The Namco System 22 is the successor to the

Namco System 21 The Namco System 21 "Polygonizer" is an arcade system board unveiled by Namco in 1988 with the game ''Winning Run''. It was the first arcade board specifically designed for 3D polygon processing. The hardware went through significant evolution th ...

arcade system board An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arc ...

. It debuted in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

with '' Sim Drive'' in Japan, followed by a worldwide debut in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

with ''

Ridge Racer is a racing game, racing video game series developed and published for arcade systems and home game consoles by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco. The first game, ''Ridge Racer (1993 video game), Ridge Racer'' (1993), was originally rel ...

''. The System 22 was designed by

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...

with assistance from graphics & simulation company

Evans & Sutherland Evans & Sutherland is a pioneering American computer firm in the computer graphics field. Its current products are used in digital projection environments like planetariums. Its simulation business, which it sold to Rockwell Collins, sold products ...

. Graphical features include

texture mapping Texture mapping is a method for mapping a texture on a computer-generated graphic. Texture here can be high frequency detail, surface texture, or color. History The original technique was pioneered by Edwin Catmull in 1974. Texture mapping ...

Gouraud shading Gouraud shading, named after Henri Gouraud, is an interpolation method used in computer graphics to produce continuous shading of surfaces represented by polygon meshes. In practice, Gouraud shading is most often used to achieve continuous l ...

, transparency effects, and depth cueing, thanks to the Evans & Sutherland 'TR3' chip/chipset, which stands for: Texture Mapping, Real-Time, Real-Visual, Rendering System. The main CPU provides a scene description to the TR3

graphics processing unit A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobi ...

and a bank of

DSP DSP may refer to: Computing * Digital signal processing, the mathematical manipulation of an information signal * Digital signal processor, a microprocessor designed for digital signal processing * Yamaha DSP-1, a proprietary digital signal ...

chips which perform 3D calculations. A variant of the system, called the Super System 22, was released in 1995. The hardware was largely similar to the System 22, but with a slightly higher

polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...

rate and more special effects possible.

System 22 Specifications

*Main CPU:

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...

68020 The Motorola 68020 ("''sixty-eight-oh-twenty''", "''sixty-eight-oh-two-oh''" or "''six-eight-oh-two-oh''") is a 32-bit microprocessor from Motorola, released in 1984. A lower-cost version was also made available, known as the 68EC020. In keeping ...

32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in 32-bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calculation ...

@ 24.576 MHz *

: 2x Texas Instruments TMS32025 @ 49.152 MHz (exact number of DSPs may vary) *

GPU A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobil ...

TR3 (Texture Mapping, Real-Time, Real-Visual, Rendering System) **Features:

Texture mapping Texture mapping is a method for mapping a texture on a computer-generated graphic. Texture here can be high frequency detail, surface texture, or color. History The original technique was pioneered by Edwin Catmull in 1974. Texture mapping ...

, transparency effects, depth cueing, 16.7 million colors, 240,000 polygons/second *Sound CPU:

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

M37702 (System 22 Games) or M37710 (Super System 22 Games) @ 16.384 MHz *Sound Chip:

C352 (32 voices, 4 channels @ 16-bit, support for 8-bit linear or μ-law PCM samples) * +

Custom Chips

List of System 22 / Super System 22 Games

*'' Sim Drive'' (1992, limited release) *''

'' (1993) *''

Ace Driver is a 1994 racing arcade game developed and published by Namco. The player controls a Formula One racer, with the objective being to complete three laps of a race course and to avoid a collision with opponents and other obstacles. Three difficul ...

'' (1994) *''

Alpine Racer is a racing sports video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. It had a limited release in December 1994, followed by a wide release in July 1995. It ran on the Namco System 22 arcade hardware. The player uses a handlebar controll ...

'' (1994) *'' Cyber Commando'' (1994) *''

Ridge Racer 2 is an arcade racing game that was released by Namco in 1994 for their System 22 hardware. Despite its name, ''Ridge Racer 2'' is more of an updated version of ''Ridge Racer'' (which had been released in the previous year), than an actual sequ ...

'' (1994) *'' Ace Driver: Victory Lap'' (1995) *''

Air Combat 22 is a 1995 air combat arcade game. Released by Namco, it is the sequel to Namco's 1993 arcade game ''Air Combat''. Its name comes from it running on Namco's Super System 22 hardware. It was released as both a dedicated deluxe arcade cabinet, an ...

'' (1995) *'' Cyber Cycles'' (1995) *''

Dirt Dash is a 1995 racing video game, off-road racing arcade game developed and published by Namco. Gameplay ''Dirt Dash'' is an off-road racing game. Reception In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Dirt Dash'' on their February 15, 1996 issue as being t ...

'' (1995) *''

Rave Racer is an arcade racing game that was released by Namco in 1995. It runs on Namco System 22 hardware, and could be played by two people per cabinet for up to eight players total when up to four of them were linked together. It is the third arcade t ...

'' (1995) *''

Time Crisis ''Time Crisis'' is a first-person on-rails light gun shooter series of arcade video games by Namco, introduced in 1995. It is focused on the exploits of a fictional international intelligence agency who assigns its best agents to deal with a m ...

'' (1995) *'' Tokyo Wars'' (1996) *''

Alpine Racer 2 ''Alpine Racer 2'' is a 3D computer graphics, 3D alpine skiing arcade game released by Namco in 1996 in video gaming, 1996. It is the sequel to ''Alpine Racer''. Unlike the original, two cabinets can be linked together so that players can race aga ...

'' (1996) *'' Alpine Surfer'' (1996) *''

Aqua Jet Aqua is the Latin word for water. It is used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (skyscraper), an 82-story residential skysc ...

'' (1996) *''

Armadillo Racing Armadillos (meaning "little armored ones" in Spanish) are New World placental mammals in the order Cingulata. The Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae are the only surviving families in the order, which is part of the superorder Xenarthra, along w ...

'' (1996) *''

Prop Cycle is a 1996 arcade game developed and published by Namco. Gameplay ''Prop Cycle'' is a 3D flying simulator in which the player uses a human-powered aircraft to pop hot-air balloons in the city of Solitar to prevent the city from floating away ...

'' (1996)

References

External links

System 22 at System16 - The Arcade Museum
{{Bandai Namco Hardware Namco arcade system boards