(the layout may differ, but the key text looks like this)


...you can give us what is most likely the majority of the interesting info in your magazine.

Please consider sharing if you can.

Now, to get to work on another post!

[esteban]

STATUS: This is a most glorious development. 

[SamIAm]

PC Engine Fan - December 1995
What an issue!

Page 3
Note the PC-FX mascot character, Rolfie, saying "Let's play anime games together!" in the corner by three advertisements for games packed with anime babes.

Page 5
The table of contents. I can see already that they are going to dedicate several pages to voice actresses.

Page 6
What the...I didn't know about this thing, but I suppose some people here do.

Make PC Engine games with a PC-98 or an MSX. I'm not sure what kind of language this supports. These things are apparently very rare, because you had to send in to purchase them.
Interesting to note that they say the most expensive dev kits, presumably for CD-ROM games, cost literally 10 million yen, or about $100,000.

Page 9
Anearth Fantasy Stories is previewed at 80%. This is editorializing, but it's interesting that they emphasize the atypical battle system right from the beginning. I think that between this and games like Xanadu 1 and 2, devs for this system were trying to distinguish their RPGs by giving them level-up systems that were different from the Square/Eninx norm.

Page 18
Sapphire. It's 100% done, so there aren't any weird changes or anything.

The pink-haired girl is described as cutely charged up, brimming with youthful energy. The green one is kind of preppy or princess-like, and the oldest at (gasp!) 20. The red-haired one is a tomboy, aggressive, and the only one who carries a gun.

The blue haired one is given no such description, possibly so you can fill in the blank yourself.

Page 21
Hudson was apparently very tight lipped about their releases in 1995. The writers breath a sigh of relief at having finally gotten a little info about some, but they're left speculating about others.

Page 22
The big one is Tengai Makyo III: Namida. This is a game, they say, that has had a big effect on the PC-FX market. They lament still not knowing very much about it.

TM Zero came out in November, and the Saturn's TM IV has been announced. They're a little bummed about the effort not going toward TM III, but maybe they're saving the best for last?

Page 23
Yuna FX is announced. Yuna has enjoyed digital comic games, radio dramas, and OVAs. Her appeal, they say, is that she is naturally inclined to be friends with everyone. Yuna FX is supposed to take place after Yuna 2 on PCE. [according to a fan site, however, it is pretty much a repackaging of the OVA]

Page 43
A woman writes in: My daughter is reading Yaoi! What should I do? Is this something girls really 'need' like boys need porn?
The magazine responds: "Well, girls don't exactly have the same 'use' for it...." [lol]

Page 44
A reader writes in chastising the staff for saying that they didn't like the character Sophia in Xanadu 2. How dare you, he says. It's insulting to the people who like the character, he says. [sheesh]

Page 45
The Reader's Court section is gone! Instead, there's a silly question about readers using pen names when they write in to the magazine.

Page 67
NEC Avenue is starting to release their own anime drama CDs. Here's an example of one called something like "Electric Brain Warriors - Vugis Angel".

Page 71
Readers polled said that they really like Private Eye Doll on the FX. Maybe I'll give it a look. It was the top-ranking game this month.

There's actually a little section talking about used game sales as well. It's just what games are selling for how much these days.

Page 72
People can actually compete and potentially win a plug for their doujin manga.

There are a couple Tengai Makyo doujin mangas listed here. I wonder what other PCE games had these made for them?

Page 79
Der Langrisser is in development at 10%. Who will the voice actors be? Probably the same ones from the CD drama. There is a lot of buzz about this, since this will be the big selling point over the SFC port.

The Cho Aniki guys have a cameo in this game.

Page 87
Sorry to focus on the negative things, but that is kind of the name of the game in December 1995.
Voice Paradise is a PC-FX game where you can effectively cast the voice actresses of each character. You have five actresses to choose from for three roles. And this is pretty much the entire draw of the game.

The writer says, in a rare moment of lucidity "This is something a lot of you have always wanted to do. Right?"

-------
From here, there are many pages about voice acting. It's amazing how much attention they give this area. Most of the sections are talking about other works and events, totally non-game related, and interviews with the actors about all kinds of stuff. The pictures tell you more than the words, really.
-------

Page 98
Starting this month, they're going to dedicate this section of the magazine to giving the latest updates on the next "Anime Freak FX" game.

The little pink word balloon next to the cute girl says "Please go on a date with me."

Page 99
Rolfie invites you (written in the first person) to send in your color illustrations to be published in the next Anime Freak FX game.

Page 106
PC-FXGA is introduced. Most of it is stuff that is already known in the English speaking world.
An executive director of NEC Home Electronics says "Because we aren't getting any new users, the amount of titles available isn't increasing. Because current users are buying another system, they don't have leeway to buy software. In this environment, we're really struggling without any software to pull the hardware forward."

Anime is still a core part of their strategy, but they want new users with the PC-FXGA.

Page 108
Finally, there is going to be a Sapphire high-score contest!

It says the green ship is the best one for scoring because its options take the least time to charge!

The score contest only covers the first three stages, and you have to send in a VHS tape of your run. Also, two players are allowed, but they will be in a separate table. A prize will be sent to the top three players.

[CrackTiger]

I won't have time to search through and scan all of my PCE mags for a while, but here are some photos I snapped:

https://www.superpcenginegrafx.net/misc/pcemagpics1.zip

[SamIAm]

Thanks Black Tiger. I'll be able to get some info out of those shots, although there were a few that I might ask you to take again.

I went to the only place in town I know that stocks these used mags. Basically, they're about $8 apiece, and they only have stuff from 1993 onwards. At that price, buying one or two is not such a big deal if it looks like there will be payoff. But buying several is something else. Hmm...

[esteban]

PC Engine Fan - December 1995

...


Page 6
What the...I didn't know about this thing, but I suppose some people here do.

Make PC Engine games with a PC-98 or an MSX. I'm not sure what kind of language this supports. These things are apparently very rare, because you had to send in to purchase them.
Interesting to note that they say the most expensive dev kits, presumably for CD-ROM games, cost literally 10 million yen, or about $100,000.

Page 9
Anearth Fantasy Stories is previewed at 80%. This is editorializing, but it's interesting that they emphasize the atypical battle system right from the beginning. I think that between this and games like Xanadu 1 and 2, devs for this system were trying to distinguish their RPGs by giving them level-up systems that were different from the Square/Eninx norm.

...

Ten
Million
Yen


...THAT's how much you deserve for bringing some context to all of these moon symbols. 

[ClodBusted]

@Samiam: If there'd be "like" buttons under your posts, I'd hit them. Hit them hard.

[SamIAm]

Ten
Million
Yen


...THAT's how much you deserve for bringing some context to all of these moon symbols. 

Well shucks, thanks esteban.

It's hard to know exactly what that purchase includes. It could actually include a licensing fee, or some other superficial thing that doesn't reflect the cost of the technology itself. On the other hand, maybe the first CD writing tech really was super expensive.

[esteban]

Yes, the cost of the CD-ROM tech might have been high, though much better than 5-7 years prior. I wonder when the costs dropped (would it have coincided with the proliferation of "cheaper" consumer hardware in late 90's).

This article was from 1995...in a short time...very different situation?

[SamIAm]

I don't have the text with me now, but I remember thinking that they probably weren't referring to the most expensive dev kit available at that particular time, but rather the most expensive kit ever to exist in PCE history.

I remember reading once that when porting Ultima to the FM Towns CD-ROM, the developer had to go to a CD pressing plant and have them make up a glass master just to properly test a build. This was maybe in 1990 or 1991. I could definitely imagine the first CD burners in that era being giant boxes straight out of a 1950s sci-fi movie set with similarly NASA-like pricetags. I also remember the programmer of Sonic Xtreme on the Saturn saying that even in 1996, getting a CD-R test-build was a huge ordeal. I think he said they didn't have a burner in their office, and they had to do something like send a hard drive to another building or something like that.

I think someone once posted about a Hucard dev kit that cost about 10 grand originally. I see if I can dig it up later.

[esteban]

It really is amazing how CD-ROM evolved over 20 years...glass master  at plant --> CDR in-house (if you are lucky --> CDR standard on all laptops --> whatever, dude.

[NecroPhile]

While working for ICOM, Andy Glaister built dev kits that sold for $15,000.  They included CD-ROM emulation, so presumably no CDRs would be needed.  Not to say that everyone worked that way, as surely some devs went with 'real' discs.

[esteban]

While working for ICOM, Andy Glaister built dev kits that sold for $15,000.  They included CD-ROM emulation, so presumably no CDRs would be needed.  Not to say that everyone worked that way, as surely some devs went with 'real' discs.

Interesting...do you have link to source (an interview, perhaps?)

 

[NecroPhile]

http://bit.ly/1yfG39n   

Second link and scroll down to about the middle of the page.

[Dicer]

Sam, I know you said to scan only certain parts, but I'm a scantard who must get every page... hope to have them up on my site [& tg16.com esty (;] in a couple of days, though I'll send you a link to the full set of scans the moment they're available.  Thanks so much for what you're doing here!
/PCEF_93-11_001.jpg

This...looks familiar...

[SamIAm]

Thanks a million. Please don't kill yourself over this or anything, but I'll be sure to take a good look at your results. Judging by the cover, that's a really interesting issue. Although, it says that it contains as a separate book a guide for all hardware and peripherals. Do you have that, too?

I hope that's not what got chopped...

[Dicer]

/PCEF_93-11_001.jpg

This...looks familiar...

As it should! ( :  I've scanned up to page 110 so far.

P.S.  Where is page 39/40???  I want it, but someone expertly cut it out!!!

Idk, I know I didn't never even noticed, or if I did I forgot that I did.

[dshadoff]

P.S.  Where is page 39/40???  I want it, but someone expertly cut it out!!!

I have that issue, and:
- page 39 is an ad for the PC Engine game "Kisou Louga".
- page 40 is an ad from Kadokawa Shoten, for various animes - "Hi no Tori", "Youseiki Suikoden", "Arusura-n Senki 3-4", and a serialized manga, "The Sneaker".

While we're on this nostalgia trip, a 45-minute VHS of "Youseiki Suikoden" costed 9800 yen.
Pretty severe.

[SuperPlay]

PC Engine Fan - December 1995
What an issue!

Page 6
What the...I didn't know about this thing, but I suppose some people here do.

Make PC Engine games with a PC-98 or an MSX. I'm not sure what kind of language this supports. These things are apparently very rare, because you had to send in to purchase them.
Interesting to note that they say the most expensive dev kits, presumably for CD-ROM games, cost literally 10 million yen, or about $100,000.

You can download a copy of the devlo book above from here:

http://debuglife.free.fr/spip.php?article18

[SamIAm]

I decided to go crazy and buy a batch of PCE mags. I'm having a pretty good time exploring this old stuff, so why not? I don't have access to a scanner, but the meat is the text anyway, so it shouldn't matter much.

Luckily enough, I was able to get ahold of the first issue of PCE Fan from December 1988, and in the back is a nice set of introductions for various developers. A lot of it is history and PR fluff, which I won't translate, but I'm going to try to get anything anyone says about the PC Engine. I'll start with Hudson.

This is a direct translation, and not a particularly polished one, but it's good enough. There's not a lot of groundbreaking info, but this should give you an idea of what the vibe around the PCE was like in its early days.

-------------------------------

Hudson

There are a lot of people who, upon hearing the word "Hudson", think of that company where Takahashi Meijin works. Among software houses, Hudson's achievements rank alongside the best, and we can hope for them to be plenty active in the PC Engine world. Mr. Naoki Hirai, the PR chief of Hudson's main development planning department, spoke to us about the direction of the company.

--A development structure that is always forward facing.--

In Tokyo's Shinjuku neighborhood, Hudson's branch office sits facing a street lined with cherry blossoms. It was there that we spoke to Mr. Hirai.

Their headquarters is in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and that's where their games are developed. [note: this is far north in Japan, in what most would consider the boonies.] That being the case, we reporters hoped to depart for Sapporo, but Mr. Hirai quickly said "if you're looking for something to report, just ask me." Oh well...

From the outside, their building looks like it was modeled after the Sapporo Clock Tower, and while it's seated snugly among the other buildings, it also stands out among the local scenery.

Nobody was at the reception desk when we arrived. I picked up the phone to ask through the office line for someone to meet us. Moments later, Mr. Hirai appeared. We were guided to a reception room with a large window that commanded a view of the street, and Mr. Hirai lit a cigarette.

We started with a stiff topic. "How exactly is your organization structured?" A stiff question indeed.

"We divide it into three parts: thinking, creating, and selling. We plan, we develop, and we put things on sale. That's the basic structure of our organization. That's the core."

When it comes to creation, three or four years ago, Hudson used only their internal staff. Recently, however, outside groups have been fairly involved. Scenario writing, music, graphics, working with these kinds of outside specialists gives their results a new flavor.

"When it comes to our structure of development as a software house going into the future, I think a key thing is going to be whether we are able to recruit the most talented outsiders."

Mr. Hirai choked on his cigarette smoke, but he kept talking.

"By the way, Mr. Hirai, we would like to take your picture."

With that, our cameraman started right to work taking photos. Mr. Hirai, being who he is, was so used to it that he didn't flinch. Without pausing, and with cigarette in hand, he started talking again.

"In particular, fields related to CD-ROM are expanding, and getting specialists from each of those fields is probably going to be a necessity."

There it is! For those of us already captivated with the PC Engine, the topic that really perks up our ears is the CD-ROM.

I mean, we can't even imagine a game that uses such a massive amount of memory as 540 megabytes. Even a commercial (i.e. arcade) game. The fact that we can barely take a shot at guessing what will happen is what excites us.

"Of course there will be games, but just wait until you see what else we have up our sleeves. Ha ha ha!"

Mr. Hirai says this with a curious smile. You can bet that he means it.

"For example, do you mean like a game with conversations in four different languages? Or a digital map that you load into your car and you can also play games there?"

When I ask this, I suddenly remember. There is a rumor that Tengai Makyo, a game they're currently developing, is going to have music provided by the famous Ryuichi Sakamoto. This must be what he's talking about.
[note: Ryuichi Sakamoto was one of the three members of Yellow Magic Orchestra, which were kind of like a Japanese Kraftwerk, and massively popular in the 80s. I'm a fan. To me, they sound like Japan in the same way that the Beach Boys sound like California.]

-Make the software cheap to have a good balance-

Well, readers, that's Hudson, the company that never forgets to provide entertainment for all users. From here on out, it sounds like they won't hold back when it comes to bringing in the most prominent people.

Of course, they can also push the the present Hucard system up to its maximum (8M), and that's still enough to provide a lot of new software. In the end, we're thinking that the Hucard will be the foundation, and the CD-ROM system will be the expansion.

For users, what everyone really wants to know is how things will proceed regarding price. There are a lot of cases of Hudson games being 4500-5000 yen, while other companies charge over 5000.

"Some Famicom games cost 10,000 yen. We want to keep our games at as low a price as possible, and make users feel glad that they bought them." It almost moves us to tears.

--Putting developers to the test--
-A machine many levels further evolved than the Famicom-

"In the PC Engine business, what is your greatest strength? Could you tell us your opinions and feelings toward the industry?" We said sitting seiza-style in our chairs...ha ha, of course that's just a joke. But we did straighten our posture.
[note: seiza is that painful way of sitting where your knees are together in front of you and your butt rests on your ankles. It's a formal way of sitting in Japan]

"It's fair to say that as a console, the PC Engine is more evolved than the existing Famicom. Actually, since its release in October of last year and right now as well, you could rank it as the single most superior hardware out there."

"In what ways is it superior?"

"Let me tell you...Wait, just a sec..."

Mr. Hirai went to greet another guest. Three minutes later, he was back.

"Heh, sorry about that. What were we talking about?"

"How the PC is superior."

"Right, right. It's got better color and better sound than the Famicom. Furthermore, it's equipped with expandability for peripherals. We call this a "core concept". In terms of the hardware itself, this makes a big difference.

-Asking about the strength of PC Engine developers-

"So, that only leaves the problem of games, right?"

"That's right. It's easy to develop a game on a Hucard, and I think whether a developer can get the most out of the hardware just depends on how he uses it."

Now he's getting into it.

"In other words, developers are put to the test on the PCE. How high the quality of their work is, and how cheaply they can price it, is a matter of their own abilities."

That's what we like to hear. Someone pounded the table and cheered, and it turned out to be our cameraman. He blushed, and hurried out to take some pictures of the reception area.

--Amazing software coming soon--

"Whether you're talking about the Famicom or the PC Engine, I believe we have taken on the role of being pioneers. We're the kind who take a zero and turn it into a one. "

To make something from nothing is truly a difficult thing. You have to keep making new developments even when the risks are high.

At the same time, you have to be flexible enough to take the lead with support for new hardware.

"Regarding hardware, we're going to support anything that's good. In short, we want to have an adaptability that's centered around users."

In the current PC Engine world, selling a PC Engine game is, you could say, not very difficult. The Famicom is overcrowded with software, and not many games sell more than 100,000 copies. On the other hand, in the PC Engine world, where there still aren't very many games, developers are lining up to join in one after another. The current amount of support for the PC Engine is, in a way, a kind of merit.

"We at Hudson are going to do all we can to put our know-how to use as we plan further games. In partucular, in the near future (next spring) we are going to put out some amazing software for you all. We want you to look forward to it. And while you're at it, we'd sure like you to buy a CD-ROM system this Christmas or over New Year's."

(on the lower left, there's a box advertising nationwide events throughout Japan. Hudson put them on in 85 and 86, and last year they did a special tie-up with Katochan and Kenchan the TV show. This year, they're doing a caravan in 40 locations, and holding a contest with the game Power Ring.)

------------------

Next up: Namco

[SamIAm]

Namco
(skipping a bunch of stuff that reads like Namco's Wikipedia page)
--Reaching higher heights on the PC Engine--
-We want to put the PC Engine's excellence to use-

So, where does Namco stand when it comes to making software for our beloved PC Engine?

"When it comes to PC Engine software, Namco hasn't really done anything to make its presence known. But, the PC Engine is a system with excellent capabilites, and we want to make and sell games which draw out that that excellence. Users are going to have an ever-greater discernment for good games, and we want to work hard at providing ever-greater products."

When the topic turns to the PC Engine, they start giving humble replies.

All of their releases so far on the PC Engine have been hits, and Dragon Spirit, due before the end of the year, is already a hot topic.

On top of this, as we await their thoughts on the PC Engine getting more and more established, they said this:
"We at Namco are excited about publications coming out for the PC Engine. We haven't sold many PC Engine games, but all the ones we've put out so far have ranked well, no doubt about it. Just like with the Famicom, games on the PC Engine will attract a broad range of gamers."

No matter what the hardware is, we should all pay attention to Namco and their enthusiasm for making widely loved sofware.

[SamIAm]

NEC Avenue

[jokey jabbering from NEC Avenue guy]
"Do you like western music? Then you'll fit in right in with the people at our company. Yep, definitely. And now, to introduce this month's new songs...yeah right. So, you hear NEC Avenue, and you immediately think of a software house. That makes you a hardcore PCE fan."
[note: this is probably because most people hearing "NEC" think of washing machines and other household appliances.]
[other note: the 80s were when western pop music really exploded in Japan. There was a little crossover before, but things didn't start going full tilt until at least the late 70s.]


--Six internal members and six external companies, 15 games in a year--
-The six members of the internal company are a team that gets along great-

For our interview, we got the leader of the business division, Mr. Shunyuu Tabeda (who knows how old he is?). Of course, he was wearing a suit. He tries to look sharp when he's facing our camera - he seems to be a serious fellow. But then he turns to his coworkers and says "This one's for all the ladies". What should we think?

"We'd like to serve up the full course from the menu of questions. Let's start with the software development...no wait, tell us about the structure of your staff."
[note: terrible puns omitted]

Now he's serious.

"Let's see. There are six of us, five men and one woman. What's that? Our average age? That would be 24."

Jeez, these guys are young. Even so, it must be tough with only six of them. Well, if two heads are better than one, maybe six is plenty.

There are apparently 5 or 6 outside development groups that stand under the NEC Avenue umbrella. Together, they boast the ability to make 15 games in one year.

The planning of the software is done by the internal staff. Their motto when it comes to development is "give priority to quality, not putting games out quickly."

Even if their sales dates get put off a few times, we're pleased with their desire to provide a product that has all the little wrinkles ironed out. Of course, a sales date is also kind of like a promise to your fans, so it's not good to break that promise...

Anyway, that's why games like Taito's Wardner being put off again and again are just being improved upon. We hope you can all sit tight until they finish it.
[note: Wardner was eventually cancelled.]


--Which comes first, the hardware of the software?--
"Recently, the price of software has started to settle around 5200 yen. I'd really like it if we could get it below 5000 yen." he says, in what is surely music to the ears of users. This Tabeda is a good guy. But there's always another side to sweet words like these, or so they say.

"Why is that?" we try to ask politely.

"Well, the PC Engine is a little expensive (relative to the Famicom) and we'd like to make up the difference with the cost of the software."

In other words, he wants users to feel like they're getting a decent deal. Owing also to the fact that they're a part of NEC, it's only natural that they're very concerned with the sales of the hardware as well. As the hardware spreads, the software can follow the same path. Of course, the opposite can happen. Chicken and egg, anyone?

I wonder what they are planning in terms of the number of new games and the prices for which they'll be sold.

"The number of games depends on the orders [note: for ports?] that we get, so we don't have a lot of control over that internally. When it comes to price, it takes some sensitivity. We like to set the price at the low end of the acceptable price range."


--Developing ports is their main business--

Mr. Tabeda, what are your beliefs and goals? That is to say, what are those of NEC Avenue?

"One is, and pardon the expression, to not put out crappy games. Another is to safeguard our quality and brand."

Regardless of their staff size or their history, they have a hard time feeling like a major developer. Mr. Tabeda spoke passionately.

"Next year, we really want to put out our own original game."

That's great news! Do your best, guys!

At present, they are fully dedicated to game software, and it's their bread and butter to develop ports. They've already put Fantasy Zone on sale. It's sold well, and in addition, they are garnering anticipation with their release of Space Harrier this month.

"We're going to be porting a whole mountain of games, and we promise not to let our users down."


--On the lively world of hardware--

"Just between you and me..."

He says, lowering his voice. He tells me about all the new software they're going to announce in February of next year.

Given the current pace of sales, the word is that tthe PC Engine hardware will sell 1 million units by the end of the year, and 1.5 million units by March of next year. Given the flux of sales that happen at the end of the year, we can expect an influx of new PCE fans.

Speaking of hardware, software houses and general users alike are taking interest in other systems coming out. Sega's recently announced "Mega Drive" and the Famicom's big brother, the "Super Famicom" are all going to be fighting for the biggest share. For the time being, however, the three groups are each unique, and they'll each be influencing the others.
[note: "announced" is indeed the word used for the Mega Drive, even though it was out for over a month at that point.]

For us hardcore PCE users, the reassuring thing is the appearance of the CD-ROM system. We aren't worried about Hucards, but this is one ace we're happy to have up our sleeves. Heh heh heh...

NEC Avenue says they're bound to the hardware "like it's a three legged race" and they'll put out software for whatever peripherals there are. We sure can't wait to see what they'll do.


--Setting a new path with "twin software"--

"To tell you the truth, we're thinking about making 'twin software' hucards and CDs. Call it a double-media path if you will, we want to make the same game for both formats."

There's one thing that's certain, and it's that in the larger world of game development, as the quality of software continues to go up, CDs can fulfill users' needs very well.

"I'd like to say something to other developers making CD games. Pretty please, keep the price under 5000 yen!" Mr. Tabeda pleads.

"Let me get in a plug for our software. Now on sale is Fantasy Zone, which is just like the arcade version, with a big boost in sound quality! And don't forget Space Harrier, coming to you at a whopping 4 megabits. And Darius is coming, too, at 3 megabits."

[on the lower left]
Hi guys! I work at NEC Avenue's telephone service. My name is Hana, and I'm a female college student! There are 10 other service ladies, too - all college students! We're waiting for your calls! But remember, we can only answer questions about software. We can also answer questions about the contents of the games, but when it comes to hardware...golly, we don't have a clue! We love games, and I think we'll be able to answer your questions. We'll do our best!

-Mr. Tabeda wants to have a special event before the end of the year. Maybe turn a showroom into a kind of theater and invite 1000 people to play a lot of games, including on CD-ROM.

[esteban]

Splendid. 

I'll have more to say later, but a few things that pop into my brain:

"Twin Software" — Clearly, he must be referring to the Altered Beast HuCARD and CD, right? And Sidearms HuCARD + CD. This strategy really wasn't embraced by anyone, not even Hudson, despite the impression that Mr. Tabeda gives (that is, he makes it sound like  "twin software" is a "best practice" that Hudson will support for a wave of games, at minimum).

WHAT OTHER early releases am I forgetting (that can be seen as twin software)? I know Doraemon did this, but that was much later and clearly to squeeze money out of the Doraemon license.

• why can't the PCE hotline help with hardware questions? I mean, is it really more difficult? More importantly, it's always been my understanding that these hotlines dispensed generic advice+pre-written blurbs (and cheats/codes)....
So why not do the same with hardware?

• pointless fantasy of mine—Space Harrier was a "twin software" project and a fully completed prototype, complete with Red Book  tunes, will be discovered later this year. NOTE: the prototype for SPACE FANTASY ZONE HARRIER was the seed of this "twin software" fantasy. Has anyone ever pontificated on whether or not PCE Space Harrier's code/engine was recycled?

• we have sales estimates for End of Year 1988? Or 1989? 

ASIDE: SamIAm's posts have inspired me tremendously and I just want to thank him for re-igniting my passion to get some work done. 

[SamIAm]

• why can't the PCE hotline help with hardware questions? I mean, is it really more difficult? More importantly, it's always been my understanding that these hotlines dispensed generic advice+pre-written blurbs (and cheats/codes)....
So why not do the same with hardware?

Well, it's probably just NEC Avenue's specific hotline, not so much a general NEC/Hudson hotline.

[esteban]

• why can't the PCE hotline help with hardware questions? I mean, is it really more difficult? More importantly, it's always been my understanding that these hotlines dispensed generic advice+pre-written blurbs (and cheats/codes)....
So why not do the same with hardware?

Well, it's probably just NEC Avenue's specific hotline, not so much a general NEC/Hudson hotline.

Gotcha. That makes sense.

[SamIAm]

• we have sales estimates for End of Year 1988? Or 1989? 

ASIDE: SamIAm's posts have inspired me tremendously and I just want to thank him for re-igniting my passion to get some work done. 

Cool, man, I'm glad I can help. By the way, you are welcome to do whatever with my stuff as long as you stick a little credit at the end and leave the text as-is (except maybe for typos).  If you want to work on some kind of database for PCE magazine translations, maybe eventually even some kind of wiki, that would be great. I really think that more than any other major system in history, the PCE (and every other NEC system for that matter) has a story that is obscured by a language barrier and a lack of success outside Japan.

Anyway, the sales figure there would be for the end of the 1988, or about 14 months after the PCE's release.

It's interesting to note that by the end of 1988, there were still only about 25 PCE Hucard games available in Japan, even though there were a million systems sold to the public, and the PCE was perhaps at its freshest and most exciting. With such low competition and a new userbase of such size, it probably wouldn't have been too tough to make a game and have it sell over 100k, which would make for very decent profits. A lot of developers at that time, as you can see, were basically just a few dudes (and maybe a dudette or two) in an apartment-sized office. If that's the size of your operation, 100k games sold at let's say a $10 profit margin per game could float your boat for a long time. Sure, even in a saturated market you could apparently sell 100k Famicom games, but with the PCE there's also a lot of potential to become a big fish in a small pond, which is a pretty comfortable place to be from a business perspective.

I count 61 Hucard games that came out in 1989. I can't wait to uncover more detail from that time.

[CrackTiger]

Splendid. 

I'll have more to say later, but a few things that pop into my brain:

"Twin Software" — Clearly, he must be referring to the Altered Beast HuCARD and CD, right? And Sidearms HuCARD + CD. This strategy really wasn't embraced by anyone, not even Hudson, despite the impression that Mr. Tabeda gives (that is, he makes it sound like  "twin software" is a "best practice" that Hudson will support for a wave of games, at minimum).

WHAT OTHER early releases am I forgetting (that can be seen as twin software)? I know Doraemon did this, but that was much later and clearly to squeeze money out of the Doraemon license.

Super Darius/Darius Plus and Daisenpu/Daisenpu Custom, both by NEC Ave.

Hudson later released Raiden/Super Raiden and Bonk 3/Bonk 3 CD.